Tomorrow is my birthday, today is the last day of this year for me. I want to make it count.
8:30 AM
I’m up at a decent hour today, finally getting my body on east coast time. Tomorrow is my birthday, so today is the last day of this year for me. I want to make it count; I decide that a great way to start my day is a morning walk before leaving for the site. The air is still fresh and cool. The streets of Coconut Grove empty of tourists and shoppers. I head for Bayside Park and walk along shore, the water of the bay is like blue glass, dotted with white sails and boats, a light breeze rustles the fronds of palm trees overhead. Lovely. On my way back, to the hotel, I stop for Café Au’lait and Croissant. Very nice, I’d really like to linger, but duty calls, matches will start at 11 and will not happen again, so I need to be there to record the action.
11:30 AM
I arrive at the site to hear the very sad news that Blake lost last night. He put up a good fight and I thought he would win after taking the 2nd set tiebreak, but apparently his 2009 slump is still going strong. This leaves only Roddick and Dent as the only Americans in the men’s side, and the sisters on the women’s.
1:00PM
Rafa and Frederico Gil, Gil is the Portuguese qualifier so I thought this would go pretty quickly, but Gil put up a good battle against the world number one. Rafa was in poor humor, which is unusual for him. He was probably surprised that this 74th ranked upstart was giving him game. Rafa closed out the match against the aggressive Gil 7-5, 6-3, but it was clearly a struggle he wasn’t prepared for.
3:20 PM
Another top player struggles in round three. Andy Murray, the big hope for the British, dispatched the troublesome Chilean Nicolas Massu in straight sets, but not without a battle. Massu served first, won that game then broke Murray in Murray’s first service game, to go up 2-0 right away. Murray closed out the match 6-4, 6-4, but only after fighting off break points in the last game and finally hitting a winning backhand down the line.
5:15 PM
Every day from 5 to 7 the tournament serves up complimentary wine, beer, and snacks on the media dining room terrace. This is a much looked forward to event among reporters, and photographers. And the TV crew. I opt for a diet Coke as I need to stay awake for a few more hours, get my photos edited, and finish this blog while I can still type.
6:20 PM OH MY WORD... Serena has on a diamond bracelet that is blindingly bright. It is causing the sun to bounce off my lens making sun spots on my photos. Right now the bracelet is all that is sparkling about Serena. Jie Zheng of China is giving her fits. Serena is going for her sixth conductive win here, and the 17th ranked Zheng is standing in her way. Williams is visibly angry. Hitting her racquet on the court until it breaks, and displaying her normal behavior when loosing… hitting the ball harder and harder and giving karate shouts that could be heard in Japan at each stroke. Zheng is cool, takes the second set, but can’t fight off the stronger Williams, and Serena is one step closer to her record.
9:05PM
I’m indulging in a banana nutella crepe for the last day of my year, and hanging it up for now.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

1:30 PM

I’m sitting here looking at my TV monitor and wondering why the match scores aren’t changing and I realize that we must be in a rain delay. It’s just spitting a few drops, but they have stopped play on all courts.

2:52 PM

Looks like they are starting play, I’d like to shoot some of the Robredo, Dent match, but it’s all the way out on the Grandstand court, and I don’t want to get stuck out there if it does start to rain hard. It’s a good 10 minute walk back to the media center, and there is no shelter out there. I remember huddling under the stands trying to get some relief from the rain in past years, and this is a girl who tries to learn from past experiences so I’m going to pass on that match for now. Dent won the first set and is up 2-1 in the second, so this would be a great win for him, but I’m not going to risk it.2:00 PMOh My Word, Safina and Ivanovic have just lost …Safina to Samantha Stosur, and Ivanovic to Agnes Szavay. Jankovic went back to the hotel and packed her bags last night after loosing to Dulco in straight sets. What’s going on with the women … it’s only the third round and already the 2nd, 3rd and 7th seeds are gone.

2:15 PM

Okay, I’ve stalled around long enough; it’s time to go do some photos. I’m going to the Kiefer/ Federer match because it’s on Stadium and easy to get back inside if it starts raining. For sure weather is going to dictate what matches I shoot today. I need to shoot a zillion photos of Federer to get anything usable anyway. He is probably the hardest pro to get anything good on. Deep set eyes with shadows that go completely black with the sun overhead, giving the impression that he either had a rough night or got into a fight with Safin and ended up needing a steak for the black eyes. Given his conservative nature, I doubt if either of these are true. And have you noticed how he looks down all the time... this only makes matters worse. I want to should, “hey Roger! Look up! Give us a photo!” but of course I can’t so I just keep shooting and trying different angles hoping to get lucky.

