"Nice for the crowd, bad for the player" Corretja on significance of night matches at Roland Garros

Two-time French Open runner-up Alex Corretja says night matches at the French Open will throw up a level of unpredictability as they return for 2022 - but in front of crowds for the first time.

The scheduling change was introduced for the first time last year but the matches were played behind closed doors due to Covid curfews, meaning some of the best encounters were missed by paying spectators. But Eurosport expert Corretja says while it is good for the fans, players may struggle to adapt to a change in condition - and they will have less time to recover, too.

Speaking about the conditions during the night, Corretja explained:

“Lighting is always a tricky thing. Definitely, the ball is bouncing way lower and the matches are very difficult to be quick because it's difficult to hit winners. You need to use a lot of drop shots.”

While that might be great for the crowd, for the players it will tough to recover:

“If you play long matches, then it's not that easy to recover for two days after. So it can affect your recovery in the tournament. But hopefully, if they play a long match, then they will have time to recover [for] two days after and they will be okay. It's nice for the crowd. I think it's nice for the tournament. I think it's a little bit tougher for the players.”