And it never stopped raining, except for a few brief breaks here and there. The Pilot Pen is scheduled to end Saturday, allowing players a day off prior to the US Open; the final Grand Slam of 2009 begins on Monday. In order to maintain the schedule, not to mention satisfy two television stations and thousands of fans, at around 1:30 pm, the decision was made to move the doubles matches indoors. The decision to move the women’s semifinals indoors followed around 6:00pm. So, instead of playing semifinals in one of the largest tennis stadiums in the world, they were played in the Cullman-Heyman indoor tennis facility on the Yale University campus, with capacity for a few hundred people. (And that’s stretching it.)


The facility, recently renovated, is partially named for the late Joseph Cullman, a former Phillip Morris CEO, who was a driving force behind the Virginia Slims sponsorship of women’s tennis when the Tour started. Cullman was also Chairman of the US Open in 1969-1970, President and Chairman of the International Tennis Hall of Fame from 1982-1988, and a Hall of Fame inductee in 1990.

Once the announcement was made to move the matches indoors, quick preparations were made. Play was held on a section of the facility that holds four indoor courts, each court labeled by a large letter positioned in the background above the courts: Y, A, L, and E. The first semifinal between Caroline Wozniacki and Flavia Pennetta was held on Court L, while Amélie Mauresmo and Elena Vesnina would be nearby on court Y. A few metal benches were situated courtside for coaches and press, while fans watched from a balcony overlooking the courts. Later in the evening, some additional spectators were allowed to come down to the courts and stand behind the benches.

The close quarters meant that you could hear action on the other court: grunts, line calls, umpire announcements, crowd noise and applause, to name a few. Asked afterwards if this was a distraction, Mauresmo said, “Not that much. I thought it would be more. It was OK.” Wozniacki echoed those sentiments, stating she was just focused on her match, and the important thing to her was winning. The players did talk about how play was different indoors, compared to their outdoor preparations. Pennetta commented, “the ball was, like, always really near my head,” and Mauresmo noted that not only were the conditions faster, but it was difficult to adjust her eyes. Graciously, she added that it was the same for her opponent Vesnina, “it took both of us time to adjust.”

Wozniacki scored a comfortable win over Pennetta, 6-4, 6-1. While the first set was close, Pennetta’s serve let her down in the second, and her heart didn’t seem to be in the match. Pennetta was made aware that she has a Monday start at the US Open, and her play reflected that her mind might already be in New York.

Vesnina served for the first set of her match at 5-4, but two double faults let Mauresmo back into the set, and the Frenchwoman claimed it 7-5. However, after receiving some on-court coaching at the start of the second set, Vesnina cruised, and swept the final two sets, 6-1, 6-2. When asked what coaching she received that made her a different player, Vesnina imitated her coach saying, ”Just try to put your serve in!”

So, the women’s semis are complete, with the men’s semis, and all four finals still to be played. Saturday’s weather calls for more rain, which is why Anne Worcester’s nightmare might continue. The plan is for one of the men’s semifinals to start at 10:00 am on Stadium Court, and the other at 11:00 am on Grandstand, the women’s final at 1:00 pm, and the men’s final at 7:00 pm, but it looks like Mother Nature has a different plan, with tropical storm Danny lingering in the area. Complicating the issue are the television contracts. Mauresmo perhaps said it best. When told the final couldn’t be moved for television reasons she said it, “is absurd. It’s going to rain anyway.”


Around the Grounds

Something new: Asked whether she had ever experienced anything like today before, Mauresmo shook her head and said she’s been on tour a long time, “but I don’t recall any circumstances like this!”… Vesnina quote of the day: In explaining her play in the opening set, she said Mauresmo was moving her around the court, and, “playing with me like a pussy cat.”… Time to call Flavia’s bluff: during her downtime waiting for the rains to end, Pennetta played a little poker with fellow pros Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez. Unfortunately, she lost in poker, too… But what about Verdasco?: Wozniacki spent some time outside in the rain today watching the Yale football team practice. Told afterwards that the players were enamored by her, she was asked if she got any phone numbers from them. “Unfortunately not,” she replied…


More photos from the 2009 Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament.
Photos: Mariya Konovalova