Paris, its President and its people are all 'court' up in drama!

The temperatures of the first week of the French Open were decidedly cool. Spectators were seen in de rigueur puffer jackets through the day and swaddled in blankets (made by Lacoste one hopes) in the evening when only Men’s matches were played.

Certainly the courtside atmosphere was not as febrile as that inside the French President’s plane as it landed in the former French colony of Vietnam.  Pictures of the President’s wife grabbing the President’s throat and/or slapping the Presidential jowl just before alighting were the viral sensation of the week. Sangfroid prevailed as the Presidential couple descended the aircraft steps, but noticeably sans arm contact. Speculation ran rife as to the cause of the contretemps. 

I guess when you have been your husband’s schoolteacher you always feel that you can discipline your unruly student.

Incendiary environments were also seen in Paris in masse at the end of the first week. Whilst the Parisians are usually seen rioting about changes to working hours and welfare entitlements, this time the victory of hometown team Paris St. Germain in the European Champions League final sent thousands into a state of destructive frenzy.  The final was played in Munich, but was relayed to a full house of 49,000 supporters at their home ground of Parc des Princes. So loud was the noise from the stadium that it disrupted the tennis nearby. At Roland Garros itself central court umpires had to ask the crowd to politely watch the tennis match and not cheer when news of another PSG goal was relayed to them!

After the sickening pedestrian injuries at Liverpool’s post EPL premiership parade, it was bizarre that in Paris soccer ‘celebrations’ saw two people die, 500 arrested, robbing, looting and cars set on fire.

One wonders what would have happened if PSG had not won their first Champions’ League title by the unprecedented score of 5-0 over Italy’s Inter-Milan. Australia’s recent national soccer final was similarly marred by poor behaviour by fans before, during and after the match. The ‘world game’ is clearly the most combustible contest for spectators.

Away from the chaos of football celebrations the tennis highlight of the first week was the official farewell of fourteen-time champion, Rafael Nadal. His three great rivals joined him on Court Centrale where a commemorative plague was laid to acknowledge his greatness.  It still does not seem possible that a person can win the same Grand Slam fourteen times, but Nadal did and beat the best the world has ever seen in the process.

As the first week ended, it was time to say goodbye to those whose destiny has never to win one Grand Slam title.  Richard Gasquet retired after being clinically dissected by Sinner.  Gael Monfils looks unlikely to return unless the physiotherapists can perform a miracle ‘a la eau Lourdes’ and restore his body to match fitness. Like Henri Leconte and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga before them Gasquet and Monfils have been elegant and charming players who have lacked the je ne sais quoi to become a Grand Slam champion.

There are other players who will play on, but it seems for them that Grand Slam glory will be eternally elusive. Stefanos Tsitsipas who only four years ago had a two set to love lead against Djokovic in a French Open final continues to slide down the rankings. Casper Ruud seems destined to be plagued by injury. Australia’s Alex De Minaur, appears unable to seriously trouble the game’s elite. Ons Jabeur, a two-time Grand Slam finalist, is a shadow of her former formidable self.

For those who have tasted Grand Slam glory, reprises seem unlikely. Australian Open champions Victoria Azarenka and Sofia Kenin come to mind. England’s Emma Raducanu is likely to remain a one-time Grand Slam champion.

Some things do return to their former state. In Australia, the conservative coalition has reunited after their week long fissure. There are still, however, many ideological rifts to heal before the coalition will be seen as genuinely displaying consensus ad idem!

Counting has all but finished in the Australian election. One Lower House Seat remains in doubt. In the Senate final counting has confirmed that the government is eleven votes short of a majority in the Senate. Guess what? The Labor government can pass legislation with the support of the eleven Green Senators. What price will the Greens exact for supporting their centrist Left-wing ally? We will know soon enough. Parliament reopens on July 22.

Australia’s Head of State, King Charles III, is also Canada’s.  Usurping the Canadian Governor-General, the King flew to Ottawa to deliver the Prime Minister’s ‘Throne Speech’ as the Canadian Parliament reopened after their recent general election. After months of people expecting a new government, the Liberal government rolls on under its new leader, Mark Carney.

Most Canadians are more interested to see if the Edmonton Oilers can gain retribution in the forthcoming Stanley Cup final. Runners-up last year, the Oilers must defeat defending champions Florida Panthers. The Oilers are seeking to become the first Canadian team to win the trophy since 1993. Given the serious ructions and rancour of Canadian/American relations of the last few months, the Stanley Cup final may take on the nationalistic fervour of the 1980 Winter Olympics Ice Hockey final between America and the then Soviet Union.

And just when we thought Trump’s bombshell tariff announcements had been defused, they have suddenly been relaunched.  Australia now faces a 50% tariff on its steel exports to the land “of the not so free.” Tragically bombs continue to rain down in Ukraine and Gaza as ceasefires continue to be elusive.

So, who launches their assault on the French Open titles as the tournament’s second week commences?

Can Zverev finally end his Grand Slam drought?

Can Sinner win his third successive Grand Slam title and his first French Open?

Can Alcaraz defend his title to further the Spanish/Nadal dynasty?

Can Djokovic defy all expectations and claim his coveted 25th Grand Slam title?

Can a relative newcomer like Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, with his “lean and hungry face”, looking like it has been chiselled from his region of Italy’s Carrara make a breakthrough run to the title?

Can Swiatek become the first female since the French Open became open to all amateurs in 1925 to win four consecutive titles? Think about that-it would be a feat not achieved by either Lenglen, Court, Graf, Seles, or Williams. Only two men have achieved this feat: Bjorn Borg from 19789-1981 and Nadal twice from 2005-2008 and 2017-2020 in addition to his sui generis run of five titles from 2010-2014.

Can Sabalenka overcome her poor record on clay and claim her first title?

Champions create legacies. So do great entertainers. For people of my generation there has been sadness with the recent passing of Loretta Swit and George Wendt.

Both created unforgettable television characters: Loretta played the feisty, vulnerable Nurse ‘Hot Lips’ Houlahan in ‘MASH’, a bittersweet comedy set amongst a backdrop of the Korean War; George was the laconic regular at the saloon in the Boston-based ‘Cheers’, a series that, like MASH, was watched by millions.

Every time there is an another episode of an asinine ‘reality’ TV show we would do well to remember the genuine mastery of Swit, Wendt and their ilk. For, through their fictional characters, they gave us timeless, warm, wry and witty insights into humanity.

Who will be remembered in a week’s time as this year’s grand champions of Paris?