!Querrey By Jackie Roe, TW Contributing Editor
I'm back with a final Cincy report. Apologies for the delay - this was supposed to go up yesterday, but as I was traveling, I couldn't wrap it up until just now. [[Programming note: No Deuce Club tonight, as a result.]]
Day 3 (Wednesday) in Cincy was quite possibly the most eventful day of live tennis I've ever experienced - and that's saying a lot!
Weather report: Very humid and some rain (read on for more). Still got quite a bit of sun, though - the tan's coming along!
11 AM
Practice court time. Tommy Robredo was working on his serve in the court adjacent to Jeremy Chardy (a little awkward, perhaps, considering they just played two days prior?). Watched David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro hit together (again), as well.
11:45 AM
Headed over to Centre Court for some of Novak Djokovic vs. Ivan Ljubicic. The first set was really tight, with both guys serving well. Whenever I see Djokovic, I'm struck by how lean he is. I often think he has the ideal physique for a tennis player.
12:30 PM
Went over to Court 4 to have a look at Mikhail Youzhny vs. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, considering I hadn't seen Youzhny perform at all since arriving. Guess I didn't pick the greatest time to do so, as he was struggling in the second set. At one point, he broke a string and his expression was one of "Will nothing go my way today?!".
1 PM
Time for Roger Federer vs. Jose Acasuso on Centre Court. Great warmth from the crowd, lots of cheering for Federer. Federer got into a nice serving rhythm early on; his first serve percentage was close to 75% in the first set. Acasuso stayed close in the second set, but whether Federer would break was never in question ... only when. Indeed, the match didn't "feel" as close as the scoreline (though I'll admit that watching tennis live is quite different from watching it on TV - less stressful?).
Acasuso's box was right at my left, and his team was very vocal, offering encouragement whenever their charge was on that side. I smiled when I heard "Chucho" - TW really is in the know when it comes to players' nicknames!
After the match, during his on-court interview, Federer noted that the court plays faster than any other on tour and made quick mentions of all he's experienced since Cincy last year - the Slam wins, getting married, and of course, having twins.
2:40 PM
Much to my surprise, Federer's press conference was scheduled to take place almost immediately after his match. I heard 2:40, and he showed up at 2:40 on the dot (that surprised me, actually, after what happened Monday). Though I took notes on all of his responses, I imagine those of you who care enough about what was said have already looked at the transcript ... so I'll spare you. Instead, I'll just comment on what can't be gleaned from a transcript. Like:
Federer came across as really gracious (greeted and thanked us, which I hadn't seen until that point) and patient (after the English presser, he answered questions in French and Swiss-German, as usual). He was calm and comfortable up there - as he should be, considering how many millions of questions he's had to field over the years(!). He had some jokes in him, too ... had us chuckling more than once. A neat presser, one I'd been looking forward to for a while.
3 PM
Centre Court for Andy Murray vs. Almagro. Not long after I observed how diminutive Almagro looked in person, on such a grand court, the rain started coming out of nowhere! I ran for cover in the tunnel (where the players enter/leave) and was immediately followed by Almagro, Murray, and others on their teams.
Come 3:40, the rain had passed and play had resumed (the grounds crew did a commendable job of getting the court ready in such a short period of time). Both Almagro and Murray were obliterating the ball - it was astounding, really. Murray looked annoyed much of the time, despite being in the lead, and uttered that patented "come on" after every winner and every Almagro error.
After a few games, I retreated back to the press room, and on my way, I spotted Federer signing items by the players' entrance (fans always gathered there to get signatures as the players entered or exited the grounds). He got to every last item ... I didn't think that was possible.
Back in the press room, I was hoping we'd hear word about a Marat Safin presser following his loss to Radek Stepanek, but I was told he declined all interview requests. A pity, as that was bound to be interesting.
4:15 PM
Next up for me was Nikolay Davydenko vs. Igor Kunitsyn on Grandstand. I joined this match in the early goings of the second set, when it looked like Davydenko completely lost his way. After winning the first set fairly routinely (as the score indicated), he ended up eating a breadstick in the second, drowning in a sea of unforced errors. Perhaps I was bad luck; after leaving, Davydenko righted the ship and grabbed the final set.
4:45 PM
Centre Court again for another marquee match - Rafael Nadal vs. Andreas Seppi. I made it in time for the introductions, and Nadal received a huge ovation. He's a favorite in Cincy, no doubt. I would've stayed longer, but I knew I had to hightail it out of there if I were to make Murray's presser. Which leads me to ...
5:10 PM
Murray's presser. He was a bit late, actually, but stuck around for a good amount of time to take care of different interviews. First was the actual presser, during which he noted that Almagro played extremely well in the first set, conditions are quicker than in Montreal, and taking both the Canada and Cincy titles is a difficult task because of the physical toll it takes on players. When he was asked about Stepanek (his next opponent), he was quite frank in his analysis, drawing laughs from us. Namely, he said that Stepanek can do some "weird" stuff on the court. (He elaborated on this during his subsequent BBC interview - which he did separately, standing in front of a camera - explaining that Stepanek plays mind games, like jumping around after winning points, and he can't allow that to faze him.) He also said the rain delay did affect him slightly, if just because after they had returned to the court, the sun had moved.
