As warm sunshine bathed Paris on Monday morning, the idiocy of thepostponed men's final of the French Open the night before was brought into focus. The sight of tournament director M Gilbert Ysern floundering aftera final that should have started earlier and could have beenhistoric had ended (but was not completed) in dark, wet confusionwas not unlike watching a duck drown. He flapped, glugged and sankunder the inadequacy of his own argument. At least he did not have to return to explain that Monday'sinterrupted match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic , due to resume at 1pm, has to go into a second extra day.
Nadalsaw to that by winning the fourth set and a seventh Roland Garrossingles title. M Ysern, an urbane, middle-aged man in a nice suit, denied TVdictated the 3pm starting time (which would make tennis unique in modern sport), then said, "You cannot change overnightand tell all broadcasters in the world, 'Sorry, but you have tochange everything because we are going to change tomorrow'sschedule.' It doesn't work like that. Out of respect to all thebroadcasters we cannot ... change it at the last minute." That, of course, would be putting fans ahead of the God Television.Yet to imagine TV companies cannot rearrange schedules ispreposterous. It happens all the time.
This was a timetable to suitAmerican TV, which showed the match on Sunday morning to anaudience not that bothered about the French Open, or tennis forthat matter. Since the fading of the Williams sisters, theAmericans rarely have a player at the business end of a tournamentyet, because of their financial clout, Court Philipple Chatrier onSunday was the scene of another tennis farce. A match that could have started at 1pm, when the conditions werefine, finished at 6.51pm after an enforced half-hour break. Then,as the players struggled in the final hour under steady drizzle ona surface that was growing slowly more treacherous, the matchreferee, Stefan Fransson, belatedly intervened. Tandem Hydraulic Pump
Nadal was furious, as he'd given up his advantage of an hourearlier, when conditions were no different, he said. Djokovic,roaring back into the match, was similarly frustrated, if for adifferent reason. A showpiece event thus was devalued as officialsdithered, then twisted and turned to justify their inaction. Vladimir Bojovic, who travelled from Belgrade to support Djokovic,did not see it like M Ysern. Piston Pump Parts
"This is very bad organisation," he told Reuters. "They should havestarted the match earlier because they knew the forecast. This isjust dreadful for tourists as we came for this day and now we have[to] pay even more money to change our flight tickets and spend anextra night in the hotel. This tournament needs to get with the21st century, as Wimbledon has a roof and this place still doesnot." Hearing Wimbledon mentioned in the same sentence as "the 21stcentury" reminds us that even the heart of the establishment can bemoved to change. But not Paris. Tandem Piston Pump Manufacturer
Not New York. At Flushing Meadows,the US Open will produce a home-grown champion before they put on aroof, or change the idiotic schedule. The Americans are also prisoners of TV's insistence on loading theschedule at the end for a dramatic final weekend, regardless of theprotests of the players, the public or, heaven forfend, the rest ofthe media. The issue came into the open again last year when Nadal,Djokovic, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick already riled by theirheavy year-round workload complained as they dragged their tiredbodies towards the finish line.
M Ysern says there is a roof "on the way" for Roland Garros. Hurray! "We will have to keep our fingers crossed for the next five yearsand hope we are going to avoid the rain on the final days." Oh... Even more disturbing was M Ysern's refusal to acknowledge thegrowing trend of long matches, especially finals, in majortournaments, and to make the necessary contingency plans. Theparticipants here, Nadal and Djokovic, spent nearly six hours overthe Australian Open title in Melbourne five months ago, the longestfinal in the history of the game.
They had a similar marathon a fewmonths earlier at the US Open. Fitness, slow surfaces, heavy balls, bigger sweet spots on rackets,strategy, attitude, training culture: all of these have beenfactors in extending rallies and the length of matches since tennistried to spike the quick-rally power game of the 90s. Thesedevelopments, discussed almost daily in the era of baselineslugfeasts, somehow have passed M Ysern by. If he looked abroad, hemight have noticed the last four US Opens have gone into Mondaybecause of rain. Neither is he a student of tennis history, it seems.
