Hamburg Crisis Center, Day 7

By Rosangel Valenti, TW Contributing Editor

Good morning. The tournament in Hamburg reaches its conclusion today. Please use this post for discussing the tennis in Hamburg, or at the WTA tournament in Rome, where Jelena Jankovic takes on Alize Cornet in the title match. Incidentally, when I watched Cornet during the qualies in Rome a week ago, she already looked to be playing very well - this should be an interesting test for both women. The one match the two have played so far, at last year's US Open, was won by Jankovic, but went to three sets.

When I arrived in Hamburg yesterday ahead of the semifinals, rain was lashing the outside of the plane's windows, and the day was completely overcast. This meant that the retractable roof was in operation at the Rothenbaum Club - the sound of drops drumming against the canvas was oppressive at times. The atmosphere felt damp and heavy. It was also cold inside the stadium. Earlier in the week, I commented that my nose had been sunburned sitting beside tennis courts in four countries in the past month, Germany included. But yesterday, the tip of my nose was cold all the time, and I wished I had brought a heavier coat with me. Most spectators were well-wrapped against the elements.

There are empty seats up at the back in each section in the stadium - if I'd stayed for today's final. I'd have had no problem getting a seat for Federer-Nadal. Because of the empty seats, I was able, by sacrificing a few rows-worth of forward distance, to find one directly in parallel with the net, in which position I could also use a long lens without fear of disturbing any neighbours. Hey, there was also enough space to secure the Vamos! sign that someone gave me in Barcelona, so I was very happy with this arrangement. The viewpoint gives a useful perspective that I hadn't got when sitting close to the court earlier in the week - and in particular it was good for seeing the sheer depth and placement of both players' groundstrokes, and also the players' own positioning on (in Nadal's case, often well behind) the court. I think the court often looks smaller, and the players larger, when you're close to them - it's probably partly because you can see the latter well, so focus on them more. In general I prefer sitting close to courtside (sidelines or as central as possible at either end), but an unimpeded view of the whole court, even sitting courtside, is not always easy to achieve.

Most of the Tribe saw the matches, including the extraordinary semifinal between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Ultimately I watch tennis hoping to see this kind of match, so was delighted that I'd made the decision to fly in for the day, to see the showdown for the number two spot. Nothing can wipe out the disastrous semifinals day in Rome a week earlier, but this memorable day in Hamburg did the ATP proud; so much so that my slightly tearful emotions at the end of the match were not just about being there to support the eventual winner, but being a small part of the whole occasion. And, thanks to exchanging a few texts with marieJ during the match, and afterwards, the Tribe was with me (and if that sounds like a quote from Star Wars, the day was just as epic as any of the films). The crowd looked to be having a great time. Some of the Djokovic fans were very noisy at unexpected moments - chanting when Nadal was serving at match point, for example. But in general, their exuberance was exciting.

I confess that I managed to miss the last direct flight home out of Hamburg as a result of the length of the match, but I'd already accepted that this might happen. I made it to the airport just in time to buy a ticket to get me home via Frankfurt.

Match Choice:

Well, we're down to the final - episode sixteen in Federer v. Nadal, a long-running saga in which Nadal has so far pulled off the win nine times, and Federer six. Had Andreas Seppi won yesterday against Roger Federer, which never looked likely, I would have looked elsewhere for the day's match choice (i.e. the WTA Rome final), but there's no need. Nadal is 7-1 on clay against Federer. Federer's only clay victory against Nadal came on this court last year.

Player of the Day:

Surely Rafael Nadal. But it takes two players to make a great match, and there were moments when Djokovic looked the likelier winner. I thought the two players' greetings at the net looked genuinely warm. Rafa looked as pumped up as I have ever seen him after the win.

Weather Report:

According to the forecast, today should be sunny in Hamburg, which suggests a roofless final. The forecast yesterday was wrong, however.

As always, enjoy today's tennis. More photos to come from my first attempt at photographing indoor clay tennis.