TENNIS Magazine's photo editor, David Rosenberg, is in Madrid this week. He filed this report from the event last night, before Rafael Nadal was upset by David Nalbandian today. Makes you even sorrier for Rafa—from what David R. says, this sounds like his event.
Hey Steve,
I’ve always loved indoor tournaments. It’s nostalgia driven: during my childhood my family would come to Manhattan from Ohio to catch the Virginia Slims Championships at Madison Square Garden. It was always cold in New York during the Championships and since the matches were held in the evening, we would spend all day touring around the city, enjoying the energy before coming in from the cold to the Garden.
Here in Madrid it’s slightly different. Matches are played on three courts in what resembles a 1960s office building from the outside and an armory of sorts inside: lots of cement and very little atmosphere. Even after four days here I can’t quite figure out the layout of the event. Unfortunately, the only thing I’m coming inside from is very nice mid-70-degree weather.
On Wednesday, all six matches played on the Pista Central featured at least one Spaniard, and two were contested by two Spaniards. In fact, of the 12 players, only Novak Djokovic and Marcos Baghdatis came from countries were Spanish isn’t the native language. Speaking of speaking, I’m not doing much of it since I arrived. I had been told Madrilenos speak English but I’ve yet to hear any of it. I can’t complain: I don’t speak Spanish, either.
What I do speak here is something entirely different. I can speak French, and for some reason whenever I visit another country my brain immediately switches to French. Then I slow down my speech and raise the volume. My already-exaggerated gestures are exaggerated further, so I begin to resemble a drunken mime who speaks an odd version of French.
But I am practicing. I have decided to start with numbers, and what better way to practice by watching Djokovic bounce the ball before serving. I’m up to quince. Even with all the Spaniards playing this event, the tournament knows how to schedule the matches. Because everything in Madrid seems to shut down between 1:30 and 4:30 in the afternoon, many of the better matches are scheduled around this time. Yesterday I caught Federer-Canas at 3 P.M. It was surprisingly crowded, perhaps because Djokovic had just finished off Ferrero in three sets. The Madrilenos were not appreciative of the ball bouncing of Djokovic. They let him know it against Verdasco, whistling louder and louder with each bounce in the third set.
It’s a lot of fun watching the fans here. Compared to the stoic German fans I witnessed in Berlin and Hamburg this year, the Spaniards live to cheer. Both of Nadal’s 8 P.M. matches were packed, a great way for the fans to spend some time after work and before their famously late dinner. The fans are sharply dressed, most showing up in suits in the evening. The only person who wasn’t dressed for the match was Rafa’s Uncle Toni. It’s funny to see a grown man in tennis attire for an evening match during an indoor event. Even the media had to get a ticket for the evening matches; during Nadal-Baghdatis I noticed Brad Gilbert and Andy Murray’s mom trying to find a seat: no luck, the ushers turned them away.
The other interesting part of this event, of course, are those nutty model ball girls, who show up in the evening. It turns the place into one large construction site: what Spanish man can resist a few catcalls? The girls are fun to watch. I can’t help thinking about America´s Next Top Model and the crazy guy on there trying to teach the girls how to walk. Maybe someone should teach these girls how to run. They really can’t; they sort of resemble giraffes foragging for food when they go after the balls.
It’s a fun atmosphere and easy to appreciate Nadal’s energy. The Madrilenos like to smile, look strangers in the eye, ask how you are doing (and seem sincere about it), pat each other on the shoulder and kiss one another on the cheek. They all seem like family, and Nadal feeds off it. Though his English isn´t very good, watching him in his environment it´s easy to see why he is so likeable.
Talk to you later,
David