The Deuce Club – IW Edition, 3.19

By Jackie Roe, TW Social Director

I’m back! Indian Wells was tremendous. Yet another unforgettable tennis trip in the books. I’m bummed to be back … even considered an impromptu trip to Miami to get myself out of the doldrums! Alas, remembering these past few days will have to hold me over until Cincinnati.

I meant to put this report up earlier in the week, but I was so wiped when I came back home that I couldn’t even begin to go through my twenty pages of handwritten notes until I’d had a day or two to decompress. And after I’d started writing, I realized I had more material than one report would allow, but I’ll do my best to include the bulk of it here. I may have to wrap things up in next week’s Deuce Club, so stay tuned.

By they way, as many of you know, I tried my best to Tweet regularly from the tournament. If you’re interested in seeing my IW updates, click here. Thanks to everyone who kept up with my goings-on – I hope it was as fun for you as it was for me!

Thursday, 3/11

– Day 1 in California! The Palm Springs airport is unbelievable; you walk out of the gate and you’re instantly in an outdoor patio area. If only all airports followed suit. And all cities were warm enough to accommodate it.

– I didn’t plan on attending the tennis that day, but beth had an extra ticket that she generously offered to me (thanks again, beth!), so we headed into the tournament grounds in the early evening. (I’ll detail my time with beth and all of the other TWibers shortly.) I caught the tail end of a hit between Janko Tipsarevic and Tommy Robredo; the Serb was on edge the entire time, frequently yelling and tossing his racquet. Temper, temper.

– We left shortly thereafter, considering how exhausted we were from the traveling. Plus, we knew we had loads more tennis to come in the next few days!

Friday, 3/12

– Loads of player sightings at breakfast at the hotel, including the Frenchies (Monfils, Simon, Gasquet, Chardy); Brazilians (Bellucci, Melo); and Americans (Isner, Oudin, Odesnik). Andreev and his lady Kirilenko, Hantuchova (absolutely stunning), Karlovic, and Dokic were also there.

— Upon arriving on the grounds, I picked up my media credentials and was shown the areas I had access to – media lounge, interview room, dining area, etc. I was impressed by how smoothly the tournament was run; the workers and volunteers were all friendly and helpful and answered all of my many questions. I met Matt Van Tuinen, who’s at the helm of the media center, and he made sure I felt right at home. Having the credentials at this tournament was not unlike my experience in Cincinnati; I felt both grateful and spoiled to be that close to the action and to have the chance to make my voice heard in a press conference. The only difference? The Center Court seat situation. In Cincinnati, my feet were literally on the court, but in IW, I wasn’t quite as close. But who’s complaining? (The courts themselves are different, too, what with IW’s being much larger.)

– I strolled around the practice courts and saw MaKiri and David Nalbandian. Then watched Feliciano Lopez and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez hit for a bit. Victoria Azarenka was in the adjacent court and her grunts drowned out those of the guys right in front of me. Sheesh.

– After the Spaniards were finished, Andy Murray and his team (Ross Hutchins, Miles Maclagan, Jez Green) came by to play some footie. If I’m not mistaken, they corralled some of Feli’s crew to join in on a game – Muzz and Hutch were explaining the directions – which was amusing.

– Next up: Rafael Nadal’s presser. We all know what was said by now, but I thought I’d share some general impressions anyway. He looked healthy and happy, flashing that brilliant smile often. As usual, he fielded his fair share of injury questions, including a drawn-out and frankly nonsensical one that required translation. His response: “I have no answer – you know more than me.” Well played, Rafa. He said that his schedule this year would remain unchanged from previous years and described IW as being “out of the world,” as it doesn’t have the normal tournament feel. (That I can attest to, as well – it’s paradise!) Of course, he was asked about the Shakira music video and called her a “very nice person” (euphemism for what, I wonder?). A memorable finish to the interview.

– A brief note about the interview room, again in comparison to that in Cincy: It’s much larger, with five or six rows of almost twenty seats each. In Cincy, there were only a dozen seats in total.

