Archive for: paris masters
After losing to Tomas Berdych in the Paris Masters quarterfinals, Andy Murray complained that his opponent should not have been given three new balls during the third set of their match. While facing two break points, the umpire Fergus Murphy gave Berdych new balls because he complained that those were too soft. Here is what the Brit had to say:
“Tomas decided that the balls were too soft—which they weren’t,” asserted Murray. “The umpire gave him three brand new balls to serve with … I wasn’t aware that they were just changing three brand new balls. Then that totally changed the way the ball plays and the court plays. That was what happened. I just asked, ‘Is it not normal to let the opponent also see the balls?”
Murray then also received a warning for his behavior towards the umpire, ”Actually I said bollocks to the chair umpire and that got me a warning. I have been to watch a lot of football matches and you say a lot worse than that and you don’t get yellow card,” he said.
Despite all the commotion, Berdych won the match with a score of 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 and Murray went home the loser. If you ask me, Murray is just wasting his time complaining about this and should think about his next tournament. What happened, happened and no excuse is going to help him win the match. Both players played with the new balls and Berdych was the one who handled it better, end of story.
For those of you that enjoy a good light show and funky music then Bercy is the place for you. This year a robot introduces the players whilst the court is lit up with lights to the beat of the music. I’ll take a video later to show you all.
I started my day on Centre Court to watch Youzhny against Kohlschreiber. I was half expecting a Youzhny special, i.e. meltdown but alas all I got was a defeat. At least he managed to avoid a bagel in the 2nd set but he started to play a little too late to change the match around.
I went to the Media Centre to see what time Philipp was having his press conference but the wait was too long. I watched the first 3 games of Cilic v Verdasco on the TV screen before going back to my seat. It looked like Nando was going to carry on where Youzhny had left off, handing a break to Cilic with a DF. Muller v Anderson was about to start on Court 1 so I moved over there. Muller was having a bad start and was quickly 0-3. Court hopped once again as, checking the score on my phone, I saw that Nando was playing a bit better; anyone would think he didn’t want to play well in front of me. But play well he did and so confident was I in him wrapping up at the match whilst 3-0 up in the 3rd I once again made my way to the Press Bar to grab myself a croissant, seriously, they do taste better when they are free!
Back to Centre court for Raonic v Benneteau. As will previous occasions whenever a French player is on Centre court you are guaranteed someone will bring the bongos J It all adds to the unique atmosphere that is Bercy. On my way to my seat for this match I had found out the time of Nando’s press conference, 16.15 so I made am mental note to go to that. Until then I stayed and watched young Milos take the 1st set.
Off to Nando’s presser I went and whilst this time I asked no questions it was still an experience to be there. He was asked about the Davis Cup, why he visited California recently (a close friend had undergone heart surgery so he stayed there for 10 days), and his opinion on the court speed “ Well I think that it’s slower than last year is what I can say, but also because last year was so fast. It’s not like it’s unbelievable slow, it’s just indoor hardcourt”.
After the press conference I made my way to Court 1 for Mayer v Stepanek (past Gillou Simon who was eating a choc chip cookie. Don’t say I don’t give you the backstage gossip J). I will admit to being rather disappointed with Radek’s kit, I wanted something a little more colourful. Unfortunately his tennis matched his kit and he lost in straight sets. Stayed on Court 1 to catch Bellucci v Bogomolov Jr. My, the American can’t half sweat, we was only 6 games in and his shirt looked like he had taken a shower in it. By this time I had once again checked my phone and Milos had lost in 3 sets. To console myself I quickly left the arena to pop across the road for the best panini’s in the world. After my food and a diet coke I made my way back for the night session.
As I sat down Monfils was just finishing up his practice session. As earlier promised I recorded the light & music show before the Mahut v Ferrero match that I will upload to my Youtube account. This match was a privilege to watch. Net play, drop shots, volleys, passing shots and rallies that ended with a winner. It was an absolute joy to watch. A shame that Ferrero could not take the match to a deciding set but you cannot have everything.
As I wanted to try and get an early night I decided to go to the Media Centre and start writing up this report whilst waiting for Mahut’s press conference. I got most of it written before he arrived at 21.25. I have no idea what was said as it was all in French, though I did pick up a translated copy of the press conference on my way out. Here are a few quotes:
Q – Are you playing your best tennis?
A – Maybe. I’m playing very good tennis, but also, I’m able to play quite relaxed on the court.
Q – Next match is another Spaniard, Ferrer
A – I played him when we were younger because we are the same age. In team competitions we played each other very often, but at this level I have never met him on the court.
