All England Club CEO Richard Lewis says the men's final will start as scheduled on Sunday.getty images
Wimbledon is "under pressure" to reschedule its men’s final "amid fears of 15,000 empty seats" if England reaches the World Cup final, which is being held at the same time, according to Luke Mintz of the London TELEGRAPH. Legions of tennis fans are "disappointed by the clash and hope Wimbledon authorities make a last-minute schedule change," according to British Association of Tennis Supporters Chair Mary Pope, who said that the clash was a "dilemma" for her and scores of other Wimbledon attendees. But she said that the All England Club is "too steeped in tradition" to consider a reschedule. It comes after Saturday's World Cup fixture against Sweden left Wimbledon's Centre Court "some two-thirds empty, with rows of vacant seats and an empty Royal Box." Wimbledon officials have "so far refused to budge on the clash," confirming on Saturday that they have "no plans" to alter the timing of the men's final, even in the event of England reaching the World Cup final. They added that they "will not show the football anywhere in Wimbledon's grounds." Wimbledon Commercial & Media Dir Mick Desmond last week said, "Our [final] always starts at two o'clock and we'll start at two o'clock." If the clash goes ahead, it is expected that Wimbledon will have "some of its lowest ever" TV viewing figures, with the tennis final being moved from BBC1 to BBC2 for the first time. A number of sports commentators took to social media "calling on Wimbledon officials to change their mind." Zach Goldman, founder of football group Where is Football?, suggested that Wimbledon's Centre Court could look "embarrassingly empty" if the scheduling clash goes ahead, adding, "Great time to be a tennis fan ... you'll have about 15,000 spare tickets to choose from" (TELEGRAPH, 7/8). The BBC reported All England Club CEO Richard Lewis said that he had not asked FIFA to "consider moving the World Cup to a different time." He said, "We are a sold-out event and there's massive interest. There are absolutely no plans to change anything. We are very excited about England's success in the World Cup. We think it's fantastic for the spirit of the nation and there was a very good atmosphere here on Saturday when England beat Sweden. ... We didn't have one single complaint of anybody here feeling that the football interfered with their enjoyment of Wimbledon" (BBC, 7/8).
FOOTBALL FRENZY: In London, Stuart Fraser reported while crowd numbers at Wimbledon "have not suffered a significant dip -- Saturday’s attendance reached its capacity of 39,364 -- the football is still causing quite a distraction within the grounds," with the public Wi-Fi experiencing a "sharp upturn in use." During Saturday's third round match between Simona Halep and Hsieh Su-wei, shouts of "come on, England" were heard in the stands when England-Sweden began at 3:00pm. Cheers "were heard" when England's Harry Maguire scored the opening goal, about the same time that Rafael Nadal "wrapped up a straight-sets victory against Alex de Minaur on Centre Court." Wednesday's England-Croatia semifinal is scheduled for 7pm, which means it is "likely" that the men’s quarterfinals will have concluded before kickoff (LONDON TIMES, 7/9).
