Damp day on the courts

Last Thursday we went to the Roland Garros tennis complex on the west side of Paris to see some early matches at the French Open tournament. Play was scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m., and we were meeting Sue and Cheryl at the Censier-Daubenton métro station at 10:00, so we left the hotel fairly early.

We realized we had time to stop and have a coffee and a croissant, and we found a café near the closest métro stop to our Ibis hotel — métro Maison Blanche. The sun was shining brightly, as you can see from my picture of the tables on the sidewalk in front of the café.

Avenue d'Italie, Paris, 9:15 a.m., 01 June 2006

We took the métro from Jussieu (in the Latin Quarter) out to Porte d'Auteuil, which is a straight shot with stops in about 15 stations. At easch stop, more and more people got on who were going to the tennis tournament. You could tell by the way they were dressed and the things they were carrying -- backpacks, picnic baskets, binoculars, cameras.

An outdoor restaurant set up at Roland-Garros and reserved for VIPs

When we got to Porte d'Auteuil, we had to walk about 10 minutes to get to the tennis complex. There were dozens and dozens of scalpers along the route, and hundreds of people all walking in the same direction. The well-known Australian Leighton Hewitt was playing on Central Court at 11:00, and Julien Benneteau, a Frenchman, and Marcos Baghdatis, a Cypriot who lives and trains in France, were to play on Court No. 1 at the same hour. So there was a good crowd. We had tickets for Court No. 1. We were there by 11:00.

Benneteau and Baghdatis on Court No. 1 at about noon

We'd seen Baghdatis play before, on TV, and beat Andy Roddick, for example. He was good and I was sure he would have an easy time with Benneteau, who was new to me. But the match was a long one, and Benneteau finally pulled it out in the 5th set, after nearly 4 hours of play. As of today, Benneteau is the only French player who is still in the tournament. Mauresmo, Monfils, Grosjean, and Dechy were eliminated in early rounds.

Amélie Mauresmo's booth and party at Roland Garros on June 1.
The French player was eliminated by a young Czech player on June 4.

About 1:00 it was threatening to rain. I told Walt we should go get something to eat before it rained and all the courts emptied out into the restaurant area. We did just that, and when we got back to our seats 45 minutes later Benneteau was on the verge of losing the deciding set of his match. But he came back and went on the win the 5th set, much to the delight of the crowd (though Baghdatis had a lot of support too). It sprinkled rain by then.

Julien Benneteau serving early in the match, in sunshine

The next match on Court No. 1 featured French player Nathalie Dechy. It started in the rain, and after a set it started raining harder. Play was called at about 3:30. The problem at Roland Garros, when it rains, is that there is really not enough shelter for all the spectators.

Threatening skies at Roland Garros

We ourselves pushed our way through thick crowds for about 15 minutes to arrived back at the food court where Walt and I had had lunch. It was mobbed, but we were able to take cover under a big tent and wait it out. To console ourselves, we bought a bottle of rosé wine and had our apéritifs. At about 5:00, the rain stopped and play resumed. Dechy won her match.

Finding shelter during the rainshower

Cheryl and Sue decided to go back to their apartment at about 6:30, but Walt and I stayed until 8:00 to see the beginning of the match featuring American James Blake. Everything was delayed so much by rain and by the long, long Benneteau-Baghdatis match that we saw just the beginning, and the match featuring Martina Hingis that we were supposed to see on Court No. 1 at the end of the day never even got started.

Cheryl, Sue, and Walt waiting for play to start in a wet stadium

It was a good day, however. Benneteau and Baghdatis put on a good show. Lunch was good. We didn't get too wet, and we certainly didn't get sunburned. A good time was had by all.