PARIS — Here are five thoughts from day one at Roland Garros* 2019…
* Note the strenuous effort to rebrand the French Open as Roland Garros.
1. For the 14th time, play here started on a Sunday. And to that, we say “oui.” You have a world-class sporting event. You want to create as much attention and buzz and traffic and draw as many eyeballs, especially on weekends. Why not wrap it around three weekends, much as the Olympics do? Today, thousands of fans in person and millions watching at home reaped the benefits. Wimbledon had agreed with the neighbors to play only one Sunday, the men’s final.