Okay – first of all, Rafael Nadal is not keeping the kinds of hours I’d expect of a Spaniard. Meaning, I totally missed it when he and Kim and Roger and Ana were all together on the practice courts on Thursday morning. I was still eating my breakfast! Thank goodness there are other crazed tennis fans with cameras out there who don’t sleep in like I do. Click here to check out some of the snaps. (And my apologies, Rafa fans, it’s now our MISSION – kinda like Serena and her $92K – to get some great snaps of Rafa on the courts this weekend. So stay tuned.)
When we finally did show up on-site around 11:30 am, Rafa, Kim and Co. were long gone but Roger Federer and Ivan Ljubicic were in the midst of a heated practice session. Think lots of laser-sharp one handed backhands blazing down the lines. Fed and Ljuby practiced for two full hours: 11am – 1pm. Justine Henin was hitting on the neighboring court for most of this time. It was fun to hear the crowd oohing and ahhing as much over Henin’s strokes as they did over Roger’s.
When Federer’s practice was over, he went next door to sit and chat with Justine (you do recognize the upper back portion of his head, don’t you?) Here’s how I imagine that went:
“How does it feel to be so awesome?” Roger asked.
“I was going to ask you the same thing.” Justine replied, with a hint of a smile on her lips.
Please, someone caption this:
Yes, the practice courts continued to deliver on the second day of main draw action at Indian Wells – the first day of main draw action for the ATP. Novak Djokovic hit with Fernando Verdasco in the afternoon and followed it up with some time in the gym with coach Todd Martin (I saw Todd holding down Nole’s ankles while he did sit ups, giving me flashbacks to sixth grade gym class.) Janko Tipsarevic hit with Tommy Robredo, Gilles Simon with Ivo Karlovic, Marin Cilic with Robin Soderling, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga hit with doubles partner Julien Benneteau, Gael Monfils showed us his amazing silvery eyes, Maria Sