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Post by RogiFan on Jul 31, 2004 19:45:38 GMT -5
RogiFan's TO04 Report...finally!
Friday 23jul04
Gorgeous day! Checked out some places here and there for my faves but no luck… but I did spy Marat, Guga and Larri, Misha, TommyR, Enqvist, T Johansson, Arazi, Youzhny, Lee, Bjorkman
Saturday 24jul04 Qualifying round
Beautiful sunny, dry but intensely burning day to follow my guys around
Drove the long boring trek up to the Tennis Centre via yukky construction-ridden highways that I never take and subsequently get lost every time, wasting precious time…
Arrived at the dusty parking lot to discover that this year there’s a new thing: paid parking -- $9 to be precise, and that’s per session, not per day… no in/out privileges either – a ripoff! Shuttle buses [free] to the centre – recommended on rainy or hot days
Huge new Stadium Court holding about 13,000 seats or so max over the next couple of years
Lovely banners of Patrick Rafter and Marat Safin, both former TMS Canada winners, flanking the main entrance; towards the main area, banners of Sampras and Agassi [good points of reference, especially if you want to meet up – let’s meet under Agassi]; to the right of the entrance, ticket booths, with huge poster of Federer and one of Roddick.
Arrived around 11ish and checked out the practice courts first: a set of 4 courts [6-9] w only one entrance at one end… not so great if your fave is practising on the far end… unless you have a HUGE lens [btw, no probs with checking bags]
But before my sis and I got there, she spied Michel Kratochvil with his girlfriend and I immediately accosted him in my best French… well, I only asked for a photo, which he dutifully posed for [nice closeup, Hackie!] as he was practising right in front of us [later on Micha was constantly popping up here and there, on the cart]
We watched Safin, with new crewcut, practising under the watchful eye of Peter Lundgren [has he lost a little weight?] w Soderling; Escude in the far court, bald and topless; Guga and Nalby; later Gonzalez and Lapentti; then Coria, who really is as short as he looks
Tons of guys wandering around, some being chased, others totally ignored – quite amusing actually
I stayed at the 4 courts while my sis wandered to the other practice courts 3-5 across the way, where, tipped off by a ballboy, she went to see Henman and Hewitt (not together). Later saw Haas and Malisse [of course doesn’t she get a great pic of X-Man, like we care…] among others
Later she caught a nice closeup of Nico signing
If you’re lucky, you can grab one of the plastic chairs in front of the practice courts; otherwise you have to stand, usually behind some tall person w big hair…
Always on the lookout, I caught Rafael Nadal walking towards me so I stopped him in Spanish, asking for a photo, which my sis took – he was patient while she fiddled with the zoom – then I wished him luck in the tournament [maybe I jinxed him] – singly we watched him practise with Robredo [disguised in a hat and looking slimmer than I remember] – we always see a lot of Tommy [not that I’m complaining]
I forgot to mention that Agassi was practising in court 5 and they had to summon up several security people as he exited after practice… it’s too much really, and no, he did not sign any autographs, but we did take a token pic
My sis caught a great practice session w Marat (v animated, laughing and having fun) and Labadze, then Henman and Nalby!
At some point I saw two women walking out of the Stadium [players lounge I guess] and noticed the dark-haired one as they passed me – then I realized that the other woman was Carla Coria – she’s quite tall herself, about 5’8” or so
Sis waited for Guga and Larri to leave amidst the adoring fans…including some enthusiastic Brazilians who caught Guga’s attention. Tons of Guga admirers vying for his autograph. Meanwhile, Coria was still practising, now shirtless to reveal his new six-pack!
Thought I might catch a bit of Lapentti’s qually at Stadium Court before waiting for the next hour of practice sessions. Wouldn’t you know it? While waiting to escape a long service game to get back to the practice courts, I missed the arrival on golf cart of Juan Carlos Ferrero at around 5pm! And poor Nico lost his match in 3 sets… too bad
Luckily, sis saw Juanqui drive by, which caused a gaggle of teenaged girls to scream excitedly as a crowd rushed in the direction of his court! According to her, Juanqui arrived 10 minutes early, so while he waited to get on court, he walked up to the fans on the other side of a picket fence and signed autographs! So endearing!
I had almost given up hope of seeing either of my faves Juanqui or Rogi [whom we never did see anywhere today – he must have been practising in a secret location OR he had just arrived today]
Fortunately my sis had parked herself close to Juanqui, who was practising w Tommy Robredo, so I was able to get in amongst the throng [mind you, it was late in the day, around 5pm so many people had already left – smart Juanqui!]
As I already had my camcorder strung around my neck at the ready, I dug into my big Roots bag for my Pentax and stood by to survey the “scenery”…
Sitting at the side were Eduardo Ferrero and Patricia Bonilla
The practice session, which was to last for 2 hours, was a lively, animated, fun yet focused fest for the fans
I’ve never seen Tommy talk so much! He was clearly in a positive mood, not so serious. At one point he even “flirted” a little w Patricia, who called him “Robredo!” Juanqui was totally oblivious to such goings-on! His Dad was also in a good mood, carrying on snippets of conversation w his son
Oh did I mention that both guys were topless with lovely…tans? Well they were! And I spied the famous tattoo peaking out from Juanqui’s…shorts! ;-)
It was a little intrusive trying to photograph everyone at close range w my telephoto lens but I think Juanqui quite liked the attention… there were so many people w program and pen in hand
Both Juanqui and Tommy were hitting the ball quite cleanly and with some force and strength – all in all a very good workout, for them and for our eyes! Robredo left after 90 minutes, then Juanqui did a few movement/speed drills with his coach.
