A Rainy Day at Roland Garros

2011 champion Li Na gets ready to serve against American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

One of things you can always count on at the French Open is rain: light rain, heavy rain, and the threat of more rain. On this blustery Thursday of week one, the rain arrived early, midway, and late, throwing the day’s round 2 schedule into chaos and the shivering spectators into the concourses to try and keep dry and maybe wolf down some fries and rosé during the interminable rain delays that sadly have become a hallmark of this event.

It was a good day for American women’s tennis- on court 6 up-and-coming American Sloane Stephens dominated countrywoman Vania King 6-1, 6-3 with her powerful crosscourt forehands. And on Court number 1, the original stadium of Roland Garros, we saw American Bethanie Mattek-Sands prevail 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 over 2011 champion Li Na, who seemed out of sorts after winning the first set and sitting through 2 rain delays.

Court number 1 is an excellent stage for the serious tennis fan, providing enough vantage point to see the strategy of the players and the pace of the shots so often missed on television, but unlike the larger stadiums where you are forced to watch from way up high unless you pay dearly or are the guest of a corporate sponsor, its roughly 2,000 seat capacity allows for the perfect mix between the dramatic and intimate. When the men finally took the court, we saw the latest French phenom Benoit Paire match up against an equally imposing Pole Lukasz Kubot in a tight match that featured hard, flat serves from the big men, but also a high degree of finesse particularly from Paire, who always seemed to have an extra shot up his sleeve in his win.

Over on court 7, world #9 Stanislav Wawrinka took on Argentine Horacio Zeballos, best known for his victory over Rafael Nadal in this year’s Chilean Open final, but even with his hair cut short he was unable to keep up with the wits of Wawrinka, who is having a great year having played Djokovic to 5 astonishing sets in Melbourne and winning the final over David Ferrer in the Portugal Open. The stands were packed for this one, with spectators literally scaling the fences for a better view after the seats filled up.

Unfortunately the rain returned once again and halted play for the day with many matches unresolved, to continue tomorrow as the tournament marches on.