"Novak Djokovic was suffering... We deserve better" - Ons Jabeur slams French Open for poor scheduling, lack of women's matches in prime-time slot
Ons Jabeur has called out the French Open for poor scheduling citing the example of Novak Djokovic's late-night finish. Moreover, the Tunisian was displeased with the lack of prime-time slots offered to women players.
Jabeur faced Coco Gauff on Tuesday, June 4, in the quarterfinal of the 2024 French Open. The eighth seed started the match strongly and went on to win the first set. That was the first time that Gauff had dropped a set in the ongoing tournament. However, the American player made a stunning comeback to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
During her post-match press conference, Jabeur was reminded about her meeting with Djokovic the previous day. The Tunisian met with the Serbian before his fourth-round clash against Francisco Cerundolo. She gave the World No. 1 a new nickname- "Minister of playing late". This was owing to the fact that the Serb's third-round match against Lorenzo Musetti finished at around 3:07 a.m. local time.
With reference to the aforementioned meeting, Jabeur was asked about her views on the scheduling of the tournament which also saw the women get no prime time slots.
“I have a lot to say on that topic. As you said, 10 night matches without any women playing. I don't expect any women to play in the evening, but frankly, playing a quarterfinal at 11 a.m. is really such a chore. We deserve to be here," Jabeur said.
Jabeur also shared her views on the tight scheduling. She cited the example of Djokovic, who after a comfortable first-set win against Cerundolo, suffered an issue with his knee during the second set. He lost the second and third set before pulling off a comeback to win the match 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
"Playing that late for men after midnight is not a good thing. We saw yesterday how Novak was suffering with his knee. And this, because he couldn't really recover well? I think for all players, men, women, we deserve better than that," Jabeur added.
The Tunisian even mentioned that the late night finishes caused difficulties for the ball kids, the media, and everyone else involved.
Novak Djokovic withdraws from French Open 2024 due to knee injury
Novak Djokovic came back from a set down in both of his previous matches at the ongoing French Open to clinch remarkable victories. He was scheduled to face Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals of the Paris Slam but the Serb has withdrawn from the tournament.
The Serb's knee injury, which he sustained during his fourth-round match against Francisco Cerundolo, has rendered him unable to continue in the tournament. Therefore, Ruud has gained automatic qualification to the semifinal.