TERRE BATTUE HUE BY CHERYL JONES

Written by: Staff on 30th May 2014

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

TERRE BATTUE HUE BY CHERYL JONES

epa04232031 Roger Federer of Switzerland returns to Dmitry Tursunov of Russia during their third round match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 30 May 2014. EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT |

The only sure thing about Roland Garros is the terre battue. The dust leaves its mark on anyone who passes through the gates, whether they are a contender, a world number one or a spectator. The players that compete in the shadow of Henri Cochet, Rene Lacoste, Jean Borotra and Jacques Brugnon, who have been memorialized in bronze, positioned to guard the plaza behind Court Philippe Chatrier and in front of the old stadium known as Court 1, or affectionately called “The Bull Ring “can all say that they have had a little piece of the hallowed ground that welcomed the great players throughout the history of the competition. There surely must be grains of grit from those long ago times, mixed with the crushed brick from each of the 90 years that the tournament has been contested.

Red dust has always left its mark on clothing of competitors. It is worn proudly, like a badge of courage. Many clothing manufacturers have incorporated bold colors that are intended to obscure spots of dust and grime that are present no matter how careful the players strike the ball or stride down the court. This tournament, Roger Federer has worn shorts that are exactly the color of terre battue. Obviously the dust is still there, but you can’t see it.

Dmitry Tursunov wishes he hadn’t seen Federer through that terre battue haze lurking alongside Federer across the net today. Even though Tursunov who is Russian, managed to pull out one set as his own; it made no difference at all, as the Swiss tennis genius received affirmation of yet an additional mention in the history books. With a flourish, Federer pulled another one out of the hat with a 7-5, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory that gave him the top billing for the most appearances in Paris in the Round of 16, at 12. He had been tied with Guillermo Vilas before the match began. Now he stands at the top of that column, all alone. Wednesday’s match opposite Diego Sebastian Schwartzman gave him his 60th win at Roland Garros and that made it 60 plus matches at each of the four Grand Slams. He will face Ernests Gulbis, a Latvian, who defeated Radek Stepanek today, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5.

Evidently hiding the appearance of terre battue stains was a ploy that Maria Sharapova picked up on as well. She sported a short pale pink tennis tunic top, but peeking from under its hem was a pair of terre battue colored shorts that masked any appearance of dust.

She humiliated Argentine, Paula Ormaechea, 6-0, 6-0 to move on to the Round of 16. She will face Samantha Stosur who won the US Open in 2011. Stosur was the first Australian to have a Grand Slam title since Evonne Goolagong Cawley came out on top at Wimbledon in 1980. It was quite an accomplishment for Stosur who worked night and day to improve her fitness in the year before that win. She has managed to stay very fit and her game has reaped the benefits.

Sharapova and Stosur will be evenly matched when they meet on Sunday. In outward appearance, the two women couldn’t be more dissimilar. Sharapova is tall and lithe at 6’2”, and Stosur is muscular and sinewy at 5’9”.

Sharapova will be in a more advantageous place, having won it all here in 2012 and along the way to that victory, she managed to pick up a title at each of the other three majors. She has come such a long, long way since she was the little girl her father took away from danger in Chernobyl, Russia. He took her all the way to Florida, purportedly with seven hundred dollars in his pocket. She came to Bollettieri’s Academy with a dream as a 9-year-old and an aptitude for tennis. The twenty-eight million plus dollars she has won in competition must seem as if she’s living a dream that’s come true over and over again. (That doesn’t even take into consideration the more than matching amounts that endorsements and commercials have funneled into her coffers.)

There is more to life than tennis but you couldn’t convince some folks of that. Today, the reigning king of the Tie-Break, John Isner, pulled out a win when he took four sets to defeat Tommy Robredo, 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5. He wasn’t clad in terre battue at the beginning of his match, but by the end, it was head to toe. He was terre battue to the core. Up next for him is Tomas Berdych, who spent the afternoon defeating Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-1, 6-2, 6-7, 6-4.

The 128 players who began the tournament last Sunday have “whittled ” themselves down to a mere 16 at the beginning of the second week that begins on Sunday. Even if terre battue isn’t a favorite color, it is the fashionable shade to be wearing in Paris – that is if you’re near Roland Garros.

Topics: Cheryl Jones, Dmitry Tursunov, French Open, Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer, Roland Garros, Samantha Stosur, Tennis, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

May 30, 2014 at 12:33 pm

TERRE BATTUE HUE BY CHERYL JONES – http://t.co/uwBsRqNN9p #tennis #FrenchOpen #Paris #RolandGarros #RG14