“Not Been a Good Decision”: Novak Djokovic Unhappy With French Open Organizers Over Roof Drama

Published 10/04/2020, 8:58 AM EDT

World No.1 Novak Djokovic continued his brilliant run in French Open 2020 after another straight-set victory against qualifier Daniel Galan. It was a routine win from the Serbian who looks to add an 18th Grand Slam to his name.

The match was played at Court Philippe Chartier. Court Philippe Chartier debuted its roof in this year’s French Open. And given Paris’s unpredictable weather, the roof has come in handy.

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But during Djokovic’s match, there was confusion during the roof’s closing. Given the earlier forecast of rain, Djokovic wanted the roof to be closed straight away from the start of his match which didn’t happen. And Djokovic did vent out his frustration with the French Open organizers for the decision in his post-match press conference.

Novak Djokovic on Why He Wanted the Roof to Be Closed Before the First Point

“I spoke to the supervisors before the game, and when I saw what the sky looked like, and felt the first drop of rain when I got on the court, I said: why don’t we close the roof right away, right off the bat? Because I had seen the forecast. Of course, we all have different apps for the weather, but that didn’t look good anyway! And when it started, the referee and the supervisor thought we could play.”

There was an awkward situation in the match when the rain started pouring inside the stadium. As the supervisors decided to close the roof, the play was allowed to continue. With the roof closing halfway through, the court was in a bizarre condition with Djokovic playing on the dry side and Galan playing on the wet side. Seeing this Djokovic called for the play to be halted until the roof fully closes and Galan’s side of the court is swept thoroughly.

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“I would have understood if we didn’t have a roof, but that’s why we put up a roof. So why not use it, especially in conditions like this where the roof is useful? I thought we had wasted a lot of time. It affected our game or the next game for now. So I felt that the decision not to close the roof right away had not been a good decision.”

And so during the rain delay, Djokovic even lend his hand in helping sweep the court. Anyways, Djokovic next plays 15th seed Karen Khachanov in the 4th round tomorrow. Novak Djokovic has a 3-1 lead in the head-to-head.

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Bhavishya Mittal is a tennis author for EssentiallySports, who is currently pursuing his Bachelor's degree in Journalism from Manipal University. A former sports editor for The Manipal Journal, Bhavishya has also worked for The New Indian Express. He has a keen eye for many sports but he is a particularly ardent follower of tennis, with a zest to create riveting articles on the ever-evolving sport.

“Not Been a Good Decision”: Novak Djokovic Unhappy With French Open Organizers Over Roof Drama

Novak Djokovic on Why He Wanted the Roof to Be Closed Before the First Point

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