Since I skipped tonight's night session, which saw Bepa get upset by Coco Vandeweghe (or "Coq au Vin", as Katie was calling her), I finally have time to sit down, somewhat sober, and give you the deets on the last three days in San Diego. It's been a blast.
- Apparently some of the players are staying with host families instead of at La Costa. How do I know this? I was watching MaZheng doubles and there was one older woman in the crowd cheering heartily for MaKiri. After the match, she went down to the court and was talking to Maria as she was signing autographs, and they were clearly talking about what time she'd be done, what time they should pick her up, what she wanted for dinner, etc. I talked to Victoria and she said she had heard the same thing re Nads. I thought that was kind of funny and sweet. This morning we sat directly behind the MaKiri camp for her match against Flavs. The lady was there again.
- There's a small strip mall about half a mile from La Costa and, as Sveta showed the other day, the players have no problem putting on their flip flops and walking there to pick up groceries and coffee.
- It sure is nice being one of the top two seeds. Sam was the top seed last week, played one match on Wednesday and then didn't have to play again until Friday. Same thing this week. I was worried for a while that she was going to be playing four straight weeks, but given the bye system, it really isn't too bad. One match and you're in the quarters. Plenty of time to rest and recuperate before the heart of the tournament kicks off. Then again, you don't have any time to play yourself into the tournament. See e.g., JJ.
- Aside from one ridiculously rude volunteer on the first day, everyone has been really nice. It's been quite easy to strike up conversations with the people sitting around you, ushers, and tournament staff. That's always nice.
- I found out yesterday that you can basically wander around the entire resort. Not sure why it didn't occur to me earlier. I suppose I thought with the players staying on site there would be more security and certain areas of the resort would be roped off. But no.
- My favorite place to escape from the heat and noise of the tournament is a set of benches in front of the La Costa Spa, which is right at the entrance of the resort. It's a great place to relax by a fountain, check emails and Twitter, chat, and just zone out and decompress. Bonus: you see a ton of players just milling about. Yesterday we saw Sneki go to the spa, Domi in black bootie shorts, Pam in her bathing suit wheeling her kid in a stroller, Craig Kardon, and Team Stosur go for a walk to the supermarket, come back with a bag of goods, and then make a coffee run.
- I would love to get some insight into how tournaments schedule matches. Today is Quarterfinal Friday. Of all the matches they decide to put in the night session (Stosur/Pennetta, Kleybs/Dani, Sveta/Coco), they decide to put Aga/Peer on. I mean, really? What's the reasoning here? Is it because they presume that no one wants to spend their Friday night watching tennis? Do they not want to hose their top seed (Sam) by putting her on a late night match when she'll have to turn around and play a day match on Saturday? Those are fine reasons. I just really want to know. It seems to me there are legitimate reasons to showcase the other three matches. Not so much Aga/Peer. And mind you, ESPN is carrying the night match. Huh?
- Zeljko smokes. And walks around his hotel room in nothing but a towel. Don't ask me how I know this.
- The tournament has no water fountains on site, yet they charge $5 for a small bottle of water. Are you kidding me?
- I do feel a little bad for the players who stay on site. Sure, the resort is ridiculously nice. But no matter where you are on the resort you can hear the umpire call out scores. Sucks for those who are trying to hit the hay at 10pm to get ready for their early matches.
- Saw MJ hitting with her kids. Cute.
- One of the running jokes of the week has been watching MaKiri and Zheng play doubles and wondering how the heck they communicate with each other. Like, they don't just slap hands and exchange a few words. They have full on conversations at the baseline before every point. We want to mic them up.
- The practice court situation still annoys me. I would understand if they're doing it to give the players privacy. But if that's not the reason, then why? It really takes away from the fan experience. Tournament directors need to understand this.
- I think Sveta has a crush on Dani's coach. We've seen her horsing around with him quite a bit, trying to jump on his back and teasing him and shit. Not that I blame her. He's a hottie.
- The Bondos carry their dog with them everywhere. Literally. I'm not sure that dog's feet have ever touched the ground.
- I am very curious as to how this tournament will look on TV. The stands have been pretty empty and if I understand the camera layout, ESPN/TTC will be shooting from the south section, which has actually been pretty crowded, into the north section, which is the VIP section, which has been empty. Not a great look.
- I will never understand people who bring babies to tennis tournaments.
- Gisela Dulko is an Octagon client. Octagon is running this tournament. They gave her a wildcard. She retired 60 30 to Vandeweghe and lost in the first round of dubs with Flavia. Nice.
- The more I think of it the more I feel bad for Believe. She goes from empty press rooms and being unrecognized in Europe, to being hounded by fans and media in the States. I walked past her a couple of times by the players lounge and fans were just all over her. There was a lot of "I saw you at the US Open!" She handled it like any normal American teenager would: She smiled, said thank you, and looked a bit freaked, and was at a loss on how to respond.
- Steph and I were taking a breather in the food area when Flavia walked through. I impulsively yelled out "Good luck, Flavia!" and she said thanks and shot me the biggest smile ever. Love her.
- There are some players who, even if you don't know them or recognize them, if you saw them you'd know they were a professional athlete. Yanina Wickmayer is one of those people. That girl is built like a jock and she walks like one, too.
- Saw Stubbsy filming a Bag Check.
- After we watched Dani beat Mono, Steph and I left the site and started walking to our car, which was parked in like, the farthest possible corner of the resort. As we were walking in the dark, we look up and see someone jogging towards us. It was Dani. Jogging. On gravel. In the parking lot. In virtually pitch black conditions. I know it's Carlsbad, Dani, but that's not safe. We said good match and she said thanks.
- Aunt Pimmy was in full effect last night as she MC'd an auction. We stood there and watched for about 10 minutes and were doubled over. "Next is an autographed guitar from The Eagles. It's autographed by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and...the rest of them." "Do I hear $1500? Anyone? [silence] $1600?" Me: "Wait, no one's bidding and she's going up? I don't think that's how it works."
- Conchita Martinez is *everywhere*.
- Ok, yes, I know Sam's room number. It was entirely unintentional. I was walking from center court to my little chill out spot by the spa, which takes me past the players' lounge. Team Stosur was eating. Ok, whatever. So I go hang out at my spot for a while and decide to head back to watch Dani's match. As I'm doing so, I see Sam walking toward me. As is my wont, I literally ran away, making a hard left turn when she was like, 10 feet from me. I kept walking, looked over my shoulder, and saw her go into her room. So yeah, that's information I have that I plan to do nothing with. Seriously, it's an entirely different dynamic when the players stay on site. Sometimes it's cool, and sometimes it's kind of creepy. You'd really think there'd be more security. I mean, what if Masha or Serena were staying here? I have to think it would be different. Fans really shouldn't be able to get this info.
- Sveta has this crazy sweater that she bought in Dubai. She loves it so much she has it in three different colors. And she's always wearing it around.
- Overheard yesterday: "Who is that?" "Vera Zvonareva. She made the finals of Wimbledon." "Oh. Wait, is that the girl who cries all the time?" "Well...not all the time."
