Yesterday I was on Court Philippe Chatrier for the men's semifinals, alomg with Tribe members MarieJ and Maedel. Some in the Tribe watching on TV commented that the stands looked empty during the first semifinal - it didn't feel that way from where I was sitting. Some of the courtside boxes were empty to begin with, but everywhere else was packed. Due to a slight travel delay, I didn't get inside until the first changeover, and the queues outside the court of those waiting to enter at that stage were so large that I was lucky to get in on the first attempt - as it was, I had to sit on the steps until the next changeover, as there was no time to find my seat. Though stuck outside for the first three games, I didn't miss more than a couple of points of the match, thanks to the viewing windows on Court Chatrier, which at least allow those waiting to enter to see what's going on.
As for there not being much noise during the first semi - I think that's an auditory illusion based on where the microphones are placed for TV. Djokovic had his vocal supporters there, and so did Nadal. Nadal had more of them, as it happens. MarieJ, right beside me, was surely Rafa's loudest and most frequent supporter. But plenty of people were happy with the relative drama of the third set, when Djokovic broke back twice, and held a set point before the tiebreak, so the match ended on a note of excitement.
Given the bad rap Djokovic sometimes gets in TW, I also must say that when he loses to a big opponent, as he did yesterday, his congratulatory body language in defeat couldn't be better than it is, and he also took time to acknowledge the crowd as he was walking off court. Even though he took more games from the defending champion than his previous three opponents put together, It wasn't to be his day, but his manners couldn't be faulted.
During the brief interval between the two semifinals, we quickly went outside to greet Pete - and came back with Federer up a break against Monfils. Of course, there was more excitement in the crowd for this match - and absolutely no doubt that Monfils had more vocal supporters than did his opponent. On the biggest day of his tennis career so far, the Frenchman can honestly say that he played well, deservedly taking the second set in the process. After saving a set point towards the end of the fourth set, he also had a chance to take that set into a tiebreak. In the end, as expected, Federer was too good. And for the third year running, we now have a Federer-Nadal final in Paris. I will be there.
As always, enjoy today's tennis. More photos to follow - among others, Bjorn Borg was there watching, so I had plenty to focus on.
