It's 3:25am so I'm going to have to make this a bit short. Some notables from today:
- Absolutely thankful that Steph was able to make it today to pick up for my slack. Without her we wouldn't have seen this.
- Walked into the media center and was greeted with a "Andy Murray? Really?" Once again I am left to defend my cooter-love for the Muzzard. An indefensible position, I know.
- Got to finally meet @sblily. Nothing like kicking off a day full of tennis than yukking it up in the stands with a seasoned and snarky tennis fan. Looking forward to seeing her throughout the week.
- Bethanie lost in qualies. Bummer.
- Ana seems to have a new trainer, a woman who is very tan and, I'm guessing by the fluency and ease with which Ana spoke to her, Serbian. Will try and get more deets. Whoever she is, Ana is clearly comfortable with her. Ana was a chatty Cathy all through her warmups. Seemed in good spirts today.
- Kleybs. Shirtless. Mind you, I was in jeans and a long sleeve all day. I reiterate: IT AIN'T THAT HOT.
- The All Access Hour was really fun. That said, it was my worst nightmare realized. I had repeatedly expressed concern that if I ever actually got a media credential and actually got to interact with these players in a normal way, I would probably like them and thus, not be able to bring my A-game snark. Sure enough, I was totally charmed by Mono. That doesn't mean I'm not going to call her crazy, but I'm definitely going to feel bad about it. Having a conscience, even a rudimentary, childlike one like mine, is a bitch.
- The free food and Evian is a godsend. Stanford, you classy little bastard.
- Maria and Scott seem to get along quite well. He's a charming and easy-going motherfucker. That said, I'm not sure Maria's all too keen on the random warmup exercises he makes her do. While Ana seemed to buy into the system, Masha seems...over it. She can barely do 3 reps without giggling.
- Totally got called out for my Twilight love in the media center. WHY DO I PUT THESE THINGS ON THE INTERNETZ???
- Because I have no shame.
- Sam has an amazing techno ring tone.
- Met FD Reader Rachel tonight. Very cool. Took a picture of her with Ana.
- A guy was standing outside waiting for Ana to sign after her night session. He said his friend really wanted to get a picture with Ana but might not get there in time. So he scrambled to find a scrap piece of paper, begged to borrow a Sharpie, and wrote out "Hi Phil!" on the paper. When Ana came out he asked her to hold it up, which she did, giggling the throughout. After he took the pic, she softly said "Tell Phil I said hi." Steph and I cackled loudly all the way to my car. "Ana, you already did. You held up a sign that said 'Hi Phil.' You said hi. To Phil." Kid never fails to crack me up.
- Was going through my pictures in the media center when Ana suddenly walked in. She walked by me when I had a HUGE picture of her on my screen. Not my best moment.
- If you think a sock tanline is bad, you clearly haven't seen a wristband tanline. *cough*Sam*cough*. I kept thinking she was wearing a white leather cuff or something.
- Dinara came out after her night session and signed and took pictures with everyone. She then stood on the sidewalk for a good 10 minutes waiting for the car. It was kind of awkward, seeing as how we were all standing 20 feet from her waiting for Ana.
- I was really impressed by the turnout over the weekend. Obviously the qualie sessions were free, but the walkways were a bit crowded. And the fans were really knowledgeable. Which is to be expected on qualie weekend, I suppose.
- Met Matt Cronin again today and met Doug Robson for the first time. Both were uber nice. And really good question askers. Thankfully. By my count, there were only five print journalists at the All Access Hour. Lord knows I wasn't planning on saying shit.
- Sam has small hands. Either that or her ginormous forecep dwarfs it. It's a good thing I recorded her interview because 90% of it was me pondering how the hell she gets her hand around her racquet handle.
- Mono wears brown Crocs flip flops. An...interesting choice.
- On my way to the restroom I saw Domi, Zeljko, and Dejan on the track. Domi was in black bootie shorts and trying to jump Zeljko. Sorry...jump on Zeljko's back. I briefly thought about going back to get my camera, or even whipping out my iPhone, but I honestly could not be bothered. I just...don't care.
- Hey, you know how a certain tennis journo said that Dinara looked preggo at RG? Yeah, he can take his e-book and shove it up his ass. Oh, wait. It's an e-book so it actually isn't a physical, tangible thing. FOILED AGAIN!
- Maxim is here with Elena. Mama's at home. Speaking of which, no Dragana either. Bummer. She would really fit in here in Stanford.
- Dinara was really crushing the ball today. The serve still looks iffy. Sam and Masha were a bit pissy with themselves.
- Last Sam tidbit: She's going to Facebook headquarters tomorrow. Can we just take a moment to laugh about one of the quieter, shy, private players schilling for Facebook? Dear WTA: Next year, send them to Twitter HQ. (And yes, I *know* you're reading this because you're going to give me shit about it in 7 hours.)
