Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 26, 2019 General view of Court Simonne-Mathieu during the first round match between Spain's Garbine Muguruza and Taylor Townsend of the U.S. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler
PARIS (Reuters) - French Open organisers sought on Friday to defuse a simmering row over their scheduling of the women's semi-finals, stating they had chosen to hold the two matches at the same time away from centre court "to respect sporting fairness".
Former world number one Amelie Mauresmo had called the decision “a disgrace”, beaten semi-finalist Jo Konta said it had diminished the occasion, while the WTA boss Steve Simon called it unfair and inappropriate.
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