After the press conference it was time for a few more games of tennis and I joined the Tursunov v Mannarino match right at the end of the 1st set, which Mannarino won 6-2. I stayed for the first 3 games of the 2nd set then called it a day.
*PHOTOS ADDED – http://www.flickr.com/photos/clare2904/
Bonjour and welcome to my daily reports from the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.
Firstly I must a big thank you once again to Steven for helping me secure the Press Pass that is going to enable me to bring you news from behind the scenes.
So, it all began at the Mairie de Paris (Town Hall) on Friday evening when top French players Gilles Simon & Richard Gasquet performed the main Singles draw. This was my first taste of “behind the scenes” action and it was rather enjoyable. All the chatter before from the Tournament Director etc was in French so I really have no idea what was said. What I do know is that it is all very straight forward, Novak at the top with Murray at the bottom, Ferrer then Roger were drawn to complete the four quarters. The remaining seeded players then everyone else followed this. All in all it took around 10 minutes to complete. As this year marks the 25th anniversary of BNP Paribas’ sponsorship they baked a cake J A few photos were taken with the players and officials before the champagne was served. Only one glass for me as I had to shoot off to a pre arranged recital at the Bastille Opera. That concluded my trip to the Paris Masters Draw Ceremony.
Day One: Qualifiers
Lots of matches to try and take in today as well as finding my way around, you will be amazed by how many corridors there are at Bercy.
My first port of call was Court 2 to watch the young American, Donald Young. His opponent was due to be Pere Riba but when I arrived the Order of Play had changed to Maxime Teixeira. Don was very laidback when he came on court, late, shuffling his feet with his headphones in his ears. I only watched the first set of this match, as I wanted to watch as much as possible today. I moved to Court 1 and caught part of Stakhovsky v De Schepper. My, Kenny De Schepper is tall, massively tall and I have stood next to Marin Cilic. Stayed for a few games of this match but had to leave to go back to my locker to get my cardigan, it was rather chilly in the arena today. Unlike Court 2, Court 1 has an electronic scoreboard. Before I left I noticed that as in previous years, BNP Paribas will be donating money for every Ace hit during the tournament. If you get to see the scoreboard during the tournament look out for the figure in the bottom right, that is the amount currently raised. Well-done BNP Paribas.
After I was warmed up (and via the press bar for a croissant) I went back to Court 2 for Nieminen v Ebden. To be honest this was not a high quality match, I was expecting a little better from Ebden but he was poor. He got himself a break to lead 5-3 and a chance to serve for the first set but he gave it straight back. Another break from Jarkko and the set was over 7-5.
Lots more court hopping as I caught parts of Roger-Vasselin v Kunitsyn, Clement v Rosol, Kohlschreiber v Ilhan and Paire v Istomin. I most wanted to watch young Benoit Paire having seen him against Ferrer at Wimbledon this year. I really do wish I had one Pound (£) for every drop shot he plays, I would be very rich. Anyway, Benoit played as I expected, erratic! Once again I had to leave early due to a prebooked night of Ballet at the Opera.
Day Two: Qualifiers
Arrived a little late this morning due to being totally tired from last night, sorry! I made my way firstly to the Media Centre and found that Andy Murray would be holding his pre-tournament press conference at 14.45. I made a mental note and headed for Courts.
Once again I started with Young as he played the experienced Finnish player Nieminen. Two things of note happened, when Jarkko gets mad he likes to kick advertising hoardings, so much so that they fall over. He did put it all back together to applause of the crowd so I’ll let him off. The other point is the number of times Young says “Man” during a match. Like Paire, if I had a Pound (£) for every time he says it during the match I would be rich. Young won the match and to his credit he stayed behind and signed a lot of autographs for the kids in the crowd, on both sides of the court. Nice to see that from a player.
My next match was Kohlschreiber v Clement where I stayed until Paire v Giraldo was about to start on Court 2. Once again Paire was making me crazy and thankfully I was saved by Andy Murray’s press conference.
My first ever press conference. I will admit that I was slightly nervous. I wanted to ask a question but I also wanted to take notes on how the professionals do it. Anyway there did not seem to be many people asking so I dived in there and asked the second question. I ask Andy what he thought of his draw. I managed to get the words out without tripping over my tongue and in a voice that made me sound normal!! I got quite a detailed response that I was pleased with. He made the point about Granollers having reached the final in Valencia (and subsequently won), how he has a lot of confidence and is playing very well at present. On Chardy he mentioned that he can be an “erratic player” who is hard to read, who can give you nothing to work with and also that he is a big server. Whilst Andy was answering he was making eye contact with me so that was nice.
