Roland-Garros: Félix Auger-Aliassime on TV

In a commercial break on French television, we saw Félix Auger-Aliassime twice, in two ads.

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We are not talking about a French player here, but a Quebecer. Félix officially lives in Monte-Carlo, a district of the Principality of Monaco, landlocked by France and the Mediterranean Sea, and he is the 10^e world player.

It’s still surprising that companies are fighting for it more in Europe than in Canada. No one is a prophet in his own country…

A women’s match that is not in demand

After the easy victories of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in the afternoon on Sunday, a women’s match was featured in the evening on the Philippe-Chatrier, which can accommodate 15,000 spectators, for the first time at this Roland-Garros. And the French didn’t seem to have any interest in the clash between the American

and the second favorite, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, since several tickets were available on the resale sites. “It’s really disappointing, reacted Bianca Andreescu. I believe there should be parity between men and women. It will be fairer. People are used to seeing the men in action more often in the evening at Roland-Garros, but if they are given the chance to attend very good women’s duels, things could change. They would see that women are fun to watch. In addition, fans in North America can see these clashes. In Australia and New York, a men’s and a women’s match are played on center court from 7 p.m.

Sabalenka is not yet appearing in front of journalists

World number 2, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, skipped her post-match press conference on Sunday evening for the second time at this Roland-Garros. The organization of the tournament confirmed having given him the authorization not to submit to the exercise, however compulsory. She will therefore not be fined. Sabalenka told the WTA on Friday that she did not feel “safe” in front of reporters on Wednesday after having to answer questions about Russia’s Belarusian-aided invasion of Ukraine. The 25-year-old earned her ticket to the quarter-finals by beating American Sloane Stephens 7-6(5), 6-4. She now has an appointment with the surprising Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who fell to 192nd in the world after giving birth to a baby girl just seven months ago.

Messi gone… and then?

On the bus on Saturday evening – or rather early Sunday – there were supporters of the Paris Saint-Germain soccer team. They weren’t sad to have watched Lionel Messi’s last game in a PSG uniform. One of the best players in history failed to lead the team to major Champions League honours. After a short two-season stay, Messi left the French capital to boos at the Parc des Princes, which is not far from the Roland-Garros stadium. The big question is where the 35-year-old Argentine will play next year. Will he join Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia to earn $580 million a year? Will he return to his old love with FC Barcelona or will he try the adventure of Major League Soccer in Miami, where one of the owners David Beckham awaits? In addition, PSG has lost more than a million and a half followers on Instagram since the announcement of the Argentinian’s departure.

Two players disqualified

The 16^are favorites in the women’s doubles competition were disqualified after Miyu Kato accidentally sent a ball at a chaser. Kato and Indonesia’s Aldila Sutjiadi were trying to tie the match and led 3-1 in the second set. The Japanese immediately apologized to the hunter, who was hit in the back of the head and was crying. Their opponents, the Czech Marie Bouzkova and the Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, thus advanced to the quarter-finals. This situation is not unlike that of Novak Djokovic who was also disqualified at the 2020 US Open for hitting a ball from behind, without looking, on a linesman.