John McEnroe suggests Wimbledon made a mistake for Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic’s semi final
Wimbledon is reaching its fascinating conclusion and there are plenty of narratives being sewn ahead of the men’s semi finals.
Arthur Fery has stolen the headlines for his remarkable run to the semi-finals, which included a monumental victory over Flavio Cobolli in the last eight.
Fery toppled the 2026 Roland Garros finalist in straight sets to earn the achievement, and he has also beaten Grigor Dimitrov, Zizou Bergs, and Otto Virtanen at this year’s Wimbledon.
The otherside of the draw will see the mammoth clash between Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, for the first time since their meeting at the same stage of the 2026 Australian Open.
Despite the heavyweight tie between Sinner and Djokovic, many were expecting the UK Grand Slam to put Fery on last as he looks to make yet more history.
That didn’t happen and former Wimbledon champion John McEnroe has suggested the Grand Slam has made a mistake with their scheduling.
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Speaking on BBC Five Live, McEnroe suggesting Wimbledon might have made a mistake with their scheduling for both of their semi-final matches.
Arthur Fery vs Alexander Zverev was put on first on Centre Court, with play set to begin from 13:30 UK time, with Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner following.
McEnroe questioned the decision and believes it was put into place by the BBC after pressure from broadcasters in the United States.
“Fery’s on first because U.S TV wants it on as late as possible. They [Sinner and Djokovic] played Tuesday, the other guys [Fery and Zverev] played Wednesday,” he said.
The BBC are also broadcasting Belgium’s World Cup clash with Spain, but McEnroe is not buying that as the reason for putting Fery’s match before Djokovic vs Sinner.
“Why did the BBC want the early one? Because there was something coming up later? There was another game… it wasn’t even England. They [Fery and Zverev] could’ve played second, they could’ve played second.”
Fery has become the first wildcard to reach the semi-final of Wimbledon since Goran Ivanesvic managed the feat back in 2001. He is also just the fifth British man to reach the final four of the competition in the Open Era.
He follows in the footsteps of Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie, Tim Henman, and Roger Taylor at his home Grand Slam. Three of those four men dropped out at the semi-final stage, with Norrie, Henman, and Taylor being beaten in the final four.
Murray is, of course, the only man to go on and lift the title. He became the first British champion in 77 years to win the event when he lifted the championships in 2013.
