My First Day Trying To Watch The 2018 French Open Tennis On Television In America

Staff cover the court at Philippe Chatrier due to rain as Simone Bolelli of Italy against Rafael Nadal of Spain is interrupted during their men’s first round match during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 28 May 2018. EPA/GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO

 

 

By Nancy Gill Mc Shea

 

I deal with the pain of anger by yelling and writing about it. And today was a zinger. I started the first day of the French Open and Memorial Day respectfully, honoring deceased and living service veterans in my family, as well as several famous American tennis players, among them Tony Franco and the late Fred Kovaleski. I set the time to watch scheduled American matches on Tennis Channel Plus — Frances Tiafoe vs. Sam Querry, and John Isner vs. Noah Rubin. I understand that “life is a five-set match on clay,” but when I went to the TV and struck out more than 3X trying to access matches I started shrieking. I gave up, tried to cancel my subscription, then jumped to NBC which featured the losing effort of last year’s French champ, Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko. Rubin’s loss conjured up negative French images, like John McEnroe losing the 1984 final to Ivan Lendl, who ushered in the impending changing of the guard. Is there a reason why Tennis Channel must feature the multiple French champ, Rafael Nadal, constantly? He is a gent, but I don’t look forward to watching him bite another Grand Slam trophy. And they defer occasionally to Novak Djokovic, who is in recovery. It is really annoying. Then the Mets’ relievers choked away a Jacob de Grom victory. It could be worse, so I will try again tomorrow, hoping to catch a passing glimpse of the talented Canadian Denis Shapovalov in singles and American Scott Lipsky in doubles. Peace and Amen.

 

Editors Note:

Nancy Gill McShea has spent 40 years writing over 2,500 tennis articles about the game’s stars — pros, collegians, juniors, league players, officials, volunteers, etc. — and 87 of USTA Eastern’s Hall of Fame profiles. To showcase those stars, Nancy has connected with the sport’s legends throughout the country and received five press service awards — as the Public Relations Director/Writer/Editor for the USTA Eastern Section; the Managing Editor/Writer for Eastern Roundup and Passing Shot magazines; a Copy Editor/Columnist for Tennis Week magazine; a Sectional Reporter for Tennis USA and USTA; a Columnist for Newsday; and a Staff Writer for College and Junior Tennis magazine. In 2011, She co-authored the book, Tennis in New York, with Dale Caldwell.

Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Simone Bolelli of Italy during their men’s first round match during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 28 May 2018. EPA/GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO

 

Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in action against Kyle Edmund of Britain during their quarter final match of the 2018 Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at Caja Magica in Madrid, Spain, 11 May 2018. EPA-EFE/MARISCAL