Wimbledon’s second Monday serves up 16 sweet matches
Next up at Wimbledon is second Monday mania — the best ticket in tennis.
Unlike the other three Grand Slam events, Wimbledon plays all fourthround singles matches — men’s and women’s— on the first day of the second week of competition. That presents a smorgasbord of star- studded encounters. With names such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Venus Williams, Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka peppering Monday’s card, it’s only natural to anticipate high- quality competition.
“It’s a lot of great tennis,” said Azarenka, a two- time Australian Open champ from Belarus who will play second- seeded Simona Halep of Romania. “For the organizers it will be trouble for scheduling, but I think it’s wonderful. Fans seem to be really engaged here. I hope they watch a lot of great matches. I hope there will be a lot of great matches.”
Wimbledon is the only major with such a crowded Monday schedule because the tournament insists the middle Sunday should be a day of rest. There have been four exceptions to the rule — in 1991, ’ 97, 2004 and ’ 16 — because of inclement weather during the first week.
Because the All England Club is in a residential community, the middle Sunday break is designed to allow neighbors one day free of all the congestion Wimbledon creates in the community.
“It’s two days off ( for me) is not usual,” said fourth- seeded Nadal, who played his third- round match Friday. “But that’s the tradition, so respect for that.”
Nadal, who boasts two Wimbledon trophies, will face fellow lefty Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in the fourth round. Nadal, a 15- time Grand Slam champion, can argue the good and bad side of the loaded-Monday for fans.
“You have tickets to be here, so is good,” Nadal said. “It’s not easy to have tickets, by the way. It’s good, but at the same time, it’s bad, my opinion. It’s good because you have fantastic players playing. At the same time, it’s bad because you cannot see everybody. When you have less matches, you can follow more matches.”
Williams, a five- time Wimbledon champ playing here for the 20th time, says the scheduling features a flaw for women players used to a day off between matches at the other majors. They all have to play their quarterfinal matches Tuesday.
“You have to come back, at least on the women’s side, to play an even more important match,” said Williams, who has a fourth- round appointment with Ana Konjuh of Croatia. “So it’s definitely, like, a lot of climaxes in a row. I think it’s awesome if you ( fans) get to come both of those days. I don’t know ( if) many people get to do that.”
The more mature players use the unscheduled Sunday as a time to relax and maybe get in a light practice session.
“Now I’ve got two days to work on some things, rest up a little bit and get used to the conditions we’re playing in just now,” No. 1 and defending champion Andy Murray said Friday, ahead of his Monday match with Benoit Paire of France. “The courts definitely have gotten a lot quicker than at the beginning of the event. It will be good to get a couple days’ practice in those conditions before another match on Monday.”
Nadal was planning to spend time with his family.
Experience finds most players approaching the second week of a Grand Slam with the mentality that it’s a new tournament. Undoubtedly, with 16 fourth- round matches on tap for Monday, there’s a heightened feeling for players that the real Wimbledon is finally underway.