'Bitter' Cilic questions 11 a.m. start at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England -- Marin Cilic wasn't blessed with the scheduling astatine Wimbledon connected Monday aft losing to Flavio Cobolli successful a fourth-round lucifer that started arsenic arranged astatine 11 a.m. section time.

The 36-year-old Cilic said helium had to lukewarm up indoors arsenic the Wimbledon signifier courts don't unfastened until 9:30 a.m. and that the No. 2 Court wherever his lucifer was played was inactive rather brushed aft it rained overnight.

Play connected the extracurricular courts astatine Wimbledon is scheduled to commencement astatine 11 a.m. passim the fortnight, whereas matches connected Centre Court and No. 1 Court statesman astatine slightest 2 hours later.

But Cilic questioned whether tourney organizers shouldn't enactment each singles matches aboriginal successful the time successful the 4th round.

"I don't similar to talk astir the conditions. OK, I mislaid and everything. I person to judge it," Cilic said. "But I consciousness bitter due to the fact that wherefore is determination a request to play astatine 11?"

The Cobolli-Cilic gathering was the lone 1 of the 8 singles matches played Monday that had specified an aboriginal commencement time.

Liudmila Samsonova's lucifer against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro followed Cobolli and Cilic connected No. 2 Court, portion the different six matches were played connected Centre Court and No. 1 Court.

"It's raining overnight, and the tribunal was rather soft," Cilic said. "It was truly hard to play on. You conscionable propulsion the shot successful the mediate of the court, and the shot conscionable stays ace low. It was conscionable a struggle."

He mislaid 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3). Still, it was a comparatively palmy Wimbledon for Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion who was runner-up astatine the All England Club successful 2017.

Cilic is coming backmost to top-level tennis aft having 2 genu operations and past playing successful lower-level Challenger Tour events this twelvemonth to boost his ranking. He had to marque it done qualifying rounds conscionable to get into the bracket astatine the French Open, wherever helium mislaid successful the archetypal round.

"I person large encouragement, happiness, affirmative cognition and affirmative outcomes retired of the tournament," helium said. "I recovered large form, played immoderate fantastic tennis. Even contiguous was rather close."