Marion Bartoli is the top French player, but she has been left out of the France Fed Cup team due to her conflict with Nicolas Escude.
All the issues started when Bartoli fought with the France Fed Cup captain, Nicolas Escude and the French tennis federation over the autonomous coaching set-up with her father, Walter.
Jelena Dokic has had over 15 years on tour, but she has been struggling of late with her nerves. Dokic was hammered at the Sydney International yesterday with a 6-0 6-3 loss to Marion Bartoli of France.
I froze out there … It was not about tennis. It was not about her being the better player. I just really, really got nervous. Yeah, I really froze. My legs and my arms and everything just couldn’t move.
It seems like Jelena has a lot of work to do before the Australian Open 2012.
For those of you that enjoy a good light show and funky music then Bercy is the place for you. This year a robot introduces the players whilst the court is lit up with lights to the beat of the music. I’ll take a video later to show you all.
I started my day on Centre Court to watch Youzhny against Kohlschreiber. I was half expecting a Youzhny special, i.e. meltdown but alas all I got was a defeat. At least he managed to avoid a bagel in the 2nd set but he started to play a little too late to change the match around.
I went to the Media Centre to see what time Philipp was having his press conference but the wait was too long. I watched the first 3 games of Cilic v Verdasco on the TV screen before going back to my seat. It looked like Nando was going to carry on where Youzhny had left off, handing a break to Cilic with a DF. Muller v Anderson was about to start on Court 1 so I moved over there. Muller was having a bad start and was quickly 0-3. Court hopped once again as, checking the score on my phone, I saw that Nando was playing a bit better; anyone would think he didn’t want to play well in front of me. But play well he did and so confident was I in him wrapping up at the match whilst 3-0 up in the 3rd I once again made my way to the Press Bar to grab myself a croissant, seriously, they do taste better when they are free!
Back to Centre court for Raonic v Benneteau. As will previous occasions whenever a French player is on Centre court you are guaranteed someone will bring the bongos J It all adds to the unique atmosphere that is Bercy. On my way to my seat for this match I had found out the time of Nando’s press conference, 16.15 so I made am mental note to go to that. Until then I stayed and watched young Milos take the 1st set.
Off to Nando’s presser I went and whilst this time I asked no questions it was still an experience to be there. He was asked about the Davis Cup, why he visited California recently (a close friend had undergone heart surgery so he stayed there for 10 days), and his opinion on the court speed “ Well I think that it’s slower than last year is what I can say, but also because last year was so fast. It’s not like it’s unbelievable slow, it’s just indoor hardcourt”.
After the press conference I made my way to Court 1 for Mayer v Stepanek (past Gillou Simon who was eating a choc chip cookie. Don’t say I don’t give you the backstage gossip J). I will admit to being rather disappointed with Radek’s kit, I wanted something a little more colourful. Unfortunately his tennis matched his kit and he lost in straight sets. Stayed on Court 1 to catch Bellucci v Bogomolov Jr. My, the American can’t half sweat, we was only 6 games in and his shirt looked like he had taken a shower in it. By this time I had once again checked my phone and Milos had lost in 3 sets. To console myself I quickly left the arena to pop across the road for the best panini’s in the world. After my food and a diet coke I made my way back for the night session.
As I sat down Monfils was just finishing up his practice session. As earlier promised I recorded the light & music show before the Mahut v Ferrero match that I will upload to my Youtube account. This match was a privilege to watch. Net play, drop shots, volleys, passing shots and rallies that ended with a winner. It was an absolute joy to watch. A shame that Ferrero could not take the match to a deciding set but you cannot have everything.
As I wanted to try and get an early night I decided to go to the Media Centre and start writing up this report whilst waiting for Mahut’s press conference. I got most of it written before he arrived at 21.25. I have no idea what was said as it was all in French, though I did pick up a translated copy of the press conference on my way out. Here are a few quotes:
Q – Are you playing your best tennis?
A – Maybe. I’m playing very good tennis, but also, I’m able to play quite relaxed on the court.
Q – Next match is another Spaniard, Ferrer
A – I played him when we were younger because we are the same age. In team competitions we played each other very often, but at this level I have never met him on the court.
After the press conference it was time for a few more games of tennis and I joined the Tursunov v Mannarino match right at the end of the 1st set, which Mannarino won 6-2. I stayed for the first 3 games of the 2nd set then called it a day.
Bonjour and welcome to my daily reports from the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.
