The French Open

Yesterday we went out to the Rolland Garros tennis complex to take in some of the excitement that is the French Open.

After some difficulty finding the place (it's the Porte d'Auteuil, not Porte Maillot metro) we joined the throngs of people making their way to the gates. We had tickets for Court One, one of the smaller venues. The ladies were playing, and we were able to see three games on the clay courts. The big names like Serena Williams and Federer were also playing yesterday, but sadly not on our court. All the big games were showing on a big screen in the courtyard area though, and many people watched them there.


The second match that we watched was between players from Serbia and Spain. The Serbian player was definetly the favorite, although they seemed well matched and it was an exciting game. The Spanish player was a bit hot headed, and there was some raquet throwing and screams of frustration on her part that were fun. She also had a fan who insisted on cheering for her when everyone was quiet, waving two huge Spanish flags. At one point there were three security guards hanging around behind him, and he got a lot quieter after that.


Another highlight were the ballboys and girl. They had quite the routine, from a synchronized entry and exit run, to some fancy hand signals and ball tosses. They even held up umbrellas to shade the players during their break.


All in all, it was a lovely day, with great weather. Dad is hoping to go back for another day to see some more games.