McEnroe blasts Wimbledon scheduling

John McEnroe has accused Wimbledon organisers of 'bungling' their scheduling as they attempt to get this year's tournament finished on time.

Wimbledon has been badly affected by rain and there are fears the resulting fixture backlog could see play carried over into a third week.

Second seed Rafael Nadal has been one of the worst hit and the Spaniard will today attempt to complete his third-round match on what should be quarter-final day.

Yet former champion McEnroe does not feel the players have been helped by the organisation.

The American told BBC Radio Five Live last night: 'They didn't put Nadal first on, which I think has cost them.

'Right now I'm sitting here - admittedly it was thunder and lightning and pouring with rain when I came on at 7.30 - but now there is sun out and they could be playing right now.

'They could get this match finished with but they haven't done so. It's been a bungling of scheduling going on here.'

Nadal is locked at 4-4 in the final set with Robin Soderling and was first up on Court One this morning.

The third-round match between fourth seed Novak Djokovic and Nicolas Kiefer is also still to be completed while defending champion Roger Federer has not played since Friday.

McEnroe feels some players are gaining an unfair advantage as a result.

He added: 'It's not fair. They are so far behind at the bottom that they are faced with a situation where you're probably better off in the bottom half of the draw if they don't finish on Sunday.'

The tournament has also been criticised for its lack of atmosphere and poor quality of matches.

Defending women's champion Amelie Mauresmo was knocked out by Nicole Vaidisova in an underwhelming match on Centre Court yesterday.

Former British number one Annabel Croft said: 'It's been a disaster.

'I just haven't known a Wimbledon that has been so disrupted by the rain.

'This has been so frustrating for everybody - not just the organisers and spectators, the players are incredibly frustrated.

'I felt very sorry for Amelie Mauresmo. It is so disappointing to see a defending champion go out to a half-empty stadium, three rain delays.

'She never really got her tennis together and the other person I feel sorry for is Rafael Nadal.'