Djokovic match moved back a day due to crowd ‘safety issue’

uwimbledon organisers blamed crowd safety fears after Novak Djokovic’s fourth-round match was put back a day when play ran on late into the evening.

A match lasting nearly five hours that saw Rafael Nadal eliminated last night meant Djokovic’s match against France’s Adrian Mannarino could not go ahead. The players were kept waiting for a call until late in the day when the match was rescheduled for today and moved to Centre Court, where it will begin at midday. The All England statement said the Djokovic match was not moved to Centre Court yesterday “due to the number of spectators remaining in the grounds”.

It added: “As late as 8.30pm, 30,000 people still remained in the grounds, and therefore moving the match would have created a significant safety issue.”