The Roland Garros website ... well, its trying very hard isn't it, and appears on Twitter as @rolandgarros. I first got a bit put off because I was having some banter with @PseudoFed about the French loving him and got a tweet from them which I essentially interpreted as them telling me to not tar them (@rolandgarros) with the same brush. It was a funny old tweet that you could either interpret as them having a sense of humour (random), or even being mildly threatening. Anyway ... moving on.
They then release 18 of the greatest shots ever played at RG ... and funny old thing, but the 6 time Champion there - Rafa - didn't feature in any of them. Cue more back-peddling. And today we have a blog from someone called Roger Federal to promote the fact that "We Love You Rafa". Here's the link.
I know I'm a cynical old bat, but I remain unconvinced. A Federer blogger on the RG website doesn't need to put it out that Rafa has many French fans and is popular there, because Rafa tells that story to us himself. He's often said that on the streets of France he feels particularly welcomed and loved there - indeed (as opposed to last year), I felt an empathy towards him at Monte Carlo the other week ... but when it comes to the Parisian crowds at Roland Garros, it is an entirely different story.
Yes, they did boo him in that match as a 19 year-old against Grosjean. They did boo him when he left the court defeated against Soderling. They did boo the result when he got through his tough first round 5-setter against Isner last year, and it doesn't matter whether this Federal blog tries to promote that the rest of France loves Rafa ... there's an unacceptable issue with the - ahem - "knowledgeable" Parisian crowd that doesn't wash with me, as it is totally disrespectful to a player that has helped put their tournament right back on the map.
Equally, I struggle with a comment such as:-
"I'm sure the French public would have loved to see Federer beat him at least once, to give more credit to their so-called rivalry. Maybe this is why Roger always wins when it comes to getting the crowd support."
Is it just me, but what's that supposed to mean? Their rivalry lacks credit because Federer has singularly been unable to master Rafa on the clay at Roland Garros in spite of the fact that Rafa has beaten him also on grass and hardcourt Slams??
Hey, che sera, sera ... as I said. I'm a cynical old bat, and its all just about opinions ...
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