Marathon tennis matches have been seen all through historical past, however the newest end by French Open defending champion Novak Djokovic has led many to query why a match is allowed to go till 3 a.m.
The precise ending time for Djokovic was 3:07 a.m. after 5 units in opposition to Lorenzo Musetti, and as you’d count on, he was completely drained. It was the most recent end within the Grand Slam’s history, however it’s a facet of historical past U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff doesn’t assume any tennis participant must be on.
“I really feel like lots of instances folks assume you’re performed, however actually at 3 a.m. [you’re] in all probability not going to mattress till 5 a.m. on the earliest, perhaps 6 a.m. or 7 a.m.,” Gauff stated, through Yahoo Sports activities.
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Novak Djokovic dries his face throughout his match in opposition to Lorenzo Musetti on the French Open at Roland Garros on June 1, 2024, in Paris. (Mateo Villalba/Getty Pictures)
“I positively assume it’s not wholesome,” Gauff continued.
“It’s not straightforward to play and it’s not like we’re going to go to sleep one hour after the match,” the highest girls’s participant on the planet, Iga Swiatek, added to the dialog.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC SAYS HE WAS NEVER ‘ANTI-VAX’: ‘I WAS ALWAYS PRO-FREEDOM TO CHOOSE’
“[Change] is less than us. We have to settle for something that’s going to return to us.”
Now, the ATP and WTA Excursions instituted a brand new rule earlier this yr that states no matches can begin after 11 p.m. Nonetheless, the 4 Grand Slams – French Open, Australian Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open – do not need that rule of their tournaments. Moreover, males play 5 units in Grand Slams, whereas the ATP Tour finishes in best-of-three units.
So, the French Open noticed the choice to place the match between Grigor Dimitrov and Zizou Bergs on the principle court docket, Courtroom Philippe Chatrier, go astray when Alexander Zverev’s and Tallon Griekspoor’s match wanted 5 units to complete.
Novak Djokovic celebrates a degree in opposition to Lorenzo Musetti within the males’s singles third-round match on the French Open on June 1, 2024. (Mateo Villalba/Getty Pictures)
Dimitrov and Bergs have been rained out on Friday, the place the previous had a one-set benefit after they lastly began enjoying once more. In flip, Djokovic’s match, meant to start out at 8:15 p.m. native time, didn’t achieve this till 10:37 p.m.
Then, with 5 units to play, it simply went approach too lengthy.
“I believe some issues might have been dealt with a distinct approach,” Djokovic stated after the match, prefacing his remark by saying he didn’t need to get into the scheduling dialogue, “however there’s additionally a magnificence in profitable a match [so late].”
Djokovic, 37, stated his limits have been actually examined within the match. Nevertheless it’s arduous to get well from such a feat.
Novak Djokovic reacts throughout his match in opposition to Lorenzo Musetti on June 1, 2024, in Paris. (Dan Istitene/Getty Pictures)
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However he’ll have to take action earlier than dealing with Francisco Cerundolo, the No. 23 participant on the planet, within the fourth spherical on Monday in Paris to maintain his probabilities at repeating alive.
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