A record seven big names in tennis were reportedly forced to pull out of Wimbledon in just one day due to injury, the most in the tournament's history, with some taking heavy falls.
On Wednesday, World No. 2 Victoria Azarenka, Steve Darcis, France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Czech Radek Stepanek, American John Isner, Croatia's Marin Cilic and Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova saw their hopes dashed by injury, the Mirror reports.
Admitting that there had been a number of withdrawals from Wimbledon, the All England Lawn Tennis Club chief Richard Lewis however, said that although there has been some suggestions that the surface is to blame, the club has no reason to think that it is the case.
However, Azarenka, one of the favourites for the 1.6million-pound prize, disagreed with Lewis' comments, saying that the court was not in a good condition, adding that it would be great if the club tried to resolve the issues.
Although the Belarussian struggled through despite slipping badly in her first round win on Monday, however, she could not take to the court on Wednesday because of bruising to her knee.
Meanwhile, Russian star Maria Sharapova, who also crashed out of Wimbledon on Wednesday, slammed the 'dangerous' court and 'slippery grass' as reasons behind her pull-out.
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Venting her frustration during her shock defeat at the hands of unseeded Michelle Larcher De Brito, Sharapova, who fell three times, was reportedly heard telling the umpire that the courts are dangerous.
After the match, the four-time Grand Slam winner and third seed, worth an estimated 50 million pounds, further said that she had noticed more than a few players falling than usual.
However, home favourite Andy Murray, who made it through unscathed with a straight sets victory over Taiwanese Yen-Hsun Lu, insisted that top players are still left in the tournament, adding that he will just concentrate on his next match.
Murray's chances were boosted even further when seven-time winner Roger Federer lost on Centre Court to unfancied Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky, the report added.
