Andy Murray seemingly endorses scrapping 1:30 pm Centre Court start in Wimbledon

Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray recently retweeted a tweet slamming the Wimbledon organizers for starting matches at 1:30 pm local time on Centre Court.

Stuart Fraser, a tennis correspondent, expressed his discontent on social media over the Wimbledon schedule and the 11 pm curfew -- a condition that restricts the continuation of matches played in London beyond 11 pm local time. Fraser decried the rule put in place by the organizers, calling it a "misguided decision".

"Scrap the 1:30pm starts! On another evening where the 11pm curfew could come into play, it's time for Wimbledon organisers to realise what a misguided decision it was to move back the Centre Court start time. Should be at least an hour earlier next year," he wrote on Twitter.

The two-time Wimbledon champion, Murray, retweeted the tweet, a move that can be seen as him advocating Fraser's viewpoint. The Brit crashed out of Wimbledon 2023 after losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas on Centre Court in a second-round match that lasted for two days.

Murray, 36, was leading the contest 2-1 in sets against the Greek when the play was called off on Day 4 owing to the curfew rules. With momentum on his side, Murray expressed his displeasure over the announcement after surviving an injury scare during the third set. The match was halted 20 minutes before the cut-off point.

The two players returned to the court the next day under an open roof and a clear sky with an aim to book a place in the third round. After a calculated start to the fourth set, Tsitsipas upped his game to win the five-set epic 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 against the home hope.

The Wimbledon organizers faced heat from fans after the suspension on Thursday night. Tennis junkies demanded early starts for the matches to be played on the Centre Court to counter the curfew restrictions.

Novak Djokovic vs Hubert Hurkacz fourth-round clash too was halted

Novak Djokovic in action against Hubert Hurkacz at Wimbledon 2023.

Similar to the Murray-Tsitsipas tie, the fourth-round clash between Novak Djokovic and 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz on Sunday was suspended due to the same rules. Djokovic was made to work hard against the 26-year-old from Poland in the two sets that were played on Day 7 of the Championships.

The Serb, however, leads the match after winning the first two sets in tiebreaks. The tie was suspended at 10:35 pm local time right after the 23-time Grand Slam champion secured the second set. The remainder of the match is scheduled to be played on Monday.

The Wimbledon curfew has been in place since 2009. As per the tournament rules, a match cannot be played after 11 pm local time in London. According to the authorities, the rule is in place for the convenience of the locals and to manage traffic during an international tennis event.