Everyone loves a conspiracy theory and when the announcement was made on Sunday, at 13:20 (UK time), revealing David Ferrer has withdrawn from Wimbledon due to an elbow injury, speculation was rampant.
As the No8 seed, Ferrer’s withdrawal could have had serious ramifications on the draw had he pulled out of the tournament before Monday’s order of play had been announced.
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Based on the timings of the announcement, Ferrer, who was seen with an ice pack on his elbow the previous day in the players’ lounge, pulled out an hour after the order of play had been unveiled.
So what would have happened had the Spaniard withdrawn earlier in the day?
Here’s what the 2015 ITF rulebook says regarding this matter:
“If the withdrawal is among seeds 5 to 16, the 17th seed is moved into the open position and the 17th position shall be filled by the next highest ranked player eligible to be seeded.
“The position vacated by that next highest ranked player shall then be filled by the next player on the original entry list if prior to the commencement of the Qualifying competition or by the eligible Lucky Loser if after the commencement of the Qualifying competition.”
David Ferrer has withdrawn from The Championships due to an elbow injury. Lucky loser Luca Vanni takes his place #Wimbledon
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 28, 2015
This means that John Isner, the No17 seed, would have taken Ferrer’s place which would have made the American a possible fourth round opponent for Spain’s Rafael Nadal.
Philipp Kohlschreiber – the next highest ranked player eligible to be seeded – would have taken Isner’s place, which would have seen the German avoid an opening round against Novak Djokovic and face Japan’s Go Soeda instead. While lucky loser Luca Vanni would have replaced Kohlschreiber and would have been playing first on Centre Court today against Djokovic.
Granted, it is highly unlikely Ferrer would have even thought of all these consequences should he have pulled out earlier but still, it is very interesting what could have been, had he withdrawn an hour before. Is it also possible the tournament didn’t want to go through the hassle of changing the draw?
Nadal will have to thank his compatriot though because his section of the draw now has world No113 Vanni instead of Ferrer or the big-serving Isner.
Djokovic on the other hand would have certainly welcomed the opportunity to avoid a mammoth opener against former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Kohlschreiber.
The Spanish media in the press room couldn’t help but laugh at how things unfolded.
