I have had a seriously bad day. If you don't like rants, or your blood pressure is a bit high, turn off now.

Left the hotel at 7.15am and walked the 5km to the station. Got on the 8.15am train, due in Gard du Nord at 9.06am.  Immediately told that there would be a delay to the service due to "signal failure". (Translation courtesy of the lady sitting opposite me). We finally arrived at 10.20am. I set off to walk but decieded time was tight, so cheated and jumped in a taxi. Arrived at RG at 11.05am - plenty of time to get in before Wardy's match. Spoke to the information stewards and that is where the "fun" started.

Where is the ticket office please

There isn't one. You can't buy tickets here.

So where can I get a ticket ?

You have to buy them online.

Are there any still available ?

Not sure for this morning but there are some for this afternoon. But you can't buy them because online, you can only get them 24 hours in advance.

So how do I get one for this afternoon ?

You can't

So there are tickets available but it is impossible for anyone to buy them

Basically, Yes.

So I can get one for tomorrow ?

Only the afternoon. It is already after 11am so the morning session is less than 24 hours and the system won't let you.

By this time, I am steaming. And I am not the only one. The were two Danish guys that had flown in just for 2 days. They confirmed what I thought, that nowhere on the website does it say that you can't buy tickets at the venue. Then an American family of 4 turn up and they are equally irate.

So the converstion went on

Where can I get intenet access around here.

If you "walk into town" you might find a McDonalds. They normally have free Wifi

Is this for real ?

So I headed into town and asked at a couple of cafe bars but none of them had wifi. Eventually I went to a higher class restaurant who did have wifi, but only for customers. By now it was about 12.30pm and I was getting hungry anyway. They charged me 25 euros for a single slither of fish (with not even a side salad) and a small bottle of water. But at least I had internet access.

I went on the official website, but when I clicked on "Buy Here" nothing happened. In desperation, I tweeted Fitzy and the Skupskis to ask for help but of course there was no chance of a swift reply. They had far more important things to worry about. I stalled as long as I could before getting pressured out of the door. At this time I went back for another go.

Is there literally no other way than online to buy tickets ?

No

But I have been on the website and it doesn't work

That often happens when too many people are on it. The best time to try is 3am when nobody else is on.

Are you serious ? Even if I do that, I can't get tickets for tomorrow because of the 24 hour rule.

Are you here on Weds ?

That's not the point. Are you telling me that there are tickets available tomorrow but nobody can buy them

Yes.

By this point there is steam coming out of my ears. Partly due to the fact that I am drenched from the rain, and I know (from an SMS) that Wardy is a set up and I can't get in. So I wander off to the practice courts in the club across the road, only to be told "No public viewing".

So now I am ready to give up. My last hope is that Fitzy or Ken have responded. I try standing outside the same restaurant as I now have their username and password, only to be told that my time has expired.

I start to head back to the station. The plan is to try and find some Wifi on the way and if there is good news, I will turn around and go back. If not, I will just walk on to the station and come back. I lost count of the number of cafes I tried, but it was well into double figures. No Wifi. One actually told me that this was the "posh" area and that everyone had their own computer so there was no need for Wifi.

In the end, I went back to the station and then back to the hotel Can you imagine how I felt when I got back here to find a "6 hour old" message from Ken Skupski saying "Meet me at gate X at 2pm. I have a ticket for you".

I cannot believe that Paris has no 4G connectivity anywhere and almost no Wifi. And I thought SPAIN was backwards with regard to technology. In all today, I have had a 75 minute train delay, got soaked twice, walked 32km and not seen a single tennis ball. To say I am hacked off would be an understatement.

I have heard talk over the last couple of years that they are thinking of moving from RG to another site. Personally I think this is an excellent idea and would like to suggest China as a location. When they have done that (sorry Francophiles) they can move the rest of France to the dark side of the moon for all I care as that area seems more technologically advanced.

In the end, I will just have to put this down to experience. If I don't laugh about it, I am going to have to cry instead.

As a footnote, Ken has sorted me out for tomorrow, for which I an eternally grateful. Let's hope the rain holds off.