Back for another year!

Hey guys.

It's Christmas day in Australia, which means only a few more sleeps until the tennis season returns in a few days. Brisbane qualies begin on the 28th and Hopman Cup begins on the 29th. I won't be volunteering at Sydney this year so I look forward to watching a lot of tennis, where I want when I want. Then I'll leave for Melbourne to see the qualifying and first week of the tournament. It was absolutely horrible last year when I decided to skip AO, justifying it with a trip to RG. It just sucked being at work and having to follow matches on live scores.

RG was a good experience though. I went for two days, the first on Philippe Chatrier where I saw Vika and Federer. The next day I saw Petra and Rafa on Suzanne Lenglen. Throw in a lot of French players too. Also became a fan of Timea Babos, the smiling tennis player :)

It isn't as good as AO of course but overall I feel more appreciative. I definitely need to go to USO and Wimbledon someday.

Stay tuned for blogs and pics of Sydney. Qualies begins on 4 January.

Vika wins Sydney

This is it. Today was the women's final and my last day/night at the tournament for this year. It's been 8 days of hours and hours of watching serves, the ball, players, practice, walking around the grounds and whatever else I've been doing. The best days of the tournament to me are the qualifying days. I tend to like supporting the players outside of the top 25 more than those really famous ones. The atmosphere of the outside courts are better since you're much closer to the court compared to Centre court. Volunteering again has been a lot of fun, I've met some new people and some familiar faces. I even managed to convert this guy into a Voegele fan :D The down side to it was missing Stefi's match against Jovanovski and being forced to go to tennis on some days that I would rather just be sleeping at home. Overall it is well worth it, getting to see so much tennis this week for free. Money can't buy seats on the actual tennis court during the women's final. As I said to someone today, free tickets are the same as money to a tennis fan.

As for today, I didn't stay for very long. I had the mens doubles semi final match which Jarkko and Matt Ebden won. The night session had the women's final. I was so happy to see Vika winning. I'm not sure if I will volunteer next year but if I do it would be great to see Vika's picture in the tunnel when I walk down there again. It makes me happy to see Justine and Lena's pics whenever I walk past. I wish I could take a photo but there is a camera right in the corner of the tunnel so that would look really weird if I did!

Anyways it's been a really great week. I'm happy that Stefi and Victoria have continued to play well in Melbourne, with both winning their second qualifying matches today. I'm looking forward to following the tennis for the rest of the season. Hopefully I won't be as slack as last year, now that I have more gigabytes of internet. It's been fun blogging this week. Until the next time that I decide to do it again. Bye for now!

Stefi, Anna und Ivo!

'Stay true stay you'. I love it!

11 hours of Thursday

Yesterday was a long long day. I arrived there at about 1pm and didn't leave until midnight.

I did the stats for Nieminen vs Reynolds then the Bryan Bros vs Stephanek/Paes (which went to two tie breakers BB way), then Kiri/Nads vs Huber/Raymond. It was a challenge to think about forehands and backhands in doubles with the pace, especially when there are twins on the court and one is right handed, the other left. I had a bit of practice with doing a leftie since Jarkko's match was first. I'm getting better at it. A big improvement from last year which is good.

For the night session I went to Delpo v Baghdatis and then Bogomolov Jr vs Benneteau which both ended in straight sets thankfully! After the first set of the first match I found out Larriere had won her first q match at the AO and I had the biggest smile on my face I could barely concentrate on what was happening on KRA :D and then finding out Stefi had won as well pretty much made my night. I hope they both win again today. Soon I'll be getting ready for my last day at the tourney. Just one men's dubs match to do and then I'll be at the women's singles and dubs finals.

Bepa and Aga pics

Weds night

I'm getting quite sick of it to be honest but it's the second last day for me. I would say the best days are qualies when my faves play and the crowd is non existent. These days you have to queue to get in and most of the matches on the outside courts are full.

Yesterday I got home after midnight, spending 12 hours at the tennis. I watched bits and pieces of matches all day and had a shift at night time. Vika v Marion was a great match. Right before the night session there was a power outage so it was a strange situation walking through the tunnel that was only lit by floodlights. I walked past Petra who looked happy and pumped in the locker room warming up. Soon it would be dark and without lights the session would have to be postponed. All the tournament officers were gathered around discussing what was going to happen and I was sort of hoping to get to go home.

Soon enough the power came back and the spectators began to slowly fill up the stands. I'm so glad I got to see Petra play so well against Dani. Petra was unconvincing against Alex on Tuesday but yesterday she really put on a show. A bagel in the first set, with 26 points to 8. 21 winners to 1 winner. Totally outclassed Dani. The second set ended in 6-4. It was so windy and I was freezing wearing only one shirt and shorts.

Between matches I left the court to go to the bathroom. Petra was also leaving the court and speaking to someone, probably from the WTA who apologised to her in advance because she was going to have to answer a question about potentially being the number one. Once I left the tunnel I see Aga getting some kind of massage to her back and Caro standing on her own a few metres away. When I went back the players were also walking down the tunnel behind me. I could hear them speaking to each other in a language I can only assume to be Polish. Even their coaches were having a chat. I didn't stay for the entire match but I'm happy for Aga. She has been playing well this week.

Today I have afternoon and night shift at the tourney. I would rather just stay home and watch the semis on tv and then live stream of Larriere's AO qualies match.

Wow!

Fifth day of tennis

I'm getting a bit over the routine of doing nothing all day except watching tennis, travelling and eating. I still have a lot of things that need to be done before I return to Canberra but tennis is all that has been occupying my time. I feel like this now but I'm positive this time next week I'll be wishing that I could go to watch tennis again so I should just suck it up and enjoy it while it lasts.

Today I arrived at about 10.30 to avoid the pre-10am queues (and plus my mum refused to drive me to the train station so I got there later than usual). I saw a few players who had matches on today practicing, none of whom were a favourite of mine. So I didn't really take pictures or hang around for much. I then see Alizé hitting so I watched her practice. She was looking really good and working hard. Her coach was trying to get her to do the loopy forehands that Rafa and Sharapova do but that didn't go so well. I hope she does well at the AO. Last year she made it to the 3rd round and played Kim on RLA on her birthday I believe. I waited until her practice was over so I could wish her luck for Melbourne then I went into KRA.

When I got it it was 3-2 for Caro and I don't remember much of what happened after that. I guess the first set was pretty close and she won that. Domi won the second. At some stage I left and went for a walk outside. It was impossible to get a seat for Aga v Petko since the stand is so small so I came back inside. It was 4-1 to Domi in the third and unbelievably I came back inside and she managed to lose the match. After this match I watched the entire Kvitova v Dulgheru match. Petra was scrappy for a lot of the match, dropping the first set. It took over 2 hours but eventually she won it. I didn't watch much of Bartoli v Dokic (only 2 games) and I went to the first set of Vika's match against JJ.

Before I left I went into watch a bit of Hewitt vs Troiki. It is always so loud when an Australian plays a Serbian with the competing chants echoing around the stadium. Each side clapping whenever their countrymen wins a point, including unforced errors.

Tomorrow will be a very long day since it's the first night session. I probably won't leave until 11pm or so. Eek!

Vögele on KRA

What a day. I sat through the entire Petko v Pavs match, sort of felt like I was forced to watch it actually. With it being kids day the stands were completely packed when the match began and I was sitting wedged in the middle of a row. I didn't want to step over people and their stuff so I just sat there. For the whole match. I wasn't going for either player but Pavs' serving was a huge let down. After the match I saw first hand what a Petko dunk was. lol.