The best thing about this practice session was that Juanqui signed about a dozen balls and tossed them to his ever-attentive fans! Too bad I had a camera in one hand, thus losing my chance at a Juanqui-signed ball! Oh well, it was great just being there to see him up close!
So the next time people say Juan Carlos Ferrero has NO personality and is a ‘cold fish’, I give you personality, thoughtfulness, and generosity!
In the crush of autograph-seekers and amateur photographers [myself included], I managed somehow to get Eduardo’s attention [see, it helps to learn languages] – if I hadn’t spoken Spanish to him, I doubt he would have come over – I quickly explained to him that I have some messages for Juanqui and that I had studied and lived in Valencia and that I know the area a little, so he seemed interested.
While Juanqui was passing by me signing programs, I said to him that I have this envelope of messages so I handed it to him and he said “Gracias”. So I felt somewhat satisfied that I was able to make some kind of brief contact w him.
Trying to follow these guys out of the court is lunacy but again while Juanqui was surrounded by his little screaming fans, I saw that Eduardo was standing off by himself, so once again I took the opportunity to talk w him a little. We discussed Davis Cup in Alicante, I asked him about Canada, as this was his first ever visit and was impressed w the tennis facilities, etc., using the word “inteligentes” [hey, that’s us Canadians he was talking about], and I wished the Spanish team luck… I could have blabbed all day, there was so much to talk about!
We left at 7, exhausted from a lot of standing, sunburnt, but satisfied with the day’s ‘catch’!
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Watching Juanqui’s 2-hour practice session, and making contact!
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Post by TennisHack on Jul 31, 2004 20:16:58 GMT -5
Arrived at the dusty parking lot to discover that this year there’s a new thing: paid parking -- $9 to be precise, and that’s per session, not per day… no in/out privileges either – a ripoff! Shuttle buses [free] to the centre – recommended on rainy or hot days Ouch, that sucks!! Sounds like the Canucks are taking lessons from their southern neighbors on how to rip off spectators the most. Thanks for the picture!  You did better than me, both with him & Juan Carlos's entourage  LOL!!!  I'm sure you wept when he was knocked out of the tournament. LOLOL @ his rioting teenage fans  That's sweet that he was accomodating to his fans, though He certainly is in his own dealing with the crowds, though I get the distinct impression he isn't a crowd kinda person...  Awww, that's great! You had a Mrs. B experience!  |
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Post by Patrik Sjöberg on Aug 1, 2004 8:13:41 GMT -5
Thanks for that report RogiFan, and it definitely helps to be as linguistically as proficient as yourself, it has its advantages.
You got to see some of them which is better than none.
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Post by RogiFan on Aug 1, 2004 9:58:07 GMT -5
Thanks for that report RogiFan, and it definitely helps to be as linguistically as proficient as yourself, it has its advantages. You got to see some of them which is better than none.  I'm still tired and my voice is finally starting to come back a little... This report is only for Sat so far, more to come as I write it up and cross-check info w my sis! Go, ROGI!!!!! Win it for PC, Canada and yourself!  |
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Post by Jasper on Aug 1, 2004 19:48:24 GMT -5
Sounds like you had a blast on Sunday, RF. Lucky you. |
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Post by Partridge In A Pear Tree on Aug 2, 2004 10:23:01 GMT -5
i see you're back at the boards saw your post at Roger's forum on mtf. hope you're feeling better. and thanks for the emails but i still have to read a report about Roger and your handing him a red envelope. you said security was tight? but you managed, no? hmmm, as a raving Rogi maniac i thought that would be the first thing you'd share with us. and pity that you couldn't be there during the finals, considering it's in your hometown and that he won it. re: parking fees, we have that in Basel too. At least it's free in Gstaad. they've already sent our bill for the tickets in Basel. good seats cost Sfr. 104. i'll make sure i'll get a ticket if he's in the finals. at the rate he's going, he should win in his hometown this year! saw a pic of Roger & Mirka at Arthur Cohn's preview of his new film in Basel. Tina Turner was also there, plus other celebs. They wore matching black & white colors, Mirka wearing an Armani number. Glad she went back to her natural hair color. |
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Post by RogiFan on Aug 2, 2004 19:32:45 GMT -5
next instalment... Sunday 25jul04 Qualifying round [free Family Day]
