Players terrified of injury as grass withers in sun

ANDY MURRAY was among players to criticise the condition of the grass at Wimbledon, voicing fears over safety in what they say are dangerous conditions.

With the courts of the All England Lawn Tennis Club visibly drying out in high temperatures, several players raised concerns.

During one match this week, the French player Kristina Mladenovic, 24, and her opponent Alison Riske, 27, tried to have play stopped because of their fears, only to be told by officials to carry on.

Concerns were heightened when American Bethanie Mattek-sands was injured after falling on Court 17 and was stretchered off, although it is not known if the surface played a part.

Speaking after her match on Court 18, Mladenovic said: “Honestly, I couldn’t care less if I lost the match today. I’m just so blessed and happy that I am not injured today.”

Mladenovic said she and her opponent had asked for officials to intervene on safety grounds. She said: “The colour of the court, the fact that there’s no more grass, the fact that the baseline where we are running, it’s very slippery. There’s no grass. I don’t know how to describe it. I feel it’s totally different than the previous years.”

Murray, who beat Fabio Fognini 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, agreed. “There’s quite a few spots on the court, like just behind the baseline and just in front of the baseline, where there’s quite big lumps of grass, sort of almost like little divots there, which I don’t remember really being the case [in previous years],” he said. Forgini added: “I think the courts this year are really, really bad. But they do the best that they can.”

Seven-time men’s singles winner Roger Federer said players’ fears over the courts had to be taken seriously. “You know, it’s like dead grass. It changes colour. And that bit can be slippery,” he said. “It’s not a good sign.”

The club has defended the condition of the courts, saying it carried out regular inspections of the surface.

‘Honestly, I couldn’t care less if I lost the match today. I’m just so blessed and happy that I’m not injured’