A Queens day out

[ILR]

Make what you will of the title Just want to warn you, I think this is going to turn out pretty long!!

ok, first off I would just like to say that I love London! Its hustling and bustling and so different to what Im used to. So, the tennis. We nearly never made it to Queens because laden with bags, my mum left the tennis and the train tickets in reception by mistake. We were in a real panic that morning and it turned out that the receptionist had given our package to another guest We were so lucky that he hadn't checked out for the day. And when we did get there, I managed to drop my camera through some holes in the stand and it went onto the floor Wow, stupid eh? I had to get somebody to get it for me *blush* Thankfully though we were on the 2nd row back (would have been first, but they were reserved for the press) So the view was pretty good too! Ok, now for the tennis.......

Jonathan Marray def Christophe rochus 6-3 4-6 7-5

Hadn't heard of Marray before so I expected Christophe to win. Espect the unexpected! Marray turned out to be a big server and poor Christophe couldn't cope. Rochus had to fight to win every point on his serve whereas it was a rareity if Marrays serve was returned.

He broke early in the first set at 2-1. Each held their serve and Marray took the first set. The 2nd was a selection of net cords, I counted about 5 in less than a few games. Most went against Rochus. He looked pretty annoyed but when he got one of his own back, he apologised with a smirk

Partway through the match I spotted Ollie sneaking in! He had come in with his dad (coach? ) and they were both sat yelling "allez" "bravo" and "super!" lol. At the change of ends I went and got an autograph off Ollie. Can he speak English? Im not sure, I dont think he understood what I said! He's adorable though! On my way back a woman stopped me and asked who he was. So I told her and he frowned, pointing to the court. That was his brother Christophe I had to explain Meanwhile, Christophe broke Marray quite suprisingly at 5-4 to take the second set 6-4.

It still continued that Rochus had to fight for every point and Marray broke early in the 3rd game at 1-1 but when Rochus broke back again at 4-4 (with the help of a couple of netcords ironically ) I began to wonder if Marray would hold his nerve and his serve. He did, and broke Rochus again to take the match. I wandered down to get an autograph off Marray and me being nice and everything told him that he played well; which wasn't a lie and wished him good luck. He seemed nice, gave me a big grin and laughed: Thanks! ;D


Frank Dancevic def. Arvind Parmar 7-5 1-6 7-6 (7-5)

When this was announced to be next up, I immediately thought of you Becca, Vera and Lee! And then when he came out I couldn't help noticing that he's pretty cute IRL underneath all those curls! Think I took quite a few pics! lol. Ok, back to the tennis......In the first set I was impressed with Dancevic, hes a serve and volleyer, or at least that was his plan today (ok I didnt know much about him beforehand!) There were more rallies than in the first match, but Parmar got the first break at 3-2 to make it 4-2. As I dont really have an opinion on Parmar (the crowd were for him though) and Frank's cute I opted for him to win Terrible way to pick a winner I know but, hey. I was quite happy when Dancevic managed to break back twice, easily it seemed at 3-5 and then at 5-6 to take the first set.

He's quite a character too! At one point in the 2nd set he went charging for a ball and landed almost upon one of the line judges sat on a chair. He then gave this big cheesy grin and hugged her. Some people have all the luck She didn't even hug him back!! Even my mum said "what a waste!"

And after making a bad error when he hit the ball wide when the open court was gaping he screamed "omg! I can't belive I missed that!" Very MacEnroe-esque

The 2nd set was much better for Parmar. The serve and volleying which wasso effective for Dancevic in the 1st set just wasn't paying off and Parmar was picking off his inaccurate volleys with ease. He broke twice and took the 2nd 6-1, with Frank screaming at himself in digust.

Now the crowd were up for it and even moreso after Parmar broke serve in the 1st game of the 3rd. I wondered if Dancevic would just give up. But no, at 2-3* he broke back (after many screams of anguish and a discussion or two with the umpire) They both then held serve until it was time for the TB. Dancevic got the mini break early on thanks to a double fault from Parmar and then he steamed off into a 6-3 lead. At 6-4 dwn, Parmar got a very lucky netcord to make it 6-5 but it was Dancevic on serve and he got his win thanks to a UE from Parmar. Frank seemed pretty chuffed with himself and when I thrust myself? my book at him, he signed it eagerly and said "there ya go!" and smiled at me when I told him that he played well. Ah.

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After this I went for a toilet break and on my way I brushed past Sjeng Schalken. Too slow with the book though dammit! I also could've sworn I saw Lleyton Hewitt's mum in a court queue but no Lleyton or Scud (all day ) unfortunately. I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or bang my head on the nearest wall when I found out that Scud is due to play today on court 1, the court in which I was camped out on all day yesterday. But thats life and I had a great time nevertheless!

