The string of beads was added to the pile of rackets and T-shirts left on the courts by the players. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario's mother was seen running with her daughter's Yorkshire terrier Roland in a quiet corner of the stadium just before Arantxa's match against Patty Schnyder on Tuesday. The object of the exercise was to tire the dog so it would stay quiet during the match, the French sports daily L'Equipe reported. The dog, named after Roland Garros, can get into the stadium and has its own pass with name and ID picture. Quite a lot, according to French Open players.
Spanish players are notorious for saying grass is for cows.
Marat Safin, the Russian who lost to Cedric Pioline in the quarterfinals, wants no part of it. On Wednesday, Belgium's Filip DeWulf gave yet another reason for not playing tennis on grass. Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.