Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will play their French Open quarter-final in tomorrow’s night session.
That decision has drawn criticism from Rafa’s coach Carlos Moya, with the conditions at night thought to favour Djokovic.
Moya said:
I wouldn’t say disrespect, but here at Roland-Garros, Rafa has credit.
He has won the tournament 13 times, if he has a request, you should listen to him.
He is part of the history of Roland-Garros. We know that nobody is bigger than the tournament, nobody is bigger than the Grand Slam, but in the end, it is a question of business and we understand that.
In France, Amazon Prime Video have exclusive rights to the new night session matches as part of a £12.8 million (€15 million) deal, giving them more bargaining power over free-to-air French TV, which has a £8.5 million (€10 million) dead to broadcast the day session matches, though they draw a bigger viewership.
However, Roland Garros has announced that episode 59 of the Rafa and Nole rivalry will be made free to watch on Amazon Prime in France, without registration required.
Source: RMC Sport
I have already commented that I hate that Rafa has to play Nole in the night session . This should have been a flip of the coin rather than a political decision about who plays when . These epic Clay court matches should be daytime matches .
Seems all the odds were thrown at Rafa to prevent him from winning this RG 2022, his draw was close to impossible to beat, the schedule is against his wishes…well, all of this will be just fine if his foot is okay. So Rafa, for the last time, show the world who the king of Clay is. Rooting for you!💪💪💪
You can do this Rafael. You are in your house. You have your family, team, and fans that love and support you. Play your game and gave fun. The win will come.
Funny. Novak seems to be the one with obstacles thrown his way and still keeps overcoming.. Nadal is a great Clay player. Never the greatest in the world. Without the overwhelming RG success he would be pedestrian at best…..
“Without the overwhelming RG success he would be pedestrian at best…..?” You know what you’re talking about, Mr. Maynor? That’s a big joke, or maybe the most insane pronouncement anyone with a passing interest in the sport of tennis can ever make. Without the now-14 French Open titles, Rafael Nadal would still have eight Grand Slam titles, four in the US Open, two in the Australian Open and two at Wimbledon.
Tell me where’s the “pedestrian” element there. Eight more Grand Slam titles on the hardcourt and grass surface when 95 percent of players on the professional tour would gladly trade their careers for one single Slam.
Better think first before making any statement especially in a site like this that has plenty of knowledgeable tennis followers.
[…] to this Moya said, “I wouldn’t say disrespect, but here at Roland-Garros, Rafa has credit. He has won the […]
[…] to this Moya said, “I wouldn’t say disrespect, but here at Roland-Garros, Rafa has credit. He has won the […]
Has anyone considered that this is not about tennis per se, but something much more ? And no I will not explain what I mean about this! Rafa has always been my favourite player, and I wanted him to retire when he lost to the
Djoker last time at Roland Garros. Rafa has NOTHING to PROVE anymore.
It is obvious to see that he has been setup NOT TO WIN ROLAND GAROSS this time!
The stage has been setup for Carlos Alcaraz or Holger Rune, to win, or perhaps the Djoker as an outside chance, but not for Rafa. If Rafa should make it through the Djoker, he will not win Roland Garros this time.
But for me, Rafa Nadal will always be ONE of the greatest tennis players of his era. Credit must be given to the other two greats, Federer and Djokovic, regardless of personal opinions!
Never mind, folks.
Blessed are those who are humbled, for they shall be exalted – off the top of my head really. I studied Theology as part of my Bachelor of Science in Commerce majoring in accounting and the blasted (pardon me) academe inserted Theology in the mix. This was light-years ago.
Back to the issue at hand – ignore the distractions and focus on the mission at hand.
Like the roof scandal 2018 in Wimbledon it is a joke again.
If Rafa got day session the temperature would be around 20 Celsius and it would start as early at 3 o’clock so as the match would go he would still not have the conditions he favours so much, but it would nt be so drastic as 8 Celsius as it will be during the night match.
I think playing at night cost Rafa the match against Novak last year in the semi’s . Rafa has the advantage of being the better player on Clay under the sun and in daylight . The ball bounces higher and the spin is increased . In a closed roof stadium under the lights , Rafa is at a disadvantage as his weapons are less and the surface tends to be slower with the higher humidity and well Rafa is not as well prepared mentally against his opponents who favor evening matches like Novak . It’s very disturbing to me and I think unfair to Rafa .
I have mixed feelings about this. Sure it adds another wrinkle to conditions players are typically used to, at the same time the roof was very much required in the event of rain. Hence night matches are possible now and Carlos for example has already played two night matches, so it has to be fair to all. As Rafa said djokovic adjusted better to the conditions last year. I hope Rafa is able to counter this year and most importantly be fit enough to do so.
The night sessions are ridiculous. I know that the TV channels pay the piper and therefore call the tune, but 8:45 pm is way too late to start what could be a 4 hour or 5 hour match. Cut the day session to 2 matches, and start the night session at 7pm. It’s not just Paris: it’s the Australian Open and the US Open too, and now other tournaments are doing it as well. Neither players nor fans want matches going on until after midnight.
I know Rafa didn’t want a night match, but Carlitos has had 2 night matches in a row, and it wouldn’t have been fair to ask him to play a 3rd.
And it’s not just TV. The tournaments want a day session and a night session so that they can sell 2 lots of tickets and double their money.
I was sure they will favor Djokovic. Always like this. I still remember the 2018 Wimbledon roof scandal.
Good luck rafa with the night session you know that you can do it
Hearing that Amazon was involved explains the whole thing. Rapacious greed is at the heart of this decision.