Taylor Fritz accuses opponent of getting Wimbledon match suspended before curfew

Taylor Fritz has claimed his first-round Wimbledon match was only suspended because Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard said he didn't want to continue playing. The No. 4 seed became frustrated when their contest was halted just after he forced a fifth and final set around 10.15pm - 45 minutes before the curfew came into effect.

The supervisor took to the court, and Fritz wasn't happy when the umpire announced that play was suspended and to continue the following day, when they could have attempted to squeeze in the last set. The American has now suggested that the decision came down to Mpetshi Perricard.

Two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist Fritz was in trouble when he dropped the first two sets of his match to 6ft 8" Frenchman Mpetshi Perricard on Monday evening. He won the third, then was in another tough spot at 1-5 down in the fourth set tiebreak.

Fritz pulled off another escape act, taking the breaker 8-6. He went to his bench for the changeover but the supervisor came to the court to discuss the 11pm limit with both players, and play was ultimately suspended with the score at 6-7 6-7 6-4 7-6.

The recent Eastbourne champion has now claimed that they would have been allowed to continue playing until curfew had his opponent given the green light.

In the comments of an Instagram reel calling the curfew the 'dumbest rule in sports', Fritz wrote: "They would've let us play if my opponent agreed to, I said I wanted to, he didn't."

During conversations with the supervisor on Monday night, commentator and retired tennis star Todd Woodbridge slammed the decision to halt play 45 minutes before cut-off.

"Well, if I was Taylor Fritz, I'd want to keep going here, try to keep the momentum. It's just gone 10.15pm, the curfew is at 11. If it's a long set there's a chance they might have to come off at 5-5 potentially. Would you want to do that? That's what they're weighing up," he said.

"I'm a little surprised by that decision. I think the referee has come out too early, could've given them the option, but we still had 45 minutes to go to curfew. The sets that we had have all been under 45 minutes, they've been close to it but there was definitely the chance of an outcome there tonight."

On Tuesday, fellow American Tommy Paul revealed that the supervisor got to make the final decision because Fritz and Mpetshi Perricard couldn't agree. "I actually just talked to him in the locker room about it," he said of Fritz.

"I was, like, 'Oh, so they didn't even ask you if you wanted to play?' He said, 'Yeah, they did, but we didn't agree'. I was, like, 'Oh, so if you guys don't agree, then you stop?'

"He was, like, 'Well, if we don't agree, then it goes up to the supervisor, and he decides'. I didn't know that rule. And I guess the supervisor called it off to come back today and finish."

Fritz and Mpetshi Perricard will return to Court 1 in the second match slot on Tuesday to resume the match. Theirs wasn't the only contest to be halted by the 11pm curfew, which is imposed by the local Merton council.

No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev's match against Arthur Rinderknech on Centre Court was suspended just before 11pm, once Zverev levelled the score at one-set all.

Two matches were suspended on the outside courts for poor light - Botic van de Zandschulp vs Matteo Arnaldi and Shintaro Mochizuki vs Giulio Zeppieri. They will all return on Tuesday to complete play.

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