Tennis' French Open ‘Too Long’: John McEnroe

Add John McEnroe to the critics who think that the Grand Slam event in France is “too long.” The outspoken former world No. 1 shared his thoughts in an interview, saying that the 15-day event drags out too much for the players.

"Roland Garros is the only one of the four majors that is 15 days and that is too long," McEnroe said. "Think of it from a players' perspective: Some are hoping to reach the second week of a major but some don't even make it through the first week of the event. That's tough to take.”

McEnroe's comments were made on the show "Game Set and Mats," hosted by former player Mats Wilander, and also reported by Reuters.

"Players should say 'no mas' unless all of that money that the French federation, which does a fine job with the event -- and I understand it's nice to have three Sundays -- that all the money that is generated on that particular day is given to charity," McEnroe added.

McEnroe, who won seven Grand Slam singles titles during his career, is currently a tennis commentator and one of the more vocal personalities in the sport. McEnroe, who is from New York City, never won a French Open, but made the championship round of the 1984 event -- losing to Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia. He initially retired in 1992 before coming back to the sport, then retired for good in 2006.

McEnroe also criticized the current French Open security for an incident in which a fan tried to take a selfie with Roger Federer during a first-round match.

The 2015 French Open began Sunday and is scheduled to run until June 7. Other Grand Slam events are held over a fewer number of days. The Wimbledon Championships take 13 days while the U.S. Open and Australian Open take 14 days.