They just laugh at the organizers.
An ideal organization with a minimum of rough edges is what distinguishes top tournaments from just good ones. Tennis “Roland Garros”, of course, is considered an elite competition, where everything must be at the highest level. But the organizers apparently forgot about it.
The French courts are a complete mess!
“In the forest by the lake”
The main problems are related to the preparation of some courts. The Parisians overdid it and poured too much water on them. Because of this, the playground looks more like a swamp. Of course, there is no question of any fast game: the ball gets stuck in the wet clay.
The problem was first raised by Karen Khachanov. The Russian in the first round tried to cope not only with his rival from France, Constant Lestienne, but also with the court. The wet surface significantly hampered the game of Karen, who was indignant and ironic about this.
— Court this year is very good. But we need more water, more! It’s like we are in a forest on a lake, ”Khachanov said during the match, his words are quoted by the Championship.
To be fair, Karen won that game: trailing 0-2 in sets, he took three sets in a row and sent Lestienne home. But the claims have not gone away.
– The courts are very viscous, slow. At some point, my punches didn’t seem to work. You hit harder – it flies away, you hit at an average speed – it’s very convenient for the opponent, ”Khachanov said in an interview with the More!” YouTube channel.
In the same place, the Russian noted that in the third set he loosened the tension of the racket, due to which he managed to return to the game.
The irony is gone
It might seem that the organizers of Roland Garros would heed the words of Khachanov. After all, the 11th racket of the world! And they listened – however, only for one match. In the second round, Karen beat Radu Albot from Moldova on dry ground – remarkably, dry (3-0 in sets).
In the third round, everything returned to normal. Khachanov was opposed by Australian Tanasi Kokkinakis and a generously watered court. At that moment, even irony left the Russian – only claims remained. I must say, quite reasonable.
The court is already wet, it does not need to be watered. The balls are “dead”, and this is not good, – quotes the words of Khachanov “Championship”.
The victory, however, again remained with the Russian, who was stronger in four sets. Now he is waiting for the Italian Lorenzo Sonego, who previously knocked out Andrei Rublev. Maybe at least in this game the coating will not squish and interfere with the process?
Mud game
And it’s not just Khachanov who is indignant at the fact that the organizers are pouring too much water on the courts. It is clear that humidification is necessary, otherwise there will be clouds of dust over the stadium. But this time the French obviously overdid it.
Pay attention to the problem and Laszlo Djere, who lost to Andrei Rublev in the first round. The Serbian compared the courts of Roland Garros with mud.
– Every court is different. Khachanov also complained. The Lenglen court is very wet, as if you are playing on the mud, the Sportklub.rs portal quotes Györe.
Tanasi Kokkinakis, who lost to Khachanov, was also dissatisfied with the coverage.
“These are the slowest conditions possible. You are watering the court, and it is no longer possible to slide,” the Australian “Championship” quotes the Australian.
But the organizers for some reason do not want to respond to these claims. Maybe they took Khachanov’s irony seriously and are going to make real lakes instead of courts?
