The Balearics asked on Tuesday to play against Djokovic during the day, but the organization of the tournament imposes the quarter game at night
Rafa Nadal has been quite forceful with his preferences about when to face Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals this Tuesday. “I prefer to play during the day, for something really simple. I know Roland Garros much better during the day than at night. I’ve been playing in this tournament all my life. With my age and physical condition you never know what my last game here could be. If it was the quarter-final against Djokovic, I would like it during the day,” explained the Balearic on Sunday evening, aware that the organization was handling the possibility of placing him at night.
It is not a new situation for him, as Nadal has already played Corentin Moutet in the second round from 9 p.m., but this time it is a much more critical situation, as he faces the number one in the world and his last executioner in Paris. . Djokovic, who has arrived without a set loss in the previous four rounds and with the Rome title still warm under his arm, will benefit from the night in Paris when tennis is faster than Nadal would like.
“I wouldn’t say it’s disrespectful,” Carlos Moyá told French radio RMC Sport. “Here, at Roland Garros, Rafa has an honour. He has won the tournament 13 times and if he has a request they should listen to it. It’s part of the history of this tournament. We know that no one is bigger than the Grand Slam tournaments, but in the end it’s a matter of business and we understand that,” Nadal continues.
Much of this decision corresponds not only to the organization of the Paris tournament, but also to Amazon Prime, which has the exploitation rights in France and which selects a match every day for its prime time, which is 8: 00:45 . Having the most repeated match in tennis history is a treat they have not been able to refuse, despite Nadal’s requests.
It has also impacted the position of Carlos Alcaraz, who will be playing the session with the most sun and heat this Tuesday afternoon from 4pm following Nadal’s move to the night shift. The Murcian came out of two rounds in a row where he had to play at night, something he didn’t like.
“We are going to make things clear. It doesn’t seem fair to me to play again in the evening, because I’ve already played there twice in a row. Not that it bothers me, but it gives you less time to rest and prepare for the next game. In the end you’re done at midnight, you have to go to the physio, eat… That doesn’t seem fair to me,” launched Alcaraz, who will face Alexander Zverev, another handicapped by the night shift, this time in Madrid. The German finished his semifinal very late, well into the morning, and was barely able to participate in the final against Alcaraz. In order to please the people, Amazon will open the match between Nadal and Djokovic to all of France.
In sport, it will be the first confrontation between the Spaniard and the Serb this year, number 59 in total (30-28 for the Balkans) and the first since last year’s semifinals on the same circuits in which Belgrade defeated the man from Manacor on his way to his second Roland Garros.
On his debut in a quarter-final in Paris, Alcaraz will in turn face a Zverev who dominates him 2-1 directly, but to whom he has only lost on hard courts. In addition, Stefanos Tsitsipas, last year’s finalist at Roland Garros, fell into the hands of 19-year-old Holger Rune (7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and 6-4) this Monday. If Nadal wins this Tuesday, the Greek will lose fourth place in the world ranking.
Source: La Verdad
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