Rain dripped off the leaves of the chestnut trees along the Bois de Boulogne earlier this week as many of the leading players, scurrying on and off court between the showers, fine-tuned their games in preparation for the start of six hectic weeks that will encompass the French Open and Wimbledon, which begins in four weeks

Men’s tennis is in a mess. This year’s Wimbledon was a bore, with one of the worst finals yet, and the Australian and French Opens were also numbingly mediocre.

Ask Lleyton Hewitt who has given him the most problems on court and he is more likely to cite a line judge or an umpire than a player.