Victor, a Roland Garros employee who controls fan access to a drinks display, says that “beer, wine and champagne sell a lot.” The price of the pints ranges between 10 and 12 euros, and those who opt for the option chic, they will have to dig deeper into their pockets: 100 euros for 75 centiliters and 180 for a liter and a half bottle. Nothing to stop the spirit to quench the thirst of the fans, who take advantage of the downtime caused by the rain – from stop to stop the last three days – to hydrate their throats, and who these days have crossed the line of the code of behavior in the stands.
“This is starting to get out of hand, it is a total lack of respect. It’s starting to look like a soccer game. Soon we will see flares and hooligans hitting the stands. He starts to be ridiculous.Some were provoking to create a hostile atmosphere, and a spectator spit his gum at me,” Belgian David Goffin denounced on Wednesday, outraged after beating local Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. But his was not the only complaint. Several players had already upset the organization in some out of tune episode and the world number one, Iga Swiatek, regretted that same day the noise emitted by the spectators at the headquarters during the duel with the Japanese Naomi Osaka.
“I have a lot of respect for the fans and I know that we play for you, because it is entertainment and we win thanks to you, but sometimes we are under a lot of pressure when you shout during the rally or before the rest, and it becomes very difficult to concentrate,” she said. the Polish woman expressed at the foot of the track, trying to get the message across and, at the same time, not to offend people’s feelings so that the wind doesn’t blow against her in her next performance; “This is serious for us. We have been fighting to be better all our lives and we are playing for a lot of money. Please support us between points, but not during the points. It would be amazing”. She then elaborated in the conference room: “If it had happened once, I would have let it go, but it was a few. I know that the French public is very enthusiastic, but in tennis we are used to playing in silence. I hope they understand me”.
The public reprimand of the best player in the world, as well as the protests of Goffin and other players, took effect immediately. The next day, the French great’s organization organized an “informal meeting” between the tournament director, Amélie Mauresmo, and the special envoys. And the Frenchwoman was blunt: “After the pandemic we did a follow-up in terms of the environment, and we love that there is emotion and people express themselves. But we will be inflexible regarding respect for the tennis players and the development of the matches. If you don’t behave or throw things at the players, you’re gone. The instructions to the security services are very clear and there will be no doubt, and I also personally passed them on to the chair umpires, who must react immediately to control it.”
Bad Education
Mauresmo, 44 years old and in charge since the end of 2021 – the first woman in charge at Roland Garros – has been an interventionist since taking office. For example, she distanced the players and teams from the reporters, dosing their presence in the area reserved for professionals. Now, given the latest episodes, she will prohibit the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the stands. “Until now it was authorized [excepto en los boxesde los jugadores y la zona presidencial], but now it’s over everywhere. We are going to be intransigent. If someone exceeds the limits, he will be expelled,” the former number one (2004) and winner of two majors (Australian Open and Wimbledon, both in 2006) announced on Thursday.
In this way, the major Parisian is the first to adopt the measure. In Melbourne, London and New York, where the other major tournaments are held, fans can bring in the alcohol they purchase at the stalls without any restrictions. For some time now, the atmosphere on the slopes has footballed and the neat code of tennis—silence during the action, exclusive protagonism for the players— is fading in favor of the spectacle also moving to the stands. The decibels increase, the out-of-place and untimely screams, as well as the bizarre episodes; Without going any further, remember the comb dedicated to Rafael Nadal three years ago in Australia, by a woman in an obvious state of intoxication.
His uncle Toni, precisely, highlighted this growing problem in January, through an article published in this newspaper, titled: Bad education, unfortunately, has reached tennis. “It is no longer enough to go and enjoy a show. It seems, in fact, that this is the least of it. “What it is about is shouting, participating and, of course, attracting attention,” wrote the coach, denouncing a trend that is spreading. Last year, for example, a man was expelled from the US Open after uttering a Nazi slogan in the middle of the match between Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev: “Deutschland über alles (Germany above all).” The latter perceived it and demanded that the game stop: “He just said Hitler’s most famous phrase. It is unacceptable”.
A very fine line
That tournament, another person threatened the Serbian Davis Cup captain, Viktor Troiki, while Borna Gojo and Hamad Medjedovic were facing each other on one of the outside courts: “This is New York, not fucking Serbia!” In 2015, two fans got into a fight in the middle of Fognini-Paire. In January, Novak Djokovic had a hard time with a guy who constantly scolded him: “He has told me many things, you better not want to know. I put up with him for almost the entire game, but at the end I asked him if he wanted to come down and tell me to my face.” And thus a good handful of chapters of greater or lesser degree, and many others that do not transcend. It happens here and there, almost everywhere; Wimbledon, the oasis. The Magic Box of Madrid, a good example of screams, voices and whistles when they shouldn’t.
“The fans From here they are very amateurs, and sometimes they are not easy; I have had several love affairs with them, some matches and some difficult phases,” Djokovic said ironically, who during the fight with Roberto Carballés protested to the referee about a man’s attitude every time he tried to catch a drop shot; “You always want them to support you or at least have a kind of neutrality, but that is not possible. If you play against a Frenchman, you must be aware that you are going to have to face a big battle. But in a way it’s normal, they encourage their people. It’s part of what we do, of sport. We are different from football or basketball, but at the same time we want there to be an atmosphere. “Wimbledon is different, of course.”
And Nole continues: “The line is very fine and, when it is crossed, it begins to be disrespectful towards the player. That’s why I understand Goffin’s reaction the other day; I have experienced that many times. I support a player rebelling when someone insults or boos him. “Sometimes you have to stand up to whoever is bothering you.” So in the face of involution and excesses, Paris, territory canchero which has traditionally exerted strong environmental pressure on players, especially if there is a local player on the other side of the network, acts: from now on, only water, juices and soft drinks inside the courts; wine, beer and champagne, only in outdoor spaces. Prohibition (half-way). The diligent Mauresmo, at the crossroads.
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