The Djokovic-Nadal match will resume with the roof closed, a decision that was left to the players to agree upon. The All England Club confirmed that decision had been made late Friday. The women’s final, however, will take place with the roof open unless weather intervenes and requires it to be closed. No rain is forecast for Wimbledon on Saturday.
The last men’s semifinal to be finished on Saturday was in 2007 between none other than Nadal and Djokovic. Djokovic retired in that match because of a toe blister.
Play was halted Friday after 2 hours, 54 minutes, with Djokovic leading two sets to one, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9). He saved three set points in the tiebreaker, then converted his second set point when Nadal netted a backhand.
The two didn’t begin their semifinal until after 8 p.m., as they had to wait out the conclusion of the 6-hour, 36-minute five-set marathon between John Isner and Kevin Anderson. The match shattered Wimbledon semifinal records for number of games as well as duration — besting the previous mark by 1 hour, 52 minutes.
Anderson, the No. 8 seed, ultimately prevailed 6-7 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-7 (9), 6-4, 26-24, with the fifth set alone lasting nearly three hours. He will take on the winner of the Djokovic-Nadal match in Sunday’s final.
Because it was so late, the All England Club shut the retractable roof above the main stadium between the matches and turned on the arena’s artificial lights. The third-set tiebreak between Djokovic and Nadal finished at 11:02 p.m., and an announcement was made immediately that play had been suspended.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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