The Roland Garros quarter-final duel between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic was scheduled for a night session on Tuesday, starting at 20:45 local time (14:45 Bolivian time), a decision of the tournament organization that a priori benefits the Serbian.
At night, the humidity and the lack of sun make the clay court much drier and, for example, the ball does not bounce as much as Nadal, a thirteen-time champion at Roland Garros, likes it.
Not to mention that, if the game is close, it can end at dawn in Paris, with the players having to recover afterward with the physiotherapist, have dinner and go to sleep with the adrenaline and tension typical of a match of this type.
“I prefer to play during the day. I know Roland Garros during the day, that’s how I’ve played it my entire career,” Nadal repeated. during the present edition of the tournament each time this question was raised.
“There is a big difference between playing tennis on clay at night and during the day,” he added after playing for the first time in the night session this tournament, last Wednesday against Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the second round.
Even after beating Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime on Sunday, Nadal increased the pressure on the tournament organizers with an emotional argument: “I am aware that, hopefully not like that, if everything goes wrong it could be my last game here, so I would like to play it during the day”.
“All I can say is that Rafa and I will request different things,” he said.or for his part Djokovic after beating Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman on Sunday and sealing the pass to the quarterfinals.
– 30 wins to 28 for the Serbian –
The issue was on everyone’s lips on Sunday. The other game likely to be scheduled at night It was the one that the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz (N.6) and the German Alexander Zverev (N.3) will dispute.
“It wouldn’t seem fair to me. I’ve already played two games at night”, the 19-year-old Spaniard complained.
“I don’t mind playing the night session when it’s been 30 degrees during the day, but when the temperature is 14, at night it can drop to 8 or 9 and it becomes very complicated”, summed up the German.
In the end, it is the world number 1 who has scored the first goal after a decision in which Amazon has also had to see Prime Video, the official broadcaster of the tournament, which obviously guarantees the game that all fans have been waiting for since the draw was announced.
It will be the 59th chapter of a historic rivalry and the tenth at Roland Garros. The balance is favorable to the Serbian (30-28), although in Paris the Spanish clearly dominate (7-2).
However, the last precedent, in the semifinals last year, Djokovic defeated King Nadal for the second time in an edition that he would later win against Stefanos Tsitsipas (the first was in 2015).
– Alcaraz vs. Zverev –
Before this expected duel, sZverev and Alcaraz will enter the court, which despite the youth of the Spaniard will already be the fourth confrontation between the two: the first two, both hard last year (Acapulco and Vienna), fell on the German’s side, while ‘Carlitos’ swept the German off the court in Madrid (6-3 and 6-1) at the beginning of May.
Alcaraz has a balance of 32 wins and only three losses in 2022, with titles in Miami, Madrid, Barcelona and Rio, and on land there are 20 wins with a single defeat, against the American Sebastian Korda in the second round of Monte Carlo in mid-April.
the two winners of these quarterfinal matches will meet in the semifinals.
The day at the central will open with the first two women’s quarterfinals. In the first turn, the young Canadian Leylah Fernandez (N.18), a finalist in the last US Open, will face the Italian Martina Trevisan (N.59), who will play a quarterfinal for the second time in her career (the first was in 2020).
The second match will be a generational clash of American women’s tennis: veteran Sloane Stephens, finalist at Roland Garros in 2018 and winner of Wimbledon in 2017, against the young Coco Gauff (N.23), already a quarterfinalist in Paris last year when she was 17 years old!
– Main scheduled matches for the day of Tuesday, May 31 at Roland Garros:
. Court Philippe Chatrier
(Starting at 06:00 HB)
Martina Trevisan (ITA) – Leylah Fernandez (CAN/17)
Coco Gauff (USA/19) – Sloane Stephens (USA)
Alexander Zverev (GER/3) – Carlos Alcaraz (ESP/6)
(Not before 2:45 p.m.)
Novak Djokovic (SRB/1) – Rafael Nadal (ESP/5)
