Saturday Night: More Tennis Happenings
Lots to report, including a nice convo with Marcos Baghdatis. What a sweetie!!! It's a cute story. Will post it soon. . . .
Sorry to keep you hanging. I was just watching the *yawn* final between Federer and Blake. I watched the first set at the hotel, and thought this could be interesting. So I came over here. I could have saved myself the trip, I guess. But I want to have lunch with Lopy before I leave. It's been wonderful spending time with him, and I'm going to see him shortly.
Rafa was right, though. James could win the match if he "believes" he can. He started out with some belief, but he lost it along the way. That's what separates Rafa from the rest of the pack. Rafa would have still been fighting in that last set.
Okay, back to yesterday. Sarah, Claire and I decided to go to the Outback for dinner. We wanted steak. Sarah is with Tennis Magazine, so she has access to player transport. So we went to the transport trailer, and there were no cars available. It was cool, so we went into the trailer to wait for one. Marcos Baghdatis was also waiting for a car. So we all had a chat.
We introduced ourselves, and he asked who we are with. I told him, "You don't want to know whom I'm with." And he asked again, so I told him. He laughed, and said it must be fun doing a site for Rafa. I said, "Yes, I've been doing it for three years."
He then wanted to know where we were going for dinner, and we told him. He had other suggestions. And then he talked about his flight to Miami. He was very chatty, and extremely friendly.
He asked if we were going out later, and we said we were going to go to South Beach. He said, "Don't go there. Someone was stabbed there last night." And it turns out he was right. So we didn't go there.
Then a driver came in and he offered us to take that car. We said, "No you take it." He did, but he was very reluctant. He didn't want to leave us ladies there alone, I guess. But then another driver came in, so we all had cars. He was staying at the IW Resort Hotel.
So off we went into the ATP Official car. These Mercedes cars are terrific. Our driver, a lovely woman, took us to the Outback, but it was mobbed. The wait was over an hour. So in the end we went to the Hyatt for filet mignon. She dropped us there, and we had a lovely meal.
Photographer Cynthia Lum met us there, and I said a tearful goodbye to Claire and Sarah. I hate these tennis goodbyes, but I've seen Sarah at events before, and I know I'll see them again.
Cynthia and I went to another place, but we didn't stay long. We were both tired. It was a long day. We agreed with Marcos -- South Beach was not the place to go.
So I went back to the hotel. I took off my jacket, coz it was warm, and a guy in the lobby came over to me and said, "I like your shirt." It's the Nike Nadal Hero shirt. He's from Madrid, although he lives here now, and he said, "You just missed Nadal. He was here a few minutes ago." Guess he was out looking for some action among the cane and crutch set. Doubt he got it at my hotel.
But Rafa was out and about last night. Maybe he'll get in a few rounds of golf before heading to Miami.
It's been a great week. I'm going to meet Lopy for lunch, and then head home. I'll catch you all at the next event. Thanks for tuning in.
Vamos!!!
Sorry to keep you hanging. I was just watching the *yawn* final between Federer and Blake. I watched the first set at the hotel, and thought this could be interesting. So I came over here. I could have saved myself the trip, I guess. But I want to have lunch with Lopy before I leave. It's been wonderful spending time with him, and I'm going to see him shortly.
Rafa was right, though. James could win the match if he "believes" he can. He started out with some belief, but he lost it along the way. That's what separates Rafa from the rest of the pack. Rafa would have still been fighting in that last set.
Okay, back to yesterday. Sarah, Claire and I decided to go to the Outback for dinner. We wanted steak. Sarah is with Tennis Magazine, so she has access to player transport. So we went to the transport trailer, and there were no cars available. It was cool, so we went into the trailer to wait for one. Marcos Baghdatis was also waiting for a car. So we all had a chat.
We introduced ourselves, and he asked who we are with. I told him, "You don't want to know whom I'm with." And he asked again, so I told him. He laughed, and said it must be fun doing a site for Rafa. I said, "Yes, I've been doing it for three years."
He then wanted to know where we were going for dinner, and we told him. He had other suggestions. And then he talked about his flight to Miami. He was very chatty, and extremely friendly.
He asked if we were going out later, and we said we were going to go to South Beach. He said, "Don't go there. Someone was stabbed there last night." And it turns out he was right. So we didn't go there.
