Frustrated Federer fed up with grand slam 'quitters'
Roger Federer has called on the four grand slams to consider following the ATP's lead to fight back after a spate of first-round retirements at Wimbledon.
Centre Court suffered consecutive blows on day two as Martin Klizan called it quits against Novak Djokovic after 40 minutes before Alexandr Dolgopolov threw in the towel after 43 minutes against Federer.
Klizan and Dolgopolov, among others who retired in the first round, pocketed $59,000 for their efforts.
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Fans were furious after paying nearly $100 for Centre Court tickets, with Federer and Djokovic almost playing a practice set to give the crowd something in return.
"When I went out, I felt like there was a bit of a let-down from the crowd. They couldn't believe that it happened again, exactly the same situation," Federer said.
"When I walked up, the chairman said 'you guys should go and play for another set and a half.' I said: 'Yeah, let me go try to find Novak.' I found him in the locker room. I told him, Maybe we should go out and play another set.
"It's not going to happen. I feel for the crowd. They're there to watch good tennis, proper tennis. At least they see the two of us who gave it all they had. They saw other players that tried at least."
The organisers moved former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki's clash with Timea Babos to the stadium instead.
Federer was open to the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open considering following the ATP's rule change that lets a player pull out injured before a tour match but still receive first-round prize money.
A lucky loser from qualifying then takes their place and competes for prize money from the second round onwards.
"Maybe the grand slams should adopt some of that," Federer said, a stance also held by Djokovic.
The ATP tour has seen an uptick in pre-match withdrawals and fewer mid-match retirements as a result of the change.
Federer questioned players' decisions in starting games they know they are not prepared to play just to collect a cheque.
“A player should not go on court if he knows he should not finish," he said.
"The question is, did they truly believe they were going to finish? If they did, I think it's okay that they walk on court. Otherwise, I feel they should give up the spot.”
The No.23 seed Isner, who progressed to the second round with a straight-sets win over countryman Taylor Fritz, also criticised players for ignoring the fans.
"I know the Wimbledon Centre Court didn't get their money's worth today, that's for sure," he said.
"If it's just excruciating pain, okay, you can't play. If something is tweaked here or there and you feel like you can give it a decent go without hurting yourself, I think they should stay out there and I think you owe it to the fans."
But Dolgopolov and Janko Tipsarevic, who retired after just 15 minutes in his first-round match, defended themselves and others for retiring after playing injured.
Said Dolgopolov: "For most of the draw, it's significant money for the guys to pay their coaches and keep on playing."
Tipsarevic added that richer players and fans need to understand the situation for struggling players.
"You have a lot of players here who fought their way to be in the Wimbledon main draw by playing in Challengers," he said.
"So if a guy who all his life is playing Challengers suddenly has the chance to play in the Wimbledon main draw, where a first-round loss is £35,000, I don't think anybody has the right to judge him."
Don’t miss Seven’s EXCLUSIVELY LIVE telecast of Wimbledon tonight. Coverage commences LIVE and FREE from 8:30pm (AEST) on 7TWO, PLUS7 and the 7Tennis app.
First up tonight is Johanna Konta v Donna Vekic, followed by Andy Murray v Dustin Brown.
with AAP