Ordina Open - Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday Report!

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I was in Rosmalen on Saturday - Wednesday. For Sat and Sun I already wrote two reports, which you can read here:

Saturday: http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread....752#post5584752 (http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?p=5584752#post5584752)
Sunday: http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread....22&page=1&pp=40 (http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=171722&page=1&pp=40)

I got a player's guest pass from Maria Elena Camerin http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/love2.gif And let me tell you, it was a bizarre, unique and great experience!

Monday

I had to get some pictures developped for Maria Elena, so I only made it to Rosmalen at 14h (2 PM), when play had already started two hours ago. I really wanted to watch this sweet girl Aravane Rezaï against Denisa Chladkova and it looked like I was going to be on time. Mandy [http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/hug.gif] told me the scores on the train and she had actually won the first set http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/biggrin.gif But I had to wait ages for the taxi to arrive at Rosmalen station. Met a very nice US linesman called Joe there, who was also going there. Told him that he should call all balls in favour of Tommy Robredo, should he do one of his matches http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/angel.gif He just came from an ITF event in Allanstown or something, won by Varvara Lepchenko, who beat Lindsay Lee-Waters in the final.

Anyways, we took the train taxi together and when we walked to the grounds, I saw Aravane Rezaï's mother and psycho father. I figured the match was over, but when I asked her mother if she had won, she said troisième set. So a third set. I wondered why they were not watching, but apparently they couldn't handle the pressure. I told her in French I hoped she'd win and her mother and father said that was really nice of me http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/laugh.gif I was a bit shocked her father could say something nice http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/tape.gif But when I got in, she had already lost! Good effort though.

I sat on Court 2 to watch Virginia Ruano Pascual against Evie Dominikovic. Not a very good match, but Evie is a really animated player to watch! "What the fuck are you doing Evie?" and "FUCK!" were common expressions http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/laugh.gif Vivi was the better player in the first set, cause she managed to dictate the game from the baseline and sometimes she went to the net. Her volleys were off today though, which was sad. In the second set, it was completely different. Evie was way more dominant and found an answer to Vivi's slice balls. She made fewer mistakes and deserved to take that set. I expected her to go on and take the third, but somehow she couldn't deal with the slice anymore and Vivi was better. Very weird match. I felt kind of sorry for Evie, who really didn't deserve the loss, but neither did Vivi. Vivi was really happy after the match http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/biggrin.gif Also Evie seemed to have injured herself to her arm and the physio was doing some really odd massage. The injury never seemed to trouble her though.

Then when I left the court, I saw Maria Elena's coach and asked him if Maria Elena was practising. She was, so I gave her the pictures and she was really happy http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/wink.gif She asked if she really didn't have to pay and I said no and told her to just win her match http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/laugh.gif I really wasn't getting my hopes up though.

I saw the first three games of Kveta Peschke & Julia Schruff v. Beti Sekulovski & Cindy Watson. Kveta and Julia really got off to a bad start http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/redface.gif They were down 2-0 in no-time, could have been 3-0 too but they avoided that.

I heard that Arthurs - Sluiter had finished on centre, so Tommy was up next and I got my ass to centre court. With my guest pass, I could sit in the player's box which was a weird experience http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/tongue.gif These seats are so much better than the normal seats though. Way more near the court. Tommy played good, solid tennis and was joking a lot with his coach. He seemed to be talking to him a lot, but not about the match. After two games he gave Mariano a sign that I interpreted as "It's OK, I will win this easily". Well, he did anyway. Gilles is an OK player on grass. He relied on his serve, but that was not good enough to get him through. He didn't really have a shot in most of Tommy's serve games. There were some really nice points in this, mostly from Tommy. But Gilles was complaining about bad calls all the time ("Elle ne couche pas la ligne"), but that didn't help him much. After one call, a part of the crowd agreed with the Luxembourg player and took his side. I saw Eruwen and Lady Carlita with their Spanish flag http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/laugh.gif Anyway, a really easy, quick and good match for Tommy to start with. Last year it was way worse, with the horrible match against Lars Burgsmüller http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/help.gif He only won that one in three and with really ugly and poor tennis.

