The French Open is in its second week and yesterday it offered up one of the most enjoyable matches I’ve ever watched, partly because the players – Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton – looked to be enjoying it too. Until Alcaraz came along, you rarely saw players smile during matches; yesterday, Shelton smiled as he was hitting one ball. Alcaraz, better known as Carlito, also won a point by throwing his racket at the ball, which is illegal; then he lost the point by informing the chair umpire that his racket had left his hand by the time it made contact with the ball. (The French Open doesn’t use replays, so the Spaniard’s honesty was all the umpire had to go on.) At the end of the match, the two players had a long hug, and laugh, at the net. They had just finished a hard-fought match in the fourth round of a major tournament and they looked as if they had just concluded an amazing and grueling practice session.
This seems to be the trend, at least in the men’s game; the top players all appear to have not just great respect but also affection for each other, despite the fact that, week after week, they find themselves in fierce competition with each other. Perhaps the world's leaders should start watching tennis.
PS After one phenomenal shot by Alcaraz, Shelton's father applauded in the stands.
