Why was Novak Djokovic v Sebastian Korda at Miami Open postponed? When is the quarter-final? New rules explained

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The Miami Open quarter-final between Novak Djokovic and Sebastian Korda was not played on Wednesday due to the day's schedule running late into the night. Djokovic and Korda were due to be last on court after the quarter-final between Emma Raducanu and Jessica Pegula, but the match was postponed. We look at why it was postponed, what happens next, and when it will now be played.

Novak Djokovic

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Tennis scheduling has long been a difficult duty.

Whether to rearrange matches and move them to different courts in an effort to ensure they are played, or to stick with the original schedule and risk matches being played into the early hours of the morning, often it leads to the frustration of the players involved.

On Wednesday, the Miami Open introduced another solution: postponement.

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The postponed match was the men’s quarter-final between Novak Djokovic and Sebastian Korda, which was set to be the last of the day scheduled on the main show court.

The reason for the postponement was that due to several long-running matches earlier in the day, including Emma Raducanu’s three-set defeat to Jessica Pegula, the quarter-final between Djokovic and Korda would not have started until after 11pm.

New ATP and WTA scheduling rules were introduced last year in a bid to cut down on late finishes, with the guidance that matches should not start later than 11pm except with approval.

With Raducanu and Pegula not finishing until nearly 11:30pm, the decision was made to end the day’s play, to the frustration of some of those in the Stadium Court stands.

There were boos as Andrew Krasny announced the postponement to the crowd.

"In accordance with ATP rules that do not allow for a match to go on court after 11pm, the match between Novak Djokovic and Sebastian Korda has been postponed until tomorrow and will be the third match from 1pm," said Krasny.

While the decision did not please some spectators, Roger Federer’s former coach Paul Annacone said on Tennis Channel that it "has been a long time in the making".

Djokovic's coach Andy Murray might have agreed with the call after being unimpressed with having to play until 4am at the 2023 Australian Open.

Why was Djokovic v Korda on so late?

Wednesday’s schedule on the main Miami Open show court featured five singles matches, including the last-16 clash between Arthur Fils and Alexander Zverev, which had been postponed the previous day due to rain.

If organisers were concerned about the schedule running late, then they would have been pleased that the first match - wildcard Alexandra Eala shocking world No. 2 Iga Swiatek - was done in straight sets.

However, the following match between Fils and Zverev went to three sets, as did the next between Grigor Dimitrov and Francisco Cerundolo.

Raducanu and Pegula did not start their quarter-final until around 9pm - and that was also a three-set match.

Djokovic and Korda were waiting around to see whether they would get on court, but swiftly left the venue when the decision was made to postpone their match.

There were questions afterwards about whether the day’s play could have started earlier than 1pm, or if one of the five matches could have been moved to a different court.

"I'm glad that the tours are finally helping the players," said former world No. 9 Coco Vandeweghe on Tennis Channel.

"But again, there is Grandstand, there's other courts that some matches could have gone off to, instead of filling up Stadium only, just to give the schedule a bit of a breather."

When will Djokovic v Korda be played?

The quarter-final between Djokovic and Korda has been rescheduled for Thursday, along with another four matches on Stadium Court.

Again the day’s play will start at 1pm, which could mean a repeat of the scheduling problems.

This time it won’t be Djokovic and Korda having to wait as they are third on the schedule after Fils v Jakub Mensik and Aryna Sabalenka v Jasmine Paolini.

The last two matches are Taylor Fritz v Matteo Berrettini and Pegula v Eala.

Djokovic is bidding to win his 100th career title at the Miami Open.

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