The Murray's on the Move

8:35 PM

Jamie Murray and Leizel Huber have just defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Zi Yan in the second round of the mixed doubles. This makes a double victory for the MurraySerbia’s Viktor Troicki. family today, with Andy’s earlier win in the men’s singles, over

The 23 year old Serb, tried his best to blast shots past Murray, but Andy, unimpressed, closed out the match in 96 minutes. Next up for the Scot is nineteenth seed, Stanislas Wawrinka whose best singles performance here was the fourth round last year.

The big winner today however, was Melanie Oudin, the seventeen year old American qualifier from Atlanta Georga. Although it would seem that 6^th seed Jankovic would come out the victor pretty clearly in this match, people forget that Oudin is on a roll, she’s won 19 out of her last 21 matches, and came into this with nothing to loose.

It must be noted however, that at one point, Jankovic called for the trainer, and actually looked as though she was in tears. Play was stopped for at least ten minutes while she was treated for heat exhaustion.

Oudin at 5’6” tall said that her role model is Justine Henin because “she’s proven that that you don’t have to be six feet tall to be No.1 in the world and win so many Grand Slams.” Right now it looks as though height isn’t going to stop this young woman whose goal since she started tennis was to be a top professional.

Other winners today include Andy Roddick who made it into the final sixteen defeating Austrian Jurgen Melzer for the 10^th time in 10 meetings.

Arod’s press conferences are always fun and packed with reporters and this one was no different. He generally comes in carrying the match stats readout. He said he uses it to study his first-serve percentage, and the number of points he wins on receiving second serves.

He has a quick wit, and I’m sure will be a great commentator one day. He’s admitted that unlike a lot of players who dread the post match interview, he has a “pretty good time” with the media, and enjoys the back and forth banter. That’s on a good day. On a bad day he doesn’t hesitate to let you know his feelings.

Tommy “hottie” Haas, finally won his five set marathon over Marin Cilic. The match which started yesterday afternoon was suspended because of darkness at six all in the fifth last night. Haas finally wound it up this afternoon, with a 10-8 win over the Croatian.

Now, for the beginning of my day. Since I’ve been working SOOO hard, I decided I deserved a little shopping break so got on the underground this morning and went to Covent Garden. This is one of my favorite shopping, dining, and hanging out venues in London. This former fruit and vegetable market which was designed in 1632 is now one of London’s most popular tourist destinations. Yes, I said tourist.. And yes it is touristy, but face it .. I’m a tourist.

The plaza is filled with musicians, jugglers, and various entertainments. Shops and restaurants line the arcades which reside under a large glass roof. I especially wanted to go today because of the Apple Market, which is a very nice craft fair held on Saturday and Sunday year round.

11:15 PM

There is only one other photographer left here .. It’s dead quiet and I think it’s time for me to wrap this up.

The Federer Express

The Federer Express

12:40 PM

The Swiss wonder is first up on Center Court against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber. The German can play, but I doubt if he will present much of a roadblock in Roger’s road to the final or to his quest to make history.

I think I’ll go shoot the Bryan’s instead. I always need photos of them and they are hard to shoot, so I need to spend some time to get any really good images. Since Bob is a lefty and Mikerighty , they play with both forehands in the middle, meaning that they are hardly ever close enough to get them together in the frame of my viewfinder, and of course if you are shooting doubles, you need both players.

I’ve known these guys forever, and they are two of the nicest people you will ever meet. Their Parents, Wayne and Kathy get high fives for raising two totally unspoiled tennis stars.

Kathy was a player on the women’s tour and actually graced the grass at Wimbledon four times, reaching the quarter final of the mixed in 1965.

Wow, two good looking, talented, famous, nice guys who are musicians as well... How many women do you think they have vying for their attention? They have a band with Mike on drums and Bob on keyboards. I caught them at the Viper Room in Los Angeles recently, playing with their buddy David Baron.

8:20 PM

MY WORD! Where has the day gone? Wasn’t it just 2:40 a few minutes ago? Well to sum it up, The Federer Express is rolling on, Mardy Fish lost to Djokovic but put up a pretty good battle, Azarenka shrieked her way to a two set win over Sorana Cristea. The Bryans won in three, chest bumped and are on their way to the next round. Tsonga, lost to big serving Ivo Karlovic who at 5’ 10” is the tallest player on tour, and who I’ve seen with a very pretty Asian girlfriend who is no more that 5’1”.

9:30 PM

I don’t believe that Tommy Haas and Marin Cilic are still playing! It’s really dark. Ok.. it’s 6 all in the fifth and they’ve just stopped play. I’ll be interested to see the end tomorrow.

9:45 PM

OH NO!! Now here is a sad tale on Cynthia. I borrowed a camera from Nikon today because I wanted to test it, and whoever used it before me had it set to shoot black and white! It’s my own fault for not checking my photos, but who knew? Why in the world would anyone be shooting B&W? Ok .. You’re going to get B&W photos today .. very arty. You know what they say, when life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.

10:15 PM

Well I’m already looking forward to, and planning my middle Sunday. This is one of the best things about Wimbledon. The middle Sunday off. We all love it! It’s amazing to me how the English can finish a tournament in thirteen days with no night sessions, even with all the rain Wimbledon is famous for, and other tournament seem to drag on forever. The French now have a fifteen day event, that includes THREE Sundays. Horrible. Of course we all know why... it’s all about money. Both the US Open and the Australian, have night sessions that can go until the wee hours of the morning. No wonder why everyone prefers to come to the Big W.

I could take an hour and a half train trip and go to any number of interesting and historic places. I’ve wanted to visit Stonehenge for years. These ancient Stones have been surrounded with mystery and legend for centuries. They have been connected to ancient Druids, Merlin the wizard, and the medieval court of King Arthur. Although I’ve seen photos of them experiencing them in person is supposed to be amazing. So this is one option, others include the Georgian city of Bath, the white cliffs of Dover, and Leeds Castle. Decisions, decisions, I need more than one day off!

C'Mon

1:00 PM

Heading for Center Court to do a few photos of Del Potro and Hewitt. This could be good. Del Potro is the fifth seed here, and has taken Nasal’s spot in the top of the draw. All odds are that Hewitt, currently ranked 56 will not have a prayer against one of the hottest guys on the tour, but the former number one, and 2002 champion had an impressive win over Robby Genipri in the first round, so it will be interesting to see how he does against a top player.

3:50 PM

Wow... the Ausie is back! Lleyton has defeated Del Potro in straight sets. They come to the net to shake hands, and I don’t know what Del Potro said, but they were very friendly, and I heard Hewitt reply, “Thanks mate”

.

And speaking of bad tan lines.. check out Hewitt's forehead!

This is the best I’ve seen him play in a long time, and Hewitt said in press that he felt it was the best he’d played since 2005. His serving was outstanding... firing off 14 aces against the big Argentine. This win makes the top half of the draw a lot more interesting. Murray, Roddick, and now Hewitt all vying for a spot on the last Sunday.

4:30 PM

Just scored a whole cup of ice!! This is very exciting as the Pepsi that comes straight out of the fridge in the media center is never really cold. “Cool” is actually a bit of an overstatement. I’ve been dying for a cold drink for days and just thought of going up to the bar and asking for a cup of ice…cold Pepsi... wickedly good!

5:15 PM

I want to go to Fabrice Santoro’s match. The charismatic Frenchman was nicknamed “The Magician” by Pete Sampras, and the moniker has stuck. He play’s his own brand of “magic” tennis, hitting two handed on both sides, and moving around the court in often mysterious ways. He’s announced that he will retire after twenty years on the tour, so this will be his last Wimbledon. This is his fourteenth appearance on the grass at WI 19, and his 69^th grand slam. At 37 his ATP World ranking is the same as his age.

He’s playing former world number one and French Open winner of 2003, Juan Carlos Ferrero. Ferrero’s ranking has dropped to below 100, and I think the Magician might have a chance to win this match.

They are playing on the new court two, there is plenty of room in the photo pit as Murray is currently playing on Center Court, and everyone is over there. However, I’m pretty sure that I’m going to get another chance at Murray, and this could be Santoro’s swan song.

7:07 PM

OH MY WORD... another day without eating... I have to run up to the media dining room and grab a piece of pizza... which indecently is quite good... to keep me from fainting.

7:30 PM

Well, it’s farewell to Santoro, but he put up a valiant fight, saving 10 of 11 break points in the first set to win it in a breaker. Juan Carlos took the last three sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. Fabrice, waved, shouldered his bag, and left the Championships for the last time. Sad to see another one of the colorful guys leave the tour.

I heard that he has a collection of classic tennis racquets and hopes to open a tennis museum in his home town.

8:00 PM

I can’t believe that I’m still shooting photos, but I need to get a few shots of the seventeen year old American from Georgia, Melanie Oudin. She’s making her Wimbledon debut, and is in a tough match out on court 6. It’s getting dark and cold, but I make a run for it, and grab a few pix in case she looses and I don’t get another chance at her.

9:20 PM

Just heard on Radio Wimbledon, that indeed Oudin did win in three. Jamie Murray and Liezel Huber have just won their mixed doubles match in a tiebreak that apparently had everyone holding their breath. I want to be sure to catch them in their next match. Hopefully they will be scheduled while it is still daylight.

