French Open: Guy Forget defends "brave decision"
Guy Forget , tournament director of the French Open, defended the postponement of the French Open until the end of September in an interview.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jun 04, 2020, 05:54 pm
If Guy Forget has called for a press conference during the French Open in the past few years, it is mostly for rather sad reasons: For example, due to the withdrawal of a top player. Or during hours of rain breaks when the roof over Court Philippe-Chatrier would finally be finished. As is well known, at least the latter topic is no longer relevant, the largest square in the Stade Roland Garros has been weatherproof since this year.
Unfortunately, the earliest in autumn 2020 will be the opportunity to really put the new showpiece to the test. At the moment, September 27 is the starting date for the games in the main draw of the FrenchOpen, but the entire schedule depends on USTA's decision as to whether and under what circumstances the US Open will be played. The tournaments in Rome and Madrid are also directly affected by this, and should also be added later.
Forget in conversation with Wilander and Henin
A necessity for tennis, as Guy Forget said in a conversation with Mats Wilander and Justine Henin. “I am very confident that there will be tournaments before Roland Garro. That is for the good of our sport and for the good of the players. ”Forget broke a lance for the postponement of the French Open, which was not discussed with the other Grand Slams, the ATP or the WTA.
“Looking back, I think it was a brave decision. Because I said to our president at the time: "If we do that, we will be criticized for it because nobody knows what will happen." Everyone will think that was a very selfish decision. "
According to Guy Forget, Bernard Giudicelli, the head of the FFT, had no other choice. “It is our President's responsibility to save Roland Garros at all costs. Otherwise our association will have problems, and amateur tennis would also suffer bitterly. When can we host Roland Garros without harming another Grand Slam tournament, the Davis Cup or a Masters 1000 tournament? This time in autumn, as late as possible, was the date that we think is the least painful for everyone else. ”