It’s the end of the fortnight of Roland-Garros. The men’s final, to be followed live on Europe 1, official radio, will take place this Sunday afternoon, and will see Casper Ruud and Novak Djokovic compete. The Norwegian, world number four against the Serb, who could, in the event of victory, be the only player to register 23 Grand Slam titles on his record. For this potentially historic match, the quality of the clay must more than ever be irreproachable.
Make the clay spotless
On the Philippe-Chatrier court, Philippe Vaillant, the manager of the courts at Roland Garros, has already been at work with his teams since 6.30 a.m. this Sunday morning to make the clay spotless before the afternoon final. “Every morning, the teams are in charge of getting this surface back into full operation, so it must be perfect from the first strokes of the racquet. We try to have the same court for the final as the one we had for the halves, the quarters, the first rounds. Whatever happens, we try to maintain consistency throughout the tournament.”
And to get there, it’s the same process every morning, at each repair. “Sweeping to remove all the crushed brick from the surface that is soiled. We scrape the entire surface so as to eliminate any false rebounds that would be created following the slips and the supports of the players. Then, we spread a layer of ‘a new crushed brick and then we water it. Every morning, it’s the same ritual,’ he explains.
“A pride to see the players express their art”
For Philippe Vaillant, it’s an honor to see all these great champions on his clay. “It is a source of pride to see these players being able to express their art in this way on the courts. It is quite exhilarating to see them on our land being able to achieve these feats”, he smiles.
The court is now almost ready to welcome the finalists. It only remains to know if the rain will be there. Reply in a few hours.