School has started again; we’re at the beginning of September. But my husband enjoyed the Paraswimming so much, we go on the official ticket site and snap up two wheelchair tennis tickets for Wednesday afternoon. I love everything about the Games, and my husband is thrilled to get into the famous Roland Garros tennis grounds, which are inaccessible to ordinary folks during the Grand Slam tournament, the French Open.
But even before we head out to the Bois de Boulogne for the tennis, I set my alarm early again and on the way to work stop at Invalides for the Paratriathlon. Once again, the first event has to be postponed. Instead of Sunday morning, it is now held on Monday after the events scheduled for Monday.
As I arrive, I understand this time the river view is not accessible. So I make sure I get a good spot to see the cyclists. Lots of other people around me despite the fact that the summer holidays are over, and most Games tourists have gone home. The wheelchair triathletes are up first, and there’s a French athlete competing, I hear. When they zip past, we collectively scream our lungs out. What a way to start your day!
Tennis time!
We’re early at Roland Garros because we want to check out the whole site. There are two main courts for which you need specific tickets, Suzanne Lenglen, and Philippe Chatrier, for which our tickets are good.
There is a statue of Raphael Nadal who won the French Open more often than I can count, and the famous tennis Musketeers from way back when.
We have great seats (that weren’t all that expensive), and of course we wear our new Games T-shirts.
The session starts with the three “coups de bâton”, and off we are for the first match, a quarter final opposing a Scot with his own tiny but very loud fan club, and an Argentine.
The French fan corner fills up and Phryge the mascot arrives in the stands when a French player is scheduled for the next match, against a Spaniard.
Since it is Wednesday afternoon, when Paris kids don’t have school, there are several day camp groups. And once the kids understand how to launch audience cheers, the atmosphere heats up. However, this is still tennis, so the obligatory “Quiet, please” resounds again and again.
The final match of the day on our court is a doubles final, opposing Dutch and British players, so we get a medal ceremony at the end.
