The Placebo Effect

We're halfway through Roland Garros -- most of the favorites are still around plus a few clay sensations on the bottom halves of both the men's and women's draws. We're talking Sloane, Svitolina, Muchova, Iga, Carlos, Jannik, Meddy and more. We were reminded that politics and sport are, in fact, intertwined and inextricable with Djokovic's commentary on Kosovo and Sabalenka's response to questions about Lukashenko. Last week we asked for updates on Seyboth Wild's case and we got more than we bargained for. Plus, the RG crowd, our favorite looks, and a Rafa update.  2:30 Starting with the men … Frances, why??? 15:00 Where we are in the draw: the bottom half lacks a few seeds but shouldn't be a surprise 18:00 Iga’s bakery: Iga says don’t be disrespectful 21:00 Plenty of upsets but were they actually surprising? 27:45 Sloane Stephens is tailor made for this tournament 37:35 Aryna Sabalenka vs. the press 47:50 Novak’s politics 55:10 Nanotechnology to the rescue 58:15 The elusive Thiago Seyboth Wild: abuse allegations, journalist intimidation, and … N*zis? Wtf? 66:05 Et ceteras: Taylor Fritz shushes the obnoxious crowd; Gasquet crypto captain? 70:45 The looks: Grigor is Lacoste