Firstly I must a big thank you once again to Steven for helping me secure the Press Pass that is going to enable me to bring you news from behind the scenes.
So, it all began at the Mairie de Paris (Town Hall) on Friday evening when top French players Gilles Simon & Richard Gasquet performed the main Singles draw. This was my first taste of “behind the scenes” action and it was rather enjoyable. All the chatter before from the Tournament Director etc was in French so I really have no idea what was said. What I do know is that it is all very straight forward, Novak at the top with Murray at the bottom, Ferrer then Roger were drawn to complete the four quarters. The remaining seeded players then everyone else followed this. All in all it took around 10 minutes to complete. As this year marks the 25th anniversary of BNP Paribas’ sponsorship they baked a cake J A few photos were taken with the players and officials before the champagne was served. Only one glass for me as I had to shoot off to a pre arranged recital at the Bastille Opera. That concluded my trip to the Paris Masters Draw Ceremony.
Day One: Qualifiers
Lots of matches to try and take in today as well as finding my way around, you will be amazed by how many corridors there are at Bercy.
My first port of call was Court 2 to watch the young American, Donald Young. His opponent was due to be Pere Riba but when I arrived the Order of Play had changed to Maxime Teixeira. Don was very laidback when he came on court, late, shuffling his feet with his headphones in his ears. I only watched the first set of this match, as I wanted to watch as much as possible today. I moved to Court 1 and caught part of Stakhovsky v De Schepper. My, Kenny De Schepper is tall, massively tall and I have stood next to Marin Cilic. Stayed for a few games of this match but had to leave to go back to my locker to get my cardigan, it was rather chilly in the arena today. Unlike Court 2, Court 1 has an electronic scoreboard. Before I left I noticed that as in previous years, BNP Paribas will be donating money for every Ace hit during the tournament. If you get to see the scoreboard during the tournament look out for the figure in the bottom right, that is the amount currently raised. Well-done BNP Paribas.
After I was warmed up (and via the press bar for a croissant) I went back to Court 2 for Nieminen v Ebden. To be honest this was not a high quality match, I was expecting a little better from Ebden but he was poor. He got himself a break to lead 5-3 and a chance to serve for the first set but he gave it straight back. Another break from Jarkko and the set was over 7-5.
Lots more court hopping as I caught parts of Roger-Vasselin v Kunitsyn, Clement v Rosol, Kohlschreiber v Ilhan and Paire v Istomin. I most wanted to watch young Benoit Paire having seen him against Ferrer at Wimbledon this year. I really do wish I had one Pound (£) for every drop shot he plays, I would be very rich. Anyway, Benoit played as I expected, erratic! Once again I had to leave early due to a prebooked night of Ballet at the Opera.
Day Two: Qualifiers
Arrived a little late this morning due to being totally tired from last night, sorry! I made my way firstly to the Media Centre and found that Andy Murray would be holding his pre-tournament press conference at 14.45. I made a mental note and headed for Courts.
Once again I started with Young as he played the experienced Finnish player Nieminen. Two things of note happened, when Jarkko gets mad he likes to kick advertising hoardings, so much so that they fall over. He did put it all back together to applause of the crowd so I’ll let him off. The other point is the number of times Young says “Man” during a match. Like Paire, if I had a Pound (£) for every time he says it during the match I would be rich. Young won the match and to his credit he stayed behind and signed a lot of autographs for the kids in the crowd, on both sides of the court. Nice to see that from a player.
My next match was Kohlschreiber v Clement where I stayed until Paire v Giraldo was about to start on Court 2. Once again Paire was making me crazy and thankfully I was saved by Andy Murray’s press conference.
My first ever press conference. I will admit that I was slightly nervous. I wanted to ask a question but I also wanted to take notes on how the professionals do it. Anyway there did not seem to be many people asking so I dived in there and asked the second question. I ask Andy what he thought of his draw. I managed to get the words out without tripping over my tongue and in a voice that made me sound normal!! I got quite a detailed response that I was pleased with. He made the point about Granollers having reached the final in Valencia (and subsequently won), how he has a lot of confidence and is playing very well at present. On Chardy he mentioned that he can be an “erratic player” who is hard to read, who can give you nothing to work with and also that he is a big server. Whilst Andy was answering he was making eye contact with me so that was nice.
