#RolandGarros #NadalDjokovic #quarterfinals #night #Amazon #free
Even before Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal played their Round of 16, the debate was raging behind the scenes and in the alleys of Roland-Garros. Or rather, the time of the debates in which the potential quarter-final clash between the Serb, number one in the world, and the Spaniard, thirteen times winner, would be scheduled for Tuesday, May 31. Was this game going to be played during the day and would it be broadcast by the public service? Or during the afternoon session, exclusive to Amazon’s video-on-demand service?
On the one hand, the historical broadcaster of the tournament, which allows the largest number of people guaranteed to watch a match to promote tennis; on the other, the new broadcaster – which pays, according to The team, fifteen million euros per edition, against something less for France Télévisions, to whom the organizers promise, in principle, the best poster.
On Monday, May 30 at noon, the decision fell: 59me The duel between the two men will be broadcast from 20:45 on Prime Video, but the match will be “accessible for free and without restrictions, in France, on Prime Video, mobile and web applications”, announced the French Tennis Federation (FFT), thus ending a controversy that would not have stopped swelling.
“The Prime Video app is available on all IPTV services, so viewers can watch this match on their regular TV service. It will not be necessary to register or create an account to follow this match. specifies the FFT in its press release.
Nadal “doesn’t like to play at night”, Djokovic, yes
However, I am not sure that the debate is completely over and that France Télévisions is the only big loser. Beyond its media coverage, the calendar challenge is also sporting. “As a night session at the US Open or the Australian Open doesn’t fundamentally change the conditions of the game, on clay, it changes the speed of the ball and the height of the bounce tremendously. It is a living surface that is no longer the same at night”, recalled Nicolás Mahut, questioned on Sunday by The team, while lobbying the new tournament director, Amélie Mauresmo: “I think this decision will be a key marker of [sa] first year (…). »
When it comes to lineups, players traditionally make their preferences known, usually easier to express when you climb to the top of the leaderboard. With a frown, Rafael Nadal had proclaimed loud and clear what he thought, since Friday, May 27. “I don’t like to play on clay at night. The humidity is higher, the ball slower. Conditions can be very heavy when it is cold. »
On Sunday, after his painful victory against the Canadian Félix Auger Aliassime, he gave cover, hoping perhaps to have the organizers for the sensations: “The match against Djokovic could be the last one here. I know Roland-Garros by day. And I’d rather play during the day. the Spanish said.
Nadal and his Serbian rival each played one match at night: the first against Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the second round, Djokovic against Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round.
The Serb was not against the idea of playing in the spotlight again. “Not bad. Generally, at night, during the Grand Slams, in all the tournaments, the atmosphere is more electric, there is more energy and the public enters the match.he noted after his match against Nishioka.
The world number one knows that the Mallorcan southpaw’s elevation is never as dangerous as in a sunny Central, where his ball spurts out loud and clear. But entering the quarterfinals, Djokovic reminded that if the players make his wishes known, “These requests are not always accepted. The director of the tournament, the television, the announcers, in the end, are the ones who decide. You just have to adapt to it. »
These discussions would almost make us forget another controversial issue: in nine night sessions played since the start of the tournament (the last one is scheduled for Wednesday 1Ahem June), only one women’s match was scheduled there.