FIRST!!!

FIRST!!!!!!

Sorry, didn't mean to rub it in even more, typepad when psycho.

Ed,

I don't know if you remember the old site at York University, but those were the pits! The outside courts were on top of each other and impossible for more than a 50 or so people to view. The stadium was lacking in ALL aspects with no shade at all and forget about bathrooms!!! The place should have been condemned 10 years before they played the last match there.

I've only been up to Rexall Center the year it opened and found if a 1000% improvement! I remember my buddy trying to get me to see this Spanish kid play................and I told him I didn't want to watch another Spanish pretender...........it was 16 or 17 year old Nadal!

If your up there with Andrew .........I have played at:

York University Courts

Toronto Lawn Tennis Club(former site of the Canadian Open) in downtown( 15 + clay courts + paddle courts)

Bouvlard Club - 12 clay courts on Lake Shore off the QEW on the lake..............say your a press guy( tennis.com)

great account from an 'alternative' setting. thanks, Ed.
I'm jealous, and amused that they were nearly scrapping by the end of it.

watcing Verdasco in a similar tiny-court situation at Nottingham signified my jump onto his bandwagon. I could've enacted it literally by jumping on him during a sitdown.
I spent three days at Nottingham, and only ventured into Centre Court once. I just adored the outside courts and their intimacy.

I'm not sure how close I'd like to get to Verdasco in that colour scheme though.

sure afwu - just trying to rub it in, we know...

Ed - great post! The smaller courts definately rule, that's why i'm going early to the open this year, in hopes of catching good matches on the smaller outer courts.

I'm still laughing at the thought of Robin as a wee birdie chirping irritatedly away at everyone and everything.

Nice description, Ed. The small courts are hilarious, but this one sounds exceptional!

Thanks for this nice report. I look forward to visiting Toronto in the coming years and will make a point of checking out Court 2.

Thanks, Ed. I love intimate courts! I am the Queen of the Grandstand court at the US Open.

Verdasco's forehand is "relatively powerless"? High standards, Ed, high standards.

Nice work, Ed! I'm glad you drew attention to just how freakishly well any top pro hits the ball, not just the top dogs.

Soderling also hits an unusually flat ball for a top guy, he really CONNECTS. I saw him push Gonzo (Gonzo!) around at the U.S. Open a couple years ago.

Asad:
Did you see the Soderling/Safin match at Wimbly? Even on TV. I mean, Soderling was playing elite tennis. He lost though.

Cheshire Cat,

Although plenty of people misuse it as a filler word in lieu of actually taking a position with some conviction, "relatively", in this case, likely means relative to Sodering, who is more of a hard-hitter than Verdasco.

Syd: do you mean Soderling/Federer?

Ed,
I am surprised that Robin did not lose it mentally as Fernando was probably tired from playing in Umag, then traveling to Toronto on Monday, and playing 2 more matches in consecutive days must have finally fatigued him.

That's an awesome match to witness. Tennis is a brutally competive sport, which gets lost in translation sometimes.

Weirdly, I play strangers more kindly than I play friends. I want to tear my friends to pieces. I let strangers walk all over me. My own hell I suppose.

There's a reason I'm not on the tour.

No, Crazyone. I meant Soderling/Safin. Unless I've lost my mind, which is possible.

Jeff in Rochester,

"I remember my buddy trying to get me to see this Spanish kid play................and I told him I didn't want to watch another Spanish pretender...........it was 16 or 17 year old Nadal!"

Are there tears in your eyes as you recall this memory? Ahhhh, lost opportunities ;-)

Crazyone: What would I do w/o you? It was Seppi v Safin.

Ed: Of such amazing matches are memorable tennis experiences made.:) It's enough that you had no scoreboard, but then you had trouble hearing the umpire, too. And to think that my spoiled tennis buddy and I whined our way through our first WTT match this summer because of a slow scoreboard and an umpire who seemed to be whispering into his mike!

Jeff: My first view of Nadal in person took place when he played Younes El Aynaoui in the Grandstand at the USO a few years ago. But I was so dazzled and fascinated by Younes (one of my all-time faves) that I had to admit that I hadn't noticed, when one of my tennis pals mentioned it later, that "the young guy (Nadal) was pulling at his pants all the time." :)

I was there too peter, standing at centre court (wish I knew you were there!) Great match to be a part of...that close to. Real battle and the shots that looked like winners came back and with something on them...you could tell they both wanted the win big time. The whole time I too was wondering what Soderling was pissed about...was it his coach's advice or something else? Still remain curious cuz like you said he was chirping whether point went his way or not. I had day session tickets and had given up, in the van ready to drive off but at my son's urging stuck around and went back in to the stadium to catch this terrific match (as well as seeing fed and nadal!) Stormy day turned out beautiful in the end.

*wades into shallow end of pool* I just spent the last few minutes gazing at the pic above and Hott Sauce's, errr, abs. Lord, that is a beautiful man.

More pertinent to the topic at hand, great piece, Ed (lol at the bird chirping). Sounds like it was a great experience. Y'all have me convinced of the appeal of seeing matches on these out-of-the-way courts.

I heard that draws for wtas 08 rogers cup wil be made this aftern0n abt 5 p.M canada tym..Was that true??

Thanks, Ed.

In my continued travels, both personally and by reading what's written, I have yet to come across a reference to any other player who gets on with Robin Soderling. But plenty to the contrary.

I remember watching Nalbadian vs Malisse on one such court at the USO. Man...it was scary how hard those guys were hitting it.

Oh, Djoko went down tonight! Damn, i think his game's slipping...i mean 2nd round at wimby, and now a relatively early straight set loss in Toronto where he was defending champ, i think he should consider retirement. Maybe bouncing the ball 25 times before he serves wore him out mentally and physically? His future looks poor, and now Nadal will be lonely at the top, since fed and djoko are all washed up.

Yup, Novak looked tamed ever since Hamburg loss to Rafa. I mean he played the best tennis of his life and lost. That;s though. And ever since, he looked deflated. Loss to Rafa in FO, loss to Rafa at queens, loss to Safin at W, this one today, he just looks deflated. Whoever advised him to become more "advertising-friendly" should be fired quiclky. You dont change the winning team.

i was waiting for this, ed. i wish i can someday experience seeing a pro match really up close like you've described. when shanghai turns into a masters event, i'll definitely go and check out the outer courts.