Note: Davis Cup tickets go on sale tomorrow in Spain… only 1000 of them, so I’ve given up A cloudier, cooler day today, arrived around 10.30am, just in time to check out what’s happening and explain everything to our parents, who were taking advantage of the free day! Today the info booth had a scribbled practice schedule, so we made a beeline for court 5 for the FEDERER/Chiudinelli 2-hour practice session, staking our claim on some chairs, and watching Arazi and Escude finish up their practice. Unfortunately, Ferrero was supposed to practise in the next court, as well as Safin in another court, both at the same time! My sis went to scout for Juanqui on court 3, but who should she see getting off a cart and walking up to the court all by his lonesome (i.e., no coach, no wife, no hitting partner) but Guille instead! Just before he was recognized, she managed to stop him by calling out “Guillermo” a few times with correct Argie pronunciation. He turned around, and she asked in her broken Spanish “Por favor, un foto?” (Btw, that s be “una foto”.) He nodded yes, posed nicely while she fiddled w the zoom again (he was only a few feet away and the zoom was maxed out), and wouldn’t you know it, that portrait is by far the BEST photo we took at the tournament! He was practising with Robredo, who was again talkative and animated as he did some warmup exercises. Back to the Fed! Roger got off the cart and walked towards the court almost unnoticed in his beige hoody. Unfortunately I was well ensconced in my chair, which I could not give up, so I was unable to snap photos of him coming in. As in Montreal, Rogi moved his chair to the far wall of the court to avoid the close scrutiny of his adoring public. His hitting partner, Swiss player Marco Chiudinelli, followed suit. Rogi then began his practice ritual: removing his hoody, changing his shoes and shirt, putting on his black bandana—all while sis was snapping away! He wore a white T with some pattern on it and black shorts. His neatly trimmed hair had streaks of burgundy. Rogi looked like a little boy changing, hopping around in his socks… hmm… no Mirka to be found, pity! He looked a bit rusty at first—still in vacation mode. And it has to be said that Marco, although game and positive, is not the ideal hitting partner for the #1 player in the world. But with photographing and filming out of the way, we sat back and just watched Mr. Smoothie at work. His shots are so effortless, so fluid, so quick. Was it Mrs. B. who called Rogi’s tennis ‘poetry in motion’? Indeed! So different to everyone else we watched. Most of the other players were hitting quite hard and w some effort. Mind you, Coria also had quick racquet speed, Guga much artistry, and Haas nice form. A little Russian boy squeezed in beside my sis—saying Federer is his favourite player. When Rogi sky’d a ball, which landed in the court, and Marco made a great get, the boy squealed with delight ‘Two funny shots!’ His father asked him if he wanted to go watch Safin now. The boy considered this for a moment, and then said he’d like to watch just one more game of Federer’s. So cute and genuine! Our parents were duly impressed w the top seed and Mom even took a few piccies of her own, oohing and ahhing in the process! Unfortunately, Fish arrived a little early, so Rogi made his escape without signing autographs for the onlookers. Eek! What a crush as he left the court. Sis tried to squeeze through the crowd to the cart, while I waited for Rogi to emerge from the onslaught of autograph-seekers. As he was heading towards the cart, I tried to hand him the precious red envelope (a rather large and conspicuous red folder, I might add). I was very nearly thwarted as over-zealous handlers and security people waved me back! A brief moment of recognition and Rogi took the envelope. Alas, the handlers wouldn’t let me ask for an autograph, but Rogi told me ‘Later’. Would our Rogi be true to his word?? I felt satisfied that I at least unloaded the red envelope that I had been carrying for a couple of days but it is increasingly difficult to get anywhere near Rogi now. In fact, I sense that it is a little too much for him sometimes w all the clawing and shoving at close range. After I recovered somewhat, a little later we happened on a large crowd near the Rexall booth in the vendor area. Guga was signing autographs at around 3pm—we wondered whether he’d make it to his practice session with Coria, but he did. Coria arrived first—again sis practically colliding with Guille as he walked to the court and hopped over the low fence. His new coach, their wives, and I assume Guille’s trainer were also at the practice. Then Guga and Larri arrived to much cheering. Guille was noticeably rubbing his right shoulder periodically throughout the practice. ‘Don’t be surprised if he retires from his first round match’, my sis whispered to me sardonically. [P.S. He did, unfortunately, on Wed.]
While admiring the tightness and accuracy of Guille’s shots and form (with the possible exception of his volleys), one couldn’t help but notice the natural talent of Guga. All in all, a pretty good practice, although Guille quit a little early.
I decided to leave the Guga/Guille practice to do a little reconnaissance of the other courts. By this time it was getting quite hot and rather humid.
I went to see who was practising on the end court 3 when I noticed that people were waiting for something. It seems that security had cordoned off the practice preventing the public from attending… so I craned my neck to see who it was… some wavy blond-haired guy [some Fashionista lookalike w his hair in a topknot and tattooed arms – if anyone knows who he is, tell us]… and wait. As luck w have it, it was Federer! As they were almost finished, I decided to find an appropriate space to stake out amongst the evergrowing curious crowd. As usual, camcorder strung around my neck, I watched Rogi come out of the court and start down the pathway through the throng of fans jostling for an autograph or photo… security hovered over Rogi as he attempted to please his followers. I edged a little closer to Rogi and as the hands shoved programs, tickets, any bits of paper in his face, I calmly displayed the cover of the Roger Federer biography in front of him, opening it to the inside cover page, red Sharpie at the ready [which a handler chided me about, saying that the open tip might touch someone beside me – pfftttt!]… Rogi gave a knowing glance at the familiar book and quickly wrote his signature in his own black pen.
Thank you, Rogi, for keeping your promise of ‘Later’! Relieved, I put the book back into my bag and began to film him in the cart… who knows if I even caught a glimpse of Rogi behind the many heads and cameras and arms… Luckily sis, who was just leaving the Guga practice, happened upon the commotion, wondering who was in the cart that was trying to make its way through the hordes. Yup, it was Rogi, and she managed to hastily snap a slightly blurry pic of Rogi with eyes closed—poor fellow! Yes, another mission accomplished for the tournament. Perhaps now I can concentrate on tennis!
Over at the 4-court practice area, David Ferrer was on one of the back courts playing futbol w a tennis ball w his coach. Don’t know whether he ever actually practiced tennis…
Around 5.30pm, Feliciano Lopez arrived to practise with his coach, whom I don’t really recognize. He was acting silly and having fun in his yellow T. Then a little later, Rafael Nadal joined him. I like this kid’s enthusiasm and obvious love of tennis—he just couldn’t tie up his shoelaces fast enough to start hitting balls w Feli! All the time laughing and joking. When they were practising their volleys, Nadal said something about ‘Federer’, i.e., ‘Look at me, I’m just like Federer!’ It’s so much fun to watch the Spaniards practising together. Another great thing about photographing Rafa are all the expressions he pulls, as well as his dynamic poses! He’s a great subject for action photography [now if only I was a great photographer].
Oh yes, other players we saw: Andreev practising with Srichaphan, Niemeyer, Chela w a buzzcut
My mother was anxious to see one of her favourites, Tommy Haas, practise on Stadium Court, so we made a last stop at 6.30pm to see him hit with Larose. Tommy was not too pleased with his hitting today. As usual, Tommy likes to heap verbal abuse upon his long-suffering coach, Red. [Unfortunately, that same level of hitting must have carried over to his first round match Monday night v AA.] Stayed til about 7pm, sitting in the blistering sun… exhausted. Now feeling weary and with a sore throat, headed home for some sushi rice and soothing hot green tea.
If only one could get to bed early to prepare for the all-day onslaught of Mon. and Tue.
We think our parents enjoyed their day, having the chance to see some of the top players practise live, right in front of their eyes, although our Mom missed her true fave, Carlos Moya, as well as Gaston Gaudio, RG04 champion [she thought he was cute during his tearful speech!].
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Watching Rogi’s 2-hour practice session, and completing the (increasingly difficult) red envelope mission.
LOWLIGHT OF THE DAY: Starting to feel weary and ill and I haven’t even seen or spoken to Gaston yet!
more to come...
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Post by TennisHack on Aug 2, 2004 20:46:27 GMT -5
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Post by RogiFan on Aug 4, 2004 13:23:44 GMT -5
More from Sat. 24jul04: P.S. Just remembered something from the Juanqui/Tommy practice: there were some giggly, noisy girls standing just outside of the entrance to the court, not holding back their obvious enthusiasm… so when Juanqui was serving from that end, he stopped to approach them and reproach them for disturbing his practice!! Very particular and serious is our Juanqui!
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Post by RogiFan on Aug 4, 2004 13:27:08 GMT -5
i see you're back at the boards saw your post at Roger's forum on mtf. hope you're feeling better. and thanks for the emails but i still have to read a report about Roger and your handing him a red envelope. you said security was tight? but you managed, no? hmmm, as a raving Rogi maniac i thought that would be the first thing you'd share with us. and pity that you couldn't be there during the finals, considering it's in your hometown and that he won it. re: parking fees, we have that in Basel too. At least it's free in Gstaad. they've already sent our bill for the tickets in Basel. good seats cost Sfr. 104. i'll make sure i'll get a ticket if he's in the finals. at the rate he's going, he should win in his hometown this year! saw a pic of Roger & Mirka at Arthur Cohn's preview of his new film in Basel. Tina Turner was also there, plus other celebs. They wore matching black & white colors, Mirka wearing an Armani number. Glad she went back to her natural hair color. Your tickets for Basel, is that for a day or the week?? If I weren't feeling so lousy and exhausted [mostly fr hacking away all night] on Sun I w have tried to get tickets, altho they usually sell out before the tournament starts, at about $200 for the Final = the same in SFr. Saw that pic of Rogi and Mirka... What do you think of Rogi's new hair? I want to ask him if he had it done at the new salon at the tennis centre!! He looks lovely I think. Mirka w her "friendship" jewels... |
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Post by RogiFan on Aug 4, 2004 13:28:53 GMT -5
Monday 26jul04 Rd 1 Cloudy out, a little coolish w threat of rain Tickets in 305 section [SW], WAY UP in the nosebleed section Unfortunately, the schedule for today hardly featured any marquee matches, particularly foolhardy considering that Tue. calls for rain all day! Basically they scheduled Canadian players for Stadium Court to open the tournament. Arrived through rush-hour traffic around 11ish, missing the Larose/Ferrer match on Stadium Court [Ferrer won] Walking towards practice courts 6-9, bumped into some Francophone tennis friends who are going to Cincy on Saturday, one of them a Juanqui and Marat fan Nobody interesting there, so we wandered down towards the other single courts and saw a cart with Nadal on it…and who was that blonde beside him wearing the baseball cap? Moya! They were heading for Court 3 at the end [and yes, I agree w Chloe about the little white picket fences that restrict movement around these courts – they may look homey, but they pose a serious impediment to your ultimate goal…] Not a lot of people there, so we sat ourselves down, right in front of Carlos… carefully watching his every move… I tried to take as many photos as I could since my Mom missed her fave Carlos yesterday! So much fun to watch these two close friends practise against each other – playful, amusing, fun-loving, carefree, laughing, joking [in Catalan of course] – these are the practice sessions I enjoy the most. Carlos looked a little jetlagged w stubble and sleepy little eyes, whereas Rafa was a bundle of energy, hopping around, animated as he is. Rafa fist-pumped his passing shots—in Moya’s face! All in good fun! My telephoto lens was too long to take pix fr where I was sitting! For anyone who is interested, Ginepri came to practise after Carlos and Rafa, and oh, we did get our token pic of him too…no Minnie Driver in sight, only the token blonde bimbo. We stayed to the end of the 2-hour practice and missed most of Juanqui’s first-round match on Stadium, arriving as he was calling for the trainer for his back spasm. We were so upset… and so was Patricia, by her pained, concerned expression on the tv monitor. Poor, poor Juanqui, he just can’t get a break anywhere. Lucky Santoro hardly worked at all for his passage to round 2 as Juanqui promptly walked off the court, head down… Now depressed… Another intriguing practice session was between the new doubles pairing of Marat Safin and David Nalbandian on court 5. There were children’s activities going on across from the courts, which were noisy and distracting, but didn’t seem to bother Nalby at all, in fact, he was amused [that’s when we snapped a rather pleasant pic of him smiling – and you know, he has very nice straight, white teeth… ] Cool that they were conversing in Spanish. Marat was having some fun out there also… checked out Peter Lundgren in the background… has he lost a little weight? Saw Youzhny practise w Guille, I believe. Misha’s volleys looked quite solid I thought. Then we saw Rebecca go by so I called out her name and yes, it was her! She told us she was at the tournament yesterday and was trying to meet up w someone to exchange tickets. We quickly brought her up-to-date on our two days and went over the matches we were interested in. Went to Stadium Court to see Marat/David doubles v. Erlich/Ram. After two sets, the first of which Marat and David won, we decided to check out other courts. From the second level of Stadium Court, we spied a cart approaching. Who’s on the cart, we wondered. Someone wearing a white headband—it’s Rogi returning from practice! He stopped to sign autographs before going into the players lounge so I simply filmed him from above while my sis snapped a couple of nice close-ups of him from ground level!! Funny because I was probably gawking at some other player on the terrace while she was trying to get my attention from below!! Got a token pic of Taylor Dent before he withdrew from the tourney. Carlos practised w Feli later… Feli always preening and smoothing his blondish hair! It is so funny to listen to people’s conversations – hey, that’s Carlos Moya but who’s the guy he’s practising with? Must be his hitting partner… [it was Rafael Nadal… ] or they would say about Nadal: he’s only 19 years old… he’s only 17…he’s only 18! For evening, we’re in 307 NW… ready for the opening ceremony at 6pm: they paraded the national stereotype, the RCMP onto the court, followed by people carrying the flags of the players, nice touch, then the players decked out in another Canadian symbol, the Maple Leafs jersey [bet Rogi loved that!] The ceremony was a non-event… they could have had the players facing towards the stands, around each side, rather than in one direction… and Andy’s “speech”, well, thank God it only lasted a couple of minutes… I would have had some top or popular players say a few words in English, French [Rogi, why not?], Spanish [Juanqui, although he wasn’t there] and perhaps Russian [Marat], just by way of introduction… I have many complaints so far. Hewitt seemed to ‘enjoy’ seeing the Mounties, though. Henman was sporting some funny sandals! Opening evening match 6.30pm: Agassi v. Haas Overwhelming cheering sections for AA… lots of Americans, more than I’ve noticed before. Very vocal netheads… boring chants though [the Chilenos are much more creative…Chi-chi-chi! Le-le-le! Viva Chile!]. Match started off well w Haas winning the first set, playing rather solidly and confidently… started to fall apart in the 2nd set and the brief rain delay did not help him regroup at all… so we gave up on him and headed for the Robredo/Lee match on Grandstand Not a lot of fans there, mostly pockets of Korean Lee supporters, so we, along w Becca and AndyThisAndyThat, provided the Spanish cheering section… too bad I left my Spanish flag at home because my ”VAMOS, TOMMY!!!” did indeed spur him on to win the first set TB!! Unfortunately we left after that… but I believe a couple of Asian fans came to take our place!! [Poor Tommy, we’re always leaving him in the middle of his matches – we did exactly the same in Montreal last year.] So exhausted from the day and waited in line for the shuttle bus back to the car… around 10.15pm HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Watching Moya and Nadal’s 2-hour practice session. Also cheering on Robredo to win the first set TB (and eventually the match). LOWLIGHT OF THE DAY: Yet another setback for JCF