Saw some of the last games of Peschke/Schruff v. Sekulovski/Watson then. It's fair to say that Julia sucks at doubles. Really, the girl had no serve, no volleys, no passing shots. Actually, when I come to think of it, she didn't really have anything that day http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/frown.gif Kveta was playing good tennis, but was really unlucky with a lot of shots that went just long. Watson was average. She looks a bit unflexible, I'd say. Sekulovski was extremely good http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/notworthy.gif That girl should be in the Top 40 in doubles what with the way she was playing that match. Great volleys and just a great shot selection. If there had been two Watsons, Kveta and Julia would have won. Had there been two Sekulovski's, they would have lost in two quick sets.

After that, I went to watch some players practise and I went into the player's lounge http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/angel.gif I could go there with the pass and I figured I needed something to drink and eat. There it was free and good, so I'd be stupid not to go there. It was so weird to be there. In the three days I went to the player's lounge, I have seen almost all players. It was really packed at times too. Mark Philippoussis wants his pasta with only tomatoes, Gisela Dulko was at the pinball machine and Lucie Safarova, Jean-René Lisnard and Paul-Henri Mathieu spent quite some time at the laptops. Also, Safarova is one of the few players who actually talked to Misa Krajicek. No one talked to Navratilova http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/tape.gif Grönefeld was there a lot. Schaul and Benneteau joked, as did Tommy and Vivi and later Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Vivi. Coría showed quite some interest in Tommy's match against Burgsmüller; Anabel Medina Garrigues looked extremely pissed after her loss to Krajicek; Dinara Safina was smiling a lot in the player's lounge, whereas Maria Kirilenko never got rid of the bitchy look on her face even when among players. Oh and Coría eats a lot. And the Czech players seem to be closest to each other. Hernych, Safarova, Koukalova and Benesova are all on good and very friendly terms with each other. Most other players are rather on their own; there wasn't a whole lot of talking and chattering going on in the player's lounge.

Tuesday:

Watched some players practise early in the morning and then went to watch Guillermo Garcia-Lopez http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/drool.gif against Tobias Klein. That match was really too easy for GGL. Tobias had some serve games going to deuce and he lost all of them in the first set, while he had no chance whatsoever on Guillermo's service games. Guillermo really was just outplaying him, so the 6-0 was a justified score. GGL was less dominant in the second and there were some people actively cheering for Klein in the second. GGL's coach kept telling him to focus and not lose his concentration. Guillermo makes weird noises when returning shots http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/redface.gif It really was an easy match and Guillermo played well http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/thumb.gif Klein was still really happy after the match, talking to loads of people. It was his first main draw appearance he said http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/wink.gif He was still there on Wednesday too.

During the GGL - Klein match, I also saw some player standing in a shady corner waiting for a car to pick her up. It was Elena Dementieva and she looked like she was crying http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/sad.gif I wanted to go hug her. I figured she had to retire against Chladkova. It really looked sad. Her mother was there to comfort her, but she also looked really disappointed. It just sucks, cause Elena's one of the nicest girls out there.

I went to watch Karol Kucera http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/biggrin.gif v. Davide Sanguinetti. It was quite clear that it was Karol's comeback match after injury. He was rusty and his movement was poor (well, he's an old man now). He still has the shots, but he couldn't really find his rhythm against Sanguinetti. Karol totally gave away the tie-break with three double faults http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/help.gif Two of them looked particularly bad. I went for lunch and when I came back, he led 3-2 with a break. I decided to see if Tommy and Guillermo were already on court, got talking to two board members and when I got back, Karol had just lost 6-4 http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/mad.gif I would normally not have asked for a picture, but I knew I would not have another chance with Karol, so I asked and he still wanted to http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/notworthy.gif I hope he can regain his old shape!

Then I wanted to go watch Kveta v. Kirilenko, but I could not bear to see Kveta lose to that girl. Sorry for the fans, but Kirilenko is easily one of the bitchiest players out there. At least, she always has such a bitchy look on her face. She can play great tennis, I'll admit, but I was glad she lost to Safina later http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/smile.gif

Then it was time for Guillermo Garcia-Lopez & Tommy Robredo against the WC team of Antal van der Duim (Boy's runner-up at Roland Garros) and Thiemo de Bakker. Court 4 was absolutely packed http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/redface.gif Too many frigging kids and other people there and they were almost all cheering against the Spaniards http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/mad.gif Tommy played horribly! He was completely off that match. I was surprised with Antal and, especially, Thiemo's volleys. Tommy & GGL took the first set easily, but then the horror set in. It was way too close and Tommy made weird decisions and hit very poor shots. Not a pretty sight. Their class still got them through in the end, but it was a bad omen for the singles on Wednesday.

