In all sports, there are advantages to being at home. At the French Open, being a visitor playing against a French player can feel as though the whole world is against you.
The crowds do not just cheer. They boo, they whistle, they make noise between serves, they hurl insults — and, at least once, even gum — at the locals’ opponents. That sort of behavior is why the tournament organizers banned alcohol from the stands last year, a policy still in place.
Some of the non-French athletes who deal with that sort of negativity in Paris, such as 19-year-old Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic, who eliminated Alexandre Muller in front of a rowdy crowd at Court 14 on Tuesday, compare the high-intensity atmosphere with that of a soccer game.
Photo: AP
Others choose stronger terms.
“Disgusting. Worst experience of my life,” was what Nicolas Jarry of Chile said this week when asked to think back to last year’s rowdy loss at Court Simonne-Mathieu to France’s Corentin Moutet, whose coach had implored the spectators to make life “hell” for Jarry after the two had a contentious meeting in Santiago earlier in the season.
Jarry blamed that on Moutet, saying that everything was calmer during his loss on Monday to another Frenchman, Arthur Fils, whom the Chilean called a “good guy” and a “gentleman.”
“It’s a battle out there, you know. Sometimes, it’s not just a battle with the player,” said Novak Djokovic, who was scheduled to face the irrepressible Moutet in the second round today.
“They’re going to have the crowd on their side. It’s nothing strange about it. It’s expected,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion said.
So much for the supposed silence usually found in a tennis arena. It all raises questions about where the line between support and incivility lies.
“We’ve stepped up security, and given chair umpires greater power to intervene and report unacceptable behavior in the stands,” tournament director Amelie Mauresmo, a former No. 1 player, said before this year’s event.
For Mensik on Tuesday, the jeers began every time he hit the ball during the warm-up ahead of his 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 6-3 win over Muller. More arrived once play began, accompanying each of his 20 aces or just when he simply walked to check a ball mark — a routine part of clay-court tennis.
After taking the third set, Mensik gave the boo birds a little bit back, waving his right index finger as if it were a baton conducting an orchestra, a move he learned from Djokovic.
“Sometimes, it is too far,” Mensik said of the crowd.
There are two sides to the loud backing French players receive.
It “makes you feel like you could reach for the stars,” said the highest-ranked French woman, Varvara Gracheva, who acknowledged that support also can become a burden.
She lost in the first round on Tuesday.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS