Saturday, January 5, 2013
Angry and smile
My head hurts. It was so hot today, I even brought an umbrella to shade me but that wasn't much use because of the wind. This morning got off to a good start. I didn't arrive until about 11am and then watched a bit of practice. The first match I went to was between Falconi and Karolina Pliskova. This would be the third match from the twins that I've been to in the past two days.
Kristyna sat right beside me on the bench and a little later Johanna Larsson asked me if she could squeeze in. So I was in the Czech/Swede sandwich. Larsson was supporting Falconi, they have the same coach I think. Larsson's accent sounds American to me but she had to ask the coach what "variety" means and he told her she's a very interesting person :) Kristyna on the other hand was looking at her iphone most of the time. Karolina was angry, yelling at herself, throwing her racquet. It was such a weird feeling. You know how people say twins feel the same emotions as the other? Her sister would say words of support back to her in Czech. I'm surprised they don't have a coach. They are just there at each other's matches, in the morning I only saw one twin hitting. Towards the end of the match (it was like 4-3 in the second set), Kristyna left. When play resumed Karolina was looking at the bench and then around the stands to see where her sister was. Anyways, just thought that was a cool experience. Pliskova won in straight sets.
While this match was happening, on the other court a cute French guy, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, was going berserk. Yelling at himself and smashing his racquet into bits. The other tantrum I witnessed was Coco Vandeweghe. She was really hurling the abuse at herself (THIS IS NOT THAT HARD. I DON'T UNDERSTAND.) and also the umpire.
There were a lot of WTA players out there on the practice courts. On KRA: Kvitova v Petrova, Stosur, Kirilenko v Ula Radwanska, Ebden and then Dellacqua. There was a cool moment when a smiley face was drawn in the sky and Petra notices it and tells Nadia to look :)
Tomorrow the real tournament begins, well there are 4 round one women's matches and no free entry. My arms are already so tanned and it's only the second day!
Kristyna sat right beside me on the bench and a little later Johanna Larsson asked me if she could squeeze in. So I was in the Czech/Swede sandwich. Larsson was supporting Falconi, they have the same coach I think. Larsson's accent sounds American to me but she had to ask the coach what "variety" means and he told her she's a very interesting person :) Kristyna on the other hand was looking at her iphone most of the time. Karolina was angry, yelling at herself, throwing her racquet. It was such a weird feeling. You know how people say twins feel the same emotions as the other? Her sister would say words of support back to her in Czech. I'm surprised they don't have a coach. They are just there at each other's matches, in the morning I only saw one twin hitting. Towards the end of the match (it was like 4-3 in the second set), Kristyna left. When play resumed Karolina was looking at the bench and then around the stands to see where her sister was. Anyways, just thought that was a cool experience. Pliskova won in straight sets.
While this match was happening, on the other court a cute French guy, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, was going berserk. Yelling at himself and smashing his racquet into bits. The other tantrum I witnessed was Coco Vandeweghe. She was really hurling the abuse at herself (THIS IS NOT THAT HARD. I DON'T UNDERSTAND.) and also the umpire.
There were a lot of WTA players out there on the practice courts. On KRA: Kvitova v Petrova, Stosur, Kirilenko v Ula Radwanska, Ebden and then Dellacqua. There was a cool moment when a smiley face was drawn in the sky and Petra notices it and tells Nadia to look :)
Tomorrow the real tournament begins, well there are 4 round one women's matches and no free entry. My arms are already so tanned and it's only the second day!
Pics from Q1
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| Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) |
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| Maria Sanchez (USA) |
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| Karolina Pliskova (CZE) |
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| Arantxa Rus (NED) |
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| Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) |
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| Vavara Lepchenko (USA) |
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| Lucie Hradecka (CZE) |
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| Abbie Myers (AUS) |
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| Paula Ormaechea (ARG) |
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| Melanie Oudin (USA) |
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| Arina Rodionova (AUS) & Anna Tatishvili (GEO) |
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| Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) |
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| Storm Sanders (AUS) |
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| Nicole Pratt (AUS) |
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| Lucie Safarova (CZE) |
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| Vavara Lepchenko (USA) |
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| Irina Falconi (USA) |
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| Pauline Parmentier (FRA) |
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| Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) |
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| Kristyna Pliskova (CZE) |
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| Kiki Bertens (NED) |
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| Caroline Garcia (FRA) |
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| Marina Erakovic (NZL) |
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| Camila Giorgi (ITA) |
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| Johanna Larsson (SWE) |
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| Giorgi's coach! |
Friday, January 4, 2013
Summary of Q1 + lessons
So tired. I'm just utterly exhausted after the first day of qualies. It's a 48 player draw so 6 courts had 4 matches each, I didn't stay that late as the play finished just after 6pm. It's not the same without a real favourite to go for. At the moment I have three main ones: Stefi, Vic (Larriere) and Alizé. I've also started liking Timea Babos after seeing her at the French Open. So today I watched a lot of matches - but none from start to finish. Nearly all the players I wanted to win lost: Rus, Bouchard, Parmentier, Garcia. Sigh! I also saw a few of the more well known WTA players practicing on the outside courts: Kirilenko, Safarova, Cibulkova, Dellacqua and Wozniacki was inside Ken Roswell Arena.
Lessons learnt:
1. Never again will I leave my hair down (or I should bring a hair tie).
2. Sunscreen + sun = nail polish remover.
3. Bring more food and more drinks.
4. There is a psycho volunteer. Ok, not really psycho but she is a but nuts. She would walk up to someone who is standing on the grass during play to tell them that they're not allowed to stand there, when it is obviously not forbidden.
To be honest, I'm not really that interested in Sydney this year anymore. If you haven't already noticed.
Lessons learnt:
1. Never again will I leave my hair down (or I should bring a hair tie).
2. Sunscreen + sun = nail polish remover.
3. Bring more food and more drinks.
4. There is a psycho volunteer. Ok, not really psycho but she is a but nuts. She would walk up to someone who is standing on the grass during play to tell them that they're not allowed to stand there, when it is obviously not forbidden.
To be honest, I'm not really that interested in Sydney this year anymore. If you haven't already noticed.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
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.
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.
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