PARIS (Reuters) -World number one Aryna Sabalenka and Paris Olympics champion Zheng Qinwen began their French Open quarter-final in front of a small crowd on Tuesday, prompting calls for such high-profile matches to be moved to later slots to showcase them better.
A sumptuous lunch often takes priority for fans in Court Philippe Chatrier's corporate seats and the Parisian cultural practice leaves many seats unoccupied in the showcourt when matches begin at 11 a.m. local time.
Sabalenka overcame her Chinese opponent 7-6(3) 6-3 in just under two hours to leave her with the rest of the day off but the Belarusian said organisers could do better despite fans trickling in later to improve the atmosphere.
"I didn't really look in the crowd, but it felt like it was a lot of people. Yeah, it was a big match and it probably would make more sense to put us a bit later just so more people could watch it," Sabalenka told reporters.
"At the same time, I'm happy to finish earlier and then I have a half-day off, and I can just enjoy the city and do all the things that I have to do."
Reuters has contacted organisers for comment.
The French Open's scheduling decisions have come under a harsh spotlight again this year with no women's match featured in the evening sessions which begin at 8.15 p.m. local time and are exclusively broadcast by Amazon Prime in France.
French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said last week that women's matches, played over a maximum of three sets as opposed to the five on the men's side, could finish "really fast" and having an extra match in that slot was unfeasible.
"We deserve the equal treatment," Sabalenka said.
"There were a lot of great battles, a lot of great matches, which would be cool to see as a night session (match), just more people in the stands watching these incredible battles and to show ourselves to more people.
"I definitely agree that we deserve to be put in a bigger stage, like better timing and more people watching."
Sabalenka will continue her bid for a maiden French Open title against four-times champion Iga Swiatek.
"I love tough challenges," she added.
"These are the matches where you actually improve as a player, and where you get much stronger. I'm always excited to face someone strong and someone who can challenge me.
"I will go out there and fight, and I'm ready to leave everything I have to get the win."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Paris, editing by Ed Osmond)
