So I was chilling in the hotel lobby last night when the valet wheeled in a cart full of luggage. Typically not a big deal, right? Well this cart just happen to have a large red Babolat bag and a red Lacoste bag.
ZOMG! So as I reach into bag to grab my lipgloss (ok, actually it's just chapstick) and perfume and try to control my racing pulse, I look up to see none other than...Elena Vesnina.
Sam's on to my game, guys. She's got decoys everywhere. It's like the Thomas Crown Affair up in this bitch.
But I remember thinking it was rather odd that Elena was just checking in her bags. Earlier that day she had played not one but two qualifying matches in her attempt to get entry into the main draw of a tournament at which she was a finalist last year. In fact, her week at New Haven last year was the week of her career. She beat Gisela, Sam, Chakky, and Momes on her way to the final where she lost to Caro. Rough that she couldn't get a wild card.
Blame Ana. Or Dinara. Or Sam. Or Nads. Someone.
So here's the explanation from her presser: Vezzie took the week off of singles last week to rest a slight injury she picked up in Cincy and decided to just play doubles in Montreal. Well, they lost in the semifinals on Friday. With qualies in New Haven on Saturday, here's what she did: She woke up at the buttcrack of dawn, took the first flight out of Montreal to New York, drove from New York straight to the New Haven grounds (about 1.5 hours) in order to get to her NOON qualifying match against Carly Gullickson. She played that three setter and won, fighting off two match points in the process. The tournament gave her two hours to rest before she was up against for a SECOND qualifying match against Bojangles, which she won in straight sets. She got an ice massage, checked into the hotel, got some rest, and then played her third qualifying match today, which was moved indoors, against Roberta Vinci. She won 64 36 63 in over two hours.
She's now in the main draw. Such is the life of a journeyman.
Way to go, girl. A standing C Note slow clap for you.
