62 2GM Friday May 27 2022 | the times
SportFrench Open
At first glance everything in Monaco is
as expected. The multimillion-dollar
yachts are crammed into the harbour,
the grandstands line the track and the
principality is full of fans all wanting to
catch a glimpse of the action. But you
sense a change in the paddock.
“Do you think we’ll be here next
year?” Just a few years ago the question
would have seemed absurd but it is
being asked genuinely now.
Monaco is out of contract after this
weekend and while the promoter is
adamant that a new deal will be signed,
there is no guarantee that it will mean a
race every year.
suggestion that Liberty wants to raise
the race fee but that Monaco has push-
ed back, something that Michel Boeri,
president of the Automobile Club de
Monaco, denied last month.
“We are still in talks with them and
must now seal the deal with a contract,”
Boeri said in April. “I can guarantee you
that the grand prix will keep taking
place beyond 2022.”In reality, it is likely there will be a
race in Monaco next year, with Russia’s
contract cancelled and China still wres-
tling with Covid. However, with up to 24
races each year and a new one in South
Africa expected from 2024, tracks are
having to fight to justify their place.
6 TV Sky Sports F1. Practice Today,
from 1pm. Qualifying tomorrow, from
3pm. Race Sunday, 2pm‘Boring’ Monaco at risk of being
downgraded to a biennial event
Formula One
Rebecca Clancy Motor Racing
Correspondent, Monte Carlo
Monaco has appeared on the calen-
dar since 1950 and has missed out on
only a handful of races, most recently in
2020 because of Covid.
However, the problem for Monaco is
that the track has remained relatively
unchanged while the Formula One
cars have continued to develop. They
are much bigger and heavier now,
unsuited to the narrow streets, and the
result is usually a dreary procession on
the Sunday. The race is mostly decided
by the qualifying order on Saturday.
While it may be one of the favourites
for the drivers, it is certainly not one for
the spectators. Indeed, with racing and
overtaking so difficult now, even the
drivers are not so convinced. In 2018
Lewis Hamilton described the race as
“one of the most boring” of his career.With Formula One attracting a new
audience courtesy of Netflix’s Drive to
Survive, the sport’s owner, Liberty
Media, knows those fans need to be
entertained. There must be hard racing.
Monaco was once the place where
teams brought sponsors to impress
them. The inclusion of places such as
Miami this year and Las Vegas in 2023
means it does not have a monopoly on
that now either.
And then there is the financial side.
In the Bernie Ecclestone era, Monaco
did not pay a fee to host the race, unlike
every other circuit. Under Liberty that
has changed, but the fee is still very low
and, with the likes of Saudi Arabia and
Qatar paying $50 million (£40 million)
a year, Liberty will be looking closely at
the business model. There has been aWhile Monaco guarantees a spectacular backdrop, races are frequently tediousbackhand is great, he can switch the
lines very good and he has a good first
serve. He can go through patches
where he’s playing great and hitting all
his spots on his serve. When he’s look-
ing for the forehand he’s dangerous. It is
going to be a tricky match.”
In the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek
extended her remarkable winning
streak to 30 matches by cruising
through her second-round contest. The
world No 1 and 2020 French Open
champion from Poland needed only 61
minutes to see off American’s AlisonRiske 6-0, 6-2, which also improved
her win ratio at Roland Garros to
89 per cent. Only Margaret Court (95),
Chris Evert (92) and Steffi Graf (90)
have a higher percentage in the open
era.
“I’m going to reach a point where I’m
going to lose a match and it’s pretty
normal,” Swiatek said. “For sure, the
things we are doing right now are pretty
extraordinary, but I know in tennis that
only one person wins at the end.”
The path to a second French Open
title for the 20-year-old became a littleclearer after two sizeable upsets.
Karolina Pliskova, the former world
No 1 from the Czech Republic, was
beaten 6-2, 6-2 by the French wild card
Leolia Jeanjean, while Simona Halep,
the 2018 champion from Romania, lost
2-6, 6-2, 6-1 to the Chinese teenager
Qinwen Zheng.inside today
No more ‘Miss’ and ‘Mrs’ as Wimbledon
makes equality move
News, page 15Clay is by far Dan Evans’s worst surface
but his defeat by the world No 95 at
Roland Garros last night will still go
down as a missed opportunity. At this
stage of his career, having turned 32 this
week, he will quite possibly never have a
better chance of reaching the third
round of the French Open.
Evans had seeded status
here at No 29 in the list of
competitors to be given
draw protection in the
early stages, but it was
his opponent, Mikael
Ymer, who came across
as the player more at ease
in the surroundings. The
23-year-old Swede kept his
composure in the midst of an
Evans fightback to prevail 6-3, 3-6,
6-2, 6-3 in three hours and 22 minutes.
There were even boos for Evans from
the Court 6 crowd at the end of the
match because of a perceived lack of
effort. While the backhand return he
hit on match point never had a chance
of clearing the net, this was a little harsh
as Evans appeared to be struggling with
the remnants of a chest infection he
suffered before the tournament.
The British No 2 could be heard
coughing and spluttering at times, and
called the doctor on to court at the end
of the third set.
Evans booed
off as Norrie
aims to break
new ground
“I gave away the last point but I
couldn’t care less [about the boos] to be
honest,” Evans said. “It was a frustrating
day at the office. I think I had put
enough effort in for 3½ hours. I was
physically spent.”
Evans had done well to work his way
back into the match after an inauspi-
cious start. He levelled at one set all and
looked to have assumed control at 2-0
up in the third set. But suddenly he lost
six consecutive games to concede the
set, before physically fading in the
fourth. He has ten days to rest and
recover before his grass-court cam-
paign gets under way at a second-tier
ATP Challenger in Nottingham.
The exit of Evans leaves Cameron
Norrie as the last British singles player
standing. The 26-year-old has
been the most reliable per-
former from this country
over the past year and has
the chance to break
new territory by reach-
ing the fourth round of a
grand slam for the first
time.
On paper this is his
best chance yet. On the
previous four occasions
Norrie has reached this stage
at a slam, he has faced Rafael Nadal
twice and Roger Federer once. Now
ranked No 11 after winning four ATP
titles in the past ten months, he is the
favourite to overcome the world No 25,
Karen Khachanov, today.
“It’s nice not to face Rafa,” Norrie
said with a smile on his face. “It would
be nice to tick that box [reach the
fourth round], I’m going to go out and
give it everything, play aggressive, play
to win, hit the ball close to the line and
take risks. I don’t want to be tentative
and just play not to lose.
“Karen is a good player all round. HisStuart Fraser
Tennis
Correspondent,
ParisD Evans (GB, No 29) 3623
M Ymer (Swe) 6366(10) C Norrie v
(21) K Khachanov
French Open, third round
On TV today: Eurosport
at approximately
4pm (UK time)Evans, feeling the
effects of a chest
infection, was booed
for a perceived lack
of effort in his defeat