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French open watch

(China Daily) Updated: 2014-06-05 06:53

KEEPING SPONSORS HAPPY: Novak Djokovic knows it is important to keep those sponsors happy.

During Djokovic's victory in the French Open quarter-finals on Tuesday, the letter 'P' tumbled off a courtside advertising sign for the carmaker Peugeot.

Between points, Djokovic ambled over and put the silver-colored 'P' back in place.

Then he struck a pose next to it, showing the patch on his sleeve with that same company's name.

TEA TIME: When Maria Sharapova came back from a set down to win her French Open quarterfinal, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray's mother and British Fed Cup captain, Judy, wrote on Twitter: "Sharapova is like a tea bag. Put her into hot water and (you'll) find out how strong she is."

So a reporter wanted to know what Sharapova thought of that assessment.

Didn't go well.

First, Sharapova asked who Judy Murray was. Then she asked the reporter to explain what the tweet meant.

The reporter asked Sharapova whether she drinks tea.

"I'm a big tea drinker," Sharapova replied with a laugh. "I don't understand what she means."

The reporter began explaining.

"That's great. She's very creative," Sharapova said. "I guess she could have put it many different ways, and she chose the English version."

PICTURE THIS: But first, let me take a selfie.

That was the request put to Canada's Eugenie Bouchard right there on court by Fabrice Santoro, a former player who conducts post-match interviews at the French Open.

After asking questions about Bouchard's quarterfinal victory, Santoro went off on a tangent.

"I saw on the social networks that you do an enormous amount of selfies, and I'd like to have one with you," he said.

Bouchard looked surprised, laughed, and then posed with Santoro while he used his phone to snap a photo of the two of them.

"I didn't know I was famous for my selfies, but that was really cool," the 20-year-old Canadian said later. "So different, you know. I love those things."

WASTE NOT, EAT NOT: Nearly half a million spectators will attend the French Open, and there are dozens of outlets across the tennis complex to feed them.

That means a lot of food going to waste at the end of each day.

So the French Tennis Federation started a project aimed at distributing leftovers to the homeless.

The federation says it hopes to donate the equivalent of 8,000 meals over 10 days to the needy via several centers in Paris.

 French open watch

Novak Djokovic repairs an advertising sign during his quarterfinal match against Milos Raonic at the French Open on Tuesday. The No 2 seed won 7-5, 7-6, 6-4. Patrick Kovarik / Agence France-presse

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