Soon after Stefi's match would be on Ken Roswell Arena and I didn't have a ticket for today. I knew I'd get in there somehow (that doesn't involve spending 50 bucks, because seriously it's not worth it for one match). I managed to get it ;) Stefi played well for about three quarters of the match, unfortunately she did not win many of the tight games that went to deuce so the score line of 2-6, 1-6 is not an indication of how close it was. The first set lasted an hour! She hit some nice winners and the crowd really liked her :D

I wasn't disappointed at the way she played, just the result and the thought of having to wait another year to go to another game of hers. I didn't really feel like watching tennis anymore but I went to watch the first set of Aga v Ula. It was getting pretty hot so I went to the shade and watched a bit of Parmentier's practice. Afterwards I went back inside KRA to see Schiavone dominate Stosur and then went to see JJ dominate Julia. On the last trip to the practice courts I see Petra hitting. Guess I'll be going for her now. She's on KRA tomorrow :)

Aga pics

Here are some pics of Aga from yesterday. She was trying to hit targets on the court and did pretty well.

More pics

Stefi wins again!

What a day. Last night I went to bed depressed at the thought of not being able to attend Stefi's match since I had to work in the morning. I woke up sad and convinced that she was going to lose and that I wouldn't get to see her for another year. Yeah, I have great confidence don't I?

I stayed up too late yesterday and was so tired this morning. Got to the venue at the time I was told, before the gates were open. Stood around waiting in our designated area, which is right near the players locker room and I just watched as tournament cars pulled up and players hopped out. The first car I saw was Stefi and her coach. Perfect timing. Then Caro arrived and Delpo soon after, also saw Lopez get out with a nice red iphone in hand. The players stay in the locker room for about 20 minutes and soon they walk out to the practice courts. From my position I had a perfect view of when they leave the rooms and which direction they were headed. So obviously, when I had a chance to go for a wander before play began I headed to the court that Stefi was at. She was practicing with Lucic and while they were speaking to each other I had a few words with her coach. He asked me if I was coming to Melbourne. I really wish I was now but it is a trade off I have made. I don't even want to think about being at work next week. Larriere asked me the same question yesterday and in response to my response she says everybody has to work some time. That is true. Next year I definitely want to go to AO again. If I had it my way I never want to work during January.

The first match I went to was Dulgheru vs Arvidsson. While there I could see Stefi's coach having a long chat with Tony Roche. I wonder what they were talking about. I was doing to radar which is basically pressing the button to indicate where the serve lands and then BH and FH to count the rallies. During one of the change of ends a fellow stat person checked Alizé and Stefi's scores for me and they were both losing. So I thought that was the end. I'm stuck on Court one while my faves are going to lose just 100m away from where I was. Long story short, I managed to go see Stefi's match against Jovanovski towards the end of the second set which she had won. In the third I saw a bit of the beginning and then the end of the match. It was so satisfying to see the winning moment. The stands were full in stark contrast to her two previous matches. I'm so proud of the way she played today.

Tomorrow she has Azarenka in the first round of the main draw. Unfortunately it's a centre court match so I have to get in some how. I suppose it is a good opportunity for a lot of people to see her tennis. It will be on national tv and there will be a lot of people in the stands. Azarenka isn't the most easy to like player for spectators because they get annoyed at her antics. I'm sure Stefi will gain a lot of fans tomorrow if she can play her best. I don't think she'll be overwhelmed by the occasion since she has played Serena on Centre court at RG before. I really hope she wins. If she can get a lot of points and make it into RG main draw this year that would be amazing.

Beside's Stefi's win it was a pretty ordinary day. Only 3 WTA matches on Centre and the rest were qualies. I watched a bit of Parmentier's practice. I use to like her but I don't really anymore. Unfortunately my too good to be true 2 day streak of both Stefi and Alizé didn't continue as Alizé lost her final qualifying match. I barely saw much of her 3 matches here since it was always clashing with Stefi's. That is the biggest disappointment for me thus far.

Fanboys

This was totally adorable.

