Roland Garros

Clenched fists, raised knees and cries in all sorts of languages

by Paul Myers

Article published on the 2008-06-05 Latest update 2008-06-05 16:26 TU

Russia's Dinara Safina during her semi-final match against her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova
(Photo: Reuters)

I’ve realised – and this has come far too late – that I haven’t been watching the tennis.

True I’ve been looking at the forehand passing shots, the drop volleys and the slices. But that’s all just a prelude to the flourish of a clenched fist.

Or, in the case of Rafael Nadal, a clenched fist, a raised knee as he leans back towards the court and screams: “Vamos.” The variant of the clenched fist pushed first towards the soil and then flexed as he arcs backwards is even more impressive.

And since Nadal has won the men’s title for the past three years you might as well call it Roland Vamos, so dominant has he been.

I don’t recall any of the players doing any of this stuff when I was a kid. Mind you, we only saw Wimbledon on TV and it was all so genteel – everyone was on best behaviour until John McEnroe came along in the late 1970s and started ruffling the feathers of the linesmen because they’d dared to call one of his shots out.

Now it’s clenched fists everywhere.

I think it came into the game with the vibrant new generation led by the Australian Lleyton Hewitt. He’d yell “Come on!” after some gutsy winner.

It polarised opinion on the bristling boy from Brisbane but the time of the "Come on" was ended by the silent assassin, better known as the world number one.

It’s rare to hear a noise from him. So at one with his genius is he that he expects a wonder shot to emanate from his strings. Consequently no need for clenched fists.

Now virtually all the men are doing it. The women are doing it. The juniors are doing it. The next time I play I’m going to do it.

The professionals and would-be world-beaters do have good reason as a few inches could be the difference between 530,000 or one million euros.

For me there’s nothing quite so compelling.

Nadal has been playing so well at the tournament that he hasn’t been at all threatened in any of his matches. He hasn’t dropped a set so far. That’s almost as impressive as his variant.

But on Friday in the semi-finals he’s going to be up against the world number three Novak Djokovic who has brashly stated that it is clenched fist ambition to be world number one.

Obviously Federer and Nadal have a vested interest in disarming him. Djokovic took a set off Nadal in the semi-final at the Hamburg Open which Nadal went on to win.

For their latest showdown on Friday I’m going to set up a Vamosometer. Marks out of  ten will be given for tennistic interpretation and intimidation.

One thing is for sure the winner’s clenched fist will salute the adoring crowds.