– Then came Andy Roddick’s presser. Aside from the faux hawk(!), he looked great. He served up (pun intended) plenty of hilarious soundbites, as usual. When asked whether or not being married had a positive impact on his recovery from injury, he responded with something like, “I have a hard time correlating being married with my physical health.” And then when he was discussing his opinion of Ryan Harrison, he gave us this gem: “He asks a lot of smart questions … to which I give a lot of dumb answers.” In all seriousness, though, it was interesting to hear his thoughts on Ryan. He explained that the teen’s passion for tennis is what drives him, and not the lifestyle the game represents, which isn’t the case for many young players. Clearly Ryan’s got Rod’s vote … and after hearing these comments, he’s got mine too.

– The proximity of the players’ and media areas was rather striking. Okay, so it’s not like there was much interaction … but countless times, I’d look up and realize I was ordering food right next to Elena Dementieva. Or waiting to pay for my salad behind Vera Zvonareva. Or nearly colliding with Jelena Jankovic and her coach. Or sitting down at a table right next to Muzz. The novelty wore off after the first day, but it was still a shock to my system.

– Headed to Center Court for Justine Henin vs. Gisela Dulko. This was my very first time seeing Justine live, and as she’s one of my favorite players, I was thrilled. Unfortunately, she gave an inauspicious performance; she couldn’t get a first serve in to save her life in the early goings and quickly fell behind 0-4. Obviously a harbinger of things to come. The crowd was fully on her side, which was a pleasant surprise given that prior to her retirement, fans probably would’ve been more apt to root for the underdog (i.e., not her).

– Next, I watched a little of Maria Sharapova vs. Vera Dushevina. Like Justine, Masha struggled mightily with her serve. Some of the misses were pretty shameful, even drawing chuckles from the crowd. Her kit, on the other hand, looked lovely.

– I was too restless to hang out at that match for long, so I sauntered over to the practice courts again. Caught a few minutes of Ernests Gulbis and Ivo Karlovic hitting. Then went to watch Monfils/Simon vs. Ferrer/Montanes from the media room, and on my way, I walked past Bud Collins, looking dapper as ever. (Pink sweater and what looked like madras pants, if you’re curious.)

– Back in the interview room for more pressers. Roger Federer was scheduled to arrive, but instead, we heard from Justine, following her loss to Gisela. I really enjoyed this one, just because Justine radiated such a calm energy. It really was refreshing to see her so positive and at ease. She’s honest and articulate, too, which is a presser boon. She noted that because of the expectations, this tournament was much more difficult than the Australian Open, and that while patience isn’t her best quality, she’ll do her best to manage the trials of this comeback. She ended with a few comments on the Hit for Haiti later that evening and called Steffi Graf her idol and inspiration. You and me both, Justine! (Again, on the fashion front, I give her pink ensemble a thumbs up. She also wore a ring on her left ring finger; does she always do that?)

– Gisela was slated to show next. As I waited for her to arrive, I saw Martina Navratilova race through the interview room and give a warm hello to Bud and others. Neat.

– Much to my surprise, the next player to walk through the door was not Gisela, as expected, but Fed! (I suspected he had canceled his presser altogether when he didn’t appear earlier.) Right when he arrived, someone said “You look good,” to which he responded “You look good!” Clearly he was in a jovial, relaxed mood. Aside from the normal tournament-related topics, he spoke about his trip to Ethiopia and clarified that his illness wasn’t due to the trip (doctors said he wasn’t there long enough for it to be the cause). He also spent some time talking about his relationship with the tennis media. That I found particularly enlightening; he noted that when his career began, he found himself being misrepresented by the media because they didn’t know anything about him. In order to be understood, both by the media and the general public, he recognized that he had to offer his time, and be honest and open. (It’s such a simple concept, isn’t it? And yet one that seems lost on many.)

– Finally, Gisela came into the room. She looked uncomfortable getting so much attention; I imagine she’s not used to these pressers, not being very high-profile. She’s much more diminutive in person than she appears on television, though no less beautiful, and has an innocent quality about her. Humble, too – at the end, she apologized for her English! (Which wasn’t bad, by the way.) The win meant a great deal to her, considering Justine is her favorite active player, and belief and confidence were the keys to victory.

– Another encounter, this time in the bathroom. Tracy Austin was touching up her makeup, readying herself for the evening’s special event.