10:25

That’s if folks, I still have to upload my photos and I need dinner, for I’m signing off for tonight.

Gisela and the Screamer

4:07 PM

Argentine beauty, Gisela Dulko who is as well known for the men she’s been linked with, Fernando Gonzalez, Fernando Verdasco, and Tommy Robredo, as her tennis, sent the screamer, Maria Sharapova packing today on center court at Wimbledon. With the crowd clearly behind her, the 45^th ranked Dulko won without shrieking, shouting, screaming, or grunting. Good on you Gisela! What a pleasure to see someone win with just good solid play and no histrionics.

Has anyone every told Sharapova how annoying and unflattering all that screaming is? You can’t get a decent photo of her without her mouth wide open and face contorted looking like she is watching a most frightening, bloody horror film.

And speaking of the screamer is all that noise really necessary? Sharapova is the worst offender, but Serena comes in with a close second, and the tighter a match gets the higher the decibel. Azarenka emits a high ear piercing squeal, that I’m sure has dogs for miles around running for cover. Ivanovic sounds like a baby crying; well lately her game is enough to make anyone cry, so maybe this is legit. But I have to ask, is this tennis or martial arts?

Have they been training with Bruce Lee? Practitioners of martial arts use the “Kia” this is the shout used to release power or “chi” and to frighten the opponent, and I do admit, that when Serena lets out one of those screams, it is frightening.

I’m trying to remember if this whole trend started with Monica Seles. That era was a little before I started working in tennis, but I do remember reading that Martina Navratalova did complain about her, and Martina has called for umpires to get tough on this and turn down the volume.

I wonder what would happen to a fan that screamed every time a player hit the ball. I’m sure they would be immediately ejected. Why should people who pay big dollars... GBP or Euros be subjected to this behavior?

Just so you don’t think that I’m picking on the girls, some of the guys can also make some noise, but the truth is those grunts are not nearly as annoying as the shrieking from the females.

6:44 PM

Okay, enough about the noise, I’ve just come back from shooting some of Sam Querrey’s match against the Croatian player Marin Cilic. Sam was up one set to love, serving for the second set, lost that game, and I left. I notice now that Cilic won that set in a breaker, and they are just starting the third. This is not looking good for Querrey.

7:10 PM

Tommy Haas almost ran right into going up to the second floor balcony in the media center. This is not a bad thing to have happen to a girl. Decided to follow him up and grab a few snaps while he is being interviewed for German TV. He’s going to be playing in the Los Angeles Open next month and I may need a nice head shot. I’m rewarded by also getting a few pix of Fernando Verdasco who is doing Spanish TV.

8:30 PM

Two all in the fifth for Querrey. This is turning into a marathon. It gets pretty dark by 9PM so I wonder if they can finish.

8:56

Farewell Sam, Cilic won 6-4 in the fifth.

And farewell for tonight, I’m ending this blog and going out for dinner.

Sunny Tuesday

11:30 AM

Blue cloudless sky, warm sunshine, it’s a beautiful day at Wimbledon. The sidewalk along Wimbledon Park road coming up from Southfields where I’m staying was jammed with fans hoping to see their hero Andy Murray in his first round match against American Robert Kendrick.

12:20 PM

Checking out the schedule for today, I see that it’s a big day for Americans on center court. Starting with Venus at 1PM, followed by Roddick, thenRobert Kendrick against Andy Murray. I guess I know where I’ll be spending the afternoon.

1:00 PM

Venus strides on court like the defending champion, and five time Wimbledon winner that she is... tall and regal, in a good looking white dress. The dress is simple with a cool back detail. Very nice Venus. Her opponent is nineteen year old Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland, who quite frankly, I don’t know anything about except that she grew up not far from Roger Federer.

Venus just exudes an air of confidence. She feels comfortable on grass, and Serena has said that she thinks Venus is the best grass court player ever. Well, that may be a bit of an over statement, but Venus has proven that she does know how to win here, and today was no exception. She barely broke a sweat with her 6-3, 6-2 win.

Next up Andy Roddick against Frances Jeremy Chardy. Andy was all business. Playing like he had somewhere else important to go, he went up 5- love in the first set before Chardy even knew what was happening. Chardy did finally wake up and get into the pace of the game. He took the third set, but Roddick came out strong in the fourth and won the match. The fast grass court and dry sunny weather were the exact conditions that Arod likes, allowing him to rack up a total of 21 aces.

Roddick’s new coach Larry Stefanki was looking happy with the result. They obviously feel that this is a big chance for Andy to improve his ranking and have a shot at the title.