Others questions focused on the court, he says they are a lot slower than last year, something he does not mind. Whilst he wants to do well here in Paris his main objective is the World Tour Finals in London. A question was asked about the crowd here in Bercy. They are very vocal and can get on a players back, Andy was asked about this and says he understands that when someone pays good money to watch the players they should expect a performance from both players. If they feel someone is not giving their all they should get on top of the player. He believes this to be a good thing as it is extra pressure to perform, something he likes. The player dispute was mentioned and all he would say it is there is no intention for the players to strike, all they want is the calendar to be looked at and a few weeks saved in the year to give it a length similar to the WTA Tour. He would also like to see the number of mandatory events lowered with maybe a commitment of only two 500’s not the current four.
Once the conference was over it was back to Court 1 where I caught Mahut v Kubot. The first set seemed to pass in a blur but it was good to finally see Nico play a Singles match (I had previously seen him play Doubles at Roland Garros). I spent a fair bit of the match watching his backhand; it really is a shot of beauty, unlike mine, which is still all over the court, out of court or in the net. I checked my phone and saw that Paire had taken his match to a 3rd set so once again I moved to Court 2. As I had missed part of the match I was unsure if anything had happened to Benoit but he looked totally whacked out during the set, leaning over his racquet at the end of points and giving off the impression he was about to collapse. Giraldo played a good match and deserved his win and place in the main draw. Last match of the day was Querrey v Seppi that I must admit I found a tad uninspiring. Not sure if it was because I was hungry but I left after the first set. I was surprised by the final scoreline; I did not see two breadsticks in Seppi so he must of turned up the gears once I left.
So that is it for now. The qualifiers are known and have been placed in the draw. An email has just come through as I type this report to say that Juan Martin Del Potro has withdrawn due to a shoulder problem. Disappointed not to see Delpo again but with the Davis Cup Final only a few weeks away it would be silly of him to risk further injury. A Lucky Loser will be placed in the draw at 10.30 tomorrow.
My photos have been added to my Flickr account. They can be found here – http://www.flickr.com/photos/clare2904/
In a message announced via the social networks of Facebook and Twitter, Rafal Nadal today announced his withdrawal from the Paris Masters …
“Hi all. I won’t be playing this upcoming week the tournament in Paris Bercy. It’s been a difficult decision to take but I understand that it is what I need to do right now to prepare well for the end of this season and also for 2012. I hope I can be back in 2012 to that great event in the most beautiful city in the world, and hopefully try to win it once day.”
Interesting that there is no mention of a withdrawal for physical issues, so before going on to discuss whether he has made the correct decision, there’s one question which is needed to be explored first and that is … can he?
Rafa is perhaps one of the most vocal of the top players when it comes to the length of the schedule and the mandatory nature of the number of tournaments to play. For Masters 1000 series that number totals eight, and whilst he has already participated in that number to date, the Monte Carlo Masters as an optional event counts only towards to the required number of 500 series. Rafa needed to compete in Paris to complete the statutory number. So if he’s not citing injury, how can he possibly withdraw without incurring a penalty?
The ATP rules state that a player’s Masters 1000 commitment can be reduced by one tournament if (1) they have played 600 matches following 1st January of that commitment year; (2) they have 12 years of service; or (3) they are 31 years of age following 1st January of that commitment year. Well (2) and (3) are out for Rafa, and whilst I’ve known that the 600 match mark was coming, I did believe that he would only pass that milestone next year. Not so. It seems that Rafa has benefited from a little quirk in the rulings in that from 2010 onwards, only the ATP World Tour, World Tour Finals, Grand Slams, Davis Cup and Olympics count towards this commitment, but any Challenger or Futures matches played before 2010 do still count. As Rafa played Challengers and Futures pre-2010, he exceeds his 600 tally for this commitment tour.
Au revoir Paris!
So whilst its sad for those fans who will miss out on seeing that great Champion there, is it the right decision for Rafa? All things considered, for me its a resounding “yes”. Indoor tennis on fast hardcourts has never suited Rafa’s game and he is least successful on them. After a gruelling season where unlike his counterparts, Rafa has had to face the re-juvenated Novak Djokovic six (unsuccessful) times, a bit of additional time off to rest not only his body, but his spirit is perhaps called for. In fact, it is very refreshing to to find that at this stage of the season, Rafa doesn’t have any injury woes because as he approaches his 26th year and 8th season in the top flight, keeping fit and healthy is tantamount.
With all that Rafa has achieved in tennis, I’m sure that he can rest easy perhaps never having his hands on the ever increasingly bizarre piece of sculpture that is the Paris Bercy trophy. Working hard for 2012 is perhaps the best thing to do, along with positioning himself as best as possible for the World Tour Finals and perhaps the main singular personal goal that is left for Rafa this season … lifting the Davis Cup.
