Roger Federer on French Open -“It’s Very Important to Have This Roof”

During the second week of  French Open 2019, on Wednesday, all the matches were suspended which led to re-scheduling of following matches due to natural disturbances of rain and storm. Consequently, women’s semifinal matches did not take place on Court Philippe-Chatrier and their matches were held on outer courts. Roger Federer was surprised to learn about not scheduling the women’s last four round on the main court.   

It’s a big achievement to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam event and its always a privileged to play on the center court of the stadium. “I understand, you know. You make it all the way to a semis and you get put on the third-biggest court at 11:00,” Roger Federer said. “It’s a tough one. When I saw the schedule also, I was a little bit, like, surprised to see the scheduling, but at the same time, I was trying to understand how did we get there, you know”

Roger Federer spoke about the downsides of Roland-Garros and he highlighted the point about the tournament not having a roof. The Swiss also suggested an alternative planning schedule to host the women’s and men’s matches on Court Phillippe-Chatrier of Stade Roland-Garros.

“And the problem is we don’t have a roof here, and I just think maybe not enough rounds are being played in the first week somehow. Maybe they need to double up in the first weekend or something. At least you would have liked it to be maybe at 6:00 p.m. tonight, but then you don’t have a roof and you don’t know the weather”, Roger Federer continued.

“It’s super windy and winds can change and clouds come over and it starts raining, and you don’t have your finals that is supposed to happen tomorrow and ticket holders have that. I think it was more of maybe a question, maybe you should question that first week. I just think that’s a consequence of all of that,” he mentioned.

Roger Federer shared his experience from his semifinal match against Rafael Nadal. Despite, the conditions being blustery, the two men continued to slam the tennis ball without whining. It was difficult for them as the dust particles got into their eyes. 

“You know about the sand castles and the sandpits where children play with the sand? You know, first I’ll have to empty my eyes. And tonight with Rafa, we’ll have to see what we are eating. I don’t know we’ll be able to see,” World Number three added.

It’s pretty risky to play under such conditions and a roof could make a difference in such situations and provide a comfortable ambiance to play.“But it’s a bit dangerous. Obviously, if you can, you keep the roof open. It’s an outdoor tournament. But it’s just in case it’s raining or when it becomes dangerous or to finish a match, then you close the roof. I don’t know which are the rules here. I know in Wimbledon it’s a problem with the neighbors,” Roger Federer said.

Also, the issues of scheduling and could have been circumvented with the help of a roof and Roger Federer feels that it is necessary to have a roof at such a big event. “But it’s very important to have this roof, as was explained, for example, when we talked about the ladies’ program, which was a consequence of the lack of a roof. So we’ll see what happens next year,” Roger Federer added.