By Monday’s end, the club had another problem, this one partly of its own making. The fourth-round duel scheduled for No. 1 Court between Novak Djokovic and Adrian Mannarino — one of the men’s matches that bumped Kerber and Muguruza down the priority list — was pushed back a day after Gilles Müller needed 4 hours 48 minutes to upset Rafael Nadal, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13.

When that epic match ended, darkness was approaching, but Centre Court, with its roof and lights, was empty and apparently available. The club has moved matches in the past from No. 1 to Centre Court, including a third-round match between Gilles Simon and Gaël Monfils in 2015. But this time, Wimbledon officials cited security concerns as a reason to postpone, rather than move, the Djokovic-Mannarino match.

“As late as 8:30 p.m., 30,000 people still remained on the grounds,” the club said in a statement. “Therefore, moving the match would have created a significant safety issue.”

Security, of course, should always be the primary concern. Opening the gates to Centre Court with that many fans still on the grounds, nearly all in the north end, could have created a rush for available seats. But it is hard to believe Wimbledon did not have better, smarter options somewhere along the way on Monday.

Perhaps it could have moved Djokovic and Mannarino after clearing the grounds of all but No. 1 Court ticket holders. Perhaps it should have moved Djokovic and Mannarino to Centre Court right away, when its crowd was still in place after Roger Federer’s 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 romp over Grigor Dimitrov — the last scheduled match on Centre Court.

Whatever the details, the outcome was that players on both the women’s and men’s side were treated inequitably on Monday. Either Djokovic or Mannarino will now face Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals with one less day of rest — a rotten scenario.

It is also one that could have been avoided if Wimbledon had scheduled Djokovic and Mannarino — the least compelling of the matches involving the Big Four men — on No. 2 Court, where it belonged in the first place.