4PM

Kiefer is another member of the clean legs gang, and I’m noticing a little belly growing on Roger. Is this a sympathy stomach for Mirka has he been sharing her food cravings?

5:30 PM

I finally got myself over to the grandstand court and was rewarded with a great match. Safin and Monfils, two guys who give good photos. If there are any female Marat fans out there check out this photo… definitely a pinup. I love the way he walks with a little swagger from side to side, arms held slightly away from his body, the whole attitude saying “I am Elite Russia Athlete”. Too bad he is planning to retire at the end of the year; He’s brought a lot of fun and color to the game. I would have liked to see him go further in the tournament, but you’ve gotta love Gael Monfils. No only is he colorful and fun, but the tennis can be amazing. Safin was serving for the match at 5-2, but Monfils never gave up and ended up winning in a tiebreaker. Great stuff.

Next up is Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, another guy I love to shoot, against Robert Kendrick; a young American who has just broke into the top 100. Kendrick has a good first set, but is no match for the French Muhammad Ali look alike.

10:55 PM

HOW IN THE WORLD DID IT GET TO BE TEN FIFTY FIVE PM? I have no idea where the day went, and I promise I have been working steadily, no socializing not even one glass of wine at the happy hour. I’m thinking that I really want to blow out of here, but Blake just lost the first set to Berdych, and I’m wondering if I need to stay.

11:05 PM
Blake is up 2-1 in the second, I'm just going to hope he wins and pack it in for the night.
Tune in tomorrow for more adventures with Cynthia from the Sony Ericsson.
Posted by Cynthia Lum at 7:58 PM 0 comments

March 28, 2008

Took the red eye last night arriving at my hotel, The Mayfair in Coconut Grove, at 7AM. Now, I know that normal check in is around 3, but thought I’d take a chance and see if I could get a room. I was told that check in was at 4PM, they did have rooms available, but the fee for early check in would be $50.00!! Wow, in view of the state of the hotel business, you would think they would be happy to have paying guests, especially one that is staying 10 days. I was able to negotiate a deal with them, but personally, I think this is outrageous.

1:40 PM

The clock on the wall reads 1:40, and my computer reads 10:40, the three hour time difference is a killer.

I finally made it here and am starting (slowly) to get some work done. Organizing my desk and locker, was a little challenging, most of the lockers were either broken or already in use, and another photographer was using my desk, but I finally have it sorted out and am about to go take some photos.

Took the red eye last night arriving at my hotel, The Mayfair in Coconut Grove, at 7AM. Now, I know that normal check in is around 3, but thought I’d take a chance and see if I could get a room. I was told that check in was at 4PM, they did have rooms available, but the fee for early check in would be $50.00!! Wow, in view of the state of the hotel business, you would think they would be happy to have paying guests, especially one that is staying 10 days. I was able to negotiate a deal with them, but personally, I think this is outrageous.

4:30 PM

Mardy Fish has joined the waxed leg league. Does this really make tennis players more aerodynamic or do they just like smooth legs? He’s playing Nicolas Massu of Chile and the Chilean and US fans are fighting a war of flags and cheering. Fish puffs out his cheeks every time he hits the ball making it nearly impossible to get anything really good... or at least attractive.

5:45 PM

Well, I won’t have to worry about getting good shots of Mardy anymore for this event. He lost in 3 sets to the gritty Chilean, kinda re-enforces my theory that marriage is bad for your tennis.

10:15 PM

How in the world did it get to be 10:15 PM? I am the person who was going to be in bed by ten. In the fashion watch department, I like both Venus and Peer. Venus tie dye is a cool departure from all the standard colors. The purple and pink looks great on the purple court and the ruffles at the hips give her otherwise boyish figure a nice line. Shahar looks great in the red two piece from Reebok, a much more standard look, but I like the detailing on the back, and the subtle ruffling on the hemline.

On the celebrity watch… Minnesota Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie watching Venus.