Paris-the open of France is not the only sporting event in Europe by calling the attention of the tennis players: the final of the Champions League will decide the best soccer club on the continent, and one of the two teams involved on Saturday night is Paris Saint-Germain, whose stadium is a couple of blocks from Roland-Garros.
Count Novak Djokovic among those who support the PSG against Inter Milan in Italy, and hoped to tune the television to watch the great clash that will be carried out in Munich, Germany. Then, Djokovic made that preference known for the people in charge of organizing the program in the Grand Slam-Slam tournament that won three times, a common practice, especially among the sport elite.
They often ask to be programmed at a certain time. Or to avoid some time.
“I will definitely see it if I am not playing (in the) night session. Yes, that will be good,” Djokovic said with a big smile. “Fyi, Roland-Garros schedule.”
Suggestion, track. Except that his plea had not been heard: when the game order was launched on Saturday on Friday, the 24-time Djokovic Major Champion in Third Round against Filip Misólico was chosen under the lights in the Philippe-Champatrier court to start at 8:15 pm local time, 45 minutes before Inter Milan begins in front of PSG.
Others who asked him to compete at that time obtained his desire. Although one, Arthur Fils, the 14th Frenchman who grew up near Paris and is a big PSG fan, ended up leaving the tournament due to a stress fracture in the back after being placed in an afternoon match against No. 17 Andrey Rublev.
“We have many requests from players,” said the director of the Amélie Mauresm tournament. “There is no fixed rule. We try to accommodate everyone as much as possible. That includes requests from players, emitters and spectators … It is a real puzzle, I will not lie.”
Coco Gound said that he often does not ask for a certain time position, but when he does, he is generally related to competing in singles and doubles the same day (the American won the double title of the France Open last year but this time he is not playing doubles).
The 2023 United States Open Champion, which is currently number 2 in singles, has noticed that events tend to listen more to elite players than others.
“If you are classified a little higher, they will hear more from your contribution, sure,” Gasff said. “To be honest, I think it’s legitimately deserved. I feel that if you are doing well on the tour, you want so many tournaments, you should have a little more priority when it comes to that.”
Except that even the best of the best does not always succeed with this kind of thing.
Madison Keys, who was the runner -up of the US Open. In 2017 and won the Australian Open in January, knows what it is to be ignored.
“Sometimes the application goes (inside), they write it and say: ‘ok'”, but then do nothing about it, Keys said.
“I really think it’s a bit to what the tournament wants, what television wants, things like that,” he added. “Sometimes you get what you ask. And other times, you get the opposite.”
Ask Djokovic.
“Regardless of what they schedule me, I have to accept,” he said earlier this season. “I think I got my right to … (communicate) with the management of the tournament, where I can express what I would like, depending on a certain day, depending on the opponent.”
