PARIS—This is one of those days when tennis explains itself: Rafael Nadal vs. David Ferrer, followed by Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer; Roland Garros semifinals. The most anticipated day of the 2012 season thus far.
Chances are, this isn’t a day when you’re going to be looking for odd little side stories about the sport, so I’ll keep this Friday edition of the Grounds Pass brief. (At right: the pink Court 1; no, that's not where the semis will be played.)
Previews:
Nadal vs. Ferrer: The latter may be playing the best tennis of his career, and he pushed Nadal to the two-set limit in Barcelona and Rome this year. But Rafa has beaten him 12 straight times on clay, and he’s lost his serve just once so far here. The way it usually works with these guys is that it appears, for a time, that it’s finally going to be Ferrer’s day, until Nadal escapes at the end of each set, due in large part due to greater confidence and his go-to forehand. Nadal in three.
Djokovic-Federer: The last time they played, in Rome, Federer was off, and for the most part, by his own admission, he hasn’t been clicking in Paris. Djokovic hasn’t been at his best either, but I think he’ll be a little less tight against Federer than he was last year—despite the fact that he owns the last three majors, no one seems to be picking Nole to win this one, which could work in his favor. Judging from the way he scrapped in his match against del Potro, though, Federer will not go out easily. Djokovic in five.
John McEnroe showed up in the interview room yesterday, to take questions about the state of men’s tennis today. One thing he quickly showed was how much more John McEnroe talks than the top men do now. This once-shy prep-schooler knows how to ramble.
A few highlights:
His I-wasn’t-born-to-be-a-coach advice for Richard Gasquet: “Get out there and dig in, you know, like those other guys.”
His pot-kettle-black moment, regarding Andy Murray: “Most people would agree, that’s probably not the best idea to be, you know, getting negative.”
Though McEnroe does have a point when he says that Murray should start by trying to curtail his negativity against the other top guys, the way Johnny Mac did against Borg. He knew he couldn’t waste the energy.
McEnroe also said he felt for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga when he saw him “under the towel.” It reminded him of his own defeat here to Ivan Lendl. As good as his life is now, Mac said, “there are things you don’t forget.”
The Herald-Tribune ran an interesting (no, I won’t say eye-opening) article two days ago about “blind tennis.” Yes, it exists. Writer Thomas Lin visits a school for the blind in Massachusetts, where kids play with sound-making balls.“Your ears become your eyes,” as one doctor puts it. Amazing.
I mentioned the French people's particular love for Roger Federer the other day, but it seems it’s not enough for them to know that he’s from the next country, and next town, over. Some here want to claim him as their own:
Q. A question from your fans…You were born very close to the French/Swiss border. Are you certain you were born in Switzerland?
Federer: I think yes. I can’t remember because I was very small, very little when it happened. (Laughter.) But my mother told me it was in Basel, so it was on the Swiss side and not on the French side. But if you want confirmation, ask my mother. She knows everything about it.
See, even he doesn’t know! Be careful, Fed, if the French decide you’re one of their own, they’ll feel free to boo you.
Enjoy today. It's only a game, after all, made to be appreciated for as long as it lasts. If it doesn't go your way, there's always that other beauty of tennis: another tournament coming right up.