Tag: Roland Garros 2014

Tears Galore at Roland Garros

It has been a weird, incomprehensible tournament so far to say the least. First rounds brought one upset after another with shocking score lines. Stanislas Wawrinka and Li Na both faded away in the final sets of their matches, Wawrinka getting ‘bageled’ by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the fourth set and Na winning only one game in the final set of her encounter with Kristina Mladenovic. It’s the first time in history that both Australian Open title holders have gone out in the first round of the French Open.

The strange exits of Grigor Dimitrov and Kei Nishikori have equally raised eyebrows. Dimitrov has arrived to Paris in good form on clay, with a title in Bucharest and a strong semi-final showing in Rome. Yet, he lost to Ivo Karlovic who has not had a win at Roland Garros since 2007. Nishikori also lost in straight sets – in fact, he got crushed in the last two sets 6-1 and 6-2 – to Martin Klizan who is quietly having the best season of his career. In Nishikori’s defense, he did not get much practice prior to Roland Garros due to the injury that he suffered in the finals of Madrid three weeks ago.

Then, there have been tears… Plenty of them! Prior to today, Shuai Zhang and Stefanie Voegele shed tears of pain for different reasons during their press conferences. Zhang cried when reminded of her inability to win a first-round match in a Slam (her ninth first-round loss in a row in Slams), and Voegele could not hold back her tears due to personal reasons whose details the media members respectfully opted not to ask. It makes one admire Voegele (pictured below) that much more, considering that she stayed extremely calm and stable during her comeback win from 7-6 5-3 down against Anna-Lena Friedsam.

Voegele

There are also tears of joy. Mladenovic cried after her win against Na, and again when she was being interviewed by Fabrice Santoro on the court. The second time, it seemed everyone in her player’s box joined her in shedding tears. One could see in the stadium several French spectators who were themselves visibly overcome with emotions.

Finally, there are also bitters-sweet tears. Michael Llodra cried during an emotional tribute prepared for him by the organizers due to his final year on the tour and his last appearance at Roland Garros. It was after his first round loss on the historic ‘bull ring’ court (Court #1). His little boy came down to the court to be with him, while Fabrice Santoro, the French Tennis Federation President Jean Gachassin, and the Davis Cup Captain Arnaud Clément honored him with classy speeches. When given the microphone to say a few words, he often had to stop speaking to gather himself as his tears flowed in abundance.

Tennis is a beautiful game!

Roland Garros in Pictures

As the saying goes, a picture says thousand words, so this entry is filled with pictures and short comments from the first few days of competition at Roland Garros. Here we go…

SAM_1988Maintenance crew and ball boys & girls always working hard. You can see them even warming up next to their court prior to the match.

SAM_1992Some fans really get into supporting their compatriots.

SAM_2003Rain always a factor at Roland Garros.

SAM_2047Stringers also hard at work. There are always 15 to 20 of them stringing away. Rackets come and go all the time. Many have bands around their hands or fingers to avoid blisters. Some players require that the same person always string their rackets.

SAM_2061Milos Raonic and his coach Ivan Ljubicic getting ready for a practice session.

SAM_2065Roger Rasheed watching his pupil Grigor Dimitrov practice serves.

SAM_2077Roland Garros’ biggest problem with no real solution in sight: overcrowded grounds. I have beaten this topic to death so I will spare the readers my rant this time.

SAM_2056But then, there is also this as entertainment…

SAM_2088… and this!

SAM_2066Some of the computers available for the media.

SAM_2104Some of the official transportation cars for tournament players and other ‘important’ people. They are equipped with Wifi! The word is players are highly pleased about that.

SAM_2083Coach and legendary ex-pro Goran Ivanisevic looking extremely relaxed while watching his player Marin Cilic practice.

SAM_2097For those who enjoy one handed backhands.. Filippo Volandri has a beautiful one-hander, but that is all he has!

SAM_2105Just in case, you are planning your next trip to a Slam tournament!

That’s all for now!

Roland Garros Qualifying – A Thrilling Ride

I adore watching qualifying rounds at the Slams. Present are players who truly cherish the value of a win, who live in the shadows of the big stars of tennis, and who dream of winning a round just for the chance to advance closer to the main draw, possibly enter the top 100 rankings, and make a decent living. The ranking points and the increase in money prize for each match won mean a lot more to these players then to those who regularly succeed and aim for titles. These men and women watch where they stay, they balance their expenses, and they often share rooms with other players, or even share coaches. Thus, when they win a match and approach one more round to the main draw, you can see the display of sheer exhilaration, and when they lose, the dreadful disappointment. The French Open qualifying rounds offer just that this week at Roland Garros.

It offers several matches around the 3-hour mark. It offers Miloslav Mecir Jr. – the son of Miloslav Mecir Sr. who reached the finals of two Slams in the late 80s – who collapses to his knees and kisses the red clay on Court 10 after defeating the American Tim Smyczek to make it to the main draw of a Slam for the first time in his career. He happily emphasizes later to another coach that it is only his third Slam. He deserves to boast, especially after winning his previous round in a 3-hour-and-5-minutes battle, less than 24 hours prior to defeating the American. He is tired but he is content. Then, there is the victory t-shirt strip of Laurent Lokoli, the 19-year-old Frenchman, when he wins three thrilling matches in a row to unexpectedly make it to the main draw in the tournament where he watched his heroes perform since his childhood. Yes, he deserves to hear the roar of the French crowd when he wins the match point, strips his shirt off and celebrates in pure joy. There is also Cagla Buyukakcay who has yet to make it to the main draw of a Slam and never entered the top 100 in the WTA rankings. Yet she spent a grueling total of 5 hours and 42 minutes in her first two rounds combined, just to reach the final round of qualifying. She screams loud when her opponent misses a backhand in the net, because it signaled the end of a match that lasted over 3 hours, and in which she needed 9 match points to overcome the experienced Italian Alberta Brianti. She needed some recovery massages and a check-in with the physio, but she is ready for her match tomorrow. You admire Brianti just as much, who, in her loss, fought cramps and murmured to herself at one point that she would either “die on the court or win the match.”

The casual tennis fans may have never heard of these names, yet the game of tennis knows no distinction between stars and lower-ranked laborers. It demands the same commitment from any competitor who seeks to improve. “Making it” certainly means more to these players then the top stars – albeit the latter did have to go through these steps themselves at some point.

That is what the qualifying rounds offer. There is no place better than the Slams to appreciate the hard work of tennis players. The French crowd fills the outside courts despite the considerable entry fee (for example, the US Open qualifying rounds are free to the public) and gets involved in the matches. It is one dramatic duel after another, and one thrilling outcome following another. Yes, I am looking forward to the main draw and the fantastic skill level of the higher-ranked players. Yes, I am ready to watch the magical play and the superior athleticism of top champions like Rafael Nadal, Li Na, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Serena Williams. Yet, I realize once again that the qualifying rounds offer just as much entertainment, if not more emotions, to the tennis-lover in me.

SAM_2017For good measure, you can also catch the superstars in action, such as Roger Federer & Stanislas Wawrinka pictured above during this morning’s practice session on Philippe Chatrier Court.

Stay tuned for Mertov’s Tennis Desk Roland Garros updates, and look for more updates on Twitter

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