[ILR]

I continue....

Igor Andreev def. Richard Gasquet 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4)

This was the battle of the hard hitters I was looking forward to! Andreev's groundies are huge! Gasquet hits pretty hard too They both succesfully held their serves, each hitting big winners off suprisingly long rallies. This was easily the best match in terms of quality, and Andreev was playing slightly the better overall. Into the TB and Indreev got the mini break at 4-2 when he delivered a slick slice backhand down the line after a duelling rally in which Gasquet drew him in with a drop shot. Off that, he proceeded to slip it easily past him. At the end of the set, Andreev called for the trainer and they taped up his wrist, but it never really seemed to affect him.

It looked like Gasquet had the majority of the crowd support, especially one man at the back who kept chanting "Aleez Richard!" lol. Patway through the match Gasquet's coach and Julien Benneteau came and sat next to my mum so I seized the opportunity to get another autograph

Everytime they changed ends, my mum kept on reminding me how bandy Indreev's legs are. she was also worried about Jonathan Marray burning in the sweltering heat when she was his pale skin and fair (naturally, white blonde by bottle) hair when we were watching his match. As you can see, my mum is full of wise and intersting contributions when it comes to the game of tennis *sigh* moving on....

The 2nd set was very much like the 1st, not a break in sight and the points were still lengthy. thiscould have gone either way (obviously but you know what I mean ) Still, Andreev was ahead in terms of his play I think. This was shown when Gasquet bounced his racket after losing a point. When it got to the 2nd set TB it looked more likely that Indreev would win and he did. I was excited by the prospect of another signing for my collection so off I go and I forgot to write down the score lol. So I had to check when I got in! :red: Anyway, Indreev provided a popular winner and he stayed behind a while to sign. Gasquet was signing too and I rushed over as he was on the opposite side to me but I was too slow and he had gone before I got there. I was a bit miffed with myself for not getting there quicker!

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My mum went off to get soem refreshments and when she came back she said "Guess who I've seen? Tim Henman! And theres a big swarm around him I couldn't get near!" Hehe, so tiger tim made an appearance at Queens on Day 1 then..........

my uncle texted me to say he'd seen me on TV at home, but hes a lair so I dont believe him

[ILR]

This is the last one!

Nicolas Mahut def. Max Miryni 6-4 6-7 (7-2) 6-4

This was the longest match at 2hrs 04. I really needed it to be shorter because we had to race across London on the tube to catch a train Incidentally our train was delayed by the entire length of the match and more (2hrs 15 ) So, Max was broken at 2-1* when one of his shots was called out. Max wasn't happy because it was a dubious one, and I thought it was in too. He made it easy for Mahut to break though because throughout the first set his volleys were hit and miss at best. Although Mahut wasp laying well it was clear Max wasn't playing his best. His serve and volley style which is normally so effective didn't appear to be working and Mahut won the first set 6-4.

The 2nd set was a lot better for Max and he seemed more confident and more of his volleys were landing in. Mahut was more vocal in this set. squealing and yelling at himself. Miryni appeared to slip a lot at vital times, although he does fall elegantly for such a big man There were no breaksof serve in this set, so it went into a TB. Max got the mini break at 1-0 after Mahut dumped a Forehand into the net. Mahut did look like getting back into it when he chased down a drop shot and it it delighfully crosscourt, but it was not to be and Max took the TB quite comfortably in the end, 7-2.

In the 3rd, neither looked like breaking serve and Max especially was struggling to return serve. During the 5th game Max asked for his towel but no one was on hand to get it for him. He looked so pissed off! lol. After the next point (it was 40-30, Mahut) a double fault was called, and I thought Max was storming over to get his towel, but as he walked past the umpire he said "That last one was in" and conceded the game. I could see Mahut kept glancing over to thank Max but he just sat in his chair staring ahead of him.

It got to 5-4, Miryni serving to stay in the match and I said to my mum "The only way Im going to get an autograph (yes I know! Im obssessed But this is all new to me!) is if Max gets broken" and he did! oops lol. It seems hissportsmanship might have cost him the match. At least I managed to get my scribble off a gracious Miryni, despite him not looking too pleased with himself!

