Tennis- As we leave Rome (and the ombrelli) it's off to Paris- pack the parapluie!

[Raahh]

I am not paying attention to thread lengths these days .

I only saw a very small bit of the Stef match- and most of what I saw was Apostolos wittering away to the bloke sitting next to him who was ignoring him.

I didn't notice Julia. Maybe she had been put in the cheap seats

Apparently Mark Phillipoussis has left the Tsitsipas camp - too many voices!

We need to remember to cancel discovery + Raahh - I’m still convinced that I can get it for free but everyone has buggered off and left me to my own not very technical devices

Marion’s dresses are not good!

Fizzy I'm sure that somehow I could find a free trial for Discovery. But I didn't have the patience to look.

I saw that Mark had parted ways with Stef- probably sick of all the family bickering!

Oh yeah, Mats, I'm sure Djok is gutted that Rafa isn't playing.

pfft. All he thinks is- 23rd slam.

Good luck Fizzy it took me much longer than it should to sort it out because for reasons best known to itself it kept telling me the password I had just created a minute before was wrong!

Wonder if Daddy Djok is in the crèche with Julia

40? Shut up Mats!

Hmm. I do not want to hear 2 weeks of fawning over Djok.

Aww, Rafa coaching mini players.

I swear, every other year they have been desperate for Rafa to lose, for the upset, for Djok to win ...

This year, they are making out they miss him. .

That statue is really ugly though.

They're making me sad

It is sad .

But I'm glad in a way his RG record remains intact. It would have been far worse to see Rafa play, and end up limping off early doors like he did in Australia- and it could have been a very real possibility.

I have just been watching an inerview with Arthur Fils, who had a great week last week and won in Lyon. He's only 18, but seems very good. The French crowds love to have someone to get behind as well.

And it was great to see Lucas Pouille won his match. He was in tears when he made it through qualifying- he has had a rough few years, he's battled depression and alcohol issues. It all really meant a lot to him to be back.
Weirdly, though, he played Rodionov in his final match in the qualifiers- and played him again in his first round match.

I have said I will take DD2 out, so not sure how much I will see today.

Charismatic Cam is starting his match against Benoit- who has just been described as having the best beard in tennis, and I won't argue with that .

And why is Alcaraz- number 1 seed/current world number 1- starting on Lenglen and not Chatrier- and Djok is on PC?.

The live rankings make sad reading, actually- Rafa has dropped to 128 (And will probably drop out altogether if he doesn't play in the next few months).

Paire having a lot of problems with the court (which is slippery due to the shadow /sun not drying out one half of the court properly). There were 1 or 2 had issues yesterday.

Oh I missed the Rafa stuff yesterday - maybe for the best

I was reading that about Pouile Raahh - sounds as if he’s had a rough few years

Benoit has the best beard full stop - not just in tennis

I’ve arranged to meet a friend in a bit but wish that I was just staying in and watching tennis - I’ve become a tennis hermit - will hopefully get to see some later

I’ve heard about Arthur Fils but not seen him play - David Law keeps bigging him up on the Tennis Podcast (but he does this quite often and it’s usually the kiss of death!)

That’s annoying about Djok - I know who I would prefer to watch over him and Alcaraz

DH is very troubled by Benoits beard - thinks it would get very sweaty and uncomfortable. He does look very good though. And lovely shorts (shallow as usual)

it probably is quite hot. It's lush though.

Benoit is always very chic. With his turned up collars .

Paire alway looks like he has stepped out of an encyclopaedia entry for something to do with Charles Darwin.
He needs to be pictured next to a dodo, for the full effect.

I was thinking that Benoit’s beard would be a bit sweaty Majestic - it looks as if there might be small creatures living in there - I’m quite fascinated by it!

Just watching a bit of Stan and Albert - could be going into a fifth set after Stan won the first two sets

Felix is out - he’s not had a good run recently

Not looking good for Domi either - he’s lost the first two sets

Well done Elina Svitolina after returning from maternity leave - nice to see Gael supporting her