It is 1:26 am.
Roland-Garros goes out or wakes up.
We don't really know anymore.
The thermometer has just passed below ten degrees Celsius and in the middle of the Philippe-Chatrier court, in front of spectators chilled with cold, some bundled up in blankets for the more far-sighted or under a simple hood for the less fortunate, Rafael Nadal answers to questions from former champion Cédric Pioline.
He only wants the Spaniard, it is to wrestle in the bowels of the stadium to warm up but his status and his track record impose imposed figures on him after his quarter-final won in three sets in front of the pretty Italian promise, 19-year-old Jannik Sinner.
Funny day.
And funny at night.
The day started 14 hours earlier with a surprise.
Tunisian Ons Jabeur, seeded number 30, and American Danielle Collins should have faced each other the day before, Monday, on Suzanne-Lenglen court.
The rain and the cold decided otherwise.
A detail that is important since the two players who are fighting for a place in the quarter-finals are reprogrammed to raise the curtain on the Chatrier where five games will be played in total.
The whole program is shifted.
What Rafael Nadal will not fail to point out later in the dead of night: “There were still risks that it would happen like that.
You just had to be patient and accept.
"
The Thiem-Schwartzman Marathon
On the ground, Jabeur does not manage to snatch his qualification (6-4, 3-6, 6-4) and tries to compose as best he can, like his opponent, with weather conditions worthy of a weakening autumn or 'a dawning winter.
“It was fine, then it was raining.
The conditions were quite unpleasant, ”summarizes the Tunisian who will not reach her first quarter at Roland after achieving this performance at the Australian Open at the start of the year.
Very disappointed, the one who makes the whole Maghreb dream with her performances confides that she wants to try to get into football in an amateur team but quickly reassures her audience, it is towards Ostrava in the Czech Republic that she is heading for her next tournament.
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The second meeting of the day sees Nadia Podoroska, 131st in the world, become the first player from qualifying to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros, after eliminating the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (5th), 6-2, 6-4.
Barely time for spectators to swallow a sandwich sold in the rare shops open on the site that Dominic Thiem, the man who put an end to the journey of the new darling of the French public Hugo Gaston, puts his bag on the chair .
He has already spent 3:32 on Sunday on the same court to dismiss the tricolor.
He still ignores it but he is preparing to play the first game in five hours (5:08) of his career.
Opposite, troublemaker Diego Schwartzman, among the smallest players on the circuit (1m70) and inexhaustible seed cutter, is ready for the marathon.
Fallout Rafael Nadal at the Rome tournament just before Roland-Garros, the Argentinian will give the public one of the most beautiful shows of the fortnight and win around 8:30 p.m.
"We have been hoping for 14 hours that they will close the roof"
Suspense, twists and turns, the spectators then share the feeling of being "privileged" as Camille and Barbara confide.
“First of all, we were all drawn, it's a huge chance, recall the two young Belgians who came from Antwerp during the day by car.
It's 4h30 by car.
Yes it's long but when you have the chance to see Thiem and Nadal on the same day, you don't hesitate.
Barbara pulls two signs from a large white plastic bag.
One to encourage the Austrian player, the other for his favorite and compatriot whom she will see triumph a few hours later, even offering herself a tight shot during the broadcast.
Camille (left) and Barbara (right) from Antwerp. / LP / David Charpentier
The two young women, ecstatic at the idea of being on TV, finally have only one recrimination, one, while they say they are "very reassured" by the health measures taken by the organizers of Roland.
They do not understand why the roof was not closed after the penultimate match of the day between the young Polish Swiatek and the Italian Trevisan.
They are told that the Porte d'Auteuil tournament must above all, according to the regulations, take place in the open air, unless the rain is involved.
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"We have been hoping for 14 hours that they will close the roof", supports Hugo, a history student at the Sorbonne like his friend Romain, both from Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis).
The duo is divided between the joy of living a unique moment and a feeling of unfinished business, so much the fact of seeing the master of the place Rafael Nadal in these conditions, almost without an audience, borders on the unreal.
"We feel that we are witnessing something special"
“We received an email a week before the competition telling us that we had been drawn.
We are almost at the edge of the field, smile Hugo and Romain who paid 80 euros each for their ticket.
Normally, our seats were located a little higher but since the seating is a little free, we got closer.