– And finally … the Hit for Haiti! I was overwhelmed to witness the event and to be in the presence of so many tennis legends, most of whom I never fathomed I’d see live. I’ve mentioned before that Steffi was my favorite player, male or female, for years, so I was elated to see her play. The forehand! The ponytail! Was in awe of it all. I was obviously not the only one, as she seemed to be a huge crowd favorite.

    As we all know, Martina was the chattiest and most entertaining of the bunch, while Justine was the most reserved.

    Then came the guys. I’ll never forget a moment early on in the match after a stirring, never-ending rally, finally won by Fed. At the conclusion of the point, the crowd got on their feet and erupted into a thunderous roar. It was the loudest ovation I’d ever heard and the memory still gives me chills.

     We’ve heard plenty about what ensued later between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, so I won’t bother to add my take; it’s probably better to leave it alone at this point, considering it should never have been the focal point of the match in the first place. And it wasn’t, for me. I left the match with a huge grin on my face, having not stopped laughing the entire time. (But yes, the tipping debacle was uncomfortable. I wrote a giant “OOF” in my notes when it happened.)

   All in all, it was a memorable event, with a most worthy cause.

— TW gathering at The Beer Hunter! (See the photos below and to your right. What a fine looking group!)

Saturday, 3/13

– Around 10 AM, we saw Florent Serra racing to his car in the hotel parking lot, lugging his racquet bag. vetmama joked that he was probably late for his 11 AM match! (Turns out he didn’t play at 11 AM. Would’ve made for a good story.)

– Started off the day at the practice courts. Watched David Ferrer hit with Igor Andreev, then saw some of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Masha, and Tipsy.

– Went to check out Gilles Simon vs. Brian Dabul. The first thing I wrote down in my notes? “Not good.” Gilles looked unsettled the entire time I was there and was visibly upset during every game. He never got into a rhythm and was pinned too far behind the baseline; we all saw the end result before it came. The rest of the season looks to be an uphill battle for my favorite Frenchman.

– Walked over to what I thought would be Bhupathi/Mirnyi vs. Robredo/Almagro, but as the Spaniards withdrew and were replaced by Andreev/Korolev in the draw, I moved on to Mario Ancic vs. Julien Benneteau. (Nothing against the Russians, of course, but I was anxious to see T-Rob play!)

– The Mario/Julien match was wild, with a rabid pro-Mario crowd and several swings in momentum. As with Justine, I was happy to finally see Mario play live; I don’t know that I was aware of just how intense he is on the court. Constantly pumping himself up. Adding more drama to the match was the fact that the chair umpire seemed to have a bit of a vendetta against the Croat. She called a violation for on-court coaching, which baffled many of us – where was his coach? The best part of the match might have been the ladies sitting in front of me. They were elderly women, draped in Croatian flags, talking to and cheering on Mario mightily the entire match. They had more energy than most teenagers!

– I walked over to Center Court to catch some of Kim Clijsters’s match vs. Barbara Zahlavova Strycova (I had to look that one up), and it was over before I even had the chance to sit down. By the scoreline, you would’ve figured that Kimmy played a flawless match, but Jenn later informed me that the play in general was fairly awful, with Kimmy winning only on the basis of being less mediocre than her opponent.

– I stayed put for Rafa vs. Rainer Schuettler. I’ll defer to my notes now: “Rafa’s pants were … interesting. Game a lot better. ”

– After it was clear Rafa was going to make quick work of Schuettler, I moved to Marin Cilic vs. GGL. Same court as the Mario match – and lo and behold, the Croatian ladies were still there, supporting Marin! They’re hardcore. Marin is usually so emotionless on the court, but in this match, he didn’t hide his frustration in the early part of the second set after dropping the first. His timing was entirely off, whereas GGL looked sharp. I was reminded of GGL’s upset of Fernando Verdasco in Cincinnati (I was present for that match, too); he can certainly come up with the goods, but just not consistently, huh?

– Next: Juan Carlos Ferrero vs. Daniel Koellerer. JCF looked to be moving well, while Koellerer was struggling with an injury he sustained early in the match. (Didn’t see it – but was given the run-down by my TWibe pals who watched from the start.)

– Caught the last few moments of Juan Monaco vs. Fabio Fognini. After the match had ended, we all witnessed an “Awww!” moment, when Pico stayed to sign autographs and even posed for group pics! Really sweet.

