Monday’s Land of the GiantsMonday’s Letting Go
After defeating Gisela Dulko, 76(6) 62, on a break of serve, Russia’s Elena Vesnina had words at net with both Dulko and the umpire about a call she believed was obviously wrong. Dulko attempted to smooth things out, telling Elena, “It’s no one’s fault,” but Vesnina remained unhappy, despite the relatively routine win.
Vesnina and Dulko
Monday’s “Woe Is Me!”
“Look at the temper on that girl,” said the man behind me to his wife as we watched player practices. The player he referred to was none other than the usually good-natured Alizé Cornet. The Frenchwoman was hitting herself with the racquet after every mistake (virtually every third shot), screaming to the skies, and generally portraying misery with her whole presence. After the practice finished, a dejected Cornet could be seen receiving a pep talk from her coach, shoulders slumped, head down.
Monday’s Daycare
Ai Sugiyama was on the practice courts today, too, in preparation for her match with Amélie Mauresmo. She was hitting against what seemed to be a pre-teen. The boy was visibly pained by the strength of Ai´s groundstrokes, but was able to stay with the veteran in rallies.
Monday´s Eyewitness
Fellow players Marcelo Melo, Nadia Petrova, and a much calmer and more content Cornet braved the heat to watch the match between Marcos Baghdatis and Frederico Gil.
Monday´s Permanent Heat Rule
One fan to another, as they left Stadium Court after a first set, “We have time, right? They take, what, about ten minutes between each set?”
Monday’s Tongue Twister
Rainer Hoffman cheered on his wife, Patty Schnyder, with every possible version of “Come On!” used in the multilingual tennis world, from the Serbo-Croatian “Ajde!” to the Spanish “¡Vamos!” It didn’t help, as the Swiss fell to Virginie Razzano in three sets.
Schnyder called for Hoffman at the end of the first set
Monday´s Melancholy
Marcos Baghdatis’ post-match interview had an air of sadness to it, as the Cypriot came in severely disappointed in his loss to Frederico Gil. When asked whether his serve was “the big issue” today (his first service percentage was only 38%), Baghdatis replied, “Everything was a big issue. I cannot even tell you what happened…” Baghdatis made no excuses, confessing he didn’t fight in the match, and also admitted to realizing this summer that the game has passed him by as he struggled with injuries.
Baghdatis also used the interview to extend an apology to Pilot Pen Tennis for not justifying his wildcard, going the length of calling himself ‘an idiot.’ Baghdatis will skip the US Open and go home to Cyprus to train, in hopes of regaining former physical form and tennis prowess.
Monday’s Ending on a High Note
Amélie Mauresmo was in good spirits and a reflective mood after her win over fellow veteran Sugiyama. She shared that after lackluster – by her standards – seasons in 2007 and 2008, it was difficult to make the decision to return to the Tour for another year. She is happy she did, though, as 2009 has proven more successful and she has won a tournament in Paris while posting other good results. “I started this season thinking I still have some great things to [do] on court, and I lived some of them.”
The Frenchwoman, who celebrated her thirtieth birthday with family and friends in July, has decided to wait until the off-season to consider whether she will play in 2010. When asked if she had thought at the beginning of her career that she would still be playing at 30, Mauresmo said she had initially planned to stop at 26. “I’m glad I didn’t, or I wouldn’t have the slams,” she laughed.
More photos from the 2009 Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament.
Photos: Mariya Konovalova