Then a driver came in and he offered us to take that car. We said, "No you take it." He did, but he was very reluctant. He didn't want to leave us ladies there alone, I guess. But then another driver came in, so we all had cars. He was staying at the IW Resort Hotel.
So off we went into the ATP Official car. These Mercedes cars are terrific. Our driver, a lovely woman, took us to the Outback, but it was mobbed. The wait was over an hour. So in the end we went to the Hyatt for filet mignon. She dropped us there, and we had a lovely meal.
Photographer Cynthia Lum met us there, and I said a tearful goodbye to Claire and Sarah. I hate these tennis goodbyes, but I've seen Sarah at events before, and I know I'll see them again.
Cynthia and I went to another place, but we didn't stay long. We were both tired. It was a long day. We agreed with Marcos -- South Beach was not the place to go.
So I went back to the hotel. I took off my jacket, coz it was warm, and a guy in the lobby came over to me and said, "I like your shirt." It's the Nike Nadal Hero shirt. He's from Madrid, although he lives here now, and he said, "You just missed Nadal. He was here a few minutes ago." Guess he was out looking for some action among the cane and crutch set. Doubt he got it at my hotel.
But Rafa was out and about last night. Maybe he'll get in a few rounds of golf before heading to Miami.
It's been a great week. I'm going to meet Lopy for lunch, and then head home. I'll catch you all at the next event. Thanks for tuning in.
Vamos!!!
posted by Susan at 11:15 PM
15 Comments:
Oh, please, please, please post soon. Don't leave us hanging!
Bring it on susan. have you posted the latest on Rafa's pics.
regards
Thank you so much for your blog Susan ! I love the way you report, you are our eyes during the matches and outside the courts. You know exactly what we fans are worried about when Rafa is playing and you make sure we know all the details !
You are unbelievable !
I ment to ask you: what happened to the awesome scrapbook that nat_s was compiling last year ? I thought the plan was to give it to him at Indian Wells ? Did you see nat_s ? Is she allright ?
Enjoy the final and have a safe journey home.
My best regards to Lopaka too, whose pictures I also enjoy so much !
Take care you too.
Paski
Thank you so much for your blog Susan ! I love the way you report, you are our eyes during the matches and outside the courts. You know exactly what we fans are worried about when Rafa is playing and you make sure we know all the details !
You are unbelievable !
I ment to ask you: what happened to the awesome scrapbook that nat_s was compiling last year ? I thought the plan was to give it to him at Indian Wells ? Did you see nat_s ? Is she allright ?
Enjoy the final and have a safe journey home.
My best regards to Lopaka too, whose pictures I also enjoy so much !
Take care you too.
Paski
Thanks and looking forward to your post.
Susan, I have one question , maybe not the right time to ask. I wonder whether Rafa possibly to give exclusive interview to VR.com. It seems the AskRafa questions lost somewhere.
Hope you and Bob enjoy the final match and have good trip back home.
june
Hi Susan
I'm just another very grateful member of the VR.com family wanting to thank you so much for your blogs from IW. With no tv coverage of the Blake match and my nerves jangling to find out what was happening, your blog was a great help. Thanks again, Susan - and everyone else who has helped to make VR.com THE place for Rafa fans to be x
Thanks Susan - looking forward to the details of your Baggy convo! :)
G x
Susan, thanks for everything ... I'm posting this to Peter too.
My turn to put forth my own two cents ... for what it’s worth (which probably isn’t much).
Anyway, here’s how I see it:
All of this is just ATP Pro Top 10 learning stuff for Rafael Nadal. I'm sure it's been both
exhilarating and tough for him.. Last year they saw him as an upstart, but didn't take him too
seriously til he started winning so much. Even then, they probably thought a lot of it was luck.
They probably even gave him lots of support and encouragement. This year it's different ... he's
risen to the top and all kinds of negative emotions are surfacing ... kind of like who does this little
Spanish punk dirt-baller think he is? Unfortunately, many of the hard-courters (and I'm not
referring to all of them here) think that clay courters are somehow lower than they are just
because they play on dirt. Is is prejudice? Who knows? There may be an element of that, but we
ALL have prejudice, even the Spaniards ... after all, prejudice is simply pre-judgement, isn’t it?
