The fourth-round clash between Alexander Zverev and Jiri Lehecka was severely affected by the grueling Wimbledon schedule. After facing a long delay, the match eventually commenced at 8:50 PM BST. While the match did grab attention as the final clash of the day on Centre Court, Roger Federer‘s unexpected appearance in the Royal Box stole the spotlight.

Turns out that most of the invited people could not attend the match due to the massive delay. As a result, a total of just four people were present in the Royal Box during the encounter, including the eight-time Wimbledon champion. Federer was the only guest seated in the front row of the box, while the other three were seated way at the back, making him quite a spectacle.

This once again showed how passionate Federer still is about Wimbledon. Even though it has been years since he left tennis, he is still a regular presence at SW19. Notably, this wasn’t even the first match that he attended during the day.

The former World No. 1 attended three matches in total at the Centre Court on Monday. He was first seen during the fourth-round clash between Jasmine Paolini and Alexandra Eala. Paolini, who is known to be a big Federer fan, even shared a few heartwarming words to thank him for his presence after winning the match 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Federer would then return to the court for the clash between Grigor Dimitrov and Arthur Fery. This match was the reason why the Zverev-Lehecka clash was delayed for so many hours. Dimitrov and Fery played out a five-set classic, and the local hero dramatically prevailed 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6. The grueling match went on for three hours and 55 minutes.

Even though he had already watched two thoroughly entertaining matches, Federer still wanted more. He made his third and final appearance of the day at the Centre Court during the night session as Zverev locked horns against Lehecka. But unlike the two matches that he had witnessed earlier, this one didn’t conclude.

Zverev was undoubtedly the better player in the first two sets, clinching them 6-4 and 7-5, respectively. Having taken a commanding lead in the match, the German was cruising towards victory before the match was suspended just two hours later at 10:55 PM. This was because of the strict 11 PM curfew that Wimbledon has been following for years.

According to the curfew, no match should extend beyond 11 PM. It gets shifted to the next day in case it is left incomplete within the time limit. The curfew was imposed to minimize noise and traffic for nearby residents, and the tournament is known for making no exceptions. As a result, both Zverev and Lehecka will have to take the Centre Court today and resume their match with the third set level at 3-3.

This was the first match of this edition that was suspended due to the strict curfew. But the match between Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic, just the day before, avoided the curfew by the barest of margins.

Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic’s clash almost got suspended at Wimbledon

Gauff recorded a hard-fought 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Bencic in the fourth round. The threat of the match being paused loomed from the get-go, as it was the final clash scheduled to take place on Court 1 that day.

It proved to be an evenly matched contest as both players were solid with their performances. Though Bencic took the early advantage, Gauff rallied back and leveled the match by winning the second set. She continued her momentum in the decider and earned a chance to serve for the match at 5-4.

But the American was in a race against time as there was barely any time left before the curfew was imposed. However, she managed to wrap up the final game in quick fashion and won the match just two minutes before 11 PM.

“I was looking at the clock the last service game,” Gauff said during her post-match interview on July 5. “I was like, ‘I gotta hit some big serves and big shots.’ … This was probably the most dramatic finish. I’ve never had to race against time. Playing tennis we’re used to not having a clock. But honestly, today I felt the pressure.”

It remains to be seen whether any more matches will be affected due to the 11 PM curfew in the coming days at Wimbledon.