- Sep 22, 2013
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The French Open, often referred to as Roland-Garros, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France. Named after the French aviator Roland Garros, it is the premier clay court tennis championship event in the world and the second of four annual Grand Slam tournaments, the other three being the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Roland Garros is currently the only major held on clay, and it is the zenith of the spring clay court season. Because of the seven rounds needed for a championship, the slow-playing surface and the best-of-five-set men's singles matches (without a tiebreak in the final set), the event is widely considered to be the most physically demanding tennis tournament in the world (source of information: Wikipedia).
This year, I'll be following the highly-ranked women Simona Halep (Romania), Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia), and Venus Williams (USA).
The men's side is interesting too, but unless something turns my head, I'm not going to see who wins the usual Djokovic-Murray-Nadal-Federer tug-of-war, but maybe a cool upstart like Marin Cilic (Croatia) might spice things up.
What I like about the French Open is the following:
1. its international feel
2. the clay-court magic (a slower but jumpier brand of tennis)
3. Roland-Garros Stadium (more 'chic' than the fabled Wimbledon tournament at the All England Club)
4. the colorful fanfare (a mix of festivity and class, unlike that seen in any other Grand Slam tourney)
Mostly, I hope this year sees something truly great happen for the gifted Venus Williams who started out as a prodigy but was eventually overshadowed by her monstrous younger sister Serena. Maybe Venus will pull out some 'afterglow' miracle in this tournament!
With all the chatter about terrorism threatening our everyday sensibilities about pedestrian sanity/security, it will be nice to turn on the TV and enjoy French Open games this summer and think fondly about competitive sports and how it contributes to dialogue about international peace too (e.g., Munich).
With that said, what do you like about tennis/France/Roland-Garros, and do you have a favorite titan/underdog in this year's tourney?
My favorite French Open female players are Venus Williams (women's doubles winner in 1999 and 2010) and Maria Sharapova (women's singles winner in 2012 and 2014).
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TRUMP: I better not hear about Roland-Garros terrorism...
CARTER: The world is on eggshells, but as they say/ask, "Tennis...anyone?"
TRUMP: I'm a big Venus Williams/Rafael Nadal fan...
CARTER: They are superstars, and the French Open is very interesting!
TRUMP: Do you have a favorite past champion?
CARTER: Michael Chang (USA).
TRUMP: That's cool, I like Maria Sharapova (Russia).
CARTER: Let the gods of international peace prevail...
====
FRENCH OPEN 2017 (Official Website!):
Roland Garros - The 2017 French Open - Official site by IBM
This year, I'll be following the highly-ranked women Simona Halep (Romania), Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia), and Venus Williams (USA).
The men's side is interesting too, but unless something turns my head, I'm not going to see who wins the usual Djokovic-Murray-Nadal-Federer tug-of-war, but maybe a cool upstart like Marin Cilic (Croatia) might spice things up.
What I like about the French Open is the following:
1. its international feel
2. the clay-court magic (a slower but jumpier brand of tennis)
3. Roland-Garros Stadium (more 'chic' than the fabled Wimbledon tournament at the All England Club)
4. the colorful fanfare (a mix of festivity and class, unlike that seen in any other Grand Slam tourney)
Mostly, I hope this year sees something truly great happen for the gifted Venus Williams who started out as a prodigy but was eventually overshadowed by her monstrous younger sister Serena. Maybe Venus will pull out some 'afterglow' miracle in this tournament!
With all the chatter about terrorism threatening our everyday sensibilities about pedestrian sanity/security, it will be nice to turn on the TV and enjoy French Open games this summer and think fondly about competitive sports and how it contributes to dialogue about international peace too (e.g., Munich).
With that said, what do you like about tennis/France/Roland-Garros, and do you have a favorite titan/underdog in this year's tourney?
My favorite French Open female players are Venus Williams (women's doubles winner in 1999 and 2010) and Maria Sharapova (women's singles winner in 2012 and 2014).
====
TRUMP: I better not hear about Roland-Garros terrorism...
CARTER: The world is on eggshells, but as they say/ask, "Tennis...anyone?"
TRUMP: I'm a big Venus Williams/Rafael Nadal fan...
CARTER: They are superstars, and the French Open is very interesting!
TRUMP: Do you have a favorite past champion?
CARTER: Michael Chang (USA).
TRUMP: That's cool, I like Maria Sharapova (Russia).
CARTER: Let the gods of international peace prevail...
====
FRENCH OPEN 2017 (Official Website!):
Roland Garros - The 2017 French Open - Official site by IBM