Richard Gasquet: Having no Roland Garros was something unthinkable

French tennis star Richard Gasquet, 33, says if someone mentioned last year there would be a chance of not having the French Open this year no one would have believed it. 

have The season has been suspended since March 12 and the French Open moved from its traditional start date -- late-May and early-June -- to a late September start. 

On March 17 -- while the Tour was still suspended for six weeks -- the French Tennis Federation announced its decision to reschedule the French Open for September.

"Since I was four or five years old, I have watched it (the French Open) on TV... It's crazy, it was totally unthinkable, if we had been told that last year, we would have never believed," Gasquet said, per France Inter. "For other sports it is the same, it is new and incredible, but it is like that. And then, it is only sport, it should not be forgotten, there are always things more important than Roland-Garros."

Gasquet, a former world No. 7, has made 16 appearances at the French Open over the course of his career.

The 33-year-old's career-best result at the French Open came in 2016, when he made the quarterfinal before losing to former world No. 1 Andy Murray. 

The French Open organizers are keen on organizing this year's event and they will explore all the options in order to pull off the staging of the tournament. 

Playing behind the closed doors is one of the options but the organizers hope they will have to avoid playing without fans.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3eeGZo4