– More match hopping. Watched a little of John Isner vs. Kevin Anderson. Not surprisingly, the crowd was overwhelmingly on Isner’s side; it’s obvious that few folks actually know that Anderson attended college here in the States (go Illini!). Then went to Sam Querrey vs. Jeremy Chardy. We had the good fortune of sitting directly in front of the Samurai. I think my ears are still ringing from that darn gong. Finally, I ended the evening with some Novak Djokovic vs. Mardy Fish action, which was a topsy-turvy affair.

– Back at the hotel bar area, I noticed some players looking to paint the town. I think it’s best if I kept their identities to myself.

Sunday, 3/14

– Found myself in the elevator with Ferru and his coach. Not a terrible start to the day. Had breakfast at the same time as Ernie and Isner (again).

– After checking out a practice session or two (including Nadia Petrova’s), I made my way to the Marcos Baghdatis vs. Arnaud Clement match. Standing by the entrance to the court, waiting to enter at the end of the first set, I saw Severin Luthi, Swiss Davis Cup captain and Federer’s “coach,” walk out. Clearly he was doing some scouting, as the winner of that match would then face his charge. We all know how that turned out. Maybe Severin should’ve stayed until the end.

– Then it was off to the practice courts, where I watched JCF and GGL hit (good buddies in real life, yes?). When they were finished, Vera came and dove right into a number of fitness exercises. Stating the obvious, but she’s such a great mover.

– Decided to grab lunch next – apparently all the players (e.g., Timea Bacsinszky, Jurgen Melzer (with his gal pal), JCF and GGL fresh from their practice) had the same idea!

– After eating, I watched T-Rob vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky. A funny incident: T-Rob was yapping with a linesperson as Stakhovsky was getting ready to serve, so the chair umpire gave the Spaniard a time violation. Usually when this happens, the opponent is either ambivalent or pleased, but Stakhovsky looked totally confused and asked the ump, “Who? Him?” He felt he was the one taking too long! That gave me a good laugh; I appreciate those moments when competition takes a backseat to honesty and humor.

– I was looking forward to Nalby vs. Melzer, but much to my chagrin, it ended within five minutes of my arrival (with Nalby getting blown out in the end). There was an episode when it looked like Nalby tried to hit Melzer with a ball, but as I couldn’t quite make out what happened, I might have been mistaken …

– Just barely saw a few minutes of Masha vs. Jie Zheng, too. I suppose I should’ve been grateful, as everyone I spoke to agreed that it was painful to watch.

– Following that match was Fed vs. Victor Hanescu. Even though the match got away from Fed in the second set, he looked to be moving well. At least early on, he didn’t show signs of rust, as I’d expected. Immediately after he lost the second set, I called a breadstick (I felt like Brad Gilbert!) and was pleased Fed obliged.

    Apparently I was one of only a few Fed fans without nerves about the result of the match. I wasn’t worried for a second, while many others were on the edge of their seats. I’ve noted this before, but when I’m watching tennis live, I’m much less concerned about wins and losses than I am at home, on my couch. It’s actually pretty fascinating, as it would seem to make more sense the other way around. I think I’m just so in the moment, so keenly aware of how blissful it feels to be taking in live tennis action, that I don’t have many cares as far as my favorites advancing or whatnot. Having the media credentials over the past couple of tournaments has made me much more impartial, as well.

    After the match, Fed was honored with three ATP awards, and we were shown a brilliant tribute video. (Fed watched it, too!) I’m such a sap that it made me tear up. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation, too.

– I ended the night with Fed’s presser. The best soundbite was when he talked about the “awkward” moment between Pete and Andre at the Hit for Haiti. He said something along the lines of, “Now being a father, I thought maybe we have to give both guys a timeout or something.” Hilarious – and something I would’ve paid (even more) to see.

Monday, 3/15

– After much anticipation, I met Steve Tignor for the first time. I’m a big fan of his writing, and now of the guy, too; I’m glad I had the chance to chat with him for a bit.

