Grounds Pass, Day 7, June 2

PARIS—The French Open is the only Grand Slam that begins on a Sunday. By this point in the tournament you can feel the effect of having cleared those early matches out of the way. Yesterday, with cooler, grayer weather replacing the hot sun from the beginning of the week, there was a less frantic atmosphere around the grounds. There were fewer matches to catch up with, and fewer people on site—though it still wasn’t all that easy to make your way from one end to the other. As of today, singles matches are already contained within the three main show courts. With one exception, that is: An excellent showcase for little Court 2, Milos Raonic vs. Juan Monaco.

Here are yesterday’s odds and ends, with a few peeks ahead. One thing is for sure thus far: The sun and the heat are back.

The big off-court news from Friday, at least in the pressroom, was that Roger Federer had split with IMG and may have split from his personal agent at the firm, Tony Godsick, whose contract has also run out. Federer was caught off guard by the announcement in the middle of a Grand Slam, and wasn’t even sure how much he could talk about it. He finished his press conference by saying that, essentially, he didn't know what was going to happen with his representation going forward. There was speculation that Godsick may start his own agency with Federer, the way former IMG agent Jeff Schwartz did when he left the company and tried to take his star client Pete Sampras with him in 1999. But Godsick merely said that it was time for a change for him, and that he hoped to work with Roger in the future.

As I said, this news sent minor shock waves through the pressroom, but when a few of us Tweeted about it, the response from fans was mostly . . . crickets. Stories about agents will always be a bigger deal to reporters, for the simple reason that we’ve met and worked with them.

Speaking of Rog, and his upcoming match with qualifier David Goffin, the pre-match jockeying has already begun.

This was the crafty Goffin, playing his usual head games in his presser:

Q: “What do you know about [Federer]? Do you know what to expect on Sunday?”

David Goffin: “I’ve been watching Roger play on telly for so many years. Roger has always been my favorite. He has perfect tennis, perfect technique, and I like the man. From a human standpoint, he is a great person. So I expect a very difficult match.”

This was Federer, in his presser:

Q: “If I tell you you are his idol, what does it inspire in you?”

Roger Federer: “Not the first time it happens.”

Somebody seems to be a little more confident than somebody else.

In a more-relatable newsy story, Doug Robson of USA Todayreports that tennis players are becoming acquainted with the dark side of Twitter. Ivan Ljubicic closed his account after he angered U.S. players by criticizing them for not playing more in Europe this spring. Bob Bryan talks about the “hurtful” comments he’s received, and says it was more fun when he had fewer followers. Serena Williams admits to receiving “mean” messages, while Ryan Harrison says that “people just want to get a rise out of you.” The top players who seem least bothered by it, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, keep their distance and post only generic pictures and messages.

You do wonder what a player has to gain from Twitter, a form of communication that, more than any other I’ve participated in, leads inevitably to misinterpretation. Then again, there’s the case of 19-year-old Sloane Stephens, who, after winning her match yesterday to reach the fourth round of the French Open and put herself a step closer to the U.S. Olympic team, said that she was most excited because the victory would “get me more Twitter followers.”

Maybe the tours should make a rule: Twitter accounts for teenage players only. They seem to be the only ones who can handle it.

Is there a “Big 4” in men’s tennis, or is it merely a “Big 3”? The most obvious and logical response to this question is that it doesn’t matter, that whether you apply the word “Big” to a certain player in print isn’t going to change the way he plays when he’s on the court. But, if we go by press questions in Paris, it does seem that Andy Murray has been tacitly dropped from the grouping. One Spanish reporter has been asking the players who they think has the best return—"of the Top 3." Murray’s own excellent return doesn’t figure in at the moment.

Unfortunately for him, the man hasn’t also been forgotten by his own people. The big Murray story so far in Paris involves the phrase that Virginia Wade, commentating on British TV, used to describe him when he pulled up in pain with a back injury before going on to win his last match easily. The Ginny told Muzz to stop being a “drama queen.” Murray, naturally, took issue with the description: “She has no idea how I feel out there,” he said, dramatically.

Wade’s words may be turning into a media theme—or meme, as we say these days. Here’s the Mail this morning:

MOANING MURRAY MUST COPY NOVAK’S EXAMPLE AND STOP SHOWING HIS PAIN IN PARIS

Or, as the Sun put it:

DON’T CALL ME A DRAMA QUEEN!!!
Andy Murray defiantly stuck two fingers up at his critics and snapped, ‘You have no idea how I feel.’

After much discussion and observation and speculation at Roland Garros yesterday, it has been determined that Moaning Murray is ready to face Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo today.

Play is underway, Petra Kvitova has survived a walkabout second set, and David Ferrer has already driven Mikhail Youzhny around the bend—Youzhny was so frustrated that he handed his racquet to a fan and carved the word “Sorri” into the clay.

But there are still matches worth looking out for:

As mentioned, there's the Raonic/Monaco third-rounder, a mix of bomb serves and scrappy baseline play, that's tailor-made for little Court 2

One of the last Americans standing, Christina McHale, takes a crack at an in-form Li Na.

The One-Hander Bowl II goes off on Lenglen, this time between Richard Gasquet and Tommy Haas.

Maria Sharapova comes back a day later to face Shuai Peng. Peng has one win in four previous matches with Maria.

Finally, in the last match on Chatrier, Rafael Nadal joins his fellow members of the Big 3 in his presumably unimpeded roll through the first week. Yesterday Djokovic beat a qualifier, Devilder; in the fourth round, Federer will get another qualifier, Goffin; today Nadal plays Eduardo Schwank, currently ranked No. 192.

As Roland Garros reaches its halfway point, it’s good to be one of the kings.