Monday, May 30, 2016

French Open: Saving up my thoughts for a rainy day

The rain has played some serious havoc on the schedule for the tournament. Andy Murray, for example, has advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament while Novak Djokovic has yet to begin his fourth-round match. It's not as backed-up in the women's draw, but even if it were, best-of-three matches are a bit easier to knock out. The weather forecast in Paris is calling for a 90 percent chance of rain on Tuesday, according to The Weather Channel, and the rest of the week isn't looking great either.
This has led to some inspired conversation about what to do in order to insure a scheduled Sunday ending to the tournament, including switching some of the men's matches to best-of-three sets. Other suggestions are: a sudden death Rock/Paper/Scissors lightning round to determine the remaining quarterfinalists, a vegan hot-dog eating contest, allowing the player with the best Instagram account to advance through the draw and limiting each tennis match to one hour.
There is another idea floating around out there, and because it makes perfect sense, it isn't very popular: Finish the tournament late! It's a Grand Slam, for heaven's sakes. You don't rush majors. Or, sure, let's rush a major and whoever wins it can get that beloved asterisk next to his name. And then you scroll down to see what it means and it'll say:
* advanced to quarterfinals by finishing the "Miss Mary Mack" clapping game the fastest without making errors
If I recall correctly, the years that the U.S. Open has finished on a Monday did not cause some type of seismic shift in the tennis world. In fact, the break from tradition can bring a fresh breath of air and also this other thing called a quality match. I would much rather see players who have been allowed an opportunity to rest after their previous match take to the court than someone who is tired and is making a ton of errors because he can't move. If I were a fan who paid for that ticket, I'd be pissed. If it takes until Monday to get the cream rising to the top and playing great tennis, that's OK to me. Best of three? What about the women? Do they get pro sets? Or a spirited game of 'Odds and Evens'?

No comments: