"Mad and unprofessional" - Boris Becker blames French Open organizers for letting Novak Djokovic's 3R clash go past 3 am with scheduling choices

Boris Becker has expressed his dissatisfaction with the scheduling of matches at the 2024 French Open, which saw Novak Djokovic's third-round tie against Lorenzo Musetti finish past 3 AM on Sunday. Djokovic, who is defending his French Open title, defeated the Italian 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the third round of the tournament in a four-hour and 29-minute thriller on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Due to the rainfall in Paris, matches played on open-roofed courts have been interrupted several times and then moved to courts with roof protection, such as Court Philippe-Chatrier. This was the case on Saturday, as the Serb kicked off his third-round tie against Lorenzo Musetti at 10:40 PM because Alexander Zverev's match against Tallon Griekspoor and Grigor Dimitrov's third-round match against Zizou Bergs were also played on the same court.

Former English Tennis player and commentator Mark Petchey posted on X (formerly Twitter) after the match, saying that if Djokovic wins the French Open, it would be his greatest-ever achievement in a single event due to the strain of the scheduling. He suggested that the organizers consider fixing the final on Monday to avoid similar instances.

“If @DjokerNole wins @rolandgarros it will be his greatest achievement ever in a single event. Madness to finish at 3 AM from a recovery point of view. When a tournament is struggling this much to catch up through no fault of its own, they should just call a Monday Final early so this doesn’t happen,” Mark Petchey posted on X.

Boris Becker then chimed in, calling the scheduling of matches to go past 1 AM unprofessional for the organizers. He explained that this wouldn't happen in any other sport, except maybe boxing, which could have one major fight in 6 months.

“Mark, you make a very good point! Think it’s mad and frankly unprofessional from the organisers to allow matches past 1 am …which other sport has to deal with something similar? Maybe boxing but they have 1 fight every 6 months!” Becker said.

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Novak Djokovic faces Francisco Cerundolo in French Open quarterfinal bid

2024 French Open - Day 7

Novak Djokovic will face Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round of the 2024 French Open on Monday in their first clash on the ATP tour. The Serb has yet to lift a trophy since the season began, with the French Open being his fifth tournament so far. He has reached the semifinals at the Australian Open, Monte Carlo Masters, and Geneva Open.

Francisco Cerundolo, on the other hand, has defeated Yannick Hanfmann, Filip Misolic, and Tommy Paul in the first, second, and third rounds of the French Open. This season, the 25-year-old Argentinian reached the semifinals of the Rio Open and had a quarterfinal finish at the French Open.