Djokovic after Musetti went to bed at dawn, Sinner smells number 1

"Late tennis" has now become a curse for tennis players. And the players' controversy at Roland begins: "It's bad for your health"

ROME – In this strange arithmetic tennis match that Sinner and Djokovic play at a distance, with the PC recalculating who is in front, today it is the Serbian’s turn. He will go on the field against Cerundolo to survive at the top of the world rankings, with the Italian ready to celebrate as world number 1 in absentia, should he fall. All it takes is one stumble. Or much more simply tiredness. Because Djokovic and Musetti entered the court at 10.30pm on Saturday, and Djokovic he emerged victorious after five sets at 3.07 in the morning, a record for Roland Garros.

“Late tennis” has now become a curse for tennis players. And controversies always arise. First of all, that of the players. “I think it’s really unhealthy,” Ons Jabeur said. “8.15 is really late to start a five-set match.” And Casper Ruud, who beat Etcheverry at 1am said it directly on the court: “I love tennis and I love Roland Garros. But I’m not sure I like playing at 1am.”

The fact is that for players the work doesn’t stop when they leave the field. “Butin reality, at 3 in the morning, then you have the press and then you have to shower, eat and then many times the treatments, so you probably don’t go to bed until 5 in the morning, maybe 6 and even of 7,” Coco Gauff said. “I definitely think it’s unhealthy.”

With the arrival of the roof on the Court Philippe-Chatrier the French Open began selling the rights to one match a day in prime time to Prime Video for a considerable sum. The night matches are advertised as each day’s main match – and the French Tennis Federation has received significant criticism for not scheduling a single women’s match in the night session so far this year – butplayers race to avoid falling into the “cemetery slots”. Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek have repeatedly requested early matches. Carlos Alcaraz also categorically expressed his disapproval of the night session.

The cold of Paris, among other things, makes clay courts even slower, the ball barely moves in the cold air. And it is also a problem for the paying public and for the ball boys, who are often minors. Just four years ago, Roland Garros stopped as soon as the sun went down. You couldn’t play with the lights. But he didn’t control the TV. Who knows if Djokovic will have recovered from the weekend’s after-hours.