Belgium’s David Goffin slams partisan French Open crowd, seeks action

PARIS – David Goffin has accused partisan fans at the French Open of “total disrespect” and said he was spat at by a spectator during his marathon first-round victory over local favourite Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Fans can often turn the Roland Garros courts into a wild arena when a French player needs backing, with the resulting atmosphere unmatched at the other three Grand Slams, and the Belgian was subjected to the experience on May 28.

On a raucous Court 14, Goffin kept his cool to defeat wild card Perricard 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, before the former world No. 7 held his hand to his ears to all four sides as he left the venue to loud jeers.

“When you are insulted for 3½ hours, you have to tease the public a little,” the 33-year-old told Belgian media.

“Clearly, it goes too far, it’s total disrespect. It’s really too much. It’s becoming football, soon there will be smoke bombs, hooligans and fights in the stands. It’s starting to become ridiculous. Some people are there more to cause trouble than to create an atmosphere.

“Someone even spat out their chewing gum at me. I wanted to stay calm. If I started to get angry, it could have destabilised me.”

Goffin then urged the organisers of the year’s second Grand Slam to take action.

“A lot of people are complaining, a lot of umpires feel that there is a lot of disrespect,” he added.

“I think it only happens in France. At Wimbledon, obviously, there’s not that. Or in Australia either. At the US Open, it’s still rather quiet. Here, it’s a really unhealthy atmosphere.”

Tournament organisers said a day later that officials would now ensure that fans follow the rules and respect players.

“The public are incredibly enthusiastic, particularly on the outside courts,” they said in a statement.

“However, they must of course show full respect to all players while doing so. Oversight bodies are in place to make sure rules are followed.”

French women’s No. 1 Caroline Garcia said she “feels sorry” for Goffin.

“Thank God I never experience it, and I hope it will never happen again,” she said after being knocked out of the tournament by Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-3 on May 29.

“In every sport sometimes there are fans who go too far. We are all here to play tennis and we are all here to watch and enjoy tennis. Even if we have our favourite player we want to cheer with respect.”

But France’s Lucas Pouille, a former top-10 player, said fans at Roland Garros had not particularly crossed the line. “It adds spice to a sport that can sometimes be flat,” he told Eurosport.

Last season, Taylor Fritz got a reminder of how brutal the venue can be as persistent boos and whistles rained down from the Court Philippe-Chatrier stands as the American defeated Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.

When he wrapped up victory, he placed his finger to his lips to shush his tormentors before theatrically blowing kisses. The jeers continued as he attempted to carry out the traditional on-court TV interview.

The tennis greats were not spared either.

Also in 2023, Serbian star Novak Djokovic chose to mimic the crowd’s boos after he was targeted for taking a medical timeout in his victory against Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

On that occasion there was not even a French player involved.

“I think the majority of the people come to enjoy tennis or support one or the other player. But there are people who love to boo every single thing you do,” said Djokovic then. “That’s something that I find disrespectful.”

As the action continued on May 29, former runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece survived a mid-match wobble before carving out a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4 win over Germany’s Daniel Altmaier to book his spot in the third round.

Spain’s third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz also had a scare before defeating Dutchman Jesper de Jong 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

In the women’s draw, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur beat Colombia’s Camila Osorio 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in a roller-coaster match to also move into the third round.

Jabeur hardly put a foot wrong in the opening set, but a fall in the second set upset her rhythm. That opened the door for Osorio to claw her way back into the contest.

Both players struggled on serve in the decider, which had five break points converted. But it was Jabeur who raised her intensity towards the end, taking a 4-1 lead before wrapping up the match with 31 winners. REUTERS, AFP