Wimbledon reschedules Fery semi-final to avoid World Cup clash, giving Djokovic extra rest

Scheduling shake-up

Wimbledon's scheduling committee has moved Arthur Fery's semi-final against Alexander Zverev to the first match on Centre Court on Friday, starting at 1:30pm BST. The decision breaks with tradition: the top half of the draw, featuring Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, usually plays first after two full days off. Fery and Zverev, who played their quarter-finals on Wednesday, will have only one day of rest.

Fery's fairytale run

The 23-year-old British wildcard, ranked 114th in the world, grew up a short walk from the All England Club and first played tennis at Westside Tennis Club at age four. He defeated Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final, while Zverev knocked out Taylor Fritz. Fery now faces the biggest match of his life in what is expected to be the hottest part of a heatwave day.

Broadcast considerations

The BBC requested the earlier slot to avoid a clash with its coverage of the World Cup quarter-final between Spain and Belgium later that evening. The second semi-final, Djokovic vs Sinner, will not start until around 5pm BST, which also suits ESPN's American audience with an 8:30am ET start.

Djokovic's recovery

Djokovic needed five hours and 15 minutes to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in the longest Wimbledon quarter-final on record on Tuesday night. The later start gives him a few extra hours of recovery before facing defending champion Sinner.