– As was my routine, I started the day at the practice courts. T-Rob and Marc Lopez were hitting, and a group of fans came over and asked Marc for an autograph, without paying a lick of attention to Tommy. If you want to be a celebrity, make sure you play with Rafa! Anyway, he was very kind to the fans, and shortly thereafter, Elena did the same, signing a couple of balls before her practice. She seems like such a gracious person …

    Back to T-Rob and Marc. Though I don’t speak Spanish, I figured out (or vetmama did!) that they were discussing Marc and Rafa’s doubles match yesterday. I had an LOL moment when I heard the two sneak in some English words in the conversation – at one point, T-Rob even said “chip and charge.”

— Others I saw: Tomas Berdych, Daniel Jimeno-Traver, Nicolas Almagro, Feli, Potito Starace, Muzz and Hutch, Agi Radwanska, and Viktor Troicki.

– Then I watched a number of matches in matches in a row, all on the same court. First was JCF vs. Pico. JCF was hurting – from what, I’m unsure – and Pico played brilliantly to take the match.

– Wait. Took a lunch break and nearly ran into Lindsey Davenport in the media lounge area. She’s not as tall in person as I’d envisioned …

– Back to the tennis. Next up was GGL vs. Thomaz Bellucci. I hadn’t seen Bellucci play before, and he seems to hit a very heavy ball. Or at least it looked that way from the front row. Really fond of GGL’s one-handed backhand. Not quite as fond of his court positioning (parking lot!).

– Following that match was Verdasco vs. Berdy. The packed crowd was hugely disappointed with how the match played out, given that it was an utter beatdown. Though it was a dud from a competitive standpoint, I still found it entertaining to watch because of Berdy’s performance. He played with so much purpose and aggression that I was in awe. If only he’d always play that way! As for Verdasco, I kept waiting for him to explode. Emote. I wanted him to, thought it would release some of the tension that was inevitably building in his body. He never did, though, save for some whacks to his shoe. It was over in less than one hour.

– I intended to leave the stadium at that point, but as Rod/Blake vs. Nestor/Zimonijc were up next, the entrances/exits to the courts were overflowing with people hoping to see the match, and there was no room for me to leave! Speaks to the popularity of the Americans, no doubt. I went back to my courtside seat, thinking I’d try to leave again after a few games; instead, I stayed put for the entire match, and I’m glad I did. Another hilarious Rod incident: He got called for a foot fault and a few seconds later muttered something about “pulling a Serena” and laughed. Too perfect. N/Z are like a well-oiled machine – doubles at its finest.

– And with that … my IW ’10 experience was over. What an exciting final day.

General observations

– This tournament is unique in that it feels almost like a vacation, even for the players (as Rafa noted in his presser). Yet it also has a distinct air of importance, being the first “big” tournament following the Australian Open. It’s an interesting combination, one that makes this tournament so difficult to pass up for fans.

– One of the highlights of the trip was, of course, spending so much time with TWibers. vetmama and Tennis Tarkheena were my roommates, and we regularly ate/hung out/watched tennis with beth (with daughter Missie and her friend Courtney), jb, lpb (Susan), Tari, Annie, rafadoc, and Jenn. We also met up with C Note, Alexis, and Christine S., and I spent quite a bit of time with Andrew, who was a great guide. (You’ve all seen Andrew’s Breakfast with TennisWorld YouTube video, right?) It was wonderful sharing this experience with this motley group; I felt fortunate to have the chance to get to know (or reacquaint with) such charming, welcoming, and plain-ol’-fun people, face-to-face.

    (I really hope these gatherings become a trend at all tournaments. I encourage you to use our Facebook group, TennisWorld > Real World to arrange meetings. I’ve already started a Miami one – please contribute if you’re attending the tournament!)

– Another highlight? The absolutely perfect weather. Every day was sunny, with temperatures in the upper 70′s or lower 80′s. Sure, it got chilly once the sun went down, but I was always prepared with jeans and my trusty pashminas!

– Click here to view my photos. I don’t have very many (well, considering how long I was there), but I’m sure others will stop by with links to their own albums (vetmama? jb?). Enjoy!

Wow – longest DC of all time. Maybe longest TW post? (Sorry, Pete!) Thanks for reading, and enjoy the finals this weekend!

Related posts:

1. Sighting Land: Indian Wells Previews
2. The Paris Parse
3. The Deuce Club, 8.6
4. No. 2 Federer takes top seeding at Wimbledon
5. The Deuce Club, 8.13