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Fans of Wimbledon were subjected to an unusual situation when, during the opening match of the tournament between Novak Djokovic and Pedro Cachin, play was halted for nearly an hour and a half due to rain. It began to rain near the end of the opening set, which Djokovic won 6-3, and saw play to be paused along with the Center Court roof being closed.
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When Djokovic and Cachin returned to check the court’s grass, the Serbian was upset that it was too slippery. With both the fans and the players’ frustration at the prolonged situation rising, the seven-time Wimbledon champion went back to the dressing room and returned with a towel, which he used to dry patches of the grass on his knees before fanning the court with his towel. The move proved popular with the spectators, who had been waiting for almost an hour. Finally, ground staff began using leaf blowers to dry the grass and the match eventually resumed.
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“It was definitely frustrating, of course, for all the crowd. For us players, we both wanted to play but the conditions were not great, obviously still slippery. I normally come out with rackets, not with towels. It was fun to do something different - a little bit of a strange feeling but hopefully you guys liked it,” Djokovic said, commenting on the incident.
The All England Club later released a statement reading, “Centre Court took longer to dry than anticipated” and that when “given indications that the rain was due to stop imminently, the decision was taken to resume play with the roof open.”
The Serbian is chasing his eighth Wimbledon Gentlemen's Singles title, which would be a joint all time record. Djokovic won the remaining sets against Pedro Cachin 6-3, 6-3 and 7-6 (4). Despite losing, the Argentine debutant received praise for taking the final set into a tiebreaker.
