I arrive at the site and start to get organized for the women’s final at 12:30. First thing I need is my daily Mango Smoothie. This has been my breakfast for the last 10 days. Yep, I’m just having breakfast. Had a late night at the club on the roof of my hotel. Very nice. I’ll be going back there tonight and will do a photo, but last evening was strictly social. No photography. I needed and deserved it.
12:30 PM
The tournament has given out orange hats to everyone entering the event. The stands look like one of the famous Florida orange groves.
1:00 PM
It’s hot and humid on court. Azarenka is using a towel filled with ice around her neck on every changeover. I need one of those.
2:30 PM
Well it’s all over. Azarenka won in two sets. Serena, playing with a huge bandage on her left thigh, was visibly hurting.
As glad as I was to get it done in two sets, it was a shame for the fans. Serena obviously could not run and the second set was a blowout.When Mary Jo Fernandez asks Serena about playing injured, Serena was gracious, replying that she didn’t want to make excuses, and that today Victoria deserved all the credit.
3:45 PM
All the photographers pile into two vans to go to the beach for a photos hoot with Azarenka. Just as we get there, it starts to rain. We pile back in the vans and go back to the site to do the photo in the Sony Corporate tent. As usual it’s a nightmare. Twenty photographers pushing, shoving, shouting for attention. I take these things pretty casually, do a few snaps and don’t get involved in the craziness.
Victoria is tall and attractive with lots of long blond hair. She has a reputation for not always being the most cooperative person, but today she’s in a great mood, posing and smiling. The photo is nothing special. They stand her in front of a wall of tennis balls and that’s it. It only rained a few drops, so it’s a shame we couldn’t have done something really nice at the beach.
4:50 PM
I am a happy person. I got one trophy shot that I really like!
This is always another challenging situation. Lots of pushing, shoving, and shouting at the player... “Look this way” “VICTORIA!” “This way please” “One over here”. .. Its times like this that I don’t want to admit that I’m part of the photographic media. They do behave badly. It’s no wonder that we often have a bad reputation. Again, in these situations, I just go about my business and get the best photo I can. The tournament photographer here saves me a place in the front so I don’t have to worry about standing behind tall men. This annoys the other photogs greatly, but those big guys would think nothing of knocking me down to get a spot.5:05 PM
They have just announced that the last press shuttle we will leave at 5:30 PM, so I’m going to have to call it a day.
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