The 5-hour, 29-minute length of the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner Roland Garros final was just one of the many elements that made it so special. The longest French Open final prior to Sunday was the four-hour, twenty-four-minute match between Mats Wilander and Guillermo Vilas, which was an hour and five minutes shorter. Rafa's longest final was against Novak Djokovic in 2012, which lasted 3 hours and 49 minutes. His longest match at the site was 4 hours and 53 minutes against Paul Henri Mathieu in the fourth round of 2006.

On a surface that requires precise quality with every exchange, what Sinner and Alcaraz did was showcase their audience with an unusually long exhibition of cut-glass shot-making and ingenuity.

Because clay softens power, reduces the serve to an opening salvo, and at least gives the hard-running counter-puncher the appearance of a fair playing surface, it is the most bruising tennis surface. Each strike, each rally, each game is an ongoing interrogation. Over footspeed and agility, awareness of court geometry, control of stroke play over shoulder and at ankle, and endurance of muscle, heart, and lung.

The crushed earth of Roland Garros' bright orange 'terre battue' spreads out everywhere as a fine powder. covering the players' bodies and clothing after falls, slides, and lunges during the game. Some of this magical dust is said to have entered M.Fourteen's bloodstream, according to rumor. The RG merchandise store offers a 15-euro "snow globe" that creates a "clay storm" confetti over the Chatrier court when shaken. Additionally, "authentic" powdered clay has been incorporated into keychains that cost 15 and 25 euros, and color predominates every item.

David Rebuffet, assistant court maintenance manager in the French Tennis Federations' (FFT) operations division, claims that the clay hides a lot more. He describes the transverse layers that compose the 80cm thick, five-layer block of the Roland Garros courts: "there are big stones at the bottom, then gravel, bottom ash (from coal residue), and limestone." And this, with glee, "The red clay you see on top? that's just a 2 millimeter layer of crushed brick."

The thickness of a typical matchstick is two millimeters, according to perplexity.ai. The top layer of clay, mud, and pulverized brick at Roland Garros is all there is. This is an ubiquitous presence that is paradoxical. However, tissue paper is not the material that makes up the 2mm crushed brick. Indeed, it is the polish that gives it its luster. The width of the match stick at Roland Garros provides a surface that allows tennis's distinctive lateral movement to explore and make the most of the court's geometry. It lacks a slide, a mark, a kick, an excessive spin, and a fadeaway drop shot.

To remove what has been disturbed "from the day before," the thin layer of crushed brick is swept every morning at Roland Garros. The ground staff then "brush the court and get rid of small piles of play" using a larger version of the squeegee, which is similar to a very big bathroom wiper. The goal is to eliminate any potential poor bounces while playing. The court is then watered after a new layer of 2mm clay or crushed brick is applied on top. According to Rebuffet, watering at the two ends of the day is essential because "it helps keep the court nice and humid, which is good for a proper playing surface."

"The Warrior: Rafa Nadal and his Kingdom of Clay," which was recently published by Christopher Clarey and is complex and thorough, includes a section titled "The Canvas." After examining clay courts all over the world, it turns its attention to Roland Garros. The chapter concludes with an incredible tale about the brickworks that produce the clay used at Roland Garros. Bricks that are defective—"chipped or cracked …not suitable for construction"—come to a factory in a town called Pontpoint from a brickworks in an area close to Lille and the Belgian border. The sixty-year-old grinding machine, operated by two men, pulverizes the bad bricks into powder with particles as fine as one-tenth of a millimeter in diameter. This clay, which is available at Roland Garros, is also shipped to other tennis clubs throughout France and, as The Warrior informs us, to other nations as well. It is impossible to say how far dust might travel.

In contrast to Wimbledon, Roland Garros is open to the public. It serves as their training facility and the French Tennis Federation's headquarters. According to Rebuffet, the courts host "events and competitions," along with "training sessions for professional players and young athletes from the French training center" throughout the summer and fall.

Depending on the weather, the outer courts are accessible until the start of winter. Chatrier can be utilized until the end of January, "covered and protected" from the frost. (At Wimbledon, the Centre Court is only used during their biggest fortnight but otherwise stays inactive all year round.) The courts are worked on between training sessions and the center runs as good as all year around barring a few months in the winter. Generally speaking, there are no activities or training in the outer courts from early November to late March. During this period, Rebuffet explains, the limestone layer is "naturally decompact[ed] by rain and, above all, frost" exposure.

The courts are once again being prepared one by one and opened up for training "at the same pace" from the end of March through May. An increasingly large grand stage layout gradually unveils three show courts and fourteen outer courts throughout the spring. Their multinational cast of characters all arrive at once, and they throw themselves into Paris' yearly ochre opera.

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