The French Open

	This is where the players enter the court on Chartier stadium.   This was taken about an hour before the start of play on Championship Sunday at Roland Garros.		The first day I was at the French Open I saw the women’s semis and men’s doubles semis.  Here I am watching Dementieva destroy Suarez in the first semi-final.  My seats were not bad, but they were the worst I had all 3 days I attended.
	Another disappointing loss came in the men’s doubles when the Bryan brothers lost in the semi’s to a team from France.  I think I was the only person in the crowd outside of the Bryan’s family who was cheering for the American team.  Still a fun match to watch.		I used to like Guillermo Coria, but after watching how he handled himself in the final, I was very pleased to see Gaudio win the title.  Here he is preparing to hit a forehand to Gaudio.
	Coria hitting a serve to Gaudio in the 4th set.   It was a very interesting match.  It was awesome to see the crowd get behind Gaudio in the 3rd set when he was losing and to help lift his spirits.  The chanting, clapping and even the wave were electric in the stadium.		The tennis in the women’s semi-finals was pretty sloppy.   The last American in either draw, Jennifer Capriati, got swept off the court by Anastasia Myskina.  It was still fun to see.  Here Capriati is hitting a backhand.
	Here is where I sat and watched the men’s semis between Nalbandian and Gaudio and Coria and Henman.  Nalbandian is getting ready to return the serve of the eventual French Open champ, Gaston Gaudio.		The mixed doubles final was won by a team from France.  Richard Gasquet (age 17) and Tatiana Golovin (age 16) won the title over the brother/sister team of Wayne and Cara Black.  It was fun to see Cara again after meeting her in Hawaii at the WTA event on the Big Island.
	Before the men’s final began I walked around the stadium.   Here is a shot of Philippe Chartier Court about an hour before Gaudio and Coria played in the men’s final		When Coria started cramping up 2 sets to 0 in the final, some fans left.  So I took that opportunity to move to these seats where I watched the last 2 sets of the French Open men’s final.  Not too shabby!
	The crowd tried to pull Tim Henman through to victory in his match vs. Guillermo Coria.  However, once again Henman showed his ability to choke in big matches.  Here he is hitting an overhead.		Gaston Gaudio had an amazing tournament.  Here he is preparing to hit a forehand while using his left hand to prepare the racquet.  The use of the left hand is one of the key concepts I taught the last 3 years with PBI.  It was nice to see it displayed prominently by the French Open Champ.
	Despite his lack of notoriety, I love Max Mirnyi’s game.   I got to see he and Mahesh Bhupati play in the men’s doubles semi on Lenglen court.  Here is a picture of Mirnyi serving an ace to win the 2nd set over Malisse/Rochus.  Unfortunately, they lost in 3 sets.		Though I watched the main matches at Chartier court, I also enjoyed walking around the grounds.  Here I am in front of Lenglen court getting ready to watch some men’s doubles.
	Here is the women’s French Open Champ, Anastasia Myskina.   Here she is hitting a forehand in her victory over Capriati.  Her victory was about as ugly as this forehand.		Gaston Gaudio came out of nowhere to win the French Open.  Here is exulting in victory with the trophy in his hand.  You can see Coria, Guillermo Vilas and John McEnroe also up on stage for the trophy presentation.