My French Open Experience continued from page 55 a hat was $35. My favorite souvenir purchased this year was a French Open towel, which was $20. Our access to the top players was unreal. On day one, we watched Novak Djokovic practice on Court #9 and then we were able to take photos with him. Roger Federer strolled past us after the conclusion of his match and a bit later, Rafael Nadal did the same. We spent time with Ryan Harrison after his practice session and he could not have any nicer to us. We stumbled into a match on Court #17 at the extreme outskirts of the grounds between Florian Mayer of Germany and Eduardo Schwank from Argentina and found ourselves singing the national anthems of both individual countries with the 100 fans that sat on the court. We were able to participate in Brian Baker’s amazing miracle comeback as we watched him defeat Xavier Malisse while waving American flags.
The quality of play that we witnessed that was exceptional. We primarily focused on the men’s tournament and had the privilege of watching from the 10th row of Lenglen as Nadal destroyed a feisty Denis Istomin. Federer was not sharp in his four-set win over Adrian Ungur and his erratic play carried over to all the subsequent matches in the tournament. We got to marvel at Djokovic’s athleticism in his win over Potito Starace. We saw Andy Murray’s listlessness and lethargy in his match as well against Tatsuma Ito of Japan. The two highlight matches of the week that we witnessed were Grigor Dimitrov versus Richard Gasquet, which was filled with acrobatic shot-making and an incredible 46-shot rally that left Dimitrov in cramps on the ground in agony and Gasquet vomiting on the court. We were fortunate to see the conclusion of the match between John Isner and Paul-Henry Mathieu on Center Court as we begged an usher to let
some crazed Americans to see the conclusion of the match. The French crowd was raucous, loud, and partisan, and as Isner got more and more fatigued, he stood no chance and eventually lost 18-16 in the fifth set. I can still hear the French singing and chanting and Mathieu’s name in French even now. We are in a golden era in men’s tennis now. There is superlative play and amazing personalities at the top of the game. I feel fortunate that I got to experience one week close up at the French Open witnessing the great players of today with access that I could never even begin to dream of at Flushing Meadows. This venue is a must for any tennis fan, who is looking for that memorable tennis vacation experience in one of the world’s prettiest cities. Dr. Aaron Freilich is a board certified cardiologist and avid tennis enthusiast. He resides in Lawrence, N.Y. with his wife Sara and their four children. He may be reached by e-mail at aaronfry@hotmail.com.
• Experts in elimination of termites, carpenter ants and other wood boring insects • Residential and commercial pest control maintenance programs • Experienced pest control professionals for over 25 years • Nassau, Suffolk, Queens County and Brooklyn • References available • Certified Pesticide Applicator NYS #C1-625256
56
Long Island Tennis Magazine • September/October 2012 • LITennisMag.com