the french open

played at: stade roland garros; paris, france

number of spectator courts: 20, including 5 show courts (court philipe chatrier, court suzanne lenglen, court no. 1, court no.2 and court no. 3) and 3 practice courts

surface: clay

opened: 1928

attended: 26 & 27 may, 2008

after a much anticipated trip to paris for the 3rd time, i finally made it to roland garros. and despite pretty terrible weather, the experience will remain a rich one. i had never seen a match on clay, so i was pleased.

in a strange year that saw the defending women's champ and world no. 1 retire just weeks before the tournament and many other notable absenses...the show had to go on. i just wish it would have "gone on" for more than a mere 3 matches in 2 days. but, i digress.

my take

accessibility - getting tickets ahead of time proved to be quite easy. just pay attention to the dates on the official website and get into the lottery. i was able to get tickets for both days with little trouble. day of tickets seem to be a little harder to come by. but, judging by the sheer volume of people in attendance, i am guessing that grounds passes, or 'annex' tickets are readily available. or, if you want to brave one of the seemingly endless supply of ticker hawkers on the streets surrounding the stadium...i am willing to bet that you can get tickets. how much you end up paying is another question.

atmosphere: crowded and chaotic. it's a relatively small venue and when there is no tennis to watch (ie. because of rain,) there is virtually no where to go. from a sport standpoint, it is much more subdued than expected, but...

overall asthetic: ...the facilities are beautiful and the burnt red courts are a sight to behold. the newly refurbished chatrier and the ever-grand lenglen both provide great views and feel much more intimate than their size would suggest. annex courts are easy to get to and always buzzing. the vibe is distinctly european and it's worthy of it's place among the elite venues in tennis.

bottom line: i would never say that i was 'dissappointed,' but it came awfuly close. nothing at all to do with the venue or the sport. just the weather. i look forward to giving it another shot to wow my like i know it can sometime in the future. either way, i DID get to see it. and it WAS great.

personal highlights:

-completing the "spectator slam" in just 6 years is something that i can't quite put into words.

-sharing the experience (both good and frustrating) with my new wife on our honeymoon. -thanks, hon.