Paris: Tennis at Roland Garros

The French Open, or Roland Garros as it is known here, has started. When we in France say Roland Garros, we mean the tournament and not just the place where it takes place (as when we say Flushing Meadow for the US Open or Melbourne Park for the Australian Open…it is more equivalent to the sense that the name Wimbledon evokes a whole lot more than just the name where the tournament takes place, at least among tennis followers).
That said, Rolland Garros cannot be more different than Wimbledon. Whereas Wimbledon is played on grass, Rolland Garros is on red clay that is whole lot slower than grass. In Wimbledon, you may blink and miss a great shot, at Rolland Garros, you can take a long siesta and you might not have missed a thing. The French are mighty proud of Rolland Garros (and don’t even dare saying that at Rolland Garros even insomniacs would fall asleep…the French would patiently explain that on clay, one has to “construct” points and that patience, patience, patience really are the magic words that make a difference between winners and losers on the slow clay). Watching Roland Garros on tv, it is also interesting to hear running French commentaries (normally by male commentators) exhalting the physical beauty of certain women's players (the model-like young lady Miss X; the beautiful smile of the young Miss X....for instance) that just would not pass in American or Australian tv!

An observation that might strike non French at Roland Garros is the enormous pressure it seems to place on home players. If American players seem to relish and shine when playing at their home turf (the US Open), French playes seem to positively wilt at Rolland Garros. It is no accident that Amélie Mauresmo, the most reveled French player at the moment, has won her two Grand Slams in Australia and at Wimbledon and has never gone further than the quarter final at Rolland Garros. And who is the last French winner at Rolland Garros? None other than the very French Mary Pierce (who to her credit can now speak French fluently…since a couple of years now) and has more and more affirmed her “Frenchness”.

Why do French players wilt like fragile flowers under too strong light at their beloved Roland? I ask myself this question as a tennis fan. The answer might very well be what the press has been saying all along and more: too much pressure, too high expectation on the broad shoulders of these players. But there is more. Granted the French I find very tolerant of shortcomings that are human nature. For instance, they may think that you are a jerk for holding an opinion that differs from their own, but they still respect you if you stick to your gun. Or they may indeed recognize loudly your shortcomings (unlike the rule of silence like “when you cannot say something nice, don’t say anything at all”) but this does not mean that they like your good qualities any less! Yet, despite this, the French still like winners and hate losers. I think this was beautifully put by Mary Pierce who has had her share of love and hate relationship with the Roland Garros public: I am French when I win and not French when I lose. Now with an attitude like that, no wonder that the loveable Amélie is often so rigidly wooden whenever she enters the main court to play. And no wonder only French lesser players shine up to a certain point (the may win a round or two more than expected) at Roland, but never those who are expected to win. The stand-up French comic Roumanoff said it beautifully about what the French think of their sportpersons and athletes (often of minority groups except for tennis): You are French when you win and Black when you lose!

This year’s Roland Garros started in a fashion that unwillingly resembled Wimbledon: it rained, rained and rained. But thank goodness the sun is back if a bit shyly. However, after the loss of both Serena and Venus Williams, the organisers might very well have wished for rain the day when both sisters lost unexpectedly (the Williams though not near as dominant as they used to be still represent a huge draw card for women’s tennis….and to their credit, they still make even bigger news when they lose). Now that the exciting players (at least on the women’s side) are gone, and the moist clay is making play even slower, we can take long siestas and not miss a thing…..Apart from Serena in 2002, no American has won the French open for a long time (Mary Pierce is French remember, even if she sounds more American than French even when speaking French). Well, patience never being a valued trait among Americans, we may have to wait a long long time before seeing an American champ at Roland.

Hint for tennis enthusiasts who happen to be in Paris during Roland Garros: You can get a ground ticket (gives you the right to see all the outside courts but not the central court) in ticket booths at the entrance for the same day. In the early days, all outside courts may just feature your favorite players.