WIMBLEDON — When asked if he was worried about Sunday’s World Cup final in Russia clashing with the Wimbledon men’s singles final, Roger Federer couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m more concerned the World Cup final will have issues because the Wimbledon final is going on,” Federer joked during press Monday after he advanced to the quarterfinals at the London Grand Slam for the 16th time in his career.
“They’ll hear every point, Wow, love-15, 15-30. The players are going to look up in the crowd and not understand what’s going on at Wimbledon.
“That’s how important Wimbledon is to me and to us over here. Maybe you should ask the questions over in Russia, how they’re going to feel about Wimbledon being played at the same time.”
With the men’s final slated for its traditional time of 2 p.m. BST (9 a.m. ET) and the World Cup final kicking-off at 4 p.m. BST (11 a.m. ET) in Moscow, the All England Club is facing pressure to reschedule the Championship match to accommodate, particularly if England wins its semifinal against Croatia Wednesday and reaches its first final since 1966.
However, chief executive Richard Lewis confirmed earlier Monday there were no plans to move the men’s final and that both the World Cup semifinals and final would not be shown on any big screen, as has been the club’s policy since the beginning of the tournament.
Lewis is quoted in the Guardian saying: “People get Wimbledon, and we get the balance right. We are a tennis tournament but we are aware that there is something special going on elsewhere.”
Club rules that all mobile phones and tablets should be switched off “in and around the courts of play” have been relaxed, however, with Lewis stating that they would only be enforced if they affected others.
When asked if he thought people watching the World Cup final on their devices simultaneously would detract from the atmosphere, Federer added: “It’s going to happen anyway, if I’m going in the final or not, the Wimbledon final will take place, and so will the World Cup final.”
Federer defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-0, 7-5, 6-4 in his Round 4 match and will play South Africa’s No. 8 seed Kevin Anderson in the last eight.