Conflict between Novak Djokovic & Rafael Nadal camps over French Open schedule: Report

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic will face Spain's Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of the ongoing French Open on Tuesday. According to reports, the camps of Djokovic and Nadal are at odds over the timing of their encounter in the prestigious tournament. While Djokovic's camp desires that the match be played in the evening, Nadal's camp prefers that it be held under the sunlight. The French Tennis Federation (FFT), on the other hand, is yet to announce the order of play for Tuesday's big-ticket clash. 

Djokovic and Nadal, who have met 59 times in various tennis events across the world, have already indicated their preferences for when their Roland Garros showdown should take place. Djokovic has stated that he prefers the match to be played in the evening, but added that it is up to the tournament director and television broadcasters to make the final decision. It has been learned that the tournament's official broadcasters, including Amazon Prime Video, are also pressing for their preferred slot.

"The tournament director, along with TV, broadcasters, I think in the end of the day that that’s who decides. TV, whether they want your match, day or night. You just have to adjust to that. Obviously, depending on who you play, sometimes it’s favourable to play night; sometimes day. There is no standard or no formula that works always," Djokovic told reporters ahead of his quarter-final clash. 

"Night sessions are still young here in Roland Garros few years, but this is the first time that we have 100 per cent capacity, so of course it was fun. It’s nice to have the full crowd. At night usually in all slams, in all tournaments, the atmosphere is more energetic, more electric, crowd gets into it. It was a good experience," he added. 

Nadal, on the other hand, has stated that he favours day matches over night matches at the French Open clay courts. According to Nadal, the ball becomes heavier at night due to humidity, which makes a significant difference for players. Nadal said that he dislikes playing on clay at night.

"I don’t like night sessions on clay. I am very clear with that. I don’t like to play on clay during the night, because humidity is higher, the ball is slower, and can be very heavy conditions especially when it’s cold. I think that makes a big difference who plays tennis on clay during the night and during the day," Nadal said. 

With multiple stakeholders involved in convincing FTT to have their chosen time for the match between Djokovic and Nadal, it would be interesting to see who wins the struggle in the end.

Image: AP