Andy Murray backed for slamming Wimbledon decision before match abandoned
Andy Murray's tirade over Wimbledon closing the roof during Grigor Dimitrov's clash against Jannik Sinner has been backed by the former's coach, who insists players should be outdoors "for as long as possible".
Dimitrov's Wimbledon journey ended in agony on Monday as he was forced to retire from his match against the Italian - despite being two sets up - after suffering a pectoral injury midway through the third set. That allowed Sinner passage through to the next round despite being some way behind.
But just beforehand, Wimbledon chiefs opted to close the roof while Dimitrov was cruising - a move that some considered controversial as it threatened to kill his momentum.
And Murray led the furious reaction to the move as he questioned the "ridiculous" decision, considering there was still plenty of light left in the day.
"So ridiculous to close the roof at this stage of the match," he wrote on social media. "At least an hour of light left….well over a set of tennis can still be played..its an outdoor tournament!"
READ MORE: Aryna Sabalenka can't hide fury at Wimbledon ball boy during quarter-final struggle
Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday to offer an update on Dimitrov's condition, his coach Jamie Delgado said there was nothing to suggest that closing the roof made a difference to the player's injury and said Dimitrov actually felt it played in his favour at the time.
However, he agreed that the roof should stay open as long as possible to maximise the light and backed up Murray's claim that Wimbledon was an outdoor tournament.
"We are waiting for results on his injury to see how bad it is but it's going to be a few weeks out, for sure," Delgado said. "Grigor, actually, after the match, was liking when the roof went on because he actually felt it got a little bit warmer in there and his body loosened up even more than it already was.
"I guess it's a separate question whether it should have been closed or not. I don't think it made a difference to his actual injury. It should be an outdoor tournament and you should play outdoors as long as possible. I don't disagree with that."
Amid the row over the roof closing at Wimbledon, former British No 1 Tim Henman disagreed with Murray's claims and said shutting it would give players "ideal conditions" because there was less wind.
"I always felt the players sweat more, and there is a little bit less air flow," said the former British No.1. "It is absolutely ideal conditions, there is little wind with the roof open and none now."
But another ex-British tennis star in Greg Rusedski favoured Murray's claims, as he said: "If I was Grigor Dimitrov, I would say to keep playing. These conditions are working brilliantly for him.
"When you close the roof, you do have perfect conditions and light but that is going to help Jannik Sinner because it is going to slow down the pace of play and his toss will be in the right place on top of that. So if I was Dimitrov, I would've said keep the roof open and let's try to play one more set even with the bad light. This actually favours Sinner."
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