I had a great day yesterday. The photographers here are seated in one big pack all along one side of the court, opposite the umpire's chair, and mixed up with the TV cameras. I seem to be one of the only native English speakers among the photographers, but luckily language isn't required for most things other than asking for directions. I recognise a couple of faces - someone I chatted to at a previous tournament has just stopped by my desk to say hello. It's amazing what a white lens or two will do for one's credibility among the true professionals. Like many of them, I've now caught the habit of "chimping" - that means that when I hope that I've properly captured a particular shot, I frantically switch on the viewer on the back of the camera to see how it came out. If it's a disaster, I erase it before the next point is played. Tennis is a civilised subject for sports photography - there is always some time between points, after all.
It was hot out there yesterday - as is true for the players, there's no cover for a photographer from the sun until it has moved around and the evening shadows start falling across the clay. Nor do we have anyone to hold umbrellas over us during changeovers. Despite being liberally covered with high-factor sunscreen, and reapplying it between matches, I have still caught the sun in a lot of places - hands are particularly exposed, as they are always busy, and sunscreen will not stay on them for long.
Photographers don't always get access to press conferences at tournaments, I've found - the protocol varies according to the hosts, and probably the size of the press contingent at any event plays a part in this decision. I admit that I've always preferred to stay courtside to follow the tennis, too, so haven't pressed too hard at other tournaments. However, although there are a lot of journalists here, the room that houses the photographers is divided in two - the other half is where the players give their post-match pressers. This means that for only the second time in my TW career, I attended a couple of these. It was somewhat accidental - there was a gap in between the day's two matches, and I came inside to sit down. When the announcement came that the Querrey and Nadal press conferences would happen soon, I hung around. It meant missing the first set of the match between Andy Roddick and David Ferrer, but what the hail...any sacrifice for TW. Would the Rafa Euro-spectator Slam experience be complete without at least one press conference in it somewhere?
I'm not sure that I've changed my mind about the banality of most of what is said at many player press conferences, but it was interesting. I reported a few of the things that were said in the TW comments section last night. Some other photographers had stayed too - this meant that there was jostling for space to get a clear shot of the players. I don't think I'd make much of an in-your-face photographer to the celebs in real life. Obviously the pros have got used to blasting away with a flashgun in someone's face, and probably the players hardly notice. You see, I got my chance to photograph both players, after others had moved away, having taken the shots they needed, but was suddenly overcome with a fit of embarrassment (or something) at the idea of being the only one in the room clicking the shutter while the players were talking. The result is that I have very few pictures.
There is an interpreter at the pressers here, to translate Spanish into English, and vice versa, so my initial worry about not understanding what was going on came to nothing. Pete seems to be far from the only journalist who finds Nadal press conferences amusing - the Spanish journalists present all seemed jovial (I suppose winning the match helps with that). The biggest laugh came when he apparently forgot that the interpreter was there to help him with the English side of things, and after completing an answer in Spanish, went straight on to say, in English "That means that...". Upon being reminded that the interpreter was there, he waved an airy hand and said: "Why don't you have a go and see if you can say it better?".
I'm going to cheer - silently - for the USA today, because I'd like to see a live rubber or two tomorrow. Photographers can't cheer, of course, but I think I managed to give away my feelings about the result of both of yesterday's matches to at least a couple of the people around me. I'm no good at deadpan expressions, and I think I was sighing audibly early in the thick of second set of the Nadal-Querrey match, as well as during the fifth set of the Roddick-Ferrer encounter (the latter purely due to tension - I'd have been entirely happy with a win by either player).
That's all for now. Back into the bullring. Yesterday, the crowd there was incredible; I hope today's match lives up to yesterday's excitement.
As always, enjoy today's tennis.
