Paris Olympics boosted by raucous fans in return of spectators for first time since pandemic

PARIS (AP) — The chants of “Ra-fa! Ra-fa!” roared the moment Rafael Nadal entered Roland Garros for Monday’s match against Novak Djokovic. So hyped was the crowd just minutes in, the chair umpire asked the spectators to be quiet during play.

There’s a very notable difference between the Paris Games and the two Olympics immediately before it: the noise.

From the judo mat to the swimming pool, the star-studded stands at gymnastics and every venue in between and beyond — even 10,000 miles away in Tahiti where surfing is going on — the fans have returned to the Games in raucous fashion. The Paris Olympics are the first with spectators since the COVID-19 pandemic forced Tokyo in 2021 and Beijing in 2022 to host their Games with eerily empty venues.

“This is probably a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us,” said Jodie Linsey, who flew 23 hours from Australia with an overnight stop in South Korea so her 14-year-old daughter, Ellie, a swimmer, could see her idols in the pool.

It was a trip they couldn’t have made the last two Olympics, which operated under tight pandemic restrictions. The sounds were quite different in Tokyo: Athletes complaining about the scorching heat could be plainly heard. Opponents could eavesdrop as the masked coaches of rivals gave instructions. The squeaking of sneakers on the court provided a soundtrack at basketball. Same with the thud of a volleyball at that indoor venue, and even a splash in the pool.

“I’m someone that thrives off crowd and the environment, so when that wasn’t there in Tokyo, I really struggled to get up for it, and then obviously when it started to go wrong for me in the final, it was really hard to then keep going and push myself and I was really disappointed with it,” said Kimberley Woods of Britain following her bronze medal in the women’s kayak singles slalom event at Paris.

“Here, didn’t have any of that issue. The crowd really spurred you on. It was just there. The noise was there, the atmosphere was there and, yeah, they really spurred you on at the end.”

Hundreds of fans were lined up to enter Roland Garros nearly three hours before Monday’s 60th meeting between Djokovic and Nadal, more than any other two men have played against each other in the sport’s Open era, which began in 1968. Nadal has not revealed if the Olympic stage in Paris, where he won 14 French Open titles, is his farewell tour.

It made for an electric crowd in a stadium so full that there was a shoving match in the section reserved for media when there weren’t enough seats to accommodate all who had turned out for what might have been Nadal’s final singles match.

The decidedly pro-Nadal crowd was aware it might be one of their final opportunities to see the Spaniard at Court Philippe Chatrier, and so the second-round match was a loving potential send-off to him as Djokovic won 6-1, 6-4. Nadal is still in the doubles tournament competing for Spain with Carlos Alcaraz.

Nadal said the crowd motivated him in the second set, when he captured four consecutive games, including a forehand winner to break to make it 4-all.

“I always feel like (I’m) playing at home when I play here. It’s so special for me,” Nadal said. “I enjoy that fact, and they give me the energy at the moment that things started to change a little bit. I can’t thank enough all the people here. It made me feel so special.”

Kevin Durant, who led the U.S. men’s basketball team to gold in Tokyo, was immediately aware of the difference as 27,000 fans packed into the Americans’ win over Serbia on Sunday. Many wore NBA jerseys representing most of the league.

“I just love when a game of basketball can bring people from all over the world, different walks of life together like this,” Durant said. In noting the stark contrast to Tokyo, he said, “that seems like so long ago. That era of the world seems like it just, it was 20 years ago, you know? So to see so many people in here supporting the game of basketball, it was incredible.”

It was similar Sunday night at La Defense Arena when French swimmer Léon Marchand won gold with a dominant victory in the 400-meter individual medley in front of a flag-waving, deafening crowd.

“It was beyond what I expected, everybody was shouting my name,” Marchand said. “I don’t know how to explain it, but it was really great.”

Will Shin of Atlanta was there for Marchand’s win and called the crowd “absolutely electric” for his first Olympic experience.

“The French really do know how to rile up the crowd and the night was unlike what I’m used to in the U.S.,” Shin said. “Seeing the Olympic Games in person has been a personal goal and I’m ecstatic to finally make it here to the Games, in one of the most visited cities in the world.”

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AP Sports Writers Cliff Brunt, Janie McCauley and Teresa M. Walker contributed to this report.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games