[Mornin' Tribe - Here's a Tournament Report from Beth, our ever-enthusiastic Palos Verdes Supermom. I will also be posting a live report from Rosangel, who decided on a whim to pop over to Stuttgart. Hope you're having a great weekend, feel free to use this post to call matches wherever they are being played! -- PB]
Welcome to Hollywood ! It is a beautiful Friday night here – warm and clear with just a hint of a breeze. Perfect for tennis. And on the menu – local California tennis cuisine. Tonight’s schedule features the Bryan Brothers, followed by local upset artist Zack Fleishman. I arrived in Westwood (shudders - Sorry! Trojan moment!) at around 6:45 with plenty of time for Chinese food washed down with overpriced beer. Met my friend, Lisa, and in we went.
The crowd was small and subdued. Not really what the tournament directors would have hoped for I am sure, in an ATP tournament in the second-largest media market in the US, and at the heart of the US tennis culture - I mean, Pete Sampras, Tracy Austin, Lindsay Davenport and many, many others grew up just a stone's throw from here; Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, JImmy Connors played collegiate tennis on these very courts. This area just reeks tennis, so where are the faithful?
But the business-siders loss was our gain; Lisa and I took advantage of the sparse attendance by the High Rollers and did a self-service seat "upgrade." We crept into seats much closer to the baseline, and above the court, for a better view.
First up – those double dudes- Bob and Mike Bryan. They were playing Amer Delic and Chris Kattan. . .I mean, Igor Kunitsyn. Sorry – if Igor had been wearing a turban and dressed in drag I would not have been surprised. The resemblance to Kattan, the former Saturday Night Live actor, is uncanny.
For one set the two youngsters hung with the Bryan twins. But by the second the rout was on. Bob and Mike are just too good, largely because their court coverage and communication are impeccable – exactly what you would expect of the top doubles team in the world, and a pretty good sign of how different and more artful doubles can be if the people playing at take the game as seriously as Mike and Bob do.
Delic and Kunitsyn have the requisite monster forehands needed on the tour today – but Bob and Mike formed a wall at the net and sent everything that came at them a warp speed right back at warp speed-plus 1. Before long they were up 5-1 in the second and then it was . . . showtime! The twins decided to play to the crowd . They took turns “whiffing “ overheads – only to have the other twin scoot in and hammer it back at their opponents. When Mike sent up a floater, Bob turned his back and pointed to his behind – offering a target to his opponent. The crowd laughed and loved it .
At first, Delic and Kunitsyn did not appear to see the humor. So to make up, Mike threw in an underhanded serve to Delic – inviting him tee off at an unsuspectiong Bob, stationed at the net. Retribution! Delic took a bow and the crowd laughed once again . . . So the potential for conflict evaporated and the show ended with high-fives and handshakes all around. The players autographed balls and hit them into the stands, then the twins left the court for an autograph session.
Next, Radek Stepanek - Mr Hingis - played Zack Fleishman. A few more of the Bruin faithful showed up for this one, because Fleisman is a UCLA tennis alum and regular on the rich LA tennis scene. But it was not to be. Stepanek took the boy apart, mercilessly, with an efficient if not overpowering game. He just sliced and diced up the local favorite. The only spark of life from Zack came when he was serving to stay in the match. He hit an apparent ace – it was called out. He worked up the courage to a challenge and was proved right by Hawkeye. The crowd roared – hoping to spur him to better things, but the protest led to nothing inspirational. Stepanek won easily 6-4, 6-2
.
Two things struck me about this match. First – Stepanek appears much older in person - if this actually were SNL, he could drawl on his personality to create a character called Angry Old Man. He is one a dour individual. Yet when he hits a winner – he skips- that’s right, skips, back to the baseline a la Agassi. It is an unusual habit – and seems out of character. BTW, these days, Radek is wearing old-school tennis whites – very traditional and classic cuts. They fit him well and - when was the last time you saw a male under 30, in any but a strictly formal occassion, wearing his shirt tucked in? How about in a tennis match? That's what Stepanek does; like I said, he seems much older than his listed age.
Fleishman has the most unusual grip I have ever seen. He holds the racquet like a hammer and then appears to bend his wrist forward. It looks positively painful. With this grip he generates a wicked spinning serve – it jumps away from a right hander in the deuce court. But the grip seems to inhibit or hurt every other aspect of his game. His ground strokes are jerky-looking, and his net game suffers. I found myself wishing Dunlop Maxply were there, to tell me what you would call this strange grip – I know it must have a name.
I sat studying it, secretly hoping that one of the brilliant tennis minds nearby would enlighten me. My prayers were answered. An older gentleman nearby exclaimed – “That is the most unusual grip I have ever seen!”
There was my chance! I innocently asked, “ What would you call that one?”
“Awkward”
Duh! Remind me not to use that gent when I need expert testimony on tennis grips in the trial of some serial killer. Whatever it was though, the name fit.
Finally – It would not be LA without celebrity sightings. Donna Mills – she of Knots Landing fame from years ago - sat right in front of us. Judith Light – the alcoholic mom on Ugly Betty was at dinner- where we also saw Tony Bennett get cornered at the bar, just as he was trying to leave, by two older ladies who were giggling like schoolgirls!
So today I venture out again . Meeting up with Veruca Salt and French Open Fanatic for some James Blake action! Will report again later.
--- Beth