I enjoyed Murray and appreciated his honesty and rather easy-going disposition. He looks very young in person (though I suppose he is young!). He also appeared a tad nervous and played with his fingernails/blisters; the stenographer mentioned earlier that he doesn't quite seem comfortable answering questions yet, that he's still not used to it.
5:35 PM
I decided to check out Robredo/Ferrer vs. Cermak/Mertinak on Court 4, considering I'd neglected doubles action until that point. Good move on my part, as I was thoroughly entertained. Live doubles doesn't get the credit it deserves. Ferrer (no longer sporting any knee tape) maintained his fine form from the day prior and frequently drew gasps from the crowd with his shotmaking. Both he and Robredo were in a jovial mood, even laughing about something during the last couple of points in the super-tiebreak.
Alas, then came yet another rain delay. Play was suspended around 6:45.
7:45 PM - Play resumes!
I decided to park for a little while at the Grandstand Court for Lleyton Hewitt vs. Benjamin Becker. I spotted Hewitt's wife Bec and daughter Mia in the stands, and I was so taken by his little girl. Absolutely precious. She'd follow her mother's lead throughout; when Bec would applaud, Mia would, too, even when she wasn't watching! Hewitt was in control of the match from the beginning; he broke Becker early on (was it the first game?) and never looked back.
Play was suspended once again because of the rain, but unlike the last one, this delay was short-lived. I wondered if the action on all the other courts was stalled, as well ...
8:15 PM
I saw that tennis was back on on Court 3, so I spent some time there. More doubles action - Simon/Chardy vs. Parrott/Polasek. Just as I noticed with Robredo and Ferrer, Simon and Chardy have a great rapport. I wonder how much that helps in a doubles pairing ...
8:45 PM
Back to the interview room, this time for Seppi's presser. (He had just lost to Nadal.) Most of the questions asked dealt with Nadal's performance and what shape he was in. Having played him often in the past, Seppi admitted that perhaps Nadal hadn't been moving as well as in their previous matches, that the knee might still be bothering him. He said that of course he was a little disappointed because he had his chances but that his opponent just played the big points better.
I stayed put as Nadal's presser was up next. While we waited, I overheard a couple of the others in the room discussing Nadal's movement and arguing that he might've been wise to make his return on a surface other than hardcourts, which is so rough on the knees. There was also some talk about Serena Williams and her inconsistent record at non-Slam events. I chuckled to myself, as they sounded just like us on TW - fans and media have more in common than we think!
8:55 PM
Nadal arrived for his presser, wearing a "Worn to be Wild" t-shirt (clever!). As I stated earlier in my account of Federer's presser, I suspect many of you have already checked out the Nadal transcript: He fielded several questions about his knees (one particularly memorable quote on the subject - "perfect is impossible") and noted that he'd have to play much better in his next match.
Nadal looked relaxed, even while struggling with his English (I actually had quite a bit of difficulty understanding him, which I didn't expect). He's got a great sense of humor, as well. For example, when outlining his goals, he reminded us that there's an "important" tournament in a week and a half and that the favorites for the USO include the "player who won the last 5 years, no?". Might not look funny on paper, but we all had a good laugh.
9:15 PM
More Centre Court action for Andy Roddick vs. Sam Querrey. The crowd was bananas, giving both guys tremendous support. The electric atmosphere kept me glued to my seat - I didn't care if the match went until midnight, I was sticking around! (The prospect of a Roddick presser played a part, too ... especially after the nightmarish wait on Monday.)
I couldn't capture a decent photo of Roddick because he was constantly moving. Loads of frenzied actions/tics. We see it on TV but it seems even more pronounced in person.
Several of Querrey's shots had my jaw on the floor - he hits the ball hard. I still have goosebumps thinking about the first set tiebreak, which Querrey won 13-11. That was as exciting as anything I'd seen all week. I spent parts of the second set in the press room - so I missed Roddick's ear-splitting racquet smash - but I was present for the finish. As we know, Roddick lost in two tiebreak sets and bolted off the court.
11:15 PM
Querrey presser. One word to describe it: Fun. Querrey is youthful, energetic, and very, very talkative. (The stenographer said he's venturing near James Blake territory, in terms of loquacity.) Hilarious, too, as when he talked about why the Samurai, his fan club, weren't present. He made an interesting comment about the balls used at tournaments, stating he believes the same ball should be used for all the tournaments on hards (and the same ball for all the clay tourneys and so on). Maybe my favorite presser of all, due to his attitude?
11:25 PM
Then Roddick arrived for his presser. I wasn't sure this was even a go, considering the loss ... so I was pleased he showed. Roddick was understandably upset and avoided eye contact with anyone in the room. He spoke in measured words, yet was forthright about his performance and still sprinkled in some of that familiar humor. Really gracious, I thought. (I received texts from some of you during that match, asking if he appeared sick or injured. He confirmed that nothing was ailing him, that he wasn't out of sorts in any way. Just a bad night.)
After more than 12 hours on the grounds, I finally made my way back to the hotel. What a phenomenal day of tennis and press action - the perfect way to end my trip!
I hope y'all have enjoyed my reports; please make sure to check out Days 1 and 2 if you haven't already. And the Deuce Club will be back next week with more Cincy stories and photos - stay tuned!