espnW Blog: W @ Roland Garros
Courtey of Joanne GerstnerPARIS -- Maria Sharapova has it right: Paris is one of the best places on Earth to just observe the world around you. Some of the things I have seen so far: a cute young couple from Prague getting engaged by the Eiffel Tower, and then tearfully calling their parents to share the happy news.
Joanne C. Gerstner PARIS -- One of the fantastic things in Europe is to stumble upon farmer's markets. Today, in my daily Metro-combo-walking voyage to get to Roland Garros, there was a lovely market set up on the corner of my subway stop.
Joanne C. Gerstner PARIS -- The tennis fans who come to watch the French Open are a passionate group. The cheering sections tend to break down by national lines -- with the majority of fans being French -- and they go wild for their home country players.
courtesy of Joanne GerstnerPARIS -- It had to happen sometime. Rain and cool weather have finally hit the French Open, and I have no right to complain. It's in the mid-60s here, with a 60 percent chance of rain Sunday, according to the French weather service.
Courtey of Joanne GerstnerClay courts are messy, dusty, and can be quite fussy.A couple of things that can happen to a hard court, leaves piling up or bird droppings, can be washed away with a hose. The red clay courts of Roland Garros, the very thing that makes the French Open so special, require a lot of TLC to stay in good repair.
PARIS -- I'm doing a lot of walking every day, which is great. Love getting a good workout, and also getting to see, hear and smell Paris. My walks, usually to the Metro and Roland Garros, make for amazing people-watching and window-shopping.
Joanne C. GerstnerPARIS -- I was duly warned, by three people, that the soft-serve ice cream at Roland Garros was dangerous stuff. One taste, and you're hooked.Ice cream, on any hot day, is always yummy. But this Roland Garros stuff is amazing.
PARIS -- It's probably too soon to make a solid decision, but the evidence is mounting that the women are behaving much better than the men at the French Open.There is a list of fines, updated daily and tacked to a wall in the media operations hub of Philippe Chatrier.
Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesPARIS -- It's easy to forget that Maria Sharapova is actually Russian.She speaks English fluently, and flawlessly, like an American. She sounds American, with only a tiny hint of an accent, and throws around the "uhs," "you knows" and "likes" that litter typical American speech patterns.
PARIS -- There are a lot of statues scattered around the grounds of Roland Garros, celebrating the greats of French tennis.My favorite, by a long mile, is the super cool statue of Suzanne Lenglen, the first woman in the world to turn pro in tennis, stationed in front of the stadium named after her.
Joanne GerstnerPARIS -- The opening day of a Grand Slam tournament has the feel of the first day of school, mixed with a circus. People were excited, even a touch nervous, walking into the grounds of Roland Garros on Sunday morning.
PARIS -- This is the lull before the French Open starts Sunday, so I decided to make the most of my small bits of free time to see some of Paris.I am lucky to have visited this beautiful place a few times before, and one of my favorite things to do is the scenic tourist boat ride on the river Seine.
Courtey of Joanne GerstnerPARIS -- I've heard the question asked many times and seen it posted in comment sections of tennis stories: Do players who shriek during matches, like Maria Sharapova, do the same in practice?After watching Sharapova work out on Court Philippe Chatrier on Friday, I can legally testify to the following -- she is quite loud in an empty stadium.
Courtesy of Joanne GerstnerPARIS -- I was out for a walk this evening on the beautiful Champs Elysees, trying to overcome my brain-deadness from a long overnight flight and hardly any sleep.It seemed like the rest of Paris was out for a stroll too, as the wide sidewalks were crowded with people leisurely walking and window shopping.