WIMBLEDON 2023
The leaf machine used at Wimbledon after Djokovic delayed
The whole point of having a roof on Center Court is to prevent the rain stopping play, but English drizzle is fast.
Center Court at Wimbledon was a witness to absurdity as Novak Djokovic and his opponent Pedro Cachin found themselves in a comical situation, waiting for the grass to dry before continuing their match.
Wimbledon gets out the leaf blowers
Light drizzle saw the court covered and then the roof deployed after Djokovic wrapped up the opening set 6-3 but, unlike on Court One, play did not then resume as scheduled.
Djokovic and Cachin came out to inspect the grass but the defending champion was clearly unhappy with the slipperiness of the surface and they headed back to the locker room.
Djokovic then re-emerged with a towel, which he proceeded to rub on the court to laughter from the crowd, before members of the ground staff used leaf blowers to try to dry the surface.
Play had not resumed by the time the rain stopped and the decision was taken to reopen the Centre Court roof before playing the second set.
The match eventually resumed after a delay of almost 90 minutes.