I feared I would be too late for Maria Elena's match against Samantha Stosur. But when I got to the court, it hadn't started yet! The players weren't even on court yet, so I was way in time http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/biggrin.gif Stosur is just the kind of player Maria Elena likes to play on grass. She goes to the net, so Camerin can pass her. Stosur's good serve drove Maria Elena crazy at times and she was also really complaining about some calls. Most of the times Maria Elena was wrong, but it was still cute to see her temper on court http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/tongue.gif When the chair umpire overruled a call on her first serve, she completely freaked when she wasn't given the point and instead had to hit her first serve again (she was right there). Halfway through the match, Flavia Pennetta also came to support Maria Elena. She was in Rosmalen to practise and cause Maria Elena was there, I think. They are good friends http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/smile.gif Anyway, Maria Elena hung in there, fought back and won the set in a really easy and quick tie-breaker! She really ran away with the match then, despite some annoying Aussie woman cheering Samantha on. I swear I cannot hear another "Come on Sammy!" "Let's go Sam!" "Charge" (that word is horrible to hear if someone has an Aussie accent). I like Stosur and she really kept her cool during the match, but well I was glad she lost. Maria Elena won a match http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/woohoo.gif She spontaneously threw her towel to me after the match http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/love2.gif

That was the end of that day!

Wednesday:

Not a good day http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/redface.gif Not a good day at all http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/sad.gif

The first matches up were really not so interesting, so I went online for a few minutes. Then went to watch Safina - Kirilenko, but it was way too crowded there and when there was a break, we couldn't go in cause some guy in a wheelchair was blocking the way http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/mad.gif

So I went to watch Kohlschreiber - Söderling instead http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/tongue.gif I wonder how the heck Söderling almost beat Federer in Halle, cause this was just not good. He was constantly moaning to his coach (about the court, it seemed). The match was really close, but there was a fair number of breaks. I was hoping Philipp would win http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/biggrin.gif But that was basically cause I disliked Söderling's attitude on court. The Swede has a good serve, but failed to impress me though. The tie-break was really really close and both had wasted two match points, when Philipp won the match on his third http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/biggrin.gif

I remained on court to watch Maria Elena play Gisela Dulko. She lost 6-3 6-0, which is a horrible scoreline of course, especially when 6-4 6-3 would have done her more justice. In the end, she just gave up though. Dulko played well from the baseline, but Maria Elena deserved more than she got. Gisela is absolutely stunning in the Lacoste outfit and she's a nice girl too. I hope she or Klara takes home the title now. Maria Elena was pissed and in the player's lounge she was yelling to her coach http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/redface.gif I wanted to give her a hug, but I didn't http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/wink.gif

After that, the horror continued. I went to watch Tommy v. Lars Burgsmüller. After last year's horrible match, I was fearing another disastrous match and that is what I got. Tommy played nowhere near his best tennis, whereas Lars was playing very very well (except for his many double faults). Tommy was complaining a lot and was angry. To the supervisor (I sat right behind the supervisor), he said that the court was much faster on Monday http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/shrug.gif Lars fully deserved the win, but I was extremely pissed after. I couldn't be bothered to go watch another match, so I left and headed home, mumbling "Lars fucking Burgsmüller" along the way http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/mad.gif http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/firey.gif Oh well, kudos to Lars.

That was about it http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/ubb/wink.gif Really don't know what else to add.

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________________
Martijn

Thanks again for taking your time to write up these reports. But I was surprised that you went straight home after Robredo lost :eek: Wasn't there anymore some action on the facility or were you really THAT pissed off?!


When reading them I was wondering what Tobias Klein, de Bakker, Sekulovski or Cindy Watson look like because I've never seen them. :lol: You lucky bastard that you saw so many players ;)

I also thought that Söderling was not playing so well. SuperFurryAnimal told me that she thought so. Söderling must have played better when almost beating Federer last week (but Federer also was under average I would say).

