ジョコビッチ、午前３時試合終了に「別のやり方あった」 健康懸念の意見も

【パリＡＦＰ＝時事】男子テニス、世界ランキング１位のノバク・ジョコビッチは、勝利した全仏オープン男子シングルス３回戦の終了時刻が試合開始翌日の午前３時過ぎだったことについて、「もっと別のやり方があったはず」とコメントした。女子のココ・ガウフからは選手の健康が危険にさらされているという声も上がっている。（写真は、全仏オープンテニス男子シングルス３回戦で、勝利を喜ぶノバク・ジョコビッチ）
　大会連覇を狙うジョコビッチは、４時間２９分の末にロレンツォ・ムゼッティを７－５、６－７（６－８）、２－６、６－３、６－０の逆転で下したが、１日の午後１０時４５分に始まった試合が終わったのは日付をまたいだ翌２日の午前３時７分だった。
　ジョコビッチ戦の開始の遅れには、同日に雨が降った影響で日程に混乱が生じ、主催者が屋根のあるメインコート２面に試合を詰め込んだことが背景にあったが、以前の記録を大幅に更新する大会史上最も遅い試合終了時刻となった。
　ジョコビッチは試合後のインタビューで「勝つために肉体的に本当に限界まで行った。午前２時にプレーする人なんているのだろうか？ 僕たち選手もこの時間にプレーするのは人生で数回しかない」と話し、「この議論には関わりたくない」とした上で、「いくつかの部分はもっと別のやり方があったはず。午前３時に勝つことにはある種の美しさもあるが、それは大会の最後の試合だった場合の話であって、今回はそうではない」と語った。
　すでに３日には第２３シードのフランシスコ・セルンドロとの４回戦が組まれており、ジョコビッチは素早い回復が求められるが、これについて女子世界３位のガウフは「健康的ではないと思う」と主張。「遅い時間に試合をしなくてはならない選手はスケジュールがめちゃくちゃになり公平とは言えないかもしれない」と述べ、「選手の健康と安全のために、一定の時間以降の試合開始は避けるようにするのが、競技の最大の利益になると信じている」と訴えた。
　さらに、午前３時に試合が終わっても選手は治療やメディア対応も控えているため、その日の仕事が終わるわけではないと指摘し、「ベッドに入るのは早くても午前５時で、おそらく６時、ひょっとしたら７時になる」と話した。
　女子世界１位のイガ・シフィオンテクは、選手だけでなくファンのためにもナイトセッションの開始時間を早めるべきだとコメントした。
　２０２２年に行われた全米オープンのヤニック・シナー戦で、大会史上最も遅い午前２時５０分終了の試合を戦った経験がある男子世界３位のカルロス・アルカラスも「ナイトセッションは嫌い」と明かし、試合後の会見や作業を考えると、「早く終わった方が全体的に良い」と語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/06/03-17:21）

Novak Djokovic believes things could have been handled differently after winning his French Open third round match at 3:07 a.m. (0107 GMT) Sunday as US star Coco Gauff warned that players' health was being put at risk.
Defending champion and 24-time Grand Slam title winner Djokovic came from two sets to one down to defeat Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-7 (6/8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in a clash which only started just before 10:45 p.m. (2045 GMT) on Saturday.
It was easily the latest finish to a French Open tie and came after organisers squeezed in extra matches onto the two main show courts, which both have retractable roofs, to counter the scheduling chaos caused by a seventh day of rain in Paris.
I don't want to get into this debate, said Djokovic initially before adding: I think certain things could have been handled differently.
There is a certain beauty in winning the match at three in the morning if it was the last of the tournament, but this isn't the case.
Djokovic's four-hour 29-minute victory allowed the 37-year-old world number one to equal Roger Federer's record of 369 Grand Slam match wins.
Physically, I really went to my limits to win this match. When you play rallies of more than 20 shots, at two in the morning... Who plays at two in the morning? he added.
We play few matches in our life at this time. The conditions were very heavy, it was very cold. You didn't have many free points behind your serve.
Djokovic must now recover to face Argentinian 23rd seed Francisco Cerundolo in the round of 16 on Monday after avoiding what would have been his earliest exit at the French Open in 15 years.
I definitely think it's not healthy, said women's world number three and US Open champion Gauff.
- 'Not fair' -
It may be not fair for those who have to play late because it does ruin your schedule.
I definitely think for the health and safety of the players it would be in the sport's best interest to try to avoid those matches starting after a certain time.
Gauff explained that a 3:00 a.m. finish didn't mean the end of a player's commitment for the day as a match is usually followed by physical recuperation and media duties.
So that's probably not going to bed until 5:00 at the earliest, maybe 6:00, and even 7:00, said the American.
Women's world number one Iga Swiatek said night sessions need to start earlier for the sake of the public as well as players.
I don't know if the fans are watching these matches if they have to go to work next day or something when the matches are finishing at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m., said the defending champion.
It's not up to us. We need to accept anything that is going to come to us.
In stark contrast to Djokovic's marathon efforts, Swiatek reached the quarter-finals on Sunday with a 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Anastasia Potapova in just 40 minutes on the same Court Philippe Chatrier.
Despite his reluctance to play late into the night, Djokovic's stamina and tenacity were widely praised.
Djokovic is like LeBron James at 39, he fights until the end, he gives everything and he loves it, it's incredible to see, John McEnroe told NBC.
I'm not kidding, this guy looked better physically than he did at the start of the match.
The Australian Open in Melbourne holds the Grand Slam record for the latest finish -- in 2008, Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis played a match until 4:34 a.m.
At the US Open in New York, the record is 2:50 a.m. in 2022 when Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner.
Wimbledon operates a strict 11 p.m. curfew with the 2012 clash between Andy Murray and Baghdatis ending at a more gentle 11:02 p.m.
Alcaraz said he prefers to finish his matches by the evening, not the early hours.
I don't like night sessions, we end so late, press conference, physio, ice bath, said the world number three and Wimbledon champion after making the quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon.
For me it's much better to finish at 6:00. Everything is better if you finish early.