Il fait chaud.
Or as they say in Scotland, taps aff. At least until the thunderstorms arrive. Competitors in the men's semi-finals are confronted with having to go up to four or five hours in oppressive 33 degree heat. The diarist thinks even that might be less gruelling than his ride across Paris in a crowded Metro.
FROM the green baize to the red blaes. Andy Murray, it emerges, is secretly snooker loopy. The World No 3 likes nothing more than to pop into the All England club for a frame or two, with his pals Ross Hutchins, Jamie and Johnny Delgado. Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, apparently also models his diet and lifestyle on Bill Werbeniuk and Alex Higgins.
DRAMA queen. Serena Williams was clearly not feeling her best during her semi-final victory against Timea Bacsinszky. It was quite a performance, in every sense, from the World No 1 and more followed when despite playing for two hours in the heat she was too unwell to sit in a cool, air conditioned room and talk about it for ten minutes. At least she released a statement, which began "I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to press this evening" because "I needed to see the tournament doctor". For those unaware of her interesting relationship with the US media, she might as well have issued an alternative one which said "I know you all don't like me so I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of asking me a series of snide questions."
HER display divided world opinion, not least in the high octane world of British women's tennis. Tara Moore, one-time British Fed Cup player, called her "one of the best actresses of all time", although Laura Robson questioned her use of the word pathetic as a hashtag. One might have thought they had more pressing things on their mind. Like playing tennis.
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