Steve,
Judging from yesterday it didn’t seem possible, but the sun is making a few patchy appearances today. And looking at the long and tremendous slate of action on tap, let’s hope it’s not a fluke. All the matches from yesterday will be completed, plus Roddick, Hewitt, Nadal are scheduled, and yes, the Agassi long kiss goodbye gets underway. I’m expecting some waterworks out of Dick Enberg. Our photo editor, Dave Rosenberg, aka The Grinch Who Stole Wimbledon, is picking Boris Pashanski in an upset.
Strange incident from dinner last night. I’m not positive, but I have a hunch that Roger Federer’s girlfriend, Mirka, stole my umbrella. And not just any umbrella, but the one our magazine won for capturing the Corporate Tennis League title last month. So this is precious cargo we’re talking about. Now, I’ll admit what I’m about to tell you is hugely speculative and highly circumstantial at best. But if you follow my fuzzy logic it’s hard to come to any other conclusion.
Here’s the scenario. I went to the house that IMG agent and friend, Max Eisenbud, is sharing in the Wimbledon village with his colleague Tony Godsick and his family, including wife, Mary Joe Fernandez. Recently, Tony became Federer’s agent and the world No. 1 and his Mirka have been spending time at the house. When I arrived I put my stuff down and waited for Max to finish an email. I didn’t see her, but Mirka was actually in another part of the house hanging out with Mary Joe. When Max and I left for dinner I forgot my umbrella, and when I came back after the meal it was nowhere to be found. On her way out in the rain Mirka, not knowing it’s sentimental value, must have taken my prized umbrella for protection and, Bob’s your uncle, mystery solved. Max gave me one of those huge walking cane type umbrellas to take home instead. I looked like John Steed from 'The Avengers.' Totally laughable.
There’s no other explanation, is there? The only other thing I can think of is I left the umbrella in the media room overnight and one of the vultures we work with walked out with it. But I believe my first theory is much more plausible.
Speaking of Federer, did you see the warm-up jacket that he wore onto the court against Gasquet? I missed it, but evidently Nike made him a special retro designed blazer emblazoned with a crest that has the Swiss cross, a tuft of grass, his birth sign (Leo), and three racquets symbolizing the amount of Wimbledon titles he’s won. There may even be other furnishings, but that’s most of them. The London papers were quite taken with it, calling the jacket “smart.” Quite the dandy, huh? I say it’s admirable that Federer takes some pride in how he presents himself. Athletes in other sports are quite fashion conscious, and some leagues even require their players to adhere to a dress code. But many top tennis players believe style begins and ends with the sweat pant.
Random player sighting from yesterday:
While I was walking through Wimbledon village I saw Mark Philippoussis darting from the Luxilon stringers house to get behind the wheel of his idling car, which looked way too small for a man of his size. Do people drive on the left side of the road in Australia? Because I think I would do some damage if I tried to handle a car here. I still struggle with looking right-left-right when crossing the street. My first day here I almost got run over three times.
By the way, if you filled up a 20-gallon tank of gas here with the cheapest stuff they got, it would cost you $140. Not surprisingly, lots of foot traffic here.
Random player sighting from this morning:
On my way out of the hotel this morning I passed by clay-court specialist Nicolas Almagro. Unlike Massu on my first day here, Almagro was more impressive-looking in person. He’s first on Court 13 today against Mario Ancic, who some think has a puncher’s chance if he ends up playing Federer in quarters. I hope to catch a little of that match.
Thanks for the tip about Court 2. The last match scheduled there today is hometown hopeful (by way of Canada) Greg Rusedski against my man, Marat. Should be a perfect vantage point to watch one of his signature meltdowns.
I’ll catch up with you later.
JL
Jon,
Federer did indeed look sharp today, playing-wise. Maybe the tough draw got him juiced (you know what I mean) right away and will benefit him in the end. As far as the snazzy jacket, I’ve only briefly glimpsed it. It looked a little hokey when it was on his chair, but not too bad on him. I’m glad Federer likes to look good, I suppose, though his heightened attention to grooming and "fashion" seems to have begun around the time he signed with IMG. These days I get the feeling he’s in a contest with David Beckham to be named International Metrosexual Athlete of the Year. I also thought Fed was overly uptight about Nadal accepting that clay-record trophy at the French. It’s not like it was Nadal’s idea (I assume) to receive a glassed-in cross-section of a clay court after a first-round win.
I still like Federer, really I do. As you said, he exhibits just a bit of well-earned conceit. It’s the same attitude that kept Sampras at the top of the game for so long. Basically, they’re approach is, “No matter what, I am the best tennis player in the world.” Maybe that faint—or not so faint—scent of entitlement is what led me to root for Agassi over Sampras all those years, and what keeps me from pulling for Federer against Nadal. (Is it OK that I admit these fan-like preferences as a journalist? Ask Matt Cronin for me.)
Anyway, do you have the Borg fortnight beard going? I think I spotted you watching Blake today. What do you think of his chances? Pat Mac made a good point about Blake’s return of serve. He says that Blake is a pretty stubborn guy—we know that from the way he has stuck by his coach, Brian Barker, all these years—and that he won’t dial back his return in the clutch often enough. He keeps going for huge returns, something that may hurt him on grass eventually.
I suppose you’re out at the Safin match (another guy I’ve always rooted for, maybe because he has absolutely no sense of entitlement). He finally shaved the curls—is he planning to get married? He once said he couldn't get married because he had such wonderful curls. But Safin was rolling over Rusedski when I was watching. ESPN has also shown Hingis’ win, Nadal taking a slog-fest of a first set over a pretty weak-looking Bogdanovich, and Murray coming up with crafty shots against Massu, who looks out of it.
The coverage has been pretty solid today. Of course, we saw all of Andre, and got a good look at his “Daddy Rocks” necklace. What did you think of his play? In the second set, it was good old Dre, dialed in from the ground. It’s still fun to see him strike a tennis ball. Not sure about those cut-off socks, though; also, is Andre getting smaller as the years go on?
OK, that’s it for now. Any more word on the bumbershoot? Go out and cheer Mr. Baghdatis on for me.
Tignor