John McEnroe has criticised the BBC and Wimbledon over the scheduling of Arthur Fery's semi-final match against Alexander Zverev, which kicks off at 1.30pm on Friday, July 10. The timing means millions of British workers will miss the live action.
McEnroe Backs Fan Frustration
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, McEnroe agreed with a caller named Karen who described the decision as 'rather strange'. McEnroe said: "Fery's on first because U.S TV wants it on as late as possible. The World Cup... what time does England play? They're trying to, in case Arthur went late with the second match, it would overlap the England match." Karen then added: "What about tomorrow? There's no excuse, no excuse!" McEnroe replied: "I'm going to agree with Karen. The hell with it!"
Henman Defends Scheduling
Former British No. 1 Tim Henman attempted to bring perspective: "I think you were alluding to the match globally. Which is the bigger match? Sinner against the 24-time Grand Slam winner." McEnroe interrupted: "They played Tuesday, the other guys played Wednesday." Henman noted they still had 48 hours to recover and mentioned a recommendation from the BBC and U.S. broadcasters. McEnroe pressed: "Why did the BBC want the early one? Because there was something coming up later? There was another game... it wasn't even England." After learning Spain vs Belgium kicked off at 8pm BST, McEnroe concluded: "They could've played second."
Fan Reaction
Tennis fans expressed disappointment on social media. One X user wrote: "Everyone is happy that Arthur Fery won his Wimbledon quarterfinal in straight sets. Except BBC executives who could have done with a ratings boost on a night with no World Cup football." Another said: "It’s a real shame to not have it on in the teatime/evening slot and not fair in terms of recovery time to Djokovic & Sinner." A third added: "One of many weird decisions this year. The people who schedule the matches appear to have lost the plot." However, some understood the BBC's perspective, noting the World Cup clash at 8pm and that Sinner-Djokovic draws a larger global audience.
Historic Achievement
Fery became the first British wildcard to reach a men's singles semi-final at Wimbledon in 25 years, defeating Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-finals. He is only the fifth British man to achieve this after Tim Henman, Andy Murray, Cam Norrie, and Roger Taylor. Fery faces world No. 2 Alexander Zverev on Centre Court.
