THE FRENCH IS TOAST BY CRAIG CIGNARELLI

Written by: Staff on 9th June 2015

Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan in action against Tommy Haas of Germany during their first round match at the ATPÂ tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, 09 June 2015. EPA/MARIJANÂ MURAT

epa04790808 Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan in action against Tommy Haas of Germany during their first round match at the ATPÂ tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, 09 June 2015. EPA/MARIJANÂ MURAT |

“And we’re done. See you in 2016 folks! #RolandGarros #FrenchOpen” – Photo by @rolandgarros via Instagram.

The French is Toast

The terre battue is quieter now, the bludgeoning whacks and spectator roars now making way for French traffic’s distant snarls and the morning coos of Parisian pigeons. Red taillights still slide from the parking lot like rain runoff. Out on the courts, thin, cigarette-smoking men are tamping down the clay and removing trash from the stadium seats. And now Stade Roland Garros holds only the echoes of a Swiss underdog-made-champion and an American woman in the wondrous winter of a winning career.

For the next few weeks, players will travel through Europe, to places with aristocratic names like ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Stuttgart and Nottingham, in preparation for Wimbledon’s lawns. Though relatively unknown by the masses, these events see the elite players honing their games for the next slam.

Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan in action against Tommy Haas of Germany during their first round match at the ATP tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, 09 June 2015. EPA/MARIJAN MURAT

Dustin Brown of Germany in action against his compatriot Michael Berrer during the ATP tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, 08 June 2015. EPA/MARIJAN MURAT

Players will spend a few more hours at the net, crafting deft volleys and hitting overheads with the kind of gunshot reverberations that would launch Prince Harry into PTSD. To maintain balance, they’ll adjust their split steps’ width a few inches. Slices will flatten out to slither through the grass like rattlers. They’ll find those wide serves, letting the wet grasses Slip ‘n’ Slide the ball from the opponent’s reach the way we skidded from our parents in the bathing-suited days of our youth. And finally, though the grasses are thicker these days – browning more at the back of the court than the front – players will still flatten out their shots, searching for more speed, less spin, and the kind of aim wives pray for when their husbands hit the bathroom in the middle of the night.

For Novak, the Grand Slam opportunity is over. For Serena, history is two majors away. So, let us enjoy the silence, as the tennis season sprouts its way from Parisian clay to Wimbledon’s grass. The strawberries are ripening. The whites are in the wash. A fortnight is almost upon us.

Topics: Atp, Craig Cignarelli, French Open, Nottingham, RG15, Roland Garros, S Hertogenbosch, Sports, Stuttgart, Tennis News, Wimbledon

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10sBalls_com says:

June 9, 2015 at 9:18 am

THE FRENCH IS TOAST BY CRAIG CIGNARELLI- http://t.co/gAhojxm1Pw #tennis #RG15 #FrenchOpen #WimbledonAwaits #Stuttgart #Nottingham #grass