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Post by Lee on Aug 6, 2004 10:07:18 GMT -5
It's called the nestor court, yes. Apparently they are going ot rename it every year in honour of some canadian player. They are going to run out soon  Are you kidding me? or Tennis Canada It's too good to be true that Daniel really has a court named after him, as the way I know Canadians. |
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Post by Lee on Aug 6, 2004 10:09:09 GMT -5
LMAO!!  I'm sorry, that's just hilarious. They are going to have to dig deep in history to keep renaming it. They may one year name it Rusedski Court |
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Post by Lee on Aug 6, 2004 10:45:23 GMT -5
Finally able to read the tournament reports. Thanks Rogifan and Becca Are you fully recovered, Rogifan? btw, where can I find all those pix your mentioned? |
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Post by TennisHack on Aug 6, 2004 15:06:24 GMT -5
They may one year name it Rusedski Court I thought the Canucks disowned him the second he sailed across the pond. That would be the ultimate irony  |
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Post by ILR on Aug 7, 2004 9:18:48 GMT -5
Haven't managed to read all the reports yet but you can rest assured I will do when my comp is fixed. Yay Becca- you like Andreev too? ;D Somebody might actually be interested now when I babble on about him!! His forehand really is huge isn't it. I'll comment more when I've read everything but thanks guys |
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Post by RogiFan on Aug 7, 2004 9:52:51 GMT -5
ILR! Welcome back! Sorry to hear about your mishaps upon your return. I've still a couple of reports to post but I've suddenly been v busy w work [yes work] stuff and household projects [major]... Lee, once I sort out my pix, mostly taken by my sis on the digital camera, I'll let you know -- Guga ones incl.! ILR, I saw quite a bit of Andreev wandering around...
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Post by ILR on Aug 7, 2004 9:58:37 GMT -5
RF! Hi! Oh, it feels like everything that could have gone wrong, has since we got back. At least we brought some lovely weather back with us Hehe....did you? You should have mentioned me to him Nah, Im joking. Like he'd remember! I have time tonight to read all the reports because Im staying over at my grans. |
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Post by ILR on Aug 7, 2004 12:13:56 GMT -5
I've finally had a chance to read the reports, and they're both really good accounts! ;D Sorry that neither of you were feeling that well. RF- Excellent, mission accomplished It was good of Rogi to keep to his word! |
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Post by RogiFan on Aug 8, 2004 8:02:19 GMT -5
ILR, glad you liked the reports. I did give Rogi his birthday card in advance, btw... happy 23rd, Rogi!! Here's my Tue. report: Tuesday 27jul04 Rd 1TOTAL WASHOUT DAY…Bought tickets for Wed w 25% discount, one for me and one for Becca What a lovely day spent mostly in the food tent, eating and blabbing w Becca and AndyThisAndyThat [nice meeting you! ]… Hung around Stadium, spying on the players lounge: Carlos, Rafa and Nalby were playing pool while Rogi was playing some wicked ping-pong… later, Rafa tried his hand at the ping-pong table, just having fun w the big boys! Various players came and left, went to the elevator that is SOOOO slow… headed for the players resto… all under the scrutiny of a few nosy fans… ahem… [what else is there to do in a 9-hour rain delay?] 10 hours of annoying drizzle and 35 minutes of real live tennis…
Section 306W for day; 304SE for evening, both tickets to be exchanged for vouchers for 2005 WTA tournament
Federer v. Arazi to 63, then more waves of rain… around 9pm, so left the place. Federer played some wild shots and served several DFs while Arazi played some solid tennis: good serves and returns, lovely net play. As Federer pointed out afterwards, he wasn’t able to hit a ball before the match that day due to the rain. QUESTION: When are they building the indoor courts??
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Chillin’ with Becca in the food tent and meeting ATAT!
LOWLIGHT OF THE DAY: Losing my voice after shouting over the chatter and live rock band.
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Post by Partridge In A Pear Tree on Aug 11, 2004 6:36:57 GMT -5
based on my Gstaad experience this year these rain delays are no fun, except you get to hang out are the restos and eat/drink and wait. but you and Becca got to hung out together so that's great. Doris just texted me today about some offers for tickets in Basel. I don't know if she's going for a week, but we'll just be there for Tuesday, with 2 other friends from our club (Roger should play on this day) and am still waiting for news of free tickets for the semis. good detailed report btw. thanks. |
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Post by RogiFan on Aug 11, 2004 20:14:38 GMT -5
Wouldn't I love to go to Basel... It was cool to hang w Becca and ATAT... hope I didn't bore her too much as I slowly lost my voice... As for pix... I haven't time to do them yet now that I have work... sheesh... I'm not even home now... a drag...
