Former American tennis player
John Isner has criticised the quality
of the court’s condition during the Queen’s tennis championship. The competition is underway, and numerous top players are participating to not only win the title but also prepare for the upcoming third Grand Slam of the year—Wimbledon.
That court’s condition came under scanner after America’s Frances
Tiafoe suffered an injury during his first-round clash against Australia’s Rinky
Hijikata on Monday. The 26-year-old slipped during the second game of the third
set and eventually decided to withdraw from the competition. The game was
nicely poised at the time when Tiafoe decided to retire with a score of 7-5, 4-6, 1-0.
Isner, in a post on his official account on the social media
platform X — previously known as Twitter — criticised the court’s quality. The
39-year-old stated that court is ‘diabolically slippery’ and also wished the American
tennis star recovery ahead of the important part of the season.
"Queens is undoubtedly one of the best events of year,
but the courts are diabolically slippery, especially on Monday and Tuesday.
Just ask DelPo. Sucks for Frances, hope he can recover for SW19," he wrote.
Isner, who retired from the sport in 2023, had an impressive
record while playing on the grass surface. His only Grand Slam semifinal appearance
came while playing at Wimbledon in 2018 where he ended up on the losing side to
South Africa’s Kevin Anderson with a score of 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 26-24.
Frances Tiafoe was forced to withdraw after suffering an injury during the first-round of the competition.
On the other hand, the result will not go down well for Tiafoe
as not only it casts doubt about his participating in Wimbledon 2024 but it
will also go down as a missed opportunity to produce a good result.
The Maryland-born star has already struggled with form in
the ongoing campaign. Tiafoe’s best appearance this season came in an ATP event
in Houston, where he finished as the runner-up after losing to fellow American Ben
Shelton in the final with a score of 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
