Patrick Mouratoglou has responded to comments made by David Goffin about the crowd in Paris at Roland-Garros, with the tennis coach believing that passion is key in sport.
After facing French wildcard Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round, Goffin declared that the Roland-Garros atmosphere was “unhealthy” and this was “happening only in France.”
“I completely understand what he had to go through,” said Mouratoglou. “I know how difficult it is. I’ve been in this situation, not as a player, but as a coach.”
However, Mouratoglou believes this kind of intense fan engagement is not unhealthy–it’s sport! The best part of tennis is the emotion, and it’s something we should have more of, not less.
“I’ve heard several players complain about the atmosphere, that it was too much, that it was looking like a football match,” the coach explained. “Well, that’s what’s cool about football, no?”
KEY MOMENTS
0.13 – Goffin facing a French player
0.25 – Mouratoglou relates his experience with challenging crowds
0.38 – Mouratoglou disagrees with Goffin’s claim that rowdy crowds are unhealthy
0.50 – There is a minority of fans that behave problematically, and we need to take measures against them
0:58 – Rude fans are not only in France, they’re found all over the world
1:33 – Not everyone knows tennis, and some can’t control themselves during incredible points – we can’t prevent this
1:48 – Sport is all about emotion
2:09 – The atmosphere of Stan Wawrinka v Pavel Kotov was fantastic, no-one complained
After facing French wildcard Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round, Goffin declared that the Roland-Garros atmosphere was “unhealthy” and this was “happening only in France.”
“I completely understand what he had to go through,” said Mouratoglou. “I know how difficult it is. I’ve been in this situation, not as a player, but as a coach.”
However, Mouratoglou believes this kind of intense fan engagement is not unhealthy–it’s sport! The best part of tennis is the emotion, and it’s something we should have more of, not less.
“I’ve heard several players complain about the atmosphere, that it was too much, that it was looking like a football match,” the coach explained. “Well, that’s what’s cool about football, no?”
KEY MOMENTS
0.13 – Goffin facing a French player
0.25 – Mouratoglou relates his experience with challenging crowds
0.38 – Mouratoglou disagrees with Goffin’s claim that rowdy crowds are unhealthy
0.50 – There is a minority of fans that behave problematically, and we need to take measures against them
0:58 – Rude fans are not only in France, they’re found all over the world
1:33 – Not everyone knows tennis, and some can’t control themselves during incredible points – we can’t prevent this
1:48 – Sport is all about emotion
2:09 – The atmosphere of Stan Wawrinka v Pavel Kotov was fantastic, no-one complained
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SportsTranscript
00:00 I've heard several players complain about the atmosphere, that it was too much,
00:03 that it was looking like a football match. Well, that's what's cool about football, no?
00:08 David Goffin had to face a crowd that was supporting the French player during the whole match
00:17 and after the match he said that the atmosphere here was unhealthy and that was happening only
00:24 in France. I completely understand what he had to go through and I know how difficult it is.
00:29 I've been in that situation, not as a player but as a coach, with people around me very
00:34 aggressive during a match. So I understand completely again his emotion but definitely
00:39 it is not unhealthy. It's super healthy. This is sports, this is passion. Some guys maybe have
00:46 completely inappropriate behaviours. It's a very little minority of people. Those people have to
00:52 be taken out but generally speaking you can't say that and that it happens only in France is
00:57 completely untrue. Also, I've been travelling around the world for so many years and when you're
01:02 in Spain against a Spanish player, in Italy against an Italian, in South America against
01:06 South American players, you live the same thing everywhere. People are supporting their home
01:10 favourites. You always have a few people who are crossing the line. I've been insulted almost
01:14 in every stadium in the world. Also even in Wimbledon when my player was playing against
01:19 a British player. So this happens everywhere. Is it acceptable? No. Those people again,
01:23 those fans that are crossing the line have to be taken out but the atmosphere, we can do
01:27 nothing against it and that's a good thing because again this brings passion for our sport.
01:32 Not everyone knows tennis, not everyone is a tennis fan, not everyone realises that it can
01:36 be disturbing. Not everyone can control themselves during the point. They're excited, they express
01:41 their excitement and in a way it's cool. There is great atmosphere. I've heard several players
01:46 complain about the atmosphere, that it was too much, that it was looking like a football match.
01:51 Well, that's what's cool about football, no? That the atmosphere is unbelievable,
01:54 that the fans are crazy, that there is a bit of extreme things but extreme emotions. That's
01:59 why people watch sports because they want to feel emotions. When you have a crazy crowd like
02:04 in Davies Cup, who doesn't like it? We all love it. During the match between Stanvavrinka and
02:09 Kotov, it was midnight, the crowd was crazy and that was so cool to watch. There was so much
02:16 passion for that sport. This is what we need. Of course, more of this. No extreme behaviours,
02:22 set up a limit but more passion.