Roland Garros tournament director rejects accusations

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  • Play has been disrupted throughout the tournament in the French capital.

    Roland Garros tournament director Guy Forget hit back at accusations that organisers forced players to compete in the rain to avoid reimbursing ticket holders.

    Philippe Chatrier ticket holders on Tuesday got zero per cent of their money back despite rain interrupting play multiple times. The last ball hit was at 16:45 before the weather suspended action and matches were officially cancelled for the day at 18:50.

    The rain policy states that ticket holders would receive a 50 per cent reimbursement if the players lasted on court “between one hour and one hour fifty-nine minutes”.

    The fourth round between Novak Djokovic and Roberto Bautista Agut – predominantly contested while it was raining – on Philippe Chatrier lasted two hours and one minute before players were taken off court due to the rain.

    Multiple players, including No2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, No6 seed Simona Halep, and former semi-finalist Ernests Gulbis, said conditions were unplayable but that they had to follow the officials’ decision to play.

    Players on Court 1, Gulbis and David Goffin, and on Court 2, Dominic Thiem and Marcel Granollers, managed to convince the supervisor to halt play on their courts, while matches continued on the Philippe Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen a short while longer.

    All the ticket holders except those on the main stadium ended up getting a 50 per cent reimbursement.

    “Respect for the game always takes precedence,” Forget said in a statement.

    “If what we are being accused of were true, it would have been in our best interests as organisers to stop play before the one-hour, 59-minute mark as our insurer would have been responsible for ticket reimbursement.

    “However, that was not the basis of our decision. Our aim was to play for as long as possible, even if that meant being criticised for playing in difficult conditions.”

    Two days earlier, Forget was making his case for adding a roof at Roland Garros, and said that his main concern was the spectators.

    “The main thing is, first of all, our spectators. We have seen hundreds, thousands of people waiting with kids with umbrellas, and, you know, all the people will be reimbursed. You know, we have insurance for that. Our main concern is going to them.”

    Spanish former runner-up David Ferrer, who played for three games under the rain against Tomas Berdych before play was suspended on Tuesday, did not hold back in his interpretation of the situation.

    “It was a way to save the day, for making money and not reimbursing ticket holders,” Ferrer was quoted as saying in El Español Spanish website. “At the end of the day, players are the least important factor for this tournament. They played for two hours and one minute and then they stopped.

    “The way I see it, I don’t think what they did was right.”

    Bautista Agut, who had taken the opening set from Djokovic in the rainy 37-minute period they spent on court the first time out, said: “The conditions were not good to play tennis, of course. I can understand the view of the tournament, their position. They push us to play two hours.

    “Of course the court at the end was not in good shape to play. Also was a bit difficult to play with these heavy balls. I had a bit pain on the elbow because of the balls.”

    Halep and Radwanska accused tournament organisers of “not caring” about the players or their health.

    Berdych agrees and warned officials of setting the wrong priorities.

    “In the end you don’t really see that it’s more about players than about the tournament. I think it was a nice example. I think it shouldn’t be forgotten that the tournament like this, without the players would never exist.”

    Almost all the players said they felt pain somewhere in their body due to competing with heavier wet balls, while Goffin complained repeatedly to umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore about how slippery the court was.

    “They forced us to play. I didn’t have another solution,” said Goffin.

    His opponent, Gulbis, almost walked off court without the permission of the umpire, but was pulled back by Asderaki-Moore.

    “I don’t understand what I was doing there,” explained the outspoken Gulbis.

    “If we’re not allowed to play, why should I freeze on the court in the rain? I wanted to go under – I mean, everybody is under the roof and then we have to stay on court and freeze.

    “You know, it wasn’t very warm. That’s why I took my bag and I wanted to wait at least inside. The umpire didn’t let me, but then after 15 seconds she let me…

    “I think that we went on court when it wasn’t really playable because it was drizzling all the time. I don’t think the players should walk on court while it’s raining.”

    Venus Williams did not compete on that rainy Tuesday but could tell that the weather conditions were “terrible”.

    She said: “It’s hard to see. The balls are wet, the courts are wet. I wasn’t out there the whole time that some of the matches were on, but it just seemed terrible.

    “It should be fair. You know, some players shouldn’t have to play in that weather and others not. It doesn’t seem quite equal.”

    Novak Djokovic was asked if players should have more power when it comes to decisions regarding having to play in difficult conditions.

    The world No1 said it was a “delicate subject” but that “priority should always be the health of the players, no doubt.”

    “I think it should be a decision of a group of people, everybody. It shouldn’t be just players saying ‘okay, I’m not going to play and I go out from the court’,” said Djokovic.

    “It’s not fair I think towards also the crowd and everything if the other player doesn’t feel the same. So that’s why it’s always a conflict of interest and it’s important that you have some neutral sides that are there to kind of try to find a mutual understanding and solution that is the best for everybody.”

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