PARIS -- If you're watching Novak Djokovic's match against Filip Misolic on Saturday night, and hear a couple of out-of-place cheers from the crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier, don't be alarmed. With Paris Saint-Germain contesting the Champions League final against Inter Milan in Munich, Parisians will be keeping more than half an eye on how that match is progressing while they take in the French Open.
It's been the talk of Roland Garros this week, and tournament director Amelie Mauresmo is fully aware that Paris will have a split sporting focus on Saturday night.
"We can't prohibit people to watch their telephone and to follow the football match simultaneously," Mauresmo said. "There won't be 10, 20 goals. If once or twice we'll have a bit of an uproar, it's going to be fine. The fact that there's the Champions League final won't change much for us anyway."
About a kilometer away from Roland Garros is the Parc des Princes, where PSG play their home matches. The stadium is decked out in Champions League-related paraphernalia and on Saturday evening, 40,000 fans will journey to that corner of Paris to watch their team play Inter on four huge screens. It's going to be a logistical nightmare for the local authorities, and an estimated 5,400 police will be deployed in Paris to keep an eye on celebrations, or commiserations. But with that volume of people heading to the Parc des Princes, alongside the crowds at Roland Garros, they've opened up an extra metro line to help the throng get to and from the 16th Arrondissement.
"All around Roland Garros there will be police department teams that will be rolled out," Mauresmo said. "Also safety arrangements will be set up."
PSG's players visited the grounds earlier in the week. Gianluigi Donnarumma was in Jannik Sinner's box for his match against Arthur Rinderknech on Monday. "Donnarumma and I have been good friends for a while," Sinner said. "We know each other well."
Due italiani a Parigi 🇮🇹 🤝 😃
— OK Tennis (@oktennis) May 27, 2025
L'incontro tra #Sinner e #Donnarumma
Il portiere del PSG era nel
Box di Jannik per il suo esordio al #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ZLJGka8oXz
Striker Gonzalo Ramos also visited, as did João Neves. Ousmane Dembélé took in Ugo Humbert's first round win over Christopher O'Connell. "[He's] my favorite football player, and I love his personality and the way he plays. He's playing an incredible season," Humbert said. "It's a world of dreams. At the beginning, I didn't even realize, but when somebody shouted 'Ousmane, from the Champions League!' I thought he must be there. He stayed for the whole match and I got to meet him and get a jersey. I left it in my locker and locked the door."
The tennis players have been asked frequently about the match too. Arthur Fils, the French 20-year-old, was keen to avoid being scheduled in Saturday's night match session so he could watch PSG, and though he toyed with the idea of getting to watch the match in person, logistics didn't quite allow it.
"I think it's tough to fly there," Fils said. "I have always loved Paris. I have played a little football myself. And when I really started watching football, this is when [Kylian] Mbappe and Neymar arrived. I thought he played wonderfully in his first year in Paris. There was Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] as well. I loved watching Zlatan with my father."
Gael Monfils, who fell to Jack Draper on Thursday night, had to take his daughter to a trampoline lesson on Friday morning but was then planning to head to Munich. However, that was dependent on how his wife Elina Svitolia's third round match against Bernarda Pera went. "My wife wants me to stay," Monfils said. "Initially, I knew where I would be on Saturday, but now there are several possible places. If my wife wins, I feel like I know where I will be too."
Lorenzo Musetti, who knows a few of the Inter players, is already safely through to the fourth round, and he'll be rooting for Inter, despite being a Juventus fan. "I live in a tough situation [with] Juventus. It's not easy to speak about football. But yeah, I'll go with [the] Italians. I'll go with the Inter."
Djokovic made a not-so-subtle plea to Mauresmo to avoid the night session when he talked before Saturday's schedule was announced. "It's going to be PSG that I will support," Djokovic said. "I will definitely watch it if I'm not playing night session. Yeah, that will be nice. FYI, Roland Garros schedule ..."
Alas, Djokovic's plea fell on deaf ears. So while Paris' attention is mostly on the Champions League final, Djokovic will be there on Chatrier trying to reach the fourth round, attempting to ignore any possible unexpected cheers.