It’s part of the human experience ... we just need to recognize it when we have it.
But anyway, here comes that little upstart Rafael Nadal with his nice manners and his muscles and
his infuriating scowl and his cute “Spanglish.” Come on, he’d get on your nerves too if you were
competing against him! Some suspect his injuries are not that serious and slam him for that.
They think perhaps he takes steroids because he's so well-endowed ... then what does he do? He
beats the top cheese in Dubai, gets a ton of press for it, and all of a sudden it's Superman vs
Batman in the media! He comes to Indian Wells with that on him, and all the little petty human
emotions start to seep in ... especially in the locker room. Where last year he got congratulated
and had his hair ruffled, this year he gets a little cold shoulder and "who the hell do you think you
are?" Even though it may not be spoken ... that’s how it goes. And he didn’t spend a lot of time
in junior tennis so he’s getting a crash course now.
So ... it's all a good thing for Rafa's career. I have total faith in him that he will grow a great deal
from it ... believe me, he's got a healthy ego and can take it even though it make shake his
foundation a little. It’s GOOD for him, people! This is where the rubber meats the road ... what
separates then men from the boys ... all that stuff. He has friends such as Roger and Baggy and
Tomas who are truly on his side ... even though they will fight him like crazy to win on the court.
Some of the other guys (and I won't say who because I don’t know for sure) have these HUGE
egos and are extremely threatened by him ... and THEY have a lot to lose. Rafa had nothing to
lose last year, which is part of the reason he played so well. I think he's handled himself
beautifully this year, with more to lose, coming off injuries, being 19 at the top and getting
EXTREME amounts of criticism for everything from his game to his wedgie-picking ... he'll do
okay. Tony comes to Miami next week too and that's a plus.
I read somewhere that Roger said Rafa would probably need to start changing his game now. I
think he's right, and I think Rafa is ABSOLUTELY up to the task. The other players are "on" to
him now, and he's got to pull out some new tricks ... the fact that he said he's going to win
Wimbledon shows his willingness to bring on a new game. He has what it takes. He's a true
champion in every sense of the word ... Roger sees this in him and really is just asking him to
"bring it on." I think Roger is truly an amazing champion ... the whole package.
As for Blake and Roger ... may the BEST man win. But watch Blake very carefully if he does
win. He's battling a pretty huge ego now too ... he needs people in his camp to keep him in line
just like Rafa and Roger and everyone else. It's MUCH tougher being at the top than being at the
bottom. Baghdatis said that in one of his interviews (don’t you just LOVE that guy?). Even after
all Blake has been through (and he's been through a lot and DESERVES admiration for his
come-back), he's not the ONLY one who's been through hard stuff. Everything's relative in life
and in Tennis.
I read somewhere that Roger said Rafa would probably need to start changing his game now. I
think he’s right and I think Rafa is up to the task. The other players are "on to him” now, and he's
got to pull out some new tricks. The fact that he said he's going to win Wimbledon shows his
willingness to bring on a new game. He has what it takes. He’s young and can only get better ...
if his body holds up. He's a true champion in every sense of the word ... Roger sees this in him
and really is asking him to "bring it on." I think Roger is truly an amazing champion.
One more thing ... Rafa, you need more adjectives besides “difficult” and “unbelievable.” Get with
Tony on that.
This season is going to be a treat ... just watch and enjoy.
Your teasers are worth than your silences Susan... do not do that to us... Oh boy!
hey susan, any chance of blogging the final? i'm gutted that rafa isn't there. thanx a lot.
I would love to hear what Baghdatis had to say. His game, personality and attitude are great for tennis.
And thanks so much for all the effort you have put in to make this tournament so much fun for the fans at vr.com. Your the best!
Please post your story soon Susan!!!! im dying to know!
thanx again susan for all the very detailed match updates and most interesting behind-the-scenes stories, i really enjoyed every entry and i look forward to your next tournament blog. and well done to rafa!
GRACIAS!!!!! I know is just a word, but I want to thank you and Lopy for everything you did, the photos, the behind the courts (hahaha), everything... just a enormus GRACIAS and hugs for you and Lopyrazzi!!!!
Besos, see you soon in VR.com
MArian.- ARG
Oh... Marcos was so nice to you. :) Sounds like another gentleman tennis player. ;)
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