Wimbledon courts more male criticism

London: With a week still to go, Wimbledon's grass courts already are not the lush lawns players -- and TV viewers -- are accustomed to seeing early in the tournament.

Novak Djokovic noticed the ball bouncing differently in some patches.Roger Federer and his opponent slipped during their third-round match.

The two past champions are wondering what sort of work can be done on the middle Sunday, when there is no competition, so the court conditions improve when action resumes with all 16 fourth-round singles matches scheduled for Monday.
"I could see there is a difference in grass, in (the) turf itself.

It was a bit softer, I would say, especially around a couple of feet inside and outside, around the baseline area," said Djokovic, a three-time champion at the All England Club. "I haven't had that kind of experience before in Wimbledon, to be honest. I mean, the courts are always perfect here."

Federer followed Djokovic on Centre Court and described it as "a tad slippery" after losing his footing during one point in a victory over Mischa Zverev, who also took a tumble.

"But I didn't feel like it was unsafe. The last thing we want to see is horrible injuries," said Federer, who has won seven of his record 18 major titles at Wimbledon.

Some players voiced concerns about the court conditions over the opening week, including Kristina Mladenovic of France and Alison Riske of the United States, who each fell early during their second-round match on Court 18 on Thursday.

Noted Federer: "They have time to figure out how they're going to prep (the courts) for Monday.