SF Tennis Freak

Archive for March, 2013

Now that I’ve finally recovered from both my Hawaiian vacation and a weekend of provisional umpiring (that finished my volunteer requirement… YAY), I’m closing the book on this year’s SAP Open with an audio clip of Steffi Graf and Lindsay Davenport.

The clip was recorded during their post-match press conference after (an entertaining) mixed doubles exhibition match with Andy Roddick and Justin Gimelstob. Please accept my apologies in advance for the quality of the recording, and the incessant clicking of cameras any time that Steffi opened her mouth to speak. I was blocked from the front row by unruly photographers. You’ll have to turn up the sound at times to hear them.

The voice next to me is Bill Simons of Inside Tennis. He’s a great guy and a very knowledgeable tennis source. We made a pretty good team. If you have any questions on their responses, let me know and I’ll see what I can do to fill in the blanks.
Enjoy.

(click the arrow to play the audio)

Beautiful morning at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club

As some of you may know, I’m smack in the middle of becoming certified as a Roving Umpire for the USTA.  But as I also mentioned in my previous piece, Being Mohamed: My USTA Umpire Training and The Official’s Code of Conduct, this necessitates a very large and clear boundary between my roles as a tennis official and that of tennis media.

The good thing is that I can share some very general things I learned from a weekend of provisional umping at the Johnson Ranch Racquet Club Championships that I think would be okay to share here. So before I head off to finish my volunteer days this weekend in Pleasanton, CA (fingers crossed), here are some thoughts I jotted down after a very long tennis weekend in Roseville…

1. Being out in the sun in the beautiful outdoors watching tennis reminded me just how much I love the game!
2. Inspiration 1: seeing all of these wonderfully talented 12s, 14s, 16s, and 18s was inspiring. I couldn’t wait to go out for my next hit.
3. Inspiration 2: I was tremendously inspired by the other umpires I met, and the things I learned while watching them over the weekend. It’s a wonderful thing being with others who love tennis as much as I do.
4. At least with respect to the juniors I helped, players are grateful to have a neutral presence on court. I was thanked many times over the weekend by players and parents, and it always brought a smile to my face. I’ll find out if the same is true about the adults soon enough.
5. The job of a roving umpire is tough on the lower back. After being on your feet for 99% of the time over the course of a 10 hour day, bending down to pick up used balls becomes problematic.
6. Lip balm, as in I didn’t use any during the weekend and am now paying the price this week with my dried out lips.
7. No one mentioned anything about splinter danger from the singles sticks in my provisional class, but there I was digging one out after pulling the sticks for a doubles match.
8. I didn’t mind being on court to monitor situations if it helped players play their best tennis with no worries.  Unfortunately, it takes you away from being able to see and help all of the courts.  Call me Obama, but I like being able to do the most good for the most people.
9. I now understand the meaning of the terms “sensible shoes” and “gel insoles”.
10. Did I mention that I love tennis?!

Or at least pretty close to it…

After a long week covering the SAP Open and driving back and forth to San Jose from San Francisco, it was time for some much-needed R&R in the form of an anniversary trip to Hawaii with my partner. It was precisely what the doctor ordered to help ease my stress! I took a few pictures…not to make you jealous, mind you, only to share the experience. 😉

There was no tennis on this trip outside of some online viewing. Just some quality time spent eating and drinking by the pool with my guy, and staring at the ocean. The closest I came to playing tennis was walking to take a picture at some awesome courts that had a wonderful view of Diamond Head. Maybe they’re used to it, but I’m pretty sure that my concentration levels would suffer.

Maybe I’ll get a chance to try out that theory next time.
Next up: finishing my volunteer days for umping at an NTRP in Pleasonton, CA.