5:00 PM

I still haven’t had lunch and I’m dying of hunger, but I’m afraid to leave the court because I don’t know if I’ll be able to get another seat. The photo pit is pretty full, and if this match is tight all the seats could be taken.

Everyone thinks that this is going to be a walk in the park for Murray, but I’ve known and watched Robert Kendrick for a long time, and he can be dangerous when his game is on, and he has nothing to loose. He’s a big server, with a forehand like a rocket when he’s on his game.

Murray came out the winner, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, but it looked like Kendrick’s game took him by surprise, he got the job done, but the 29 year old American made him earn it.

8:35 PM

OH MY WORD.. I still have not eaten. I just looked up on my computer screen and saw that Jesse Levine is up two sets to one 5-2 in the fourth against Marat Safin. I grab my camera, run to court 18 and hope that Marat can at least win two more games, so they will change ends at least one more time and I can get on for the end of the match. Yes! Marat has held and broken and the score is not 4-5. The crowd is chanting, “you can do it Marat”, but unfortunately, he can’t. Levine wins the forth 6-4, and the big Russian, exits the big W for the last time.

I’m happy for Levine, this is a huge moment for him, but isn’t sad to see Safin go out like this. Seeded 14^th here, everyone had hopes for him to show his stuff one more time.

The other big American winner today was Melanie Oudin who defeated 29^th seed, Sybille Bummer. Oudin is currently ranked 124, and just turned pro in 2008.

So there you have it .. News of the day from Wimbledon.

Let The Games Begin

I have no idea how many hours I’ve been without sleep, and to tell the truth I really don’t want to know.

I must have been mad to book a 6:30 AM flight, meaning that I had to be at LAX at 4:30 in the morning. If you are going to be out at this hour, you should be having a wonderful time sipping cocktails and dancing the night away rather than sitting in an airport lounge.

Add to this the fact that I pulled my usual habit of having a million last minute things to finish and ended up getting 1hour and 50 minutes of sleep before embarking on this trip.

My flight out of LA was on time and I had the aisle bulkhead seat booked on both my flights, so I was feeling pretty good, but this kind of luck couldn't last.. My connection in Toronto was delayed so got to spend a lovely FIVE hours in Canada, writing e-mail, browsing the bookstore and checking my flight status. I finally touched down at Heathrow with my watch reading 7AM Monday the 22nd.

Arriving in the customs area, I’m confronted with a sea of humanity. Unbelievable. I thought there was a worldwide recession. Who are all these people traveling to London, one of the most expensive cities in the world?

It takes close to half an hour to make it through the ten long snaking lines to the customs counter. The officer quizzes me on my reason for being in London, decides I’m not a threat to security, and I pass through to try to find my driver.

The one luxury I allow myself is car service into London. The arrivals area is alive with men in dark suits waving cards bearing the names of arriving passengers.

The “Black Cabs”, those cool black cars that look like they came straight out of a film set, are the only taxi’s allowed to queue for passengers at Heathrow, and these taxi’s are very expensive so like myself a lot of people opt for the car service which is about the same amount, but you have someone waiting for you who will also help you with your bags.

You can take the tube for around 5 pounds, but I have too much gear, and am too tired to deal with it.

1:45 PM
I’ve passed through the glorious gates of tennis heaven, gotten my credential, locker desk, and am ready for business.

I’m sure everyone knows by now that the defending champion, Rafael Nadal has pulled out to give his sore knees a much needed rest. Although I’m sure players aren’t happy about his misfortune, I’ll bet that a big sigh of relief went up for those on his side of the draw. And the Andy Murray fans are ecstatic.

Will this allow the English tennis loving populace to finally have a Men's singles Wimbledon Champion? The Brits have suffered a drought in the Champion’s department since Virginia Wade won in 1977, and have never had a men’s champion in the open era which began in 1968. Fred Perry was the last British man to win the title in 1936. Seventy two years since a British male has won their own championships!

It boggles the mind to think what will happen if Murray wins. The English reserve will go out the window and celebrations will be off the charts! Murray will be biggest most popular sports star in the country.

Of course the fact that Nadal is out is no guarantee that the Scot will come through. First, the pressure will be tremendous, second, although he is now the highest seed in his half, he still has a few good players to get past.

Marat Safin is always a threat, and big serving, 6th seed Andy Roddick is also in the top half. A match between these two could produce fireworks.

On the women’s side, we could have another sister’s show in the final, with the Williams on opposite sides of the draw. Venus gets number one seed Dinara Safina in her half, and Serena could face Sharapova and Azarenka.

So, let the games begin!

The grass is green, the fans are out,
the flowers are blooming,
Champagne is flowing,


and we're all looking forward to another wonderful fortnight.