Djokovic takes swipe at French Open decision-makers

Former world number one Novak Djokovic felt the court should have been watered during his fourth-round win at Roland Garros.

Published : Jun 04, 2018 01:41 IST

Novak Djokovic claimed French Open officials do not appear to care about the players after he criticised the condition of the surface on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The 12-time grand slam singles champion eased to a 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over Fernando Verdasco to reach the quarter-finals in Paris for an Open Era-record 12th time on Sunday.

Djokovic dominated the Spaniard, but was not happy with the state of the clay on the main show court.

The former world number one said: "It was a very warm day, and after the first set they decided not to water the court, which I thought it was not the right decision. That's all.

"I just questioned the decision from the chair umpire, actually, that he's listening to the grounds people. What I don't like is that there is no participation of the players.

"So they don't ask players whether we are the ones who are playing and sliding and not sliding, so we can give them the most important feedback.

"It doesn't seem like they care too much about our opinion, and that's something I don't like. If we reach the consensus that we should water or not, that's okay.

"With me, that's fine. If the majority decides that it shouldn't be watered, I'll be okay with the decision. But I think we deserve to be part of it."

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