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Post by RogiFan on Aug 14, 2004 17:37:07 GMT -5
Sorry for my tardiness in posting my Wed. report... it's old news now Wednesday 28jul04 Rds 1 + 2 [catchup day!] Waited around for weather reports before leaving for the day. Arrived around noon, then took the long, rasta* shuttle to the centre [*as in don’t worry, be happy…]. Dark clouds gathering over the tennis centre… Went to check out the Rainer/Fernando match on Grandstand but had little time so couldn’t stay – I think Becca stayed tho, so I left her to go and watch the completion of Rogi’s first-round match v. Hicham on Stadium Court, where I have a Bronze seat for the day. Still cloudy w a threat of sprinkles but a whole lot better than yesterday… Also saw Zabaleta practising, as well as Malisse and Youzhny. Stadium Court: Federer/Arazi (1)R Federer (SUI) d H Arazi (MAR) 63 75 Feds still playing the way he did last night although he won the 2nd set 75 [he s have won 64 but whatever]; nice to see support for Rogi and lots of cheers for him too!! [Kinda cool to see him come out onto the court for the second time!] I imagine he was interviewed by Cliffie before leaving to sign autographs on the other side Honestly this guy, Robert Bettauer who does ALL the player interviews for CBC, is the dullest, most boring, unimaginative person I’ve ever heard or seen… give ME his job… he doesn’t pick up on anything… Rogi was trying to be amusing and fun but it completely escapes this dullard… By now, the sun had shown its face and it was getting quite warm. Becca told me that she saw Rogi practising just before his match – too bad I was too late to check it out – and she took a pic of Mirka, who was not here on Sunday! [hope to see that pic of Mirka, Becca!] Stadium Court: Kiefer/Safin N Kiefer (GER) d (15)M Safin (RUS) 67(3) 64 76(2) I decided to stay for the first set of Kiefer/Safin and finish my lunch before checking out other courts. Altho Marat won the first set tiebreaker, who was to know how well Kiwi would play today. Hmm… at least Marat didn’t show much emotion when I was there watching him. Couldn’t find Peter Lundgren in the player’s box though [later on the televised match, they did show PL a few times at the end of the match, looking rather grim at his new charge]. Oh yeah, nice to see Marat wearing slighter shorter shorts although I don’t care for his short hair. Time to check out other R1 matches: Grandstand: Moya/Verdasco (4)C Moya (ESP) d F Verdasco (ESP) 67(9) 63 64 By the time I arrived at the Moya/Verdasco match, a ton of people were crowded at the entrance waiting for Moya to take the second set, which lasted awhile since the score kept going back and forth to deuce until he finally won it! I can’t recall whether I saw Becca before I entered but I must have, since we sat together on the W side, w the sun beating down on my shoulders and arms. Since I got a pretty bad sunburn on Sat. I had to wear my black[!] jacket to protect my arms… and it was hot! The third set started off quite well, w both Spaniards playing competitively until poor Fernando got tired. It was a good workout for the guys anyway! Nice opportunity to see a player like Verdasco, who’s a hardhitting player. I waved my Spanish flag a few times in support of the Spanish players… well, both of them really! Moya was busy signing autographs and I think he even gave someone his racquet! This was a well-attended match, w most of the support for Moya, of course! Now did Becca come with me to the Gaudio match or did she leave? My memory fails me here. Court 1: T Reid/Gaudio (Q)T Reid (AUS) d (11)G Gaudio (ARG) 76(2) 57 63 Anyway, I sat in the blazing sun on the smallish Court 1 to see the Roland Garros champion play in TO this year. If it weren’t for the rained out Tuesday, I’m sure I could have seen Gaston practise. There were a few S American Spanish-speaking Gaudio supporters around me, which was great since by this time I had well and truly lost my voice [so frustrating it was too – how could I support El Gato?]. He and Todd Reid entered the court and started to warm up. Gaston always looks the same to me… except that now he looks even younger than before [although I do recall how carefree and funloving he was in TO02 w his brother Diego]. It’s a pity that he was so tired from losing three clay finals in a row before coming to TO. He really couldn’t do much to beat Reid, who was playing quite well. He did get a little frustrated from time to time. Pobre de Gaston! >>
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Post by RogiFan on Aug 14, 2004 17:37:51 GMT -5
cont'd Court 1: Youzhny/Nalbandian M Youzhny (RUS) d (6)D Nalbandian (ARG) 36 63 64 With my fading memory here, I think I actually stayed after Gaudio’s match until the first three games of the Nalby match . It was just so hot I had to leave. Nalby was not playing well – his first game took forever to complete, going to deuce a few times. He was sweating profusely within minutes… but I think he has actually trimmed down a few grams…
To escape sunstroke, I took a food break in the cool tent [an overpriced pastrami on egg bun sandwich w a cold drink] and watched Marat lose the third set v. Kiwi. I then headed for Stadium Court. On the way to my seat, I checked out the grounds and noticed Gaston posing w some female admirers, just outside the players’ entrance. He didn’t seem too upset about his loss…
Stadium Court : Hewitt/Nadal
(9)L Hewitt (AUS) d R Nadal (ESP) 16 64 62
I was surprised to see that Rafa had already taken the first set over Lleyton 61! Too bad I missed it [should have gone straight to this match instead of waiting for Nalby]. The crowd seemed rather quiet by the time I arrived part way through the second set. Meanwhile this dumb guy behind me was blabbing all the while… who is this guy playing v. Hewitt?? Is he Indian?? Never heard of him… honestly!
