BARBARA SCHETT PREVIEWS 2020 ROLAND-GARROS

Did you agree with how everything was handled at the US Open with Novak Djokovic?
Yes.  I mean, that’s the rules. I think Novak knew right away that he was disqualified.  I know it was not intentional and it was very unlucky, where he hit the lady right on the throat.  I think if the ball would have missed her he would have maybe just gotten a warning, but the way it turned out to be I think it was the right decision to be disqualified, and hopefully that will never happen to him again.

It’s happened before, he’s not the only one, but it was sad to see.  I was shocked as well because this guy, Novak, has won 27, at that stage 26 or 27 matches in a row, basically, this year he was undefeated, and to finish this run like that must have been pretty tough for him.

Do you agree with the laws as they are?
Yes, I do, I do.  I mean, where do you draw the line. How hard does the ball have to hit the person to be disqualified?  It’s a hard one. Obviously that lady has been suffering a lot, by the looks and the sounds of it. That’s the way it is. You have to control your emotions, this has been a rule for many years, it’s not just come up, you know.

So I’m sure Novak learned out of that as well that he’s never going to do that again, and hopefully it won’t happen again because it’s sad to see one of the best players, or any player, going out like that from a match or from a tournament.

Who are your favourites for Roland Garros, and why?
Well obviously, the big favourite is Rafa, he won his title 12 times, you have to take him as a favourite.  It will be interesting to see how he handles the changes, because the last 12 years he knew what was coming and he had his little routine happening.  We know that he loves his routines, and this year he has to stay in the players hotel, he’s restricted to go to maybe his favourite restaurant and stuff like that, so that will be interesting to see, how he handles that. 

Then obviously Novak is a big favourite as well, and I’m sure he’s going to be super motivated entering the French Open to do well. We know that he’s number one in the world, he’s beat everybody and he’s won everything before, so I think he will be highly motivated.  His advantage is that he’s lived in this bubble already at the US Open and he knows what to expect. 

And then you have to take Dominic, he loves playing on clay, freshly [baked], he was Open Champion, he hasn’t played any tournaments before but I’m not too worried about that because, again, clay is his favourite surface. I think he’s at a level now where he will just progress with the first few matches and get better and better and get more used to the clay.  So these three are the big favourites.

Who are your favourites on the women’s side?
Women’s side, I think on clay you do have to favour Simona Halep, she won Rome.  She seems to be playing alright, considering that she hasn’t been playing for such a long time.  So we know that clay, she feels extremely comfortable, she knows how to win Grand Slam titles. 

I know Naomi Osaka is not playing but I don’t rate her too high on a clay court anyway.  Karolína Plíšková, we’re waiting for her first Grand Slam title, but it always depends on how mentally she feels and how she can get quite overwhelmed when she’s one of the favourites moving into an event, we’ve seen that the US Open once again. 

And then I’m interested to see how Azárenka is backing it up from the US Open, and also somebody like Jennifer Brady, for example, who is, from my point of view, very talented and I can see her going well on clay because she’s got such a variety in her shots, she’s got the slice, the angles and everything.  So we know that the women’s event has always been quite open, but I do favour Simona Halep because she’s won Grand Slams before and she looks very solid at the moment.

It will be good to have some spectators back at Roland Garros?
Yes. Here in Hamburg we had spectators yesterday, we had about 1,500, even the first day we had maybe 500.  It makes such a big difference when you have clapping, and it makes a big difference for the players, I think they have more fun, the level of tennis will be even better playing in front of a crowd. 

I mean, I did hear that they’ve reduced the numbers once again in Paris to 1,000, but it doesn’t matter if it’s 5,000 or 1,000, I think it adds to the atmosphere and to the tennis, and it’s only a positive thing if there’s a bit of a crowd there. I think that helps the players, it helps us watching the match as well when you hear the clapping and you feel the atmosphere a little bit.  So I’m pleased to see that there’s still a crowd.

Barbara Schett is a tennis expert for Eurosport. All courts and all matches from Roland-Garros from Paris will be live on Eurosport and Eurosport app starting Sunday 27 September.