Others questions focused on the court, he says they are a lot slower than last year, something he does not mind. Whilst he wants to do well here in Paris his main objective is the World Tour Finals in London. A question was asked about the crowd here in Bercy. They are very vocal and can get on a players back, Andy was asked about this and says he understands that when someone pays good money to watch the players they should expect a performance from both players. If they feel someone is not giving their all they should get on top of the player. He believes this to be a good thing as it is extra pressure to perform, something he likes. The player dispute was mentioned and all he would say it is there is no intention for the players to strike, all they want is the calendar to be looked at and a few weeks saved in the year to give it a length similar to the WTA Tour. He would also like to see the number of mandatory events lowered with maybe a commitment of only two 500’s not the current four.
Once the conference was over it was back to Court 1 where I caught Mahut v Kubot. The first set seemed to pass in a blur but it was good to finally see Nico play a Singles match (I had previously seen him play Doubles at Roland Garros). I spent a fair bit of the match watching his backhand; it really is a shot of beauty, unlike mine, which is still all over the court, out of court or in the net. I checked my phone and saw that Paire had taken his match to a 3rd set so once again I moved to Court 2. As I had missed part of the match I was unsure if anything had happened to Benoit but he looked totally whacked out during the set, leaning over his racquet at the end of points and giving off the impression he was about to collapse. Giraldo played a good match and deserved his win and place in the main draw. Last match of the day was Querrey v Seppi that I must admit I found a tad uninspiring. Not sure if it was because I was hungry but I left after the first set. I was surprised by the final scoreline; I did not see two breadsticks in Seppi so he must of turned up the gears once I left.
So that is it for now. The qualifiers are known and have been placed in the draw. An email has just come through as I type this report to say that Juan Martin Del Potro has withdrawn due to a shoulder problem. Disappointed not to see Delpo again but with the Davis Cup Final only a few weeks away it would be silly of him to risk further injury. A Lucky Loser will be placed in the draw at 10.30 tomorrow.
Rafael Nadal told DavisCup.com that he is tired in the lead up to the Davis Cup tie between Spain and France.
“I played very long match and for sure it is a challenge for me. I am trying for my country but it’s tough. For me it’s not a mental problem, it’s a physical problem. I am ready to play mentally, but physically two and a half weeks was hard.”
Virginie Razzano explained why she played at the French Open in her first round post match interview. Only 8 days ago her fiance Stephane Vidal died of a brain tumor.
“If I did this, it’s for Stephane and for me, too, because it’s what he wanted. He wanted that I play, that I continue my life, even if circumstances like these are very, very difficult and painful. But he believes in me, he believes that I have this strength in me, and he had plenty of it, too. It’s why we were good together.”
I just came across this video of a point in the Davis Cup between France and Croatia. Is this the point of the year? Well it has to be close. Im sure all the French players will say it is!
Gael Monfils seems to be in great form at the moment, as he has just booked himself a place in the Stuttgart ATP World Tour final. Gael defeated Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 6-4 4-6 6-0. He will now face Albert Montanes in the final. Montanese has been playing some great clay court tennis and he defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 7-6 to make the final.
Nicolas Mahut has started to notice back in France he is getting recognised in the streets. “People on the street congratulate me,” he said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, less than a week after he played in — but lost — the longest match in tennis history. “This is weird. Because for me, it’s still painful and disappointing.”
“About the loss, people are thinking further than win and loss. It’s more than that,” he said of the well-wishers who are more interested in his place in history than he is — for now, at least. “I need time. It’s still really painful for me. But I think after a few weeks I will feel like we did something special, John and I.”
Isner lost his second-round match in straight sets, then returned to the United States to throw out the first pitch at a New York Yankees game and read a Top Ten list on CBS’ “Late Show with David Letterman.” Mahut said he has done interviews for newspapers and TV shows in France, and French Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot called to set up a meeting.
Mahut said the International Tennis Hall of Fame asked for a racket and shirt that he wore in the match; he will donate the well-worn equipment when he goes to the Newport, R.I., museum for next week’s Hall of Fame Championships.
French tennis player Mathieu Montcourt‘s suspension for betting on matches has been reduced from eight to five weeks. The Associated Press report that the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Thursday the 24-year-old Montcourt bet a total of $192 on 36 tennis events, though not on his own matches or at tournaments in which he was playing.
The CAS panel cites “the small amounts gambled [and] the absence of influence of the bets on the matches in question.”
The court ordered the 135th-ranked Montcourt to serve a ban of five weeks starting July 6, which would allow him to enter Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. This must be of great relief for Montcourt who doesn’t have any points to defend at Wimbledon or the U.S. Open, so his chances of picking up points and moving even further up the rankings is high.
French tennis player 
