Big names have ‘close calls’
The 123rd French-Open is on now. It is the 2nd Grand Slam event of the year, with a total prize money of Euros 42 million. None of it will come easily to the players. The top 128 players in its draw have the venom to topple players with ‘big’ reputations. By the Day 3, that is last Wednesday (29), this drama enacted itself a good few times.
Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep and Serena Williams and scores of others very nearly went home in their very 1st matches. The last 8 weeks preceding the French-Open, was the European Clay season. It has placed many prominent players on the injury list. Two former Women’s World No.1s had to pack their bags and leave Paris, after the Round 1 at Roland Garros. They lost through physical breakdowns- Angelique Kerber of Germany and Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki lost unable to cope.
Men’s events
World No.4 Alexander Zverev had a 5-hour match against Australian Marathon man John Millman. Most of the Top 20 Men’s players lost at least 1 Set, before going through to Round 2. In the French -Open, a Men’s match is best of 5 Sets, without the ‘Tie-break’ system in the 5th. The French are saying it will stay so. Other Grand Slams have changed this.
The French-Open is a compulsory event for the top 130 in World Rankings. This pushes players such as Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka to play while nursing an injury. His signature backhand, much dreaded by the rest, is a devastating weapon. Clay is his favourite surface.
A good heap of young players from Canada and Russia are shaking the top names. Under the banner, ‘New Gen’ ATP is relentlessly promoting them to stem the ageing big names. Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, Daniil Medvedev and Denis Shapovalov are a few of them. Austrian Dominic Thiem looks poised to win this event.
Clay Court Specialists
Tennis evolved on Grass and Clay Courts over the past 150 years. Roland Garros Tennis stadium is in Paris. It is the biggest Clay Court stadium and bound to remain Clay. It is the French Tennis identity and, if not for Roland Garros, Clay Courts would have ceased to exist a good few decades ago.
In the preceding weeks to the French-Open, many European capitals and cities hold their championships on Clay Courts. They are the ‘warm-ups’ for the French-Open. Red Clay has the characteristic of reducing the speed of the ball, with its bounce. For players who evolve on Hard Courts, speed reduction of the Red Clay, places them in a tactical turmoil.
Top money and tough matches
With this many players in the draw, to win the French-Open title and Euros 2.5 million, a player must win 7 matches. It means, being ready to play 35 Sets while spending over 30 hours on stadium courts with partisan spectators. It is very taxing. To be in the draw, players must have gone through 12 to 15 years of regimented training, sacrificing their teenage life, and overcome untold amount of challenges. Winning the French-Open is every player’s dream.
In the early Rounds, in many instances, good players lose matches, mostly caught unawares. Top 100 ranked players get direct entry and other 28 through ‘wild card’ and qualification rounds. This is so for both genders. There is a good purse for every Round. Tennis now carries equal amount of money for Men and Women. It was not so, and the WTA saw to it, to happen.
Playing style matters
Serena Williams lost her 1st Set to Russian Vitalia Diatchenko, after which, one saw nothing to stop Diatchenko beating Serena Williams. Yet, Serena Williams prevailed. Dietchenko has every aspect of the game components to beat Williams. What she does not have is the physical capacity to sustain her own game. Diatchenko’s unorthodox stroke-making took too much out of her. She plays both her ground-strokes double handed. Strangely, for a Russian, her physical presence and the stroke-making venom to sustain the game does not match. Tactically, no player can use strokes alone to win, without physical support.
Serena Williams is on her return run from motherhood, played the cool cat game to overcome her opponent convincingly. Her stroke-making power is from her body and not so much from her arm swings. It is unique to her.
The French-Open identity
Most of the mainstream media do not report international Tennis, as faithfully as popular local sport. The French-Open, with few others, is an exception. With 123 years of history, the French-Open is a part of the modern sports scenario. Roland Garros, the name of the stadium, belongs to a pioneer aviator. The Stadium Courts’ names are those of famous French Tennis players, Men and Women. The French players brought the Davis Cup home early enough, to enable the right to hold a Grand Slam event in France. Only 4 nations have this privilege.
Of all the major Tennis events, the French-Open is the most glamorous to attend. It has in some way or other, maintained the old world charm with modern amenities.
George Paldano, Int. player; Accredited Coach of German Federation; National
coach Sri Lanka & Brunei, Davis-Cup, Federation Cup captain/coach–
contact 94 77 544 8880 geodano2015@gmail.com –