|
[I hope you all enjoy this report from Stuttgart by our own Rosangel. I'll be back with a post later in the day - Great job, Rosia! . . . PB]
A multiple choice question follows:
You are in Stuttgart at Tennis Club Weissenhof, watching the 2007 singles final between Rafael Nadal and Stanislas Wawrinka. Your flight home closes boarding at 6.55 pm, and you have been told that you need to get to the airport by 6.15 pm at the latest, to guarantee that the gate won’t close before you get there. But. . .
The start of the final was delayed until 3.30 pm because the German Grand Prix was being televised, so your travel plans depend on Rafa wrapping up the final in two sets - you are relying on it, in fact. Tomorrow is a work day, so you have no margin for error: You must get home. The only other way to get to London tonight is via Frankfurt, and that flight leaves Stuttgart a mere 10 minutes after the direct one. It takes 30 minutes by taxi to get to the airport from the tennis club; your taxi is booked for the latest sensible time - 5.45pm.
As that fateful moment approaches, it is still not clear who will take the second set, as Wawrinka is leading with a break.  Do you:
(a) Hotfoot it out at 5.40 pm, during a changeover, so as not to miss your taxi or your flight?
(b) Wait to see who will take the second set, planning a mad dash afterwards for the waiting taxi regardless of the outcome? (You have already called the driver at 5.45 pm to say that you are coming, but a little late, and have reassured him that you will pay him for his time, and tip him even more generously than you did earlier in the day, especially if he can get you to the airport quickly)?
(c) Decide that you will have to stay until the end regardless of how long the match takes, as the day still might include a never-before-witnessed-
in-person trophy-biting moment, which means that maybe you can't even leave right after the final point is played?
You are, of course, ready to go and pay off the driver (you know he’s only thirty yards away as you've already scouted the quick-escape exit) in between sets two and three - in the event that Stan takes the second. Of course, that would leave you free to return to the court for more. . .
On the middle Saturday during Roland Garros, I stayed right until the end of Rafa's match against Albert Montanes. Rafa never looked like losing (my friend left half an hour before I did), but I ended up missing not only the last Eurostar, but the last possible flight home.
On Sunday, therefore, that particular embarrassment was at the forefront of my mind.
Naturally, I dismissed all such petty concerns - I was prepared to go the distance if necessary. Rafa found a way through and won before 6 pm, but I waited to see the presentations. I'd struggled through the sardine-can crush horror that was Heathrow on Saturday morning, the day after unprecedented flash floods in southern England had left thousands stranded there, with multiple plane delays and cancellations, including mine. This, just to get to the semi-final against the fearsome F-Lo (Feliciano Lopez). How, then, could I fail to see the final through to its ceremonial conclusion?
Eventually I tore myself away at 6.20 pm. It was a hair-raising journey out to the airport. Maybe my waiting driver had been watching the German Grand Prix earlier in the afternoon; the amount of centripetal force felt during some of his racing spirals out of motorway exits was alarming, to say the least. Upon arrival at the airport, I gave him every Euro I had left in my purse; he was simply heroic in his dedication to customer service. After sprinting through the airport, I just made it to the boarding gate as it was closing, even after having my cameras thoroughly taken apart and checked over by Airport Security in case they were explosive devices in disguise.
Even while my internal decision-making drama was going on, I couldn’t help noticing the seemingly small things that, added together, allowed Rafa to suddenly look in control, and then to reel off five straight games from 2-5 down, to take the match.
Perhaps that’s why I hung on – once he had achieved momentum, I became sure that he would take the set after all, and I'd still be in with a fighting chance of getting home. Stan, serving for the set at 5-3, looked nervous. He double-faulted, to groans from the crowd. He did it again later, too. In 2007, even taking a set from Rafa on clay must be more than most players expect to do – he’s lost just five sets this clay season, of 75 played. and three of those were to that other Swiss guy - you know, the world number one.
There were a couple of specific shots that seemed to give Rafa an extra boost in coming from behind – an outrageous get, racing from behind the baseline to near the net, and a very solid overhead that he smashed away. I think there was also a drop shot that helped him hold serve when he looked as though he might go down 1-5. That was the Rafa I was hoping to see.
In many ways the set reminded me of the second set of the Rafa versus F-Lo semi-final match, after the first-set breadstick. The latter was ahead for most of it, but towards the end couldn’t maintain the pressure, or his high level of play, and made some nervy errors; the 7-5 second-set score was the same as for the final, and probably for the same reason – superior mental strength on the part of the winner, who increased his relentless focus to break, while the loser knew that he had to consistently go out of his comfort zone to pull off an upset.
Stan was a deserving finalist, and I think that although some of the ebb and flow was driven by errors, this particular match was appropriately tense and dramatic enough as a final – Rafa was a break down in both sets before recovering, while Stan definitely had his chances, and gave the crowd much to appreciate. The elegant Wawrinka backhand down the line was very effective, even off some of Rafa’s higher-bouncing topspin shots, and he was putting away some stunning forehand angled winners too.
I don’t know where Sunday’s Stan was during the Australian Open, where Rafa inflicted a routine loss on him. I also couldn’t help wondering what the scoreline might have been, had these two played earlier this year in Davis Cup on the tricky Taraflex carpet in Geneva - a surface that, ironically, was meant to be to Switzerland's advantage. You may recall that it put them both out of contention with injuries sustained during practice, before the tie began, and that Stan's was serious enough to have kept him off the tour for some time.
