From Desert to Desert
It took me longer than expected to get some non-tennis work off my plate, but I’ve finally arrived at Indian Wells from Dubai via San Francisco - in essence, trading one desert for another. The sun is out, the heat is dry, the backdrop is encased by the gorgeous San Bernardino Mountains to the north, the Santa Rosa Mountains to the south and the San Jacinto Mountains to the west. And of course, the scores of blue-haired biddies volunteering at the Pacific Life Open are out in droves. One of my favorites is Mary, who runs the press center. Sporting a denim vest splashed with dozens of press-related buttons (reminiscent of those wacky Olympic pin collectors), Mary runs a tight ship. She keeps the other biddies in line, mans the copy machines and keeps the coffee, donuts and other decidedly unhealthy snacks flowing. She told me she’s been volunteering for - get this - 24 years. That’s dedication.
I love the intermingling ethos here. The dining area serves both players and media, so it’s primo for "hunting and gathering," as my colleague Joel Drucker calls it. There is little separating the practice courts from the fans, who encircle the low fences to peer closer at Federer, Sharapova, Nadal, or better yet, snag a photo or autograph.
However, I was disappointed to discover that the grassy field where players stretch, warm up and often play soccer is now cordoned off with a three-foot high white picket fence. I don’t recall this being the case last year, though one of my press peers said it wasn’t new. For sure it was not this way 3-4 years ago, which is too bad because it lent to the free-flowing, laid-back, accessible atmosphere that makes this place so great.
Tennis? Well, the American momentum heading into the tournament has run quickly out of steam. Andy Roddick and Sam Querrey lost Saturday, Donald Young had perhaps his best win as a pro over Dubai finalist Feliciano Lopez but looked lost against Nadal today in a 6-1, 6-3 thumping. On the brighter side, James Blake beat Carlos Moya to stay alive and Tuesday 98th-ranked Mardy Fish plays No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko with little to lose. Ashley Harkleroad has scored consecutive wins over 26th-seeded Lucie Safarova and No. 8 seedDinara Safina. She has a tough but winnable match vs. No. 10 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the fourth round Tuesday. Lindsay Davenport also advanced.
As of this writing, there haven’t been any major upsets Monday, unless you consider unseeded Stanislas Wawrinka’s three-set win over No. 18 Marcos Baghdatis a shocker, which I don't. Baggy is just all over the place - brilliant one day, bumbling the next. Davenport still looks a stepslower to me than when she retired, and she needed three sets against Taipei’s Yung-Jan Chan. But she gets kudos for the day’s most entertaining press conference.
The new mom talked about rushing her 11-month-old son, Jagger, to the on-site tournament doctor when he sprung a 101-degree fever and rash all over his body this afternoon. Davenport said it’s the first time he had been sick at a tournament. It made her a little nuts and kicked in the maternal instinct. "I was so stressed out of my mind and yelling at my husband" she said, referring to former USC standout Jon Leach. "I'm like, I'm really sorry. I know there's probably a player waiting…." she explained to the tournament doctor, but was undeterred.
Jagger (no relation to Mick) is apparently large for his size and a voracious eater – “a big bruiser,” said Davenport. “We’re lining him up to be a linebacker, feeding him a lot,” she joked. Near the end of her amusing chat, Davenport bemoaned the fact that her match against No. 6 seed Marion Bartoli Tuesday night will preclude her from seeing good friend Monica Seles compete on TV’s “Dancing with the Stars.”
“I'm so excited for her,” said the 31-year-old SoCal native. “I'm hoping someone in this area TiVos it for me so I can watch it after my match. I sent her an e‑mail today wishing her good luck, and there's signs in the locker room for all the players to vote for her and watch. I swear, she's so great, she's so courageous I can't wait to see her."
