Post by Sjengster on Jun 13, 2005 11:49:29 GMT -5
OK, so after having followed the Eastbourne tournament on TV for the best part of a decade, long before I actually became a tennis fan, I actually decided to go and visit for the first time. I am a tennis devotee at heart... and I had a pair of free tickets courtesy of my brother, who's working there as a steward. 
Today probably wasn't the best day to go, there were only two main draw matches and they were fairly unremarkable. Dechy had far too much class for Britain's female answer to Lopez, the all serve and no backhand Amanda Janes. I came in at 4-1 in the first set , and it was 5-0 in the second before Janes won another game. Good lefty serve, but the wind down there is ridiculous and played havoc with the ball toss at times. There's nothing flashy or startling about Dechy's game, but she's compact and efficient and hit some clever passing shots. It was also funny to hear her French cheering squad, consisting of three teenage boys down to my left, in full, roaring voice when she won. When I was leaving I happened to walk right past her as she kissed her boyfriend goodbye and headed off with her coach; I thought of stopping to check it was her, but this is probably one of those occasions where players don't appreciate fan attention...
I was looking forward to some entertainment courtesy of a Zvonareva meltdown in the next match, and she seemed to be on the verge when she went 1-3 down against Vaidisova, whose figure and technique are almost interchangeable with Sharapova's. Taking the next nine games to lead 6-3, 4-0 obviously perked her up, but she still has some of the poorest body language of any top player - mocking her own shots, swiping at the court, grabbing balls impatiently from the ballkids. When she threw in a horror of a service game at 4-1 in the second, she took out a ball and bounced it back over the net, which drew mild consternation from the largely geriatric Eastbourne crowd. But Vaidisova just went for her shots and missed most of them, like a lot of WTA teenagers. Interesting to see she actually serve-volleyed a couple of times when she was on the brink of defeat in the second set.
Speaking of Sharapova, for one horrifying moment as I was coming down from the stands I thought I saw Mad Yuri walking across the complex in front of me, he had the same cap, sunglasses and slightly deranged smile. It couldn't have been, could it? More interest was to be had on the practice courts, which are all very accessible - no security around them, although I couldn't spot many potential dangers in a crowd of the very young and the very old. Kuznetsova was practicing serve-volley with a Russian hitting partner (is he her coach?) in very jokey fashion, every time she charged in and failed to make the volley or watched the ball go past her she yelled in mock dismay, and they were chatting away very happily in Russian (I did catch "Roland Garros" in the middle of the conversation). She seems relaxed, which is a good sign when you're defending champion.
On the next court Mauresmo was working on her approach shots and net play with coach Courteau, who I see is double-handed on both sides. He was giving her a lot of encouragement after every successful volley, she certainly works hard in practice. A man who lives across the road from me was also working as a steward there, he mentioned to me that every day Mauresmo walks down from the hotel she's staying in to the tournament site by herself. Further down I saw Linetskaya practicing with another player whose serve I vaguely recognised, but I couldn't really place her. When I arrived the very first player I instantly spotted was Frazier, those pallid limbs are unmistakeable. Hantuchova and Sugiyama were together on the far court, and although I was in a hurry, I think I saw Clijsters practicing with a guy in sunglasses and black T-shirt, who is either coach/hitting partner/significant other (delete as appropriate).
Just before I left I stopped by Court 2 to see the final game of a doubles match between Craybas/Weingartner and Black/Huber; Black was serving for the match and got down 15-40, but thanks to some excellent half-volleys and scrambling overheads, her and Huber took the last four points of the match. There's nothing more exciting than seeing doubles live at courtside, is there? Every player covers an amazing amount of ground and really has to be on their toes for the next shot. There was an American guy sitting right next to the fence who was shouting encouragement after every point, I think it was to Craybas, but it didn't do much good in the end.
I'll probably go back later in the week, when I have a free day and the order of play is a little more appetising.
Today probably wasn't the best day to go, there were only two main draw matches and they were fairly unremarkable. Dechy had far too much class for Britain's female answer to Lopez, the all serve and no backhand Amanda Janes. I came in at 4-1 in the first set , and it was 5-0 in the second before Janes won another game. Good lefty serve, but the wind down there is ridiculous and played havoc with the ball toss at times. There's nothing flashy or startling about Dechy's game, but she's compact and efficient and hit some clever passing shots. It was also funny to hear her French cheering squad, consisting of three teenage boys down to my left, in full, roaring voice when she won. When I was leaving I happened to walk right past her as she kissed her boyfriend goodbye and headed off with her coach; I thought of stopping to check it was her, but this is probably one of those occasions where players don't appreciate fan attention...
I was looking forward to some entertainment courtesy of a Zvonareva meltdown in the next match, and she seemed to be on the verge when she went 1-3 down against Vaidisova, whose figure and technique are almost interchangeable with Sharapova's. Taking the next nine games to lead 6-3, 4-0 obviously perked her up, but she still has some of the poorest body language of any top player - mocking her own shots, swiping at the court, grabbing balls impatiently from the ballkids. When she threw in a horror of a service game at 4-1 in the second, she took out a ball and bounced it back over the net, which drew mild consternation from the largely geriatric Eastbourne crowd. But Vaidisova just went for her shots and missed most of them, like a lot of WTA teenagers. Interesting to see she actually serve-volleyed a couple of times when she was on the brink of defeat in the second set.
Speaking of Sharapova, for one horrifying moment as I was coming down from the stands I thought I saw Mad Yuri walking across the complex in front of me, he had the same cap, sunglasses and slightly deranged smile. It couldn't have been, could it? More interest was to be had on the practice courts, which are all very accessible - no security around them, although I couldn't spot many potential dangers in a crowd of the very young and the very old. Kuznetsova was practicing serve-volley with a Russian hitting partner (is he her coach?) in very jokey fashion, every time she charged in and failed to make the volley or watched the ball go past her she yelled in mock dismay, and they were chatting away very happily in Russian (I did catch "Roland Garros" in the middle of the conversation). She seems relaxed, which is a good sign when you're defending champion.
On the next court Mauresmo was working on her approach shots and net play with coach Courteau, who I see is double-handed on both sides. He was giving her a lot of encouragement after every successful volley, she certainly works hard in practice. A man who lives across the road from me was also working as a steward there, he mentioned to me that every day Mauresmo walks down from the hotel she's staying in to the tournament site by herself. Further down I saw Linetskaya practicing with another player whose serve I vaguely recognised, but I couldn't really place her. When I arrived the very first player I instantly spotted was Frazier, those pallid limbs are unmistakeable. Hantuchova and Sugiyama were together on the far court, and although I was in a hurry, I think I saw Clijsters practicing with a guy in sunglasses and black T-shirt, who is either coach/hitting partner/significant other (delete as appropriate).
Just before I left I stopped by Court 2 to see the final game of a doubles match between Craybas/Weingartner and Black/Huber; Black was serving for the match and got down 15-40, but thanks to some excellent half-volleys and scrambling overheads, her and Huber took the last four points of the match. There's nothing more exciting than seeing doubles live at courtside, is there? Every player covers an amazing amount of ground and really has to be on their toes for the next shot. There was an American guy sitting right next to the fence who was shouting encouragement after every point, I think it was to Craybas, but it didn't do much good in the end.
I'll probably go back later in the week, when I have a free day and the order of play is a little more appetising.
I'm glad you finally went to the event even though WTA isn't your favorite. Hopefully the tournament will get better as the week progresses because you write good reports.
