Wimbledon schedule: Zverev-Fery get raw deal as Djokovic and Sinner earn top billing
The Wimbledon order of play for the 2026 men’s semi-finals is out and the organisers’ decision has raised quite a few eyebrows.
World No 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner will take on 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic in the top half of the draw, while third seed Alexander Zverev and surprise package Arthur Fery will square off in the bottom half of the draw.
Traditionally, the last-four encounter from the top half is played first on semi-final Friday, but organisers have decided to change things up with the Zverev-Fery encounter scheduled for 13:30 on Centre Court, leaving many tennis commentators and fans confused.
That clash will immediately be followed by Sinner and Djokovic with that match getting top billing for the day, raising questions about why local hero Fery did not get the prime slot following his incredible performance so far.
The 23-year-old is only the fifth British man to reach the last four at Wimbledon in the Open Era, but of course there is no doubt that the Sinner-Djokovic match is the big match of the day in terms of the global audience.
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But the change means Sinner and Djokovic will have had more rest than Zverev and Fery.
The two quarter-finals in the bottom half of the draw were completed on Wednesday with Zverev beating Taylor Fritz in straight sets on No.1 Court while Fery downed Flavio Cobolli in three sets on Centre Court.
Sinner defeated Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets in the last eight on Tuesday afternoon while Djokovic spent more than five hours on court during his five-set win over Felix Auger-Aliassime in the evening.
So you expect Sinner to be the fresher of the four semi-finalists and there is, of course, also the heat to take into account.
Hot conditions are once again expected in London on Friday with the Met Office predicting temperatures will rise to about 31 degrees Celsius with the peak set to be between 2pm and 4pm when the Zverev-Fery match takes place.
Sinner has struggled in hot and humid weather as he infamously suffered an alarming collapse in similar conditions during his French Open second-round defeat to Juan Manuel Cerundolo last month. But the four-time Grand Slam winner will also point out that he has won several tournaments in the heat.
The request might also have come from one of the players.
It is the third year in a row that Sinner and Djokovic have faced each other the last four at Wimbledon and last year they were first up on Centre Court with the Italian winning in three sets.
They also met in 2023 and this time they played in the second semi-final with Djokovic coming out on top.
Many tennis journalists have left surprised by the All England Club’s decision to change the order around with some saying it is “strange” others left “completely stunned” with Punto de Break’s Jose Moran writing: “I’m completely STUNNED by this schedule change.
“Normally, coming from playing earlier, they’d put the Sinner-Djokovic match in the first slot this Friday.
“Well, no.
“They’ve scheduled Fery-Zverev at 13:30 UK time (14:30 Spain time), and then right after, the Jannik-Nole match.
“I don’t understand why they do these things, but it’s a highly unusual change.”
