Also, there is another aspect of this French thing. The French are big fans of finesse tennis. That is why they like Federer. If you watch the French players with the exception Monfis (I can't spell his name), they play like swashbucklers with smooth strokes and panache. The French fans hate brute force players (thus the reason Nadal is not appreciated). I don't think they like Sharapova's game either. That is another layer to the whole thing as well.