Paris, May 28 (DPA) French number one Jo-Wilfried Tsonga his stomped his foot in the clay, saying he wants some respect at Roland Garros when it comes to scheduling his matches.
With the mini-crisis of putting four-time winner Rafael Nadal on secondary showcourt Suzanne Lenglen for his opening match now over, Tsonga is asking for some consideration from organisers.
That scenario was more and more unlikely as officials rushed Friday to make up for dozens of matches lost to rain the day before, cramming the French Open with a full slate of play on 16 of 19 available courts.
Tsonga had asked before the tournament for a later first-round start, which he did not receive. ‘Frankly, I was a bit disappointed because I was playing on a Sunday,’ said the eighth seed.
‘I had asked not to play on a Sunday, absolutely, because I had practiced in such a way that I thought I wanted to play on a Monday or Tuesday, to be totally fit. But they imposed it on me.’
He then lashed out: ‘Today, we’re in France. I’m French. I’m the French number one. If you look at (Andy) Murray, if he decides on a day or a time schedule at Wimbledon, nobody is going to impose anything on him.’
‘For (Roger) Federer, in his country it’s the same. And in the US, I suppose it’s the same thing for the best American players. I think that Lleyton (Hewitt) probably plays in the sun during the Australian Open because he loves the sun and other opponents don’t like the sun.’
Tsonga got over his sulk to reach the third round in the bid to become the first home player to win the title since Yannick Noah in 1983.
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Murray feigns interest on Queen at Wimbledon
Paris: Andy Murray will become the second major player this season to play in front of British royalty when Queen Elizabeth attends his match at Wimbledon on the first Thursday of the fortnight.
While Scot Murray has never expressed much sentiment on the royals, the fourth seed at the French Open said he’s open to the new experience.
But Murray struggled to come up with the relevance of the visit to tennis. ‘I think they’re good for the country, that’s all I can say, to be honest. I don’t really know a whole lot about the history of it, unfortunately, but I certainly have nothing against the royal family,’ said the Scot who once joked that he would support ‘anyone but England’ at the 2006 World Cup.
The Queen last visited the All England club in 1977 when Virginia Wade conveniently won the women’s title – the last major British singles success at the event.
‘It’s just a little bit different, playing in front of the Queen, but I’m not trying to be disrespectful… once you get on the court, it’s not like you’re focused purely on the match.’
‘Prince William came to the Australian Open this year (and attended a Roger Federer match), so it would be nice if she comes along.’
