Born in 2021, these matches are broadcast in the evening (9 p.m.) by Amazon in France.

In addition to boosting broadcast revenue with an additional broadcaster, this recent creation in Paris -- but a long tradition at the US Open and the Australian Open -- boosts ticketing revenue for the French Tennis Federation (FFT ), only delighted with these nights.

.

Not cheerful players

Their 59th duel was scheduled "too late" criticized in unison Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic after scrapping for four hours and twelve minutes in temperatures down to 10 degrees Celsius.

"The evening match schedule can raise questions" about the comfort of the players, agreed tournament director Amélie Mauresmo.

"The option we could have and which we can think about is to bring forward the first match from noon: to 11:00 a.m., would that already make more sense?" Asks the ex- N.1 worldwide.

With a similarly advanced night.

.

Spectators at no time

In addition to the partition of the TV rights batches, the central court ticket office is also shared between daytime sessions and evening matches, which require different tickets.

A system to maximize receipts which did not prevent a large filling, helped by the attraction Carlos Alcaraz and especially the clash between the two giants which kept its promises.

However, the question of transport arises, recognized Amélie Mauresmo, a "key point in the future": the end schedule has prevented spectators in the stands from using the metro.

"We do not have the means today to organize something for 15,000 people who go out (i.e. the capacity of the Philippe-Chatrier court, editor's note)", she noted, opening the way to a dialogue "with the city of Paris to perhaps push the metro or bus system further".

Former French tennis player Amélie Mauresmo attends the doubles between France and Ecuador during the Davis Cup qualifiers at the Palais des Sports in Pau on March 5, 2022 GAIZKA IROZ AFP/Archives

.

Scrambled media

"These are two sacred monsters of tennis, everyone is waiting for it. The fact that we cannot offer it to all French people is very disappointing to us", was moved to AFP Laurent-Eric Le Lay, director sports from France Télévisions.

In fact, since 2021 and until 2023, the tournament organizer FFT has a contractual obligation to program "THE big match of the day" at night and exclusively for the Amazon platform, explained to AFP last year. former tournament director Guy Forget.

From a regulatory point of view, only the finals of the tournament are referenced by decree on the list of 21 protected sporting events that must be broadcast unencrypted.

With paid streaming, the problem of the exclusion of part of the public and that of the digital divide appears.

Even if Nadal-Djokovic was offered exceptionally without a subscription by Amazon, his audience, not communicated by the American firm, was probably much lower than the peak of 5.1 million viewers on France 3 for Nadal's match against Félix Auger- Aliassime in quarters.

"I hear" these criticisms, "we tried to move forward together towards precisely this accessibility and this free access", defended Amélie Mauresmo.

"This game maybe should never have come to the quarter-finals. Nobody anticipated that, I guess, a few years ago when splitting the rights."

Another unexpected effect, the impossibility for the newspapers, and in particular L'Equipe, to complete its Wednesday edition in time with the end of the match at 1:15 a.m.: "When we see the front page of this morning, we realize that (this timetable) is a real problem", regrets to AFP Jean-Philippe Leclaire, deputy editorial director of the sports daily.

"We put Zverev on the front page because we couldn't hang the Nadal-Djokovic (...) Basically, we could postpone the closing of the first edition to midnight and a half, and that of the second edition around from midnight 45, or even exceptionally push up to 1 o'clock."

.

Women's tennis absent

Among the ten posters selected for the +night sessions+ and therefore considered as the event of the day, only one concerned the women's draw, Alizé Cornet's victory in the second round over Jelena Ostapenko.

"It's not a regret given the confrontations we had and what we wanted to present to spectators who come with a ticket for a single match", assumes Mauresmo.

"In this era (of tennis, editor's note) that we live in, as a woman and a former player, I do not find it wrong or unfair to say that at the moment, men's tennis offers more attractions."

© 2022 AFP