The day’s most touching moment came when I spoke to Aussie Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, who beat compatriot Paul-Henri Mathieu to set up a fourth-round clash with Nadal, who he dominated in the Melbourne semifinals. Tsonga recently returned from visiting his 84-year-old grandfather in Congo, where his father was born. The two had never met. Tsonga, who decided to visit his paternal homeland following his big success in Australia (French sports daily L’Equipe sent a reporter tocover Tsonga’s Congolese relatives watching the final on TV and ran ahuge spread the next day) told me that the visit was “important” and “emotional” and that he shed many hours of tears. He said the visit “made me a man.”
I love the intermingling ethos here. The dining area serves both players and media, so it’s primo for "hunting and gathering," as my colleague Joel Drucker calls it. There is little separating the practice courts from the fans, who encircle the low fences to peer closer at Federer, Sharapova, Nadal, or better yet, snag a photo or autograph.
However, I was disappointed to discover that the grassy field where players stretch, warm up and often play soccer is now cordoned off with a three-foot high white picket fence. I don’t recall this being the case last year, though one of my press peers said it wasn’t new. For sure it was not this way 3-4 years ago, which is too bad because it lent to the free-flowing, laid-back, accessible atmosphere that makes this place so great.
Tennis? Well, the American momentum heading into the tournament has run quickly out of steam. Andy Roddick and Sam Querrey lost Saturday, Donald Young had perhaps his best win as a pro over Dubai finalist Feliciano Lopez but looked lost against Nadal today in a 6-1, 6-3 thumping. On the brighter side, James Blake beat Carlos Moya to stay alive and Tuesday 98th-ranked Mardy Fish plays No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko with little to lose. Ashley Harkleroad has scored consecutive wins over 26th-seeded Lucie Safarova and No. 8 seedDinara Safina. She has a tough but winnable match vs. No. 10 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the fourth round Tuesday. Lindsay Davenport also advanced.
As of this writing, there haven’t been any major upsets Monday, unless you consider unseeded Stanislas Wawrinka’s three-set win over No. 18 Marcos Baghdatis a shocker, which I don't. Baggy is just all over the place - brilliant one day, bumbling the next. Davenport still looks a stepslower to me than when she retired, and she needed three sets against Taipei’s Yung-Jan Chan. But she gets kudos for the day’s most entertaining press conference.
The new mom talked about rushing her 11-month-old son, Jagger, to the on-site tournament doctor when he sprung a 101-degree fever and rash all over his body this afternoon. Davenport said it’s the first time he had been sick at a tournament. It made her a little nuts and kicked in the maternal instinct. "I was so stressed out of my mind and yelling at my husband" she said, referring to former USC standout Jon Leach. "I'm like, I'm really sorry. I know there's probably a player waiting…." she explained to the tournament doctor, but was undeterred.
Jagger (no relation to Mick) is apparently large for his size and a voracious eater – “a big bruiser,” said Davenport. “We’re lining him up to be a linebacker, feeding him a lot,” she joked. Near the end of her amusing chat, Davenport bemoaned the fact that her match against No. 6 seed Marion Bartoli Tuesday night will preclude her from seeing good friend Monica Seles compete on TV’s “Dancing with the Stars.”
“I'm so excited for her,” said the 31-year-old SoCal native. “I'm hoping someone in this area TiVos it for me so I can watch it after my match. I sent her an e‑mail today wishing her good luck, and there's signs in the locker room for all the players to vote for her and watch. I swear, she's so great, she's so courageous I can't wait to see her."
The day’s most touching moment came when I spoke to Aussie Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, who beat compatriot Paul-Henri Mathieu to set up a fourth-round clash with Nadal, who he dominated in the Melbourne semifinals. Tsonga recently returned from visiting his 84-year-old grandfather in Congo, where his father was born. The two had never met. Tsonga, who decided to visit his paternal homeland following his big success in Australia (French sports daily L’Equipe sent a reporter tocover Tsonga’s Congolese relatives watching the final on TV and ran ahuge spread the next day) told me that the visit was “important” and “emotional” and that he shed many hours of tears. He said the visit “made me a man.”
Comments