Roland Garros: 5 things we learned on Day 15 - stylishly preparing for glory
Novak Djokovic showed the meticulous preparation and forensic attention to detail that marks out an alpha male among the elite: a tracksuit top with "23" emblazoned on it. The piece is on a limited run. One in white with "24" is in production for mid July when Wimbledon finishes.
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Novak’s lark
Shortly after dispatching Casper Ruud and drinking in the acclaim of the 15,000 fans on centre court, Novak Djokovic went back to his chair and whipped out of his bag a track suit top with "23" on it. Slick. And considerate. At least he didn't walk onto court wearing it. A record 23rd Grand Slam trophy at the four Grand Slam venues in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York. Kudos to the 36-year-old Serb. He is the supreme tennis being. Roger who? Rafa what?
In crowd
We were reminded of Dobie Gray's classic from the 1960s when we spied - inter alia - the Paris Saint- Germain striker Kylian Mbappé in the posh seats of the presidential stands sitting next to the former PSG star Zlatan Ibrahimovic. There was also Tony Estanguet, supremo of the organizing committee for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Do a good job there mate and there might be opening for you as boss at Roland Garros. Suggestion 1: equal billing for the men and women in the night games.
The song remains the same
Though it was his second defeat in the final in as many years, Casper Ruud can at least take comfort that he doesn’t lose to just anyone. Last year, a certain Rafael Nadal carved him up 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in two hours and 18 minutes. This year it was a much better performance 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 in three hours and 13 minutes. And he got 1,150,000 euros to console himself with. Last year it was 1,100,000.
The Mexican wave
As the players were resting in the final set before returning to centre court, the deranged entity that seeps into normally sensible people realised that it hadn't unleashed the Mexican Wave moment. And so one was started. Not a quickie but a full-blooded whoosh that left Novak Djokovic waiting to serve at 3-4 down in the third set. Poor old Novak. There you are trying to etch yourself into history and you’ve got a load of hillbillies going wild west on your aspirations. Well, the ageing gunslinger unloaded some more bullet serves and forehands and made it to 4-4. And on he rode into legend.
Noah’s lark
Yannick Noah, the last Frenchman to win the title at Roland Garros, came out to hand over the trophies. Pictures were shown on the giant screens of him winning the men's singles trophy back in 1983. Rightly so. He was the first Frenchman to win the French Open since Marcel Bernard in 1946. There’s not likely to be another French bloke winning it any time soon. Especially with Djokovic around.
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