Why is there a curfew at Wimbledon 2023? All you need to know about suspension of Novak Djokovic vs Hubert Hurkacz and other matches

The curfew time for Wimbledon 2023 is 11 pm local time, which means play cannot go on once that time has been reached.

This year's grasscourt Major has seen a lot of matches get suspended because of rain delays. Play on several days has been halted once the clock has struck 11 pm in London.

Fixtures that have been suspended include Andy Murray's second-round thriller against Stefanos Tsitsipas and most recently, the fourth-round clash between Novak Djokovic and Hubert Hurkacz.

Djokovic managed to edge out the first two sets via tiebreaks but play was halted as the umpire consluded the match wouldn't finish before the clock struck 11 pm.

Wimbledon curfew has been around since 2009

Rafael Nadal's Wimbledon semifinal against Novak Djokovic in 2018 was suspended because of curfew

The curfew at Wimbledon was introduced in 2009 and has been in place ever since.

One of the most notable matches that was halted due to this rule was the Wimbledon 2018 semifinal between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The match resumed the following day and Djokovic won 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(9), 3-6, 10-8 to reach the final, where he went on to defeat Kevin Anderson.

A statement from Wimbledon that year claimed that the 11 pm curfew was a planning condition. It was applied to balance the locals with the scale of a tennis tournament taking place in a residential area, as well as to facilitate transport in getting the visitors home safely.

“The 11pm curfew is a Planning Condition applied to balance the consideration of the local residents with the scale of an international tennis event that takes place in a residential area. The challenge of transport connectivity and getting visitors home safely is also a key consideration," Wimbledon stated.

Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam that has a curfew time; at the other Grand Slams matches have gone on until as late as 4 am. One such instance was Andy Murray's Australian Open 2023 fixture against Thanasi Kokkinakis, which started after 10 pm and finished at 4:05 am.

Novak Djokovic and Hubert Hurkacz will resume their match on Monday, with the Serb only a set away from a place in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Victory for Djokovic will see him secure his 32nd consecutive win at the grasscourt Major, surpassing Pete Sampras' tally of 31 wins in a row.

Whoever out of Djokovic or Hurkacz wins, will face seventh seed Andrey Rublev in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.