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So the dash was on to get to the tube station when my mum heard that Agassi and Roddicks doubles match had moved onto court 1. So although we couldn't watch them, she just wanted to "see" Agassi So we stood by the players entrance to court 1 like idiots when I saw Richard Gasquet walking towards us, talking on his phone. I didn't want to appear intrusive and stick my book under his nose but my mum practically shoved me into him so he had to obligie ("he looks so different without his cap on!" Another gem there mother) He didn't seem to mind anyway and stopped to sign. So in theend I got my autograph from both Indreev and Gasquet wilst my poor mum didn't even catch sigh of her darling Agassi after the doubles match moving courts was just a rumour

Mum said she'd take me again next year, but she'd try and book 2 days off work (she couldnt this year) so we could go for an extra day! I had a great time though at my very first live tennis tournament! I'll try and get my pics up asap if they're ok.

The end. Lol ;D

[RogiFan]

ILR, what a delightful report, your first! Too bad you didn't see Mark but sounds like you had a fun time, despite your little inconveniences and mishaps! That's what the excitement of tennis does to one!! ;D

Cool you got some autographs -- glad you cheered for our Frank -- yay, he won again!! Hope he's doing better now; about time too!

Love your title btw, veddy English!

Your Mom is funny -- sounds like mine w the remarks! I'm half thinking of inviting her and Dad to come to the Sun Family Day this year, if it's not TOO hot and humid and polluted. I know she'd love to see her fave guy Carlos [that's if any of the Spaniards are coming], Rogi, Juan Carlos and even Gaston and Nalby!!

Well, must run -- if you have any more thoughts, pls post for our pleasure!! Thanks! Great that you can go again next yr too! Hey isn't there a Liverpool tourney also -- June 9-13 ring on 0870 1690107 or www.liverpooltennis.co.uk!

Also glad you liked London -- what a city, eh? I never tire of it myself!

[ILR]

RF!

Oh no, I forgot to add you to the list of Canadians! :Red: lol I think thats because I only noticed Becca, Vera and Lee cheering for Frank in the Queens club thread and didn't know your opinion on him

Its true, she's full of stupid comments! London is just great ;D I think the whole family are going to go down in the summer hols, just for a break.

Frank= cute ;D

If I can think of something else, I'll be sure to add it. Im glad you liked it!

[RogiFan]

I s eat breakie!! So no time for any shopping? Where did you stay? And where EXACTLY is this Queens tourney anyway?? I'm trying to picture where it is -- just outside of London, right?? So no probs w the tube? If you go back to London, you'll have more time to do a little sightseeing and more importantly, shop!!

[ILR]

Nope, no time for shopping this time!! We stayed in Earls court at the Travel Inn just down the road. To get to Queens, you just get the tube to Barons court on the Piccadily line and as soon as you get out of the station you can see the red Stella Flags ;D its about a minute's walk down the road.

Andreev v Agassi is on now. It seems so weird, I just saw him yesterday and got his autograph! He seemed very nice too like I say staying behind and signing for everyone and I think he won himself another fan in me Just like Frank did lol. I'll be looking out for them more in the future!

[RogiFan]

Earls Ct, OK that's where I stayed the v first time I was in London, as a student, coming fr Spain. GOtta watch out for Andreev... been doing well [knocked out Juanqui in RG].

[Lee]

Thanks Emma Great report!

Unfortunately, Frank lost to Patience today

[ILR]

Yep, I watched that match RF!

No problem Lee I had fun writing it actually! Awww did he? Oh yeah, forgot to mention, Patience was actually sat infront of me for part of the Gasquet match! I didn't know who he was though until he left :red: Damn! If I had known, I could've accidentally kicked him or something

[Kiro]

Thank you for the great report, Emma!

I started to pay attention to Igor Andreev from last year, he got some good results in Russian tournaments. I was surprised to find that he is living in Valencia, Spain! And he spent most of his junior career on clay,
I'd love to see these young kids coming up;D

[Vera]

Emma, looks like you have fun ;D.

It's okay to cheer for Frank because of one of his appealing quality .

Well, I haven't see Frank much, because he is seldom on tv as you can imagine. But last year's DC playing the Brazilians, he was great. I think he said he will try more S&V on grass, but his back court game is pretty good as well. I didn't know that he's vocal. He looked very reserve during that very tense DC match. I just haven't watch him enough to know much besides how he play. Too bad he lost already, or else you could tell us more about him and his match. I think this year in TMS Canada, maybe they will feature him more since he is the brightest hope for Canada, errr, for the past 2 years.

[ILR]

Thanks Kiro and Vera

So Im a bit behind you with the Andreev following then Kiro

I've looked for some pics of Frank on the net (as you do!) and I have to say he looks a lot cuter in the flesh. I dont think any of them flatter him much But yes, he was vocal- appealing to the umpire and basically just yelling out loud. Interesting he was quieter in the DC tie though! Hm.

