More than yesterday’s defeat, Friday 21 June against Jack Draper at Queen’s, Carlos Alcaraz he complained a lot about the new rule introduced in the tournament. This is the so-called shot clockthe measure designed for reduce downtime during the matches. In practice, players are required to serve within 25 seconds of finishing the point. But while previously it was the referee who started the clock manually after announcing the score, granting a few extra seconds to the players in case of prolonged rallies, with this new rule the countdown begins within three seconds from the end of the point automatically. This change, in fact, reduces the time available for athletes to serve.
“If I finish the point at the net, I don’t have time to ask for the balls – declared Alcaraz in the post-match conference -. I didn’t have time to do my routine. I didn’t have never seen anything like it. If you play a long point you don’t have time to wipe away the sweat and concentrate on the next point. I felt like I had to rush the whole game. I think – he then added – it is something bad for the players“.
After this week’s trial, it is not yet clear whether the ATP intends to continue applying the shot clock rule so stringently in the coming weeks. Or, on the contrary, if in view of Wimbledon we will return to the “old” rule where i 25 seconds available of players were counted in a more flexible way, with chair judges who will be able to concede again a few more seconds of rest to tennis players in the event of prolonged and tiring rallies.
Read also: Adriano Panatta slams Carlos Alcaraz: “Horrendous, he looks like Harlequin”
