Dramatic scenes unfolded on Day 1 of the Wimbledon Championships on Monday.
Fifth seed Taylor Fritz, who came into the tournament riding high on confidence after winning his fourth Eastbourne title two days ago, was left fuming at the officials.
He came within two points of going out in the first round before hanging tough to win the fourth set tiebreak and leave the match deadlocked at two sets all when play was suspended for the night, 45 minutes before the 11pm curfew.
He seemed to be on the verge of becoming the highest-seeded casualty even though he never got broken and had set points in the first two sets which Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard won 7-6(6), 7-6(8) before the American won the next two 6-4, 7-6(8).
Play was suspended on court 1 before the 5th set at 10.18pm, 40 minutes before the 11 PM curfew, leaving Fritz and the crowd furious.
The American was seen remonstrating with an official but it was later revealed by Fritz in a comment on Instagram that Perricard didn't want to continue.
Why is the curfew rule in place?
The Wimbledon curfew is at 11pm local time (6pm ET) and has been in place since 2009 when Centre Court’s roof opened, introduced by Merton Council in order to obtain planning permission for the roof.
A statement from Wimbledon in 2018 read: “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.”
The tube service in London shuts at 11pm and hence the decision.
Among other matches that were paused overnight was the Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal 2018 semi-final. The match that had started at 8pm was stopped after the third set and resumed the next day.