GLAM SLAM

What’s your favourite Grand Slam championship? We are at the French Open till 10 June and it is the second leg of the coveted series that connects the four biggest tournaments in the world. Each of the four has its own personality. The Aussie Open is the casual Slam. Wimbledon is the traditional Slam. The US Open is the brash Slam and that’s not meant in a negative way. Here we are at Roland Garros and what we have is the chic Slam. There is a sense of style here and just one example of that is the look of the lines people and the ball kids. They stand out in such a smart manner compared to the other events. There is also an intimacy about the courts because fans are pretty close to the action. They can all but sniff the red clay as it flies up like a dust ball when a player slides into a return. This year the centre court, Court Philippe Chatrier, named after the late visionary who brought the tournament back to life in the early eighties, is bordered with white geraniums compared to the last few years when the flowers had been red ones all in bloom. Walk around the grounds and you get a sense that you are in a little village, albeit a busy one for  two weeks. Cobblestone walkways similar to the back streets of a quaint town are lined with boutiques displaying the best event merchandise of any major tournament, right through to delicious snacks and refreshing soft serve ice cream. So many fans take advantage of the park benches under the shade trees with their new spring leaves. If you have been fortunate enough to have attended all four of the majors let us know which one is your favourite. This year marks my 28th year of coming to Roland Garros and I’ve lost track of how many Grand Slam tournaments I have been privileged to attend. I think it’s up around 140 or something. Each one in its own way is special to me, but one thing I like very much about Roland Garros and Wimbledon is the fact that there is no night play. Yes!