The poor deluded tennis fan

To be classified as a tennis fan can be embarrassing. Like a fan of football or of rugby, is this a person who just goes to the matches for the beer, but in fact doesn't understand, or want to understand, much about the game? To what extent is this fan attracted by the spectacle of the event, and to what extent is he there because he wants to tell his friends that he was there?

Let's start with the positive. A fan should have a real passion for the game, get excited at every event, and follow all of the players, and even officials, as if they were his own family. In my youth I was a fan of English football, and the teams were full of English players, who played with typically English style. A modern football supporter, even in the lower divisions, is confronted with almost no players who learned their game locally. Most of the players come from far away, and a team sheet reads  as if from a list of the United Nations. A football fan seems to have a certain resistance and acceptance of having his favourite team composed of players who don't even speak English. Further, the English style of play is difficult to see. The English game is more rustic and physical than in other Leagues, possibly less skilful, but there is a narrowing of the gap between the Englsih League and others. The game has become so international.

Tennis vs. other sports

In tennis you could argue the same point. There was a typical clay court Spaniard, but now the Spaniards can play on all surfaces. Other nationalities, like Americans who grow up on outdoor hard courts, have learned to adapt their games to the international calendar and be able to play on different surfaces.

What is the consequence for the fan? He can watch any match, and any player, and the game has become harmonised. Players, through coaching, and travelling, now tend to resemble each other.

So now a fan can only love a player because of his nationality maybe.  What happens if you are British and you only have one player, Murray, and in fact you prefer to watch and support almost all other players compared to him?

In our visit to Roland Garros this year I was quite shocked at the behaviour of French fans towards their own players, on this day, Simon and Razzano. The general attitude of the French fan is , "come on, make an effort, can't you do better than that?" Even if their player is playing well, it doesn't change much from this level. Then if their player starts losing, these fans will quickly lose patience and start whistling in disapproval. This is of course not a real tennis fan.

So when does a French tennis fan start to become a real fan of their player?

First of all, nationality plays no role. The French love a player of beauty and elegance, who brings a certain romance and style onto the court, at the same time as winning. This is a heady mix, and only a player like Federer can remain a darling of the French crowd.

Understand what's going on

Second, what also plays no role, is how much the fan really understands the world of professional tennis. A good example is Tsonga, quite usually a darling of the French crowd, because he brings a similar panache as Federer. However, Tsonga doesn't have the same resistance as Federer. The life of a pro clearly tires and bores him. He cannot live up to the role the fans expect of him, and the fans will only support Tsonga to an extent.

To be a die hard fan you need to understand the game, and you need to forget tribal or national loyalties. You should love the spectacle, the technical, mental and physical combat between two guys  who play the game for a living. To enjoy this combat, you must know the players at least a little. This isn't easy, because the game is so global. If you're a Tsonga fan, how many matches did you catch on the TV last year, maybe 5 or 6, when in fact Tsonga played about 60 matches last year. So all you can do is follow his results. Or are you going to pay a subscription to the ATP website, and make sure you don't miss a Tsonga match? Obviously there are some people who do do this, but it can't be many.

Similarly, even if you were to follow all of Tsonga's matches, you may not find all of them interesting. For one thing, already mentioned, Tsonga has trouble giving 100% performance every week. He is not always exciting. His opponents too may be run-of-the-mill players, standardised, who will never get you excited. I consider myself a tennis fan, but I turn plenty of matches off.

Highlight of the Year

The issue went a step further for me this week. Tickets have been issued for the Davis Cup Final, in which the French are participating this year. You'd think that the real French tennis fan would find a way to get tickets. Yes, he can, if he's a member of the fans club. Those are the ones who travel the world supporting French National teams (probably in other sports as well) painting their faces red, white and blue, and waving scarves saying "Allez la France!". This is the noise-making area of the tribune.

In addition to these couple of hundred tickets that go to the supporters club, the tennis clubs receive an allocation. In fact these tickets are expensive, and will first be offered to club officials, those who can pay, maybe have time to attend such events. They may well not be true fans, just servants of the game.

Then a large number of tickets go to the sponsors. The "fans" here are very rarely tennis fans. They simply go to the event because their company is a financial sponsor, who receives a guaranteed number of tickets. For this ticket holder, a David Cup Final is just a works outing.

Then you have a few tickets that can be bought by general members of the public, quite possibly true fans, ready to pay excessive money for their tickets, travel a long way too, but not the club officials or sponsors who get most tickets. He won't whistle when the players seem to be disinterested. He'll go home at the end of the match asking himself if he's had value for money for his ticket, and what he has learned about any of his favourite players by seeing them in the flesh.

Finally, let's consider the player again. Who would he prefer to be watched by? He wants someone who understands all aspects of the professional game, who sympathises with his life and personality with all its ups and downs. The fact that he may earn a fortune from the game is no issue.

So he wants a fan to have a deep interest in the game in general, in the further development of his own skills and progress, and isn't too preoccupied by defeats and victories. If you have true supporters who know your game, who sit right through your matches, these fans will help you to win many games. But they must be patient, knowledgeable, adoring and everloyal. How many of fans out there can claim to be all of these?