Wimbledon 2018: Men's final will not be moved despite World Cup clash
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Wimbledon 2018 on the BBC |
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Venue: All England Club, Wimbledon Dates: 2-15 July |
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button, Connected TVs and the BBC Sport website and app; Live Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra commentary; Text commentary online. |
The Wimbledon men's singles final will not be moved even if England reach the World Cup final on the same afternoon.
The tennis showpiece is scheduled for 14:00 BST on Sunday, with the football kicking off two hours later.
"We have said for a couple of years that the final will be played at 2pm, as it is every year," said All England Tennis Club boss Richard Lewis.
He also told BBC Sport Wimbledon's big TV screen on 'Henman Hill' was reserved for tennis.
England face Croatia in the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday in Russia (19:00 BST), with the winner playing France or Belgium on Sunday (16:00 BST).
Victory would put England, champions in 1966, in the final for only the second time and the match is likely to overlap with the men's tennis final, which would normally last longer than two hours.
Lewis said he had not asked Fifa, football's world governing body, to consider moving the World Cup final to a different time.
"We are a sold-out event and there's massive interest. There are absolutely no plans to change anything," he added.
"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. We have free public Wi-Fi in many areas, so if people want to watch quietly on their phone or tablet they are able to do so."