Hard to beat today

Today was just awesome. I'm so tired and feeling delirious but I'll just write a summary of it or I'll forget most of what happened and won't be bothered tomorrow. I decided not to go to the ATP qualifying matches since it started so early and I'm not that big of a fan of those players anyways. So when I arrived I headed straight to the practice courts to see who was there. There were so many players there. Strycova was stretching, Cornet had just finished, Benesova just arrived, Voegele was hitting with Grönefeld and Ivanovic was practicing with her coach on the far side.

Afterwards, I went to the match courts to see some tennis. Nothing really interested me so I sat in the shade watching Russell v Gruel for a bit until Razzano's match began. Gruel was pretty bad, he said something in German which I can only assume to have meant 'first serve' even though I don't have a clue how to say 'serve' in German.

I was happy to see Virginie take the first set of her match in a tie breaker and it was time for Alizé's match. I didn't get to stay for very long as Stefanie's one was beginning shortly after. It seems like Krajicek made so many errors but Stefi still played pretty well, particularly when she goes to the nets. Her volleying wasn't bad at all. Some one tells me her ground strokes look so effortless and I agree with that. When she hits the ball it doesn't look like she's exerting most effort, although the pace isn't very fast compared to Larrier's balls yesterday. I was lucky that Stefi and Alizé's courts were adjacent so from my seat I could turn and watch either match. Alizé's went to three sets. The first went relatively smoothly. The second was bad. I heard a lot of yelling and she wanted to smash her racquet on multiple occasions but restrained herself, even in the first when she was leading she threw it a few times. I guess she won the internal battle with herself and she won the third set a comfortable 6-1. On the otherhand, Stefi was in control practically from the beginning of her match. She should of went to 4-1 in the second but a little lapse of concentration saw Krajicek told serve and break the next game. Luckily Stefi finished it off quickly so the match did not last very long at all. Once these two matches ended I went back to see Virginie and she was down a break (5-6) in the third. The trainer was called and they took a medical time out to strap her left thigh. I guess she really wanted to win badly. The match was practically over. One more game, or one plus a tie break max. She managed to break serve but couldn't take the breaker.

I then headed back to the practice courts to see what was happening. Nothing much besides Li Na practicing. There was also Domi there and Aga had just arrived. I was speaking to a few of these people, who have some how became my friends - we all met randomly at qualies in previous years and just talk about tennis a lot. Two of them have fancy cameras and one of them tells me Victoria Larriere's coach (plus dad?) had asked him to send pictures of her to him. So we were standing there and the coach comes up to us and brings up the photos again. He said it would be nice for her to have some souvenir photos to remember her time here which I though was pretty sweet. The 'friend' starts asking the coach about Larriere and we find out that it's her first year on tour, she's ranked inside the top 200.

At this stage I'm not yet a fan. I saw her match yesterday against Stefanie and of course I totally was not wanting her to win any point. She had a huge forehand which brought a lot of winners (which frustrated me) but also made too many UFEs (and I of coursed liked this). As she was standing there waiting for a hitting partner to arrive I felt really bad about yesterday. I'm positive that she would have remembered seeing me at the match since I was the only one watching the entire match and I only clapped for Voegele's points. What a depressing thought. Larriere was so nice when I apologised. She said Stefanie played well and that was her first time meeting her, I'm sort of surprised considering they are about the same age-ish? She said her friends are Mladenovic and Garcia. So this is the next generation of French tennis. I'm so excited I want to learn French now! Her game is pretty impressive for someone in only their second WTA event. I'm excited to start following another player on their way up. She has AO qualies and AO jrs. Seriously, Malek is at risk of getting dropped.

Pics of Larriere - I'll put pics of other people who aren't my fave/ex-fave/next-fave in the future. Promise!

__________________

For the Ana fans

I had a mad flurry of RTs when I put some pics of Ana on twitter. Here are some better pics for those guys :)