When your sporting event is missing a 14-time champ, it is no small thing. Much the same way Bruce Springsteen’s absence would loom large at an E Street Band concert, Rafael Nadal’s absence has hovered over Roland Garros. Nevertheless, with Nadal at home (you can’t spell Majorca with “Major”) the 2023 French Open carries on. And the vacuum has been filled. By Carlos Alcaraz, another relentless Spaniard. By emerging young stars. By players from six continents. By a Ukrainian mom playing for much more than herself. By Novak Djokovic—who we sometimes forget—is fixing to stand alone, a week hence, with a record 23 Major titles.
The void has also been filled by….the French fans. They have always angled to be part of the show, whistling and doing the wave, cheering the players and booing them, often the same players, often in the same match. (Some “love to boo everything you do,” says Djokovic.) The French crowd carried the aging entertainer, Gael Monfils, to an enthralling five-set win in round one. They have rallied behind his wife, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, especially when she faces Russian opponents. They cheered against American Taylor Fritz so relentlessly and lustily, he shushed them after winning. Then they booed him for more than a minute.
There are no French players left in the draw. But there’s another week of matches. Which means innumerable occasions for the French fans to get in on the act. Our midterm grades through Week One.