As long ago as1973, the French Open's final went into Tuesday because of rain. Ithas been a factor in the outdoor sport forever. It took thedrenched 2001 final between Pat Rafter and Goran Ivanisevic toconvince Wimbledon they needed a roof. Melbourne also has a roof.Paris, as ever, remains aloof, roofless and a laughing stock.
Nadalsaw to that by winning the fourth set and a seventh Roland Garrossingles title. M Ysern, an urbane, middle-aged man in a nice suit, denied TVdictated the 3pm starting time (which would make tennis unique in modern sport), then said, "You cannot change overnightand tell all broadcasters in the world, 'Sorry, but you have tochange everything because we are going to change tomorrow'sschedule.' It doesn't work like that. Out of respect to all thebroadcasters we cannot ... change it at the last minute." That, of course, would be putting fans ahead of the God Television.Yet to imagine TV companies cannot rearrange schedules ispreposterous. It happens all the time.
This was a timetable to suitAmerican TV, which showed the match on Sunday morning to anaudience not that bothered about the French Open, or tennis forthat matter. Since the fading of the Williams sisters, theAmericans rarely have a player at the business end of a tournamentyet, because of their financial clout, Court Philipple Chatrier onSunday was the scene of another tennis farce. A match that could have started at 1pm, when the conditions werefine, finished at 6.51pm after an enforced half-hour break. Then,as the players struggled in the final hour under steady drizzle ona surface that was growing slowly more treacherous, the matchreferee, Stefan Fransson, belatedly intervened. Tandem Hydraulic Pump
Nadal was furious, as he'd given up his advantage of an hourearlier, when conditions were no different, he said. Djokovic,roaring back into the match, was similarly frustrated, if for adifferent reason. A showpiece event thus was devalued as officialsdithered, then twisted and turned to justify their inaction. Vladimir Bojovic, who travelled from Belgrade to support Djokovic,did not see it like M Ysern. Piston Pump Parts
"This is very bad organisation," he told Reuters. "They should havestarted the match earlier because they knew the forecast. This isjust dreadful for tourists as we came for this day and now we have[to] pay even more money to change our flight tickets and spend anextra night in the hotel. This tournament needs to get with the21st century, as Wimbledon has a roof and this place still doesnot." Hearing Wimbledon mentioned in the same sentence as "the 21stcentury" reminds us that even the heart of the establishment can bemoved to change. But not Paris. Tandem Piston Pump Manufacturer
Not New York. At Flushing Meadows,the US Open will produce a home-grown champion before they put on aroof, or change the idiotic schedule. The Americans are also prisoners of TV's insistence on loading theschedule at the end for a dramatic final weekend, regardless of theprotests of the players, the public or, heaven forfend, the rest ofthe media. The issue came into the open again last year when Nadal,Djokovic, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick already riled by theirheavy year-round workload complained as they dragged their tiredbodies towards the finish line.
M Ysern says there is a roof "on the way" for Roland Garros. Hurray! "We will have to keep our fingers crossed for the next five yearsand hope we are going to avoid the rain on the final days." Oh... Even more disturbing was M Ysern's refusal to acknowledge thegrowing trend of long matches, especially finals, in majortournaments, and to make the necessary contingency plans. Theparticipants here, Nadal and Djokovic, spent nearly six hours overthe Australian Open title in Melbourne five months ago, the longestfinal in the history of the game.
They had a similar marathon a fewmonths earlier at the US Open. Fitness, slow surfaces, heavy balls, bigger sweet spots on rackets,strategy, attitude, training culture: all of these have beenfactors in extending rallies and the length of matches since tennistried to spike the quick-rally power game of the 90s. Thesedevelopments, discussed almost daily in the era of baselineslugfeasts, somehow have passed M Ysern by. If he looked abroad, hemight have noticed the last four US Opens have gone into Mondaybecause of rain. Neither is he a student of tennis history, it seems.
As long ago as1973, the French Open's final went into Tuesday because of rain. Ithas been a factor in the outdoor sport forever. It took thedrenched 2001 final between Pat Rafter and Goran Ivanisevic toconvince Wimbledon they needed a roof. Melbourne also has a roof.Paris, as ever, remains aloof, roofless and a laughing stock.
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