On Sunday’s evidence I’d say that clay is probably Stan’s best surface – his movement around the court isn’t exceptional, but he was able to stay with Rafa on the baseline in many exchanges, and win them outright, which delighted the crowd. His father is German, which brought him some additional support.
Rafa said in his on-court interview after the final that he had been very sad to lose the Wimbledon final, so it wasn't the easiest task for him to come back and win in Stuttgart, though clearly he was very happy to do so. He also indicated, in response to questioning, that his knee has not been causing him major problems, desipite the tenderness (similar to what surfaced during the Wimbledon final) that he felt during the Kohlschreiber match. The knee remained strapped on both Saturday amd Sunday.
Rafa was asked (at least 15 minutes after I should have left) to drive his new white Mercedes (he said that it is for his uncle Toni) around the court – luckily, there were no electricity pylons or other hazards to test his much-ridiculed driving skills, and the host of photographers in attendance avoided being run over. I finally scrambled over a barrier behind me to get out before everyone else poured out, but not until the trophy had been bitten, and the air was full of the aroma of the champagne that had been sprayed by both finalists - only partly at each other. I think some of the notables present may have needed to have their suits dry-cleaned.
The club was an attractive venue for tennis. Apart from the pleasurable contrast between red clay and the deep blue hoardings surrounding the court, it was also possible to be very close to the players, for far less outlay than at Queen’s Club or Wimbledon, including the cost of flights. I was also able to experience the texture of the court, getting close enough to have red stains on my black suede shoes and in the crevices of my camera bag. I was delighted to be able to meet up with Annabelle on Saturday (honoured to be a TW First for her! And how is it that so many TW people are so good-looking?) Serendipitously,we were seated very close together. She has also provided us with some colour below about her visit:
"I had a wonderful day in at the Mercedes Open and meeting Rosia in person was certainly a highlight!
This was the first time I had ever seen a clay-court match live, professional or otherwise! The Tennis Club Weissenhof, home to the Mercedes Cup, is idyllically set out in the green, just a 5-minute tram ride from the city. We had to literally walk up the garden path to reach the main entrance, without hordes of humanity to follow, as happens at the Aussie Open. The entire grounds have a far more reserved and up-market atmosphere than any tournament I have attended in Australia, with the stadium creating an intimate setting, not unlike Kooyong. Our seats were so close to the action that we literally had our feet on the court! It's not quite how I imagined my "first time out on the clay" and am glad that I opted for black leather heels, rather than my previous choice of white ballerinas.
The semi-final ticket cost the about the same as a five-day RLA pass (day 1-5) for the Aussie Open - welcome to Europe! Speaking of ridiculous prices, a trip to the Ladies cost 40 cents - going rate at other locations: 50 cents, so technically a bargain, really. Food however was pretty good and reasonably priced! Food stall attendants wore a stylish corporate black and white uniform. Bratwurst and other sausages were aplenty. Germans are not into eating/drinking food in their laps, and prefer to down their beers and sip their champers at the designated tables and watch the match on the big screen, before popping back to their seats for more tennis action.
There were quite a few stalls selling tennis gear, and a cosmetics stand offering facials and manicures. I declined these freebies, but did manage to walk a away with a lovely goody bag of samples. It's not Garnier World, but the queue was considerably shorter – i.e. just me (everyone else had lined up to get Rafa's autograph a couple of tents down).
The on-court action was very enjoyable. Enthusiastic MCs gave funked up and creative biographies of players and chair umpires, and interviews with the players were conducted in English and German. Tennis-wise, in particular Stan's turn-around of the semi-final match against Chela was impressive. At one point Stan popped out for a bathroom break and took forever to return - perhaps the poor chap didn't have any change handy. Appearance wise, F-Lo is looking positively blokey these days with his new haircut, but his shiny, waxed legs are something else! F-Lo had plenty of reasons for random mutterings and grunts of despair during his semi with Rafa - a few of which provoked giggles from us in the front row. I strategically managed to hide mine underneath my cap and Rosia was well covered behind her camera.
Attending the Stuttgart tournament was a real treat and gave me a new found appreciation for clay and Rafa (well, coupled with Rosia's enthusiasm, that was inevitable!).
N.B.: Stuttgart had the best collection of good-looking lines judges I have ever seen - all gorgeous, young and sporty!"
I’ll wrap up by saying that although there was a great atmosphere for the final, the stadium was never full. There was a huge contrast between the numbers present at Rafa’s semi-final and the Chela-Wawrinka match that followed it, but after the final was over, it was the empty seats above me that facilitated my getaway before the crowds left in full force. This is in contrast to the tournaments that I have attended closer to home; it also made it a possible to get good tickets at short notice, for their face value. I saw some high-quality tennis – and not just the final. I’d recommend the tournament to anyone wanting a day out watching tennis – perhaps I’ll go again next time around, and hope to see even more of TW’s local contingent there!
[P.S. Here are the links for a selection of my photos taken at the weekend - of Rafa during his semi-final with F-Lo, Rafa during and after the final, and everyone else, (primarily Hott Sauce, F-Lo and Stan). To enlarge a picture, click on the thumbnail, and use the arrows to page through].
-- Rosangel (starring a blue-font contribution from Annabelle)
|
