Novak Djokovic engaged in a tense discussion with Wimbledon referee Denise Parnell regarding the decision to close the roof on Centre Court during his quarter-final match against Felix Auger-Aliassime. The incident occurred after Auger-Aliassime had won the second set, with officials opting to cover the court.
Djokovic, who was bidding for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title, expressed frustration over what he perceived as a lack of consistency in applying the tournament's rules for roof closure. "Why now? The other day you didn't want to close it until like 8.30 but now you want to close it?" Djokovic questioned, as captured by television cameras. "It's 7.40 now, we could play a whole new set in that time."
He further elaborated on his concern, stating, "I don't care what happened with other matches - I'm talking about now. In the first round you didn't close it until like 8.20 and now you want to close it at 7.40? Where's the consistency? You guys are so proud of your rules and you’re not sticking to any kind of rules. We have no idea what the rule is. This is an outdoor tournament."
Auger-Aliassime, the Canadian world No. 4, was also reportedly in favor of keeping the roof open. Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt supported Djokovic's position, commenting that playing another set in 40 minutes was feasible and that the decision lacked consistency with previous matches.
Earlier in the tournament, Djokovic was fined £5,600 for an "audible obscenity." The specific instance involved Djokovic shouting "bulls***" and using Serbian profanities during his fourth-round victory over Roman Safiullin.