And what does Coria eat a lot? I hope some healthy things and not tons of chocolate or sweet desserts to get fat ;) :p

Thanks again for taking your time to write up these reports. But I was surprised that you went straight home after Robredo lost :eek: Wasn't there anymore some action on the facility or were you really THAT pissed off?!


When reading them I was wondering what Tobias Klein, de Bakker, Sekulovski or Cindy Watson look like because I've never seen them. :lol: You lucky bastard that you saw so many players ;)

I also thought that Söderling was not playing so well. SuperFurryAnimal told me that she thought so. Söderling must have played better when almost beating Federer last week (but Federer also was under average I would say).

And what does Coria eat a lot? I hope some healthy things and not tons of chocolate or sweet desserts to get fat ;) :p

There were still matches going on, but I was pissed :mad:

I have a picture of Klein, Sekulovski and Watson. I have to get them developped, so it will take a while ;)

And no sweet desserts ;) A lot of fruit and pasta I think.

:lol: We have such a different view on Wednesday! I thought it was a great day! Not only did Stefan and I won two tickets to Turkey and did we have a little chat and a picture with Mo Lahyani, also the stunning wins by Lars :yeah: Burgsmüller and Jan Hernych! We didn't see you though, I would have recognized you of course! We were also there on Monday and Wednesday.

Wow! Congrats Patricia :hug:

Yeah, Lars played really well but Tommy was dreadful IMO. And Lahyani is great ;) I agree. He umpired Maria Elena's match on Wednesday.

I still had fun on Wednesday, but it's tough to see your favourite players lose like that.

She spontaneously threw her towel to me after the match http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/love2.gif
Sorry to ask, but after reading the discussion in the topic "Should ball kids be handling players towels?" I have to. Weren't you afraid of her sweat? Quite unhygenic touching a used(?) towel of somebody else, right? Have you been at least a bit happy that she gave it to you?

(just joking a bit ;) )

Sorry to ask, but after reading the discussion in the topic "Should ball kids be handling players towels?" I have to. Weren't you afraid of her sweat? Quite unhygenic touching a used(?) towel of somebody else, right?

(just joking a bit ;) )

The towel was really dry :p She didn't use it much :haha: I am getting it washed ;)

Wow! Congrats Patricia :hug:

Yeah, Lars played really well but Tommy was dreadful IMO. And Lahyani is great ;) I agree. He umpired Maria Elena's match on Wednesday.

I still had fun on Wednesday, but it's tough to see your favourite players lose like that.

Yeah, you're right. But since I wanted Lars to win, I was happy. Strange I didn't see you at all, since we were at about the same matches. Well, maybe we'll meet again at the Priority Telecom Open! ;)

Yeah, you're right. But since I wanted Lars to win, I was happy. Strange I didn't see you at all, since we were at about the same matches. Well, maybe we'll meet again at the Priority Telecom Open! ;)

Well, on centre it was hard to spot me I guess. I was behind the red Audi seats in the player's box.

And Court 1, I sat on a deserted side :lol: The side furthest from Court 2 and then close to the player's lounge.

Not only did Stefan and I won two tickets to Turkey and did we have a little chat and a picture with Mo Lahyani
It's unbelievable. I noticed that when I was at Munich and Lahyani seems to have an incredible aura around him. It's just not "normal" anymore for an umpire to be addressed that often by fans like it occurs for Lahyani. With some fan that I stood close to, I heard that he talked at least for five minutes about icehockey results from the World Cup in Austria that took place at the same time. :lol: Just too funny :haha:

Great report! I'm still amazed by how many players you know by name :lol:

I saw Eruwen and Lady Carlita with their Spanish flag http://ads.tennisuniverse.com/wtaworld/images/smilies/laugh.gif Yeah... we were kinda hard to miss, huh? :lol:

was bitchy Navratilova there too? :o :p

was bitchy Navratilova there too? :o :p

I blocked her from my memory :angel:

Pictures to come in about 1½ weeks :) Have to get them developped and I am lazy so :ras:

looking forward to the pics!!! ;) thanks for the reports again..... GGL :hearts:

Bump

Pictures should be done on Thursday, except for one roll of film which isn't full yet and is still in the camera :)