Wimbledon 2017: Novak Djokovic eases into second round as injured Martin Klizan sparks retirement row

​Novak Djokovic’s opening match at Wimbledon against an injured Martin Klizan was so easy that, come the end of the day, he was considering returning to Centre Court for an exhibition hit with Roger Federer just to get some game time under his belt.

Klizan retired injured while 6-3 2-0 down to Djokovic and Federer was also given a free pass into the second round when his opponent, Alexandr Dolgopolov, called it quits having played just a game more.

“Yeah, it’s really odd that Roger's result and my result more or less was the same,” Djokovic smiled in his post-match press conference. “We had a little joke about it in the locker room, saying we should maybe play a practice set on the Centre Court, have the crowd stay. But they had another match.”

In truth, Djokovic had Klizan beaten before a ball had even been hit. The Slovakian grimaced his way through the warm-up and it quickly became apparent that he was unlikely to finish the match against Djokovic — let alone compete with the 12-time grand slam champion.

Klizan managed to win his first three service games but was broken by Djokovic in the eighth game of the match, and quickly fell to pieces. He received a medical timeout at the end of the first set and, after being broken again at the beginning of the second, decided he was unable to carry on.

The nature of both his and Dolgopolov’s rapid retirements sparked a fierce debate on whether it was fair for players who retired mid-match to collect the full share of their prize money.

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Both men will pocked £35k for their truncated appearances, with John McEnroe speculating that the pair only began playing so that they could claim their prize money.

“It’s no good for anyone if a player in a one-on-one sport can’t compete on an equal level,” he said while commentating for the BBC. “I don’t know who the first lucky loser was but he will have been looking out there and said I could have been playing on the Centre Court at Wimbledon.”

In 2017, the ATP adopted a rule whereby players can retire on-site before a first round match, without losing the prize money they would have earned by playing it. It was hoped that this would deter players from playing in first round matches while injured, purely to earn a cash windfall.

And Djokovic admitted that the four grand slam tournaments should consider adopting a similar rule, to prevent fans from going home disappointed in the future.

“Maybe it should be addressed,” he said. “I think the new rule that the ATP has reinforced allows players who deserve already, but at the other hand allow someone else to play if they can. I support that kind of rule.

“I'm sure that most of the players on the tour, if not all, feel that. Especially if you walk out on the Centre Court, there is a responsibility.

“I'm sure the players that retired did not want to as this tournament has a special place in players' careers. The aura of Wimbledon has probably always been the strongest of any other tournament.

“It doesn't happen often really. I'm sure they tried their best, but it is what it is.”