My top tennis-playing chum Maxine was in Paris for the week with a special request to play on one of the city courts. She's more used to the glamour of club tennis at David Lloyd in York so I chose the location with care, opting for the peace and privacy of Philippe Auguste with its perfectly carpeted surface that could almost pass for grass in the spring sunshine. I'd reserved and paid online using the new booking system and remembered to take my passport as proof of identity, but this was not enough for the French jobsworth manning reception. He also wanted to see ID for my daughter, who I'd listed as my partner for the day and apparently only a passport would do. I thought for a moment that he wasn't going to let us play and that Max had travelled hundreds of miles for nothing - she'd already been inconvenienced by the French unions when her Eurostar was cancelled. Fortunately I remembered from long experience of dealing with French bureaucracy that the best way to reach a compromise is to keep smiling and waving and never on any account lose your temper. It is worth noting this new rule - however inexplicably bureaucratic it may seem - and making sure you have everyone's ID with you to avoid any pre-match misunderstandings. In the end the jobsworth let us through and in fact we were ten minutes early so were able to enjoy a long warm-up on the empty court without eating into our hour of play. It was a perfect April-in-Paris day - sunny and warm with a light breeze and we couldn't wait to get started. Maxine is a much better player than I am, but had spun some story about suffering from tennis elbow to lull me into a false sense of security. She also claimed to be hindered by playing with an unfamiliar racket, but in fact she was on top of her game serving and playing well. I was able to sneak a small advantage by partnering my son, who regularly plays doubles with me, while she and my daughter were playing together for the first time in an unfamiliar combination. Alex and I took the first set, but she and Sophie came back in the second having got the measure of each other's games and we ended on a draw. Most importantly it was tremendous fun with some great rallies and net play. We topped off the match with a stroll home through Père Lachaise cemetery which is just around the corner from Philippe Auguste (no passport required).
Tennis Philippe Auguste
108 Avenue Philippe Auguste
75011
Paris
Metro: Philippe Auguste
