Post by tall_one on Aug 21, 2006 6:20:24 GMT 3
Sunday the 13th
Woke up a bit late so i had to throw my stuff together quick and race out the door. Took the wrong exit and got lost going to Mason
just about gave up and went home. anyway i finally found my way. Spend 5 minutes walking to the ticket booth and another 5 waiting in line. Ticket was only $10 
walk in and see order of play, decide there is no one i really care to see so i take off to the practice courts. it is close to noon, Marat's fav time to practice so i'm hopeful. Fans have full access to the courts there so i should be able to get some good photos ;D Get there and spend the next half hour deciding wether or not i am watching Mathieu, Ferrer & Fish practice. Still not sure so i'll let their fans decide if that is who they are lol whoops, pic of Mardy didn't turn out. ah well.
about noon Fish leaves and Paradorn shows up with Walt in tow
i was going to be evil and take a pic of Walt with his shirt off but i figured i'd be nice... for once lol
about 12:30 the crowd starts mumbling, after i few seconds of trying to figure out what they are saying i finally hear it. Safin. my head jerks up and i start searching for him. i see some guy signing autographs but almost instantly dismiss him - he is too short to be Marat. damn. i continue searching when i see another figure further up who is much taller. I can't see though the court cover to be sure but he is tall and walks just like Marat. With baited breathe i wait the final few seconds for him to appear on the practice court. He walks though the door and woohoooooo it is Marat!
Massu (and his coach?) walk in with Marat, grab the chairs and go sit in the shade.
they wait for Mathieu & Ferrer to finish and then start practing.
i hear mumblings again, this time for James Blake who walks into the court next to Marat and starts practicing
Unfortunately he is too far away to get a good pic.
Marat & Massu finish playing so i leave to find a good place to stand for when Marat comes out. Park my butt next to the exit for the practice courts and i wait. I delete out the crappy pics why i wait. i really need a quicker camera lol After 5 minutes James walks by with his head down. i barely even noticed him. Another 5 minutes pass and finally i see Marat coming. I start taking a video smg.photobucket.com/albums/v345/fuzwadd/Cincy2006/sunday/?action=view¤t=AVI_0105.flv he darn near ran into me lol i guess i picked a good spot! I follow taking pictures and watching him sign autographs. I have nothing to sign so i don't bother.
he finally leaves and i turn to walk back to the practice courts. I am walking behide 2 or the security people when i hear Marat's name. The one is telling the other how some of the players, like Marat, are really nice and sign autographs and how others almost run from the fans.
I make a quick run through the practice courts to see who is there. Nadal, Ljubicic & Berdych are all practicing. I managed to get a pic of the 1st two but Berdych kept hiding from me lol
i decide to head home. Despite the fact i have sunscreen on and have been in the sun for less then 3 hours, i can see that i am starting to burn and have a headache from the bright light. so off i go... till Tuesday anyway lol
Woke up a bit late so i had to throw my stuff together quick and race out the door. Took the wrong exit and got lost going to Mason
just about gave up and went home. anyway i finally found my way. Spend 5 minutes walking to the ticket booth and another 5 waiting in line. Ticket was only $10 
walk in and see order of play, decide there is no one i really care to see so i take off to the practice courts. it is close to noon, Marat's fav time to practice so i'm hopeful. Fans have full access to the courts there so i should be able to get some good photos ;D Get there and spend the next half hour deciding wether or not i am watching Mathieu, Ferrer & Fish practice. Still not sure so i'll let their fans decide if that is who they are lol whoops, pic of Mardy didn't turn out. ah well. about noon Fish leaves and Paradorn shows up with Walt in tow
i was going to be evil and take a pic of Walt with his shirt off but i figured i'd be nice... for once lol
about 12:30 the crowd starts mumbling, after i few seconds of trying to figure out what they are saying i finally hear it. Safin. my head jerks up and i start searching for him. i see some guy signing autographs but almost instantly dismiss him - he is too short to be Marat. damn. i continue searching when i see another figure further up who is much taller. I can't see though the court cover to be sure but he is tall and walks just like Marat. With baited breathe i wait the final few seconds for him to appear on the practice court. He walks though the door and woohoooooo it is Marat!
Massu (and his coach?) walk in with Marat, grab the chairs and go sit in the shade.they wait for Mathieu & Ferrer to finish and then start practing.
i hear mumblings again, this time for James Blake who walks into the court next to Marat and starts practicing
Unfortunately he is too far away to get a good pic.
Marat & Massu finish playing so i leave to find a good place to stand for when Marat comes out. Park my butt next to the exit for the practice courts and i wait. I delete out the crappy pics why i wait. i really need a quicker camera lol After 5 minutes James walks by with his head down. i barely even noticed him. Another 5 minutes pass and finally i see Marat coming. I start taking a video smg.photobucket.com/albums/v345/fuzwadd/Cincy2006/sunday/?action=view¤t=AVI_0105.flv he darn near ran into me lol i guess i picked a good spot! I follow taking pictures and watching him sign autographs. I have nothing to sign so i don't bother.
he finally leaves and i turn to walk back to the practice courts. I am walking behide 2 or the security people when i hear Marat's name. The one is telling the other how some of the players, like Marat, are really nice and sign autographs and how others almost run from the fans.
I make a quick run through the practice courts to see who is there. Nadal, Ljubicic & Berdych are all practicing. I managed to get a pic of the 1st two but Berdych kept hiding from me lol
i decide to head home. Despite the fact i have sunscreen on and have been in the sun for less then 3 hours, i can see that i am starting to burn and have a headache from the bright light. so off i go... till Tuesday anyway lol
See...there WAS a good thing about moving to Nati after all LMAO 