KID’S DAY @ THE FRENCH OPEN. BY CHERYL JONES.

Written by: Staff on 28th May 2014

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

KID'S DAY @ THE FRENCH OPEN. BY CHERYL JONES.

epa04229751 Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns to Jeremy Chardy of France during their second round match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 28 May 2014. EPA/IAN LANGSDON |

Today was one of those days. Yes, it was cold and windy and off and on it spit mini-drops of rain; that is, until a deluge just before closing time. As always, on the first Wednesday of Roland Garros “Kid’s Day” is celebrated and as usual the grounds were swarming with excited youngsters who were treated to more than tennis – a brass band, jugglers, stilt-walkers and perhaps more that wasn’t visible; hidden behind the masses of children crowded here and there, filling every available pathway. It was pandemonium in a good way. That goodness didn’t seem to carry over to a growing number of top seeds that have been bounced out of the tournament by competitors who on paper should have been the ones heading home; not their more highly ranked compatriots. This was the first time in the Open Era where both the women’s number one and two seeds had been bounced out before the third round of any Grand Slam. (Serena Williams was the first seed and Li Na was the second.)

Novak Djokovic summed up the events of the day as far from unexpected. He said, “You can never underestimate any opponent in a Grand Slam, because Grand Slams are the biggest events we have in this sport, and it’s where all the players want to perform their best and it’s where they get this extra strength and inspiration to play their best.”

That hypothesis held true for the Williams sisters who both lost. It wasn’t the first time in the same round, but never so early in a tournament. It was a rarity. Venus and Serena lost on the same day in Paris in 2008 in the third round. That day, Serena lost out to Katarina Srebotnik and Venus bowed to Flavia Pennetta. In 2011, it happened again at Wimbledon in the round of 16 when Venus lost to Tsvetana Pironkova and Serena fell to Marion Bartoli.

The sisters offered up no excuses. Venus appeared to have a chance when she took the first set against Anna Schmiedlova. After that she seemed fatigued and after the third set ended up on the down side, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Both of them pointed out that it was just one of those days where the person across the net made it happen. Last year, Serena seemed more fit than ever. (This year – not so much.) In her first match opposite Aliza Lim, it was an easy victory for the world number one female player, but she was huffing and puffing at each changeover. That did not happen last year. Today, she experienced her worse loss ever in a slam when Garbine Muguruza moved to the next round with a 6-2, 6-2 victory. It should be back to the drawing board for both sisters. After her loss, Serena said, “Well it’s not easy [to lose in Paris]. I love it here, but there’s always next year. At least I won’t have any points to defend, so I look forward to it.” Wimbledon is up next and both sisters are looking forward to competition on the grass.

Novak Djokovic is the second seed this year. Today, he chalked up another one for the win column as he sent Jeremy Chardy home with his usual steady play and confidence, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.

Another fellow who triumphed today was Roger Federer. The Swiss maestro and new father of four spoke about a tweet that referenced a comment he had made in a past interview. Kim Clijsters tweeted it because she felt it was sound advice for players of all levels. It was, “Sometimes it’s okay just to be happy to be playing, that it’s okay just to enjoy the game. You don’t always need to be a success.” She said, “Some people don’t get that. Could you just talk about that comment and sort of the balance between tennis as a job, your profession, and the joy of the game?

What he said is worth a peek, “Well, I have a hard time understanding it, as well. I don’t know what I was trying to say back then. Anyway, I mean, I think sometimes the media or people think it’s only fun when you win and when you lose, clearly it’s a disaster; it’s all really bad. Yeah, it’s disappointing, and it’s not great fun. But at the same time, you can also enjoy a tournament, enjoy a city, enjoy life, as you move along with your career I think that’s what I mean, that sometimes things are totally just based on unforced errors or on the little things in life and if you have the big picture in mind, then you realize that missing a few too many forehands has zero impact on how you will actually sleep tonight.”

Quite a number of folks should heed that advice and sleep well, because tomorrow is truly another day.

Topics: Cheryl Jones, Federer, French Open, kids day, Li Na, Novak, Roland Garros, Serena, Sports, Tennis

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls_com says:

May 28, 2014 at 8:31 pm

KID’S DAY @ THE FRENCH OPEN. BY CHERYL JONES. – http://t.co/NkY1niyEpr @DjokerNole @serenawilliams @Venuseswilliams @rogerfederer #RG14