[The Chloe]

THanks for the bit on Frank. Is he still sporting a hairband? He needs to let that look go ;D

I saw him play Davydenko last year in Montreal and thought he had a lot of talent. It's nice that he's making strides. He lost today, but at least he got one win out of his WC. On to another tournament, and hopefully he will qualify for Wimbledon this year

[The Chloe]

I have more to say, but have to run off to work. I shall post from there.

Thanks for the great report

[ILR]

No problem Becca Yes, he does still have the hairband! Think he needs it to tame his curls though

Seeing as I'd never seen him before, even on TV and had just heard you talk about him, I didn't really know what to expect. But he impressed me too and I thought he had a lot of talent. I liked how he never gave up even after the awful 2nd set he played and being broken in the 1st game of the 3rd.

[The Chloe]

ILR said:

Thanks Kiro and Vera

So Im a bit behind you with the Andreev following then Kiro

I've looked for some pics of Frank on the net (as you do!) and I have to say he looks a lot cuter in the flesh. I dont think any of them flatter him much But yes, he was vocal- appealing to the umpire and basically just yelling out loud. Interesting he was quieter in the DC tie though! Hm.

Uh, yeah. I tried that once too and it didn't work out. He looks much better in person, that much is certain.

[ILR]

Rebecca said:

Uh, yeah. I tried that once too and it didn't work out. He looks much better in person, that much is certain.

Agreed Glad its not just me that thinks so lol.

[TennisHack]

LOL, fabulous report ILR! Sounds like you had a great day -- I hope you can go for more than one day next year because I love your reporting style ;D

Isn't Schalken elegant in real life? I found great amusement in watching him practice last year.

ILR said:

Everytime they changed ends, my mum kept on reminding me how bandy Indreev's legs are. she was also worried about Jonathan Marray burning in the sweltering heat when she was his pale skin and fair (naturally, white blonde by bottle) hair when we were watching his match. As you can see, my mum is full of wise and intersting contributions when it comes to the game of tennis *sigh* moving on....

LOL, don't you love mother contributions?

It seems hissportsmanship might have cost him the match. At least I managed to get my scribble off a gracious Miryni, despite him not looking too pleased with himself!

Aww, poor Max He is quite elegant even in anger, though. He was quite popular in Cincy last year for his handling of the fans.

Can't wait to see your pics!! I'm sorry you weren't able to see Mark

[ILR]

TennisHack said:

LOL, fabulous report ILR! Sounds like you had a great day -- I hope you can go for more than one day next year because I love your reporting style ;D

Isn't Schalken elegant in real life? I found great amusement in watching him practice last year.



LOL, don't you love mother contributions?



Aww, poor Max He is quite elegant even in anger, though. He was quite popular in Cincy last year for his handling of the fans.

Can't wait to see your pics!! I'm sorry you weren't able to see Mark

Thanks Hackie! Do you? :red: Like I say, I wrote this in the train station, while it was still quite fresh in my mind.

Hehe, she's a bit of a handful sometimes! They're full of insightful comments aren't they

A couple of kids went over to Max at the end and he signed despite losing. Gasquet did too, he seemed quite popular.

Im almost glad after seeing what happened to Mark that I never saw him Like I said in the other thread I would probably have cried there and then. I hope my pics are alright!!

[Layla]

Wonderful report, Emma! Thanks for bringing the tournament into our living rooms (so to speak) so vividly. I especially enjoyed the lovely description of Dancevic. I don't know much about him either, but remember Becca talking about him. And your mother's contributions are endearing. ;D

It's brilliant that you got all those autographs. I never doubted that you would make contact with the players. You're brilliant! I'm so sorry about Mark though. I know how much you wanted to meet him. His form is worrying.

Looking forward to seeing you pics. I don't suppose you ran into Seb anywhere?

[ILR]

Thanks Layla I didn't know anything about him at all, Id just heard him mentioned. Now I think I shall be looking out for him ;D

I must say, I chose my seat very carefully! And was very quick off my seat once the matches had finished.I wasn't going to miss out

Im sure Mark will be there next year, and hopefully in better form. It certainly is worrying I've said this before, but if I had been there on Tuesday to watch him I would have cried because the crowd would have been cheering for Flanagan.

Nope, I never saw Seb! Just Sjeng and Lleytons mum

[Layla]

Too bad about Seb (for me at least ).

for Mark. Yes it would probably have been awful with the crowd against him. That would just compound your grief. But I'm sure he'll be back next year in a better form and now you have something to look forward to.

[Ilhame]

Thanks for the excellent reports. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your time there and will go again next year.

Mark is also the player I still like to see somewhere. I missed him at RG last year and he withdrew from Rotterdam.