This one is even funnier. Reminds me of Asian Games in Doha 2006.
Chinese spectators struggling with etiquette
BEIJING (AP)—Fans in Beijing find Olympic tennis so
exciting they sometimes start applauding before a rally ends.
Such behavior would be considered a grotesque breach of etiquette at, say, Wimbledon. Even at the U.S. Open, where crowd can be rowdy, spectators usually wait until a point’s over to cheer—or boo.
But this week, fans have been providing a noisy soundtrack to long rallies.
“They’re really getting into the whole tennis thing,” top-seeded Roger Federer after his third-round win Wednesday. “They get excited for different reasons here in China, it seems like.”
Crowds at Olympic tennis have been larger and livelier at night, but for most any match they can be unpredictable. Even something as routine as a first serve into the net might trigger a buzz from the stands.
“They go, ‘Ooooh,’” top-ranked Jelena Jankovic said with a laugh. “They’re quite sad you didn’t make the ball over the net.”
“On a double-fault, you’re like, ‘OK, double-faults happen,’” Federer said. “But they’re like, ‘Oh, no, how bad for the guy.’ So it’s actually quite a unique experience. It’s a different cultural experience, in a way. Honestly, I enjoy it.”
Tennis players can be notoriously finicky about such things, but Lleyton Hewitt liked the atmosphere on center court during his second-round loss to Rafael Nadal.
The two baseline retrievers waged plenty of lengthy rallies, and fans sometimes began cheering each shot.
“The longer the point went, you know, the happier they were,” Hewitt said.
Jankovic has mixed feelings about the crowd etiquette in Beijing. When she played on center court Tuesday, she complained to the chair umpire about noise from fans during points.
“Sometimes they get quite excited during the point, which is quite distracting for us,” she said. “But it’s very difficult to explain to them in Chinese. During the point, we are really fighting hard to play each ball, and you hear such loud applause during it, and you kind of get confused.”
On the other hand, Jankovic said, she’s glad fans are into the match. Serena Williams agreed and said cheering during points no longer bothers her.
“Usually I get so angry, like, ‘Be quiet,’” Williams said with a laugh. “Now it actually makes me get excited they’re so into the point. It’s actually kind of cool.”
----------------------
2800 QL Points
Way to go Ray!
----------------------
This one is even funnier. Reminds me of Asian Games in Doha 2006.
Chinese spectators struggling with etiquette
BEIJING (AP)—Fans in Beijing find Olympic tennis so
exciting they sometimes start applauding before a rally ends.
Such behavior would be considered a grotesque breach of etiquette at, say, Wimbledon. Even at the U.S. Open, where crowd can be rowdy, spectators usually wait until a point’s over to cheer—or boo.
But this week, fans have been providing a noisy soundtrack to long rallies.
“They’re really getting into the whole tennis thing,” top-seeded Roger Federer after his third-round win Wednesday. “They get excited for different reasons here in China, it seems like.”
Crowds at Olympic tennis have been larger and livelier at night, but for most any match they can be unpredictable. Even something as routine as a first serve into the net might trigger a buzz from the stands.
“They go, ‘Ooooh,’” top-ranked Jelena Jankovic said with a laugh. “They’re quite sad you didn’t make the ball over the net.”
“On a double-fault, you’re like, ‘OK, double-faults happen,’” Federer said. “But they’re like, ‘Oh, no, how bad for the guy.’ So it’s actually quite a unique experience. It’s a different cultural experience, in a way. Honestly, I enjoy it.”
Tennis players can be notoriously finicky about such things, but Lleyton Hewitt liked the atmosphere on center court during his second-round loss to Rafael Nadal.
The two baseline retrievers waged plenty of lengthy rallies, and fans sometimes began cheering each shot.
“The longer the point went, you know, the happier they were,” Hewitt said.
Jankovic has mixed feelings about the crowd etiquette in Beijing. When she played on center court Tuesday, she complained to the chair umpire about noise from fans during points.
“Sometimes they get quite excited during the point, which is quite distracting for us,” she said. “But it’s very difficult to explain to them in Chinese. During the point, we are really fighting hard to play each ball, and you hear such loud applause during it, and you kind of get confused.”
On the other hand, Jankovic said, she’s glad fans are into the match. Serena Williams agreed and said cheering during points no longer bothers her.
“Usually I get so angry, like, ‘Be quiet,’” Williams said with a laugh. “Now it actually makes me get excited they’re so into the point. It’s actually kind of cool.”
----------------------
2800 QL Points
Way to go Ray!
----------------------