Rafael Nadal found Tuesday’s schedule at Roland Garros irresponsible for the tennis players. The twelve-time champion hit his last ball at just before 1:30 a.m. and did so in autumnal conditions.
“I don’t understand that they have put five games on Court Philippe Chatrier. That was a risk”, said Nadal after his three-set victory over Italian Jannik Sinner.
“The day before, when I received the schedule, I immediately saw that it could be late because there were several potential long games in between. And it became long games. That is also a bit of bad luck.
The match between Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman lasted more than five hours. In addition, a postponed fourth-round match from the women’s tournament was played before that. Nadal: “I just tried to be patient, to accept everything and to be as positive as possible.”
When Nadal started against Sinner, it was chilly (13 degrees Celsius), and there was quite a bit of wind on the centre court, where the roof remained open despite the late starting time.
“It’s too cold to play tennis. I know that football players experience it all the time, but they are always on the move. We stop, come back and have to deal with a side change”, said the 34-year-old Spaniard.
Due to the coronavirus, Roland Garros was moved from May and June to October.