Mauresmo in Fight Night: The Stars and the Game That Matters

Written by Richard Pagliaro | @Itenisi_Manje | Monday, June 10, 2024
Photo credit: AP

Roland Garros pulled the plug on the women's night sessions this year.

The night view may not change much next year, said the tournament director of Roland Garros Amélie Mauresmo.

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In his post-tournament press release, Mauresmo was asked why every night session at Roland Garros featured the men's matches and none of the women's matches.

Hall of Famer Mauresmo said since the tournament only schedules one game a night, the decision depends on two important factors:

1. Does the game have an elite player to fill Court Philippe Chatrier?

2. Will the game be compelling and how long will it last?

“Yes, we only have one game, and we have constraints given the time it takes to play a game,” Mauresmo told reporters in Paris. “I repeat what I said last year, first of all we have big names we want. We are looking for the best players to play with tonight.

“Then the time when the game will end, that's what we try and confirm to the viewers tonight. But nothing is written in stone. Things can change. We play one game at night, so we have to choose. That's why this year we wanted only men to play at night.”

You can understand why tournament organizers wouldn't want a 68-minute thrashing of world No. 1 Iga Swiatek dropping Jasmine Paolini in the final as the only match of the night session—especially since Mauresmo banned the sale of alcohol in the stands after Belgium's David Goffin reported. the fan spat at him.

On the other hand, Swiatek's calm comeback from 2-5 down in the final against Naomi Osaka in the second round was one of the hottest matches of the tournament and lasted two hours, 57 minutes.

Other players, including Daniil Medvedev, the broadcaster in charge of Amazon's bid, dictate, or at least play a major role in, late-night programming decisions.

Former Wimbledon winner Mauresmo shot down suggestions Amazon asked for a women's match on the night, responding with “No, no, no. No.”

So what is the solution?

Mauresmo said that the tournament considered going to two night games, as the US Open did at Arthur Ashe Stadium, however due to the high level of fans in Paris, he suggests that it would mean thousands of empty seats at the beginning, which creates another. matter.

“We asked ourselves questions two years ago,” said Mauresmo. “We thought that maybe two games is something that needs to be considered, but if we look at the culture we have in Paris, people don't enter the stadium at 7:00 p.m.

“Therefore, we will have other problems to deal with if we have two games.”

Asked how Roland Garros can prevent the chaos of an empty court in the men's semi-final Alexander Zverev v. Casper Ruud arrived on Friday after Carlos Alcaraz's five-set victory over Jannik Sinner, Mauresmo said solutions are being discussed.

“So, today, I'm not going to give you a miracle solution,” Mauresmo said. “I will not talk about the ideas that we were thinking or that I was thinking about, we must discuss this, we must discuss, we must respect sports but also the people who work for operations. .

“And we are not satisfied with what we saw on Friday in the second half. It will be one of the topics, not the only topic, but one of the many topics that we will discuss.”

Photo credit: AP