Rafa was still playing solidly and hitting well in the second set, making some spectacular shots that wowed the crowd, I’m happy to say. Quite a few supporters shouting out his name – more than Lleyton fans anyway although I did see a lonely blowup kangaroo high up in the Gods. Pity Rafa started to make more errors in the third set while Lleyton got stronger, hitting better and more accurately. I really wanted Rafa to beat Hewitt and make the second round, but it was not to be. Very happy to have seen Rafa practise a few times w his Spanish buddies and to see him in action – he’s quite the player out there, not at all intimidated by the occasion, the venue or the opponent. Gotta love his spirit and enthusiasm. He’s pretty exciting to watch live and one day I hope to see him win a match or a tournament!
Court 3
Before I went back to Court 1 for the Gaudio/Chela doubles match, I noticed that Grosjean/Hrbaty had just beaten Lopez/Verdasco in straights
Grosjean/Hrbaty d Lopez/Verdasco 61 64
I barely got to see the end of the match from the sidelines behind many tall guys so I simply hung around the entrance to film Feli and Fernando, looking a little down after losing so easily, while waiting for their cart. Feli looking every inch a male model [if he never wins a title he can always model for Spanish GQ!]
Court 1: Pala/Rikl v. Gaudio/Chela
Pala/Rikl d Chela/Gaudio 62 76(5)
Sat myself down on the second row, in the sun again, ready for the doubles match. No Becca in sight – she probably decided to go straight to Coria’s match on Grandstand. A few people beside me had a free copy of DEUCE magazine, which I managed to miss… then a little boy of about 6 or 7 w his mother sat down beside me. After the players arrived and started to warm up, this boy started talking about his favourite players, pointing them out in the program to his mother. I couldn’t help laughing because this kid knew everything about most players… he even noted Gaston’s racquet. His mother said that she had no idea how he knew all of this! He then began to tell me what make of racquet the players used, such as Babolat [down to the colour!]… he knew exactly which Wilson racquet Roger Federer [his favourite player and the one he wanted to win the tournament] played w… it was hilarious!
I took a few digital pix of Gaston and showed them to the boy, who “approved” them for me – thumbs up! Part way through the match, he pointed out the grip that Gaston used! What a funny kid! Well, unfortunately, Gaston and Juan Ignacio lost their match [and it wasn’t only Gaston w the UEs], so all in all not a great Toronto for Gaudio. One other thing, Novak and Zabaleta came to watch the match, as did Gaston’s coach [who m the mother thought was quite attractive!]. So funny! Another funny thing was… I believe that Pandy’s match had just started on Stadium Court and she and I were discussing how unattractive Pandy was… she couldn’t quite figure out his appeal, even to the teenyboppers.
So I finally left, passing by the Stadium Court listening to the cheers for the winning Pandy… back to the shuttle bus stop, watching the setting sun [why couldn’t the sun have shown its face yesterday?]
Stayed til about 8pm, hot, tired, sunburnt, starving, but more or less satisfied that I saw some faves, although many lost today… sniff, sniff… Spaniards and SudAmericanos… by the end of the day I had lost track of Becca… hope you’re feeling better! It was fun watching some matches w you and more fun discussing the state of tennis today! Til Montreal 2005!
Postscript
Evening matches
Grandstand: Coria/Horna
I think I already knew that Coria had retired v. Horna [that pesky guy] but was not at all surprised since I had seen Guille stretching out his shoulder during practice on Sunday.
Stadium Court: Roddick/Benneteau
Too bad Pandy almost hit Benneteau, causing his neck to lock up… from what I heard, he played well v. Roddick…
Upon leaving the tennis grounds, I feel somewhat wistful… and I always want to return the next day… if only I didn’t get sick, I could have ultimately seen my favourite win this Canadian title. I’m already thinking about seeing Roger defend his title in Montreal in 2005!
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Seeing Rogi win his match in Stadium Court and seeing the sun shine!
LOWLIGHT OF THE DAY: Seeing Marat, Gaston and David lose their matches and having no voice!
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Post by Patrik Sjöberg on Aug 15, 2004 9:43:43 GMT -5
Thanks very much for the reports RF.
That kid has a great future, I remember this one kid who used to look up to me, and he had all the info this was about 5 years ago, and it was flattering actually, though if I was trying to work with the ladies, then it wouldn't be so good.
Horna is a great guy and I won't have anything bad said about him. ;D
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Post by Traveling Man on Nov 12, 2007 9:50:47 GMT -5
I can't believe I never posted here. Major Lolz. at the opening ceremony. And the "I love Roddick" t-shirts. |
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Post by The Chloe on Nov 19, 2007 8:45:41 GMT -5
Ah, yes. This was the infamous Ali- Chloe meeting, wasn't it? Memories! I had forgotten how awsomely bad that opening ceremony was. Thanks for bumping this |
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You did better than me, both with him & Juan Carlos's entourage 
I'm sure you wept when he was knocked out of the tournament.
Awww, that's great! You had a Mrs. B experience! 
That's sooo cute. Good for him!
