Paris (AFP)

"After the six victories of Borg, it was said that it would never be beaten," recalls Guy Forget, the director of Roland-Garros, which trio Federer-Nadal-Djokovic, meeting for the first time since 2015 on clay Paris, gives "vertigo" in an interview with AFP Saturday.

Sweden's Bjorn Borg won at Roland Garros six times between 1974 and 1981, a record at the time.

Q: This 2019 edition is marked by the return of Roger Federer after three missed editions. How do you evaluate his chances?

A: "He is still N.3 world, he moves on the field as well and as fast as before, if he manages to spend the first week without leaving too many feathers, I do not see why he would not make a quarter or semi-final, then I'm not going to tell you that he's going to beat (Rafael) Nadal on a regular basis, because even at his best level, he has not managed yet. a little, I can tell you that, even if he said: + If I win a few matches, I'll be happy +, he comes here with great ambitions, he is too strong to settle for two victories and go out prematurely. "

Q: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic also have the opportunity to achieve a historic performance each ...

A: "We are very lucky to live in a time when three of the biggest winners in the history of the game are playing at the same time .Consciously, all three, if he were to win this tournament, would write history Incredibly, if Nadal won a twelfth time here ... I remember that after Borg's (Bjorn) six wins, it was said that it would never be beaten, and he's about to double that record! if he succeeds with four passes (Grand Slam in a row), it's something incredible, and Federer, then if he won a 21st title (major) here ... That gives me the dizzy to evoke those records. "

Q: What do you expect from French players?

A: "I want to see the glass half full ... Today, each of our best players has an experience of major events, benchmarks quite accurate with the matches they have played in Grand Slam, Lucas Puglie, Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, from the moment they are physically well, all they have to do is pass one or two laps, get reassured about their level of play and I do not want to why they could not aspire to go in the second week. "

Q: A "dress code" project was mentioned last summer. Do you still work there?

A: "Absolutely, it has allowed us to get closer to the textile manufacturers, to share with them our vision of the future of our stadium.Today, we exchange so that they can submit their outfits to us, that it is something that is not at all restrictive in our remarks, that it is them spontaneously who go towards the (theme of) spring in Paris. We want that they can appropriate with their touch this idea that we have had most of them are very receptive, at no time are we going to impose on them such and such a type of outfit, we are sensitizing them a little on the idea we have of Paris, the fashion capital of the world, a certain form of elegance ... And we let them make their choices with their designers. "

Q: Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam tournament not to have a tie-break - whatever its form - in the fifth set ...

A: "Maybe we can regret today (a certain lack of) clarity, homogeneity between the different formats.Wimbledon decided to introduce a tie-break (at 12-12) because of matches like Mahut -Isner (70-68 in the 5th set in 2010, editor's note) which reached totally ridiculous proportions Historically, at Roland-Garros, it never happened.For now, we wanted to stay in the tradition . "

Interviewed by Elodie Soinard.

? 2019 AFP