It's May 2005, and I'm wilting under the hot sun on an outside court at Roland Garros. My American host pipes up: "You mark my words. Mariano Puerta is going to do very well this year - I'm tipping him to get to the semi-finals at least."

Suggestions like these are to be scoffed at - after all, the Argentine had not long returned to the ATP Tour after his first drugs ban. Andrew obviously isn't as 'in the know' as he would like to think. I decided against correcting him, after all I was his guest at Roland Garros and didn't want to appear ungrateful. Instead I would just wait until Puerta lost. This would be long before the semi-finals; time enough at any rate to gently remind Andrew of his outlandish claim. In the meantime this was my chance to sit back and enjoy his hospitality.

Grand Slam Tennis Tours is the baby of Andrew Chmura, a former satellite player and top American junior, and Dave Kenny. The American-based company specialises in taking people around the globe to watch top-class tennis action, and since its founding in 1991, has escorted more than 6,000 tennis fans to tennis tournaments everywhere from Melbourne to the Bahamas. Its founders, Andrew in particular, are complete tennis nuts who like nothing better than to share their passion for the game with anyone who is willing to join them as they jet around the globe.

This was my first time at Roland Garros. Although travelling to the French Open isn't hard, like many people I had never got around to going. Maybe it was mental block of crossing the Channel, but whatever the reason, I had finally made it and the event was living up to all my expectations. Unfortunately, time constraints meant I was only here for one full day, but Grand Slam had promised me a jampacked schedule. Generally trips last a full week, with tickets available for every day you are with the Grand Slam team.

The Eurostar got me in to Paris late in the evening so I only had time for a quick chat with Andrew before hitting the sack, but immediately he tried to rope me into a game with him and a few of the other guests at a local club early the next morning. All this is part of the Grand Slam Tennis Tours experience. As well as offering tickets to the Open, Grand Slam provides academy lessons at the Stade Jean Bouin, the old site of Roland Garros and the current practice courts for pros competing for the French Open title. But on this occasion, watching the tennis was my priority. I politely declined, figuring that those extra few hours in bed could prove to be crucial. In hindsight it was probably a good idea, as the guests who did take him on returned to the hotel looking like they could barely stand.

The company's mantra is sightseeing, shopping and museums in the morning and Grand Slam tennis in the afternoon. As many of the guests are first time visitors to Paris, this is a formula that goes down well. A guided tour of all the famous sights is first on the itinerary, but if you know Paris well, this is also an ideal opportunity to cut loose and do your own thing for a few hours before the tennis starts.

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