Re: Davis Cup 2010: France against Germany
I am back
So it was awesome, we were so happy with the result. Bennet and Mika were on fire during the first set, it didn't look like it was going to be a real match and we felt bad for the German team. Then the German stepped it up, the French team began to miss, and as always it goes very fast in one way or the other in doubles the third set was gone. But it was all the time great quality tennis, doubles are so enjoyable to watch. Mika was impressive and Julien made some absolutely fantastic shots, if he could play like this on a regular basis and in singles, no doubt imo that he would rise up to top 20 permanently.
He was getting all fired-up in the end, asking the crowd for help, I was a bit afraid that he was starting to lose his focus -but daddy Mika was there to hold him down
and the joy when they won was priceless.
A cute moment too was when Mika missed a volley for a few millimeters and it ended in the net, and Julien who was close to it jumped to help the ball go on the other side of the net. But it didn't work and he was all pouting :lol:
They make a great double team, really. Mika was strong all the time, except during one or two serve games towards the end, and helped Julien through his less-good moments like a good partner. I know I regularly say that Mika should be kicked off the team so the young guns more deserving can play -but to be honest, he's the best, strongest and most experienced double player that we have, regardless of the rankings. I think that he should keep playing as long as we don't have a real double team around. If only Jo and Richard could play together more often, or maybe Richard and Julien, as I can't see Gilles or Gaël able to win a double match in less than 10 years of practice :lol:
I'm sorry this is a lot of unorganized rambling.
About the guys on the bench, Gilles was chatting to anyone close enough to hear him, commenting every shots or god knows what
Gaël disappeared for a good half of the doubles. When he came back, Gilles gave him another big hug, patting on the shoulder and neck, messing with his hair and grinning like they hadn't seen each other in three years :lol: It's such a shame that both of them just can't play doubles, not mentionning together, because the getting along part would be perfect. From where I was I couldn't see Richard well because he was hidden by the umpire chair, but towards the end he was getting a lot into the match, standing up and cheering after every points, etc. Jo was the most into it, he was singing along with the fans, very nice to see.
Oh, another thing is that when we arrived at 1:30pm, Gilles and Richard were practicing together on another court without seats. I took a few pics from the window, I'll post them on their forums when I can.
The best part was the end, as usual : the team of 4 and Forget got on the court with the flag, and everyone began to cheer for them, but Mika dragged Gilles by the wrist to get him to come with them (Gilles didn't want to at first and was trying to hold back) and Gaël did the same with Richard, so they were the 7 of them dancing with the flag. I can't help but being very optimistic about our chances this year because of this great team spirit
Pics to come when I sort them out, but they won't be as good as my first ones because I had a much worse seat.
ps : thanks everyone for the good reps on my reports and pics posts, if you like them I will try to do one more tomorrow.