'It's an insult': Federer and Nadal at centre of French Open fan furore
Fans have taken to social media in droves to express their anger that Rafael Nadal won’t be playing his second round match at the French Open on centre court.
The Spaniard was at the centre of a bizarre outfit controversy on Monday when some fans felt his fluoro yellow shirt was too similar to the colour of the tennis balls.
And it seems like the World No.2 can’t stay away from the drama.
Nadal and Roger Federer will both face unheralded Germans for a place in the third round on Wednesday, but Federer will do so on centre court while Nadal will walk out onto show court 2.
Federer is the third match on Court Philippe Chatrier against Oscar Otte, while Nadal takes on Yannick Maden on Suzanne Lenglen.
And that decision has sparked backlash from fans, with many believing the 11-time champion Nadal should have the privilege of always playing on centre court.
I know a lot of people don’t care about scheduling, but I’m one of those people who think Nadal’s earned the right to never play off Chatrier.
I love Federer, but he shouldn’t get priority at this tournament over Nadal. #RG19 https://t.co/xW5wCzgUcL— Matt Dowell (@TheMattDowell) May 28, 2019
UNBELIEVABLE! >.< #Rafa who has raised 11 @rolandgarros trophies, who is the 2 time defending champ is on #Lenglen. Fed 1 time champ who has never beaten Rafa here gets Chatrier. Its an insult pure & simple. #ADisgrace.
— specialsmiley (@Ianto_back2_TW) May 28, 2019
Unbelievable- Nadal on Lenglen? 11-time champ and Federer is on Chatrier as a one time winner. Love both players but what do you have to do to always play on Chatrier @rolandgarros? Win the event 25 times? #rolandgarros #frenchopen #nadal #federer
— Owen (@tennisnation) May 28, 2019
Federer’s next match (if he has one) better be on Lenglen. I don’t know how in the HELL the tournament organizers put Nadal on Lenglen tomorrow. The ELEVEN time champ. Tres foolish #rg19
— ᴍʀᴇɴᴛᴇʀᴛᴀ1ɴᴍᴇɴᴛ🎾🎞📺📻 (@MrEnterta1nment) May 28, 2019
Nadal in Suzanne-Lenglen and Oldger in Philippe-Chatrier? What a joke!
— ReginaGeorge (@applelimboy) May 29, 2019
I almost refreshed the order of play to be sure it wasn't a mistake.
— DrewPaul (@apsellers) May 28, 2019
Roger Federer on Philippe-Chartier
Rafa Nadal on Suzanne-Lenglen
This might not sit well with some people.— Saba Saeed Sheikh (@sabassheikh) May 28, 2019
11 time champ Rafa gets shunted out to Suzanne lenglen. Would never happen to Fed tho
— George (@NadalUK) May 28, 2019
Higher ranked Rafa on Lenglen and Federer on Chartier, but Rafa gets ‘preferential treatment’ always ! Excellent job @rolandgarros 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
— Abinash (@abinash625) May 28, 2019
Nadal on lenglen. What has the world come to 😱
— Littlelarrybirds (@harryandsasch) May 28, 2019
For context, Federer has played all of his Australian Open matches on Rod Laver Arena since 2016.
However Nadal has played on Lenglen a number of times over the years, and has never lost there.
Tale of the tape:
Roger Federer (SUI x3) v Oscar Otte (GER)
Federer cruised through his opening match against Lorenzo Sonego on Sunday, and the 20-time Grand Slam champion is back on Court Philippe Chatrier to take on Otte.
The 37-year-old won his only Roland Garros title in 2009 and is considered an outsider for the tournament this year, but will be a red-hot favourite against the world number 144 Otte -- who claimed his first-ever Grand Slam match win against Malek Jaziri in round one.
Federer may not be the same force on clay as he is on quicker courts, but has still been in decent form, reaching the Madrid and Rome quarter-finals.
"I would be surprised if Roger knew my name," admitted Otte.
Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) v Yannick Maden (GER)
Nadal started his bid for a record-breaking 12th French Open title with a straightforward victory over German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann -- and now finds himself facing another German qualifier named Yannick in world number 114 Maden.
The Spaniard, who is just three behind Federer on the all-time list of Grand Slam titles with 17, has an incredible 87-2 win-loss record at Roland Garros.
Maden, 29, played college tennis in the United States, and like Otte, had yet to register a win at the Slams until this tournament.
"With YouTube you can find things," said Nadal of the potential pitfalls of facing the relative unknown of Maden.
with AFP