French Open 2024 Fan Diary #6: Lindsay Davenport engagement, Carlos Alcaraz power & Au revoir
Friday morning and no signs of any tickets/ ground passes for the French Open finals weekend. So it looks like, today is going to be my last day at Roland Garros. I'm not feeling sad but rather happy and content that my four days turned into six.
The men's semi-finals are scheduled to begin at 2-30 PM local time so I have the morning to check out some more Paris sights. I catch up with Param, a friend's friend who I am connected to on social media but have never met in person. He's coming to watch the semis as well today.
We meet close to the Eiffel Tower and get some hot chocolate at Carette, which has been around since 1927. The hot chocolate was really, really good. We walk towards the Eiffel Tower and get a good look at the structure from up close before heading out to the French Open.
Both of us have grounds passes for today which means we can watch the match on any of the big screens on the grounds. We decide to camp on the lawns where they have one of the screens put up for the first semi between Italy's Jannik Sinner and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz. Both of us are cheering for the Italian, who will become the world No 1 on Monday. It's a bit hot and sunny as Sinner blazes through the first set 6-2 and goes up 2-0 in the second.
Alcaraz fights back though. The Spaniard, already a Wimbledon and US Open champion, wins the second set 6-3. At this point, a message flashes on the screen that the match is also being shown on the big screen inside Court Suzanne-Lenglen (the second biggest court at the French Open).
We decide to head there to watch the rest of it. On our way, we stop by one of the outside courts. Some kids and two wheeelchair tennis players are hitting with a few others. I ask Param if the player on the far side could be Dan Evans, the British player. We go closer to the far side and Param confirms it is. We think may be he is doing some promotion work or sponsor event with the wheelchair players and kids on court.
When Evans comes close to the stands during a break, we decide to ask him for a picture. I hear Evans speak in French very fluently. Suddenly, I'm not so sure if this is Dan Evans. Param goes ahead and asks him if we can get a picture with him. Evans agrees and takes the phone out of Param's hand. He steps back and proceeds to take a picture of Param and me.
Param explains that we want a picture with him. But Evans responds in broken English that he is no player. We are embarrassed. We take the phone back and head out in a hurry. Pictures can make for such fun stories. Like the one I posted on social media yesterday with Lindsay Davenport. I captioned it with "She said yes" and hashtagged her name. That picture led to my mom getting two congratulatory messages on my engagement!! I had a really good laugh over that.
We head out to Lenglen and catch some seats on the stand. It's a much better vibe here. The big screen is on one side of the court. Everyone has packed the other side to watch the match and the roof is closed which makes for a much cooler experience for us.
In the third, Sinner's game picks up once again and he wins it 6-3. Both players are holding serve in the fourth but the Italian is looking just a little more solid. At 4-5 in the fourth set, Sinner leads 30-15 on his serve. He has an easy overhead to put away for a 40-15 lead and move closer to 5-5. However, he hits the overhead wide. It's 30-30 intead. Alcaraz breaks that game and suddently we are into a fifth set.
The Spaniard is looking much stronger in the fifth set and his shots have more power than Sinner's. Alcaraz gets an early break in the decider to up 3-0. He holds on to his serve the next three times to complete a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win in four hours and 12 minutes. Param and me are both disappointed.
The second semi-final will start after a bit but both of us decide to head out. Param has plans with his family and I think I'd rather catch some dinner in Paris and follow the action on the livestream. We stroll around the grounds for a bit, stop by the mercahdise store. I add an RG keychain to my collection and we head towards the exit. We take some more pictures around the grounds.
My French Open experience is done for 2024. It was everything that I had imagined!! I hope to be back again in a few years time. As Alexander Zverev beats Casper Ruud in the second semi-final a few hours later, I pen down my fan diary entry for the day.
I shout out a big thank you to the universe in my head. I write a small thank you here to those of you who read this as I sign off. Au revoir Roland Garros. Until next time!!