Thoughts from the French Open (From My Back Patio)

                Ah, the French Open. The Slam that requires American fans to wake up at the crack of dawn just to see their comrades duke it out. Uh, I chose sleep, so I have no idea yet who won the Coco Gauff/Madison Keys matchup but if I had to guess, I’d say Gauff in a quick two sets. 

                  Right now, Mirra Andreeva and Lois Boisson are putting on a show out here. The teen Andreeva has traditionally managed stress pretty well in her young career but not today! It’s hard to imagine what it must be like to be used to being the belle of the ball and then going into a match where the crowd is actively rooting against you. A couple minutes ago, she smacked a ball way out of the court and got a ball abuse warning. (Such a stupid penalty. Especially when half the time, hitting an actual person yields almost no response. Coming up later.) 

A quick word about Boisson. Unfortunately, all anyone knew about her before was that another tennis player said she smelled, which did not happen in middle school – this was still the pro tour, so. But I’m curious to know if her will to win is happening in Paris because she’s French, or if she is always so brave in the face of break points and in tight moments. Right now, she’s receiving for the match, and Andreeva appears to already be thinking about where to have dinner – in England. Oops, it’s over. Boisson is through to the semis. What in the world.  Boisson is saying now in post-match that she is tired. Bet she is – it’s crazy that running around her backhand is working for her, but she’s obviously in great shape. 

                  Anyway, couple rando thoughts before I go back to the tennis (I mean work!):

 

1.        What is with the Nike kits this Slam? They are giving Charlie Brown, well-known as the world’s biggest loser?? 

2.        OK, Lorenzo Musetti. He kicked a ball into the upper body of a linesperson yesterday. He got the same level of penalty that Andreeva just got for hitting an inanimate object out of the court. This is what I mean about umpire judgement making tennis rules impossible to consistently uphold. Novak Djokovic obviously didn’t mean to hit a ball at a linesperson’s throat, but he got defaulted. As well he should have, because if you can’t control your temper and it ends up hurting someone, the penalty should hit you where it hurts. Musetti says he obviously didn’t mean it and that was why he got to stay in the tournament and advance to the semifinals. In short, that is crazy. 

 

 

 

 

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