Matches are a treat to watch because of the intimacy of the stadium court; it's reserved for the marquee players. The other two courts have seating akin to high school bleachers. That kind of closeness to the players and action is a rare treat for tennis addicts. Of course, I wanted to smack the women who were traipsing on the Plexipave courts in mile-high heels as they looked for seats, but I was a good girl and minded my manners. I wanted to ask them, “Do you know what you’re doing to this surface in those heels?”
One of the exciting aspects of this tournament is that there are 22 American men and women in the draws.
American journeyman (and big boy) Jesse Witten tested Austrian Jurgen Melzer in the first round. Ultimately, Melzer's experience paid off when he won the third set tie break with a clever drop shot. To add insult to injury, Witten lost his shoe as he went to retrieve the point, and the match was Melzer's at 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Afterwards, Melzer iced down his left wrist.
“I’ve had problems with my wrist the whole year. It’s just a precaution,” he said, in his post-match presser.
Melzer mentioned that the Stadium court is playing at a slower speed than the practice courts. He also mentioned that he had trouble finding his timing due to the variable court speeds.
American Jill Craybas played on the Grandstand court, and found the pace to be medium. Sam Querrey, who played on Court 1, spoke of the last of the three indoor court speeds: “It was pretty quick, but not as fast as San Jose.”
One of the intriguing men’s doubles pairings is American youngster Sam Querrey and Feliciano “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful” Lopez. Their first round match, against Jordan Kerr and David Skoch, was interesting.
Okay, why, why, why would someone try to lob Querrey when he’s up at the net? The boy is 6'6", for goodness' sake. And, he can serve up pretty nasty power. A ball girl nearly got smacked by a ball off one of Querrey's serves. His service games carried them as a doubles team. Curiously, they did not communicate with each other often between points. Lopez did, however, communicate with the net. If he missed a shot, he’d throw his arms up and fuss at the net -- but I don’t think the net really cared.
Querrey surprised me with his good hands at the net and the way he hustles after a ball.
I passed Lopez in the hallway after the match. I have to wonder if anyone recognized him. Nobody mobbed him, asked for an autograph, or even bothered to talk to him. So, I’m thinking that people in Memphis have no clue who he is -- or perhaps the fans here are so incredibly polite that even his arresting eyes and Fabio good looks don’t make them stop and ask for a moment of his time.
Tonight’s marquee match is Venus Williams facing off against Akiko Morigami. Venus admitted that she doesn’t know a lot about Morigami; the two have never played before.
In the meantime, I'm off to watch Xavier Malisse. It's such a hard life. ;)
--Lisa McDermott
