French Open: Top seed Iga Swiatek 'disappointed and surprised' by Amelie Mauresmo comments

2 years ago 83

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Dates: 22 May-5 June Venue: Roland Garros, Paris
Coverage: Live text and radio commentaries on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, the BBC Sport website and app

Top seed Iga Swiatek says it was "disappointing and surprising" to hear French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo say women's games were not as appealing as men's matches.

Mauresmo, a former world number one, has faced criticism after only one of the 10 night sessions at this year's event was a women's match.

Poland's Swiatek, 21, has played all of her five matches in the day time.

"I think women's tennis has a lot of advantages," said the world number one.

The only night session to feature a women's match was last Thursday, when France's Alize Cornet beat Latvian 13th seed Jelena Ostapenko in three sets.

Former Wimbledon and Australian Open champion Mauresmo, who is in her first year as tournament director at the clay-court Grand Slam event, said it was "more difficult" to put women's matches on late.

"It is a little bit disappointing and surprising because she was also in the WTA," said Swiatek, who meets Daria Kasatkina in the semi-finals on Thursday.

"From my point of view, for every player it's more convenient to play at a normal hour, but for sure I want to entertain and I also want to show my best tennis in every match.

"So I think it's kind of the personal opinion of every person if they like men's tennis or women's tennis more, or if they like them equally.

"And some may say that it's unpredictable and girls are not consistent.

"But on the other hand it may also be something that is really appealing and it may really attract more people. So it depends on the personal views of some people."

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