Did you know that it is the tennis final at Roland Garros this afternoon?

The final ( la finale) is between Nadal and Djokovic under rather grey skies in Paris.
Why are the stadium and the tournament called Roland Garros? Roland Garros, who lived at the beginning of the 20th century, was more of a football player than a tennis man although he did play tennis with his friend, Emile Lesieur. Roland Garros is mainly known for his bravery as an airpilot during the first world war. When the tennis stadium was built so that the Coupe Davis could take place in Paris in 1927, Emile Lesieur, who was then president of Le stade français, insisted that the stadium should be named Roland Garros in memory of the very brave airpilot of the first world war. Roland Garros was killed in October 1918 during a fight above the Ardennes.
Here is some tennis vocabulary :
A as in 30A: equality of points during a game such as 30-30
As: ace
Juge de chaise ou arbitre de chaise: main umpire who sits on a raised chair.
Juge de ligne: line judge
Juge de filet: net judge
Balle de match: match point
Balle de set ou de manche: set point
Break: same as in English
Double faute: double fault
Faute: out
Terre battue: clay court
Tie-break ou jeu décisif
Let ou filet
Rallye: same as in English

We have been busy organizing our intensive French courses and now, nearly all the classes in Bristol are full but do consider joining our regular French lessons in September. For more info...