Montreal and the Rogers Cup treated us to five fabulous days of live tennis and a lively atmosphere at Uniprix Stadium this August. I’m hooked — tennis tournaments are so much fun! All in all, we ended up cheering on some great players in 10 matches, including Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet, Marinko Matosevic and Canadian Milos Raonic.
Gorgeous day for tennis.
Über Nadal fan, le Chuck, saw 3 of Rafa’s 4 matches, waited around to get his autograph, watched him practice like the Spanish bull his logo says he is, bought his “RAFA, RAFA, RAFA” shirt (said shirt really complemented his very LOUD cheering), and pretty much stalked him the entire tournament.
Someone just got his idol’s autograph.
Le Chuck watching Nadal practice with the ladies.
This guy practices like he plays — INTENSELY.
Nadal getting coached.
Full-on werewolf. Or Capyberra.
For me, the only disappointment to the whole tournament was that Federer pulled out. I was so hoping to see him play, especially after reading this article a few years ago. It was the following quote that really got me wanting to attend a pro tournament:
“If you’ve watched tennis only on television, you simply have no idea how hard these pros are hitting the ball, how fast the ball is moving, how little time the players have to get to it, and how quickly they’re able to move and rotate and strike and recover. And none are faster, or more deceptively effortless about it, than Roger Federer. Interestingly, what is less obscured in TV coverage is Federer’s intelligence, since this intelligence often manifests as angle. Federer is able to see, or create, gaps and angles for winners that no one else can envision, and television’s perspective is perfect for viewing and reviewing these Federer Moments. What’s harder to appreciate on TV is that these spectacular-looking angles and winners are not coming from nowhere — they’re often set up several shots ahead, and depend as much on Federer’s manipulation of opponents’ positions as they do on the pace or placement of the coup de grâce. And understanding how and why Federer is able to move other world-class athletes around this way requires, in turn, a better technical understanding of the modern power-baseline game than TV — again — is set up to provide.” David Foster Wallace
Yeah, so not seeing Federer play live was a big thing for me. Even le Chuck was disappointed, and he doesn’t even like him. (He won’t say that, but I know it, he lives and breathes Nadal.)
BUT. We did get to watch an epic semi-final match between Djokovic and Nadal. It was a brutal showdown between two amazing players at the top of their game. I can’t even describe how hard and fast these guys play. And the accuracy!? What an absolute treat. Nadal won, which made le Chuck leap on top of his seat and scream with utter abandon. The Djokovic fans in front of us were not impressed. What a night that was!
Djokovic serves Nadal in the semi-final.
After that match, we knew Raonic had no chance against Nadal in the final. After watching so many matches live, you start to see how much better the very top players are compared to the rest of the competition. Wow.
We dressed up for the final!
Raonic serves Nadal in the final.
We are now plotting out our next tournament. Hmmm, maybe Indian Wells in California? Here are some random shots from our week of tennis:
Looking out over the tournament grounds.
The big board.
Raonic’s ace count.
Wonder what these two were discussing?
Show off. On another note, Nadal always takes two towels. Always. His OCD is off the hook!
Djokovic likes to dance after a win.
Hello, Andy Murray.
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