The French Open is held at the smallest venue in Grand Slam tennis, and, if local residents and environmentalists get their way, "will fall further behind rivals or move from the Paris site it's occupied for almost 100 years," according to Rossingh & De Beaupuy of BLOOMBERG. The French Tennis Federation and the local government "are appealing a tribunal's February decision" to block the €340M ($437M) expansion of the Roland Garros complex into adjacent botanical gardens. French Open Dir Gilbert Ysern said while opponents have pledged to take legal action against the plan, the project is "still alive and moving on." Ysern: "We are, together with the City of Paris, absolutely convinced that our project is a good one." The FFT "plans to file its building permits in July." Neighbors "are vowing to block construction through the courts." A local neighborhood association Chair, Roger Lebon, said, "The extension project is monstrous. There's concrete everywhere, and they want to pour more." During a May 25 presentation of the plans, FFT President Jean Gachassin said the upgrade "absolutely" has to proceed, or the event risks falling behind the other three tennis majors -- the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open (BLOOMBERG, 5/29).
LET THERE BE LIGHT: XINHUA reported world No. 1 Novak Djokovic said on Tuesday that the Center Court of the French Open "needs lights first considering a roof will not be ready" until '18. A day of downpours "caused delays and interruptions of play on the day and about 14 matches have been rescheduled." Djokovic: "It's very important (to have a roof). It's the first time I hear actually when it's going to happen (in 2018), but I knew they had that in mind and have been working on that project" (XINHUA, 5/29).