We won't be that close anymore.
They will even end the meeting almost in the alcoves of four places usually reserved for VIPs.
Also close to the court, we can distinctly hear the “vamos” of encouragement released by Nadal.
Romain, a supporter of the Spaniard, has his little note in the language of Cervantes when his idol has to put up two break points to 5-5 in the first round.
Beside them, a couple is bundled up in thick down jackets.
You would think they had come out of a chairlift in the middle of a blizzard, but only the mask - no ski - reminds us that it was the sanitary conditions that led to a gauge of 1,000 spectators per day on the whole site during the fortnight.
Hugo (in the foreground) and Romain in the front row to appreciate Nadal's blows./LP/David Charpentier
Coming from Munich, Theo, 18, is enjoying himself.
Even with gloves and a cap screwed on the head.
“It's great this atmosphere.
We feel that we are witnessing something special, there are not many people in the stands.
I came to see tennis matches and there I see Nadal.
I can't ask for better.
I stay until the end.
Vincent, 42, and his partner Vanessa did not have this patience.
Around 11:30 p.m., the couple left the flagship of the French Tennis Federation before the end of the first set.
“We arrived at 3 pm, we would have stayed well but we have to be reasonable, tomorrow we have to get up.
These night matches give a special touch to the tournament.
We come regularly but this edition will remain apart.
But with this temperature, it's still complicated to stay seated.
"
"It's too cold to play"
At 1:26 am, the last match ends.
Jannik Sinner, beaten by Nadal (7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-1), returns to the presidential stand to return to the locker room.
The first words of the winner will be for these spectators paralyzed by the cold.
"He even thanked us for staying after his match, it was really nice", greets Luis, a delighted spectator.
Nevertheless, we can feel the Mallorcan a bit nervous.
For his 100th on the ocher earth which consecrated him king, he undoubtedly dreamed of a little more warmth and public.
"Thank you very much for staying so late in such circumstances," Nadal confides to a handful of frozen enthusiasts.
It was really, really hard.
With these conditions, my lift does not really take, but I was able to find aggression.
I'm very happy to be in the semi-finals again, it's the most important tournament for me.
"
🇪🇸🗣 "The most beautiful place to play"
Rafael Nadal reacts after playing his 100th match at Roland-Garros.
The Spaniard won ... 98!
# RG20
💻 Follow Roland Garros live: https://t.co/Z0SzpLkTvf pic.twitter.com/mlrt4G54lG
- France tv sport (@francetvsport) October 6, 2020
If he understands the health reasons that led to reducing the assistance to virtual confidentiality, Nadal will show a little less diplomacy later when it comes to evoking the cold in the face of journalists.
“It's not ideal to finish at half past one in the morning, but the problem is really the temperature,” he blurted out.
It's too cold to play tennis.
I know footballers play, but they keep moving.
We have a lot of down time and it's dangerous for our bodies to play in these conditions.
"
Outside, the guards posted at the foot of the Central stairs and who were worried from the start of the late start of Nadal's match, turn the spectators towards the exits.
Outside the site, the parents of the ball collectors are waiting for their child.
Others sent a taxi to pick him up.
A rude awakening
“I was on the Central from 9 pm to 11 pm, narrates Rafaël, 13 years old.
After that hour, the Federation no longer has the right to employ the youngest.
I watched the game while waiting for my father to come and get me (
Editor's note: the organization forbids ball collectors from entering by public transport at this time and asks parents to come or order taxis
).
Being on Nadal's game and seeing him so closely is the most beautiful thing that has happened to me.
It was great, there was a special atmosphere due to the lighting.
This was really impressing.
"
And when we worry about the cold, the teenager reassures us.
“We have the choice to wear a jacket if it's too cold but in principle we prefer to stay in a T-shirt.
We warm up well before entering the court and afterwards we move often.
I won't say I was hot but I was fine.
"
This Wednesday morning, the awakening was brutal for all our witnesses.
“It stung a bit, I got up around 7:30 am and my sister an hour earlier, confirms Luis.
We returned around 2 am to our home in Villejuif (Val-de-Marne).
We had come by car, at this time the journey is quiet.
But it is the first time that I came to Roland-Garros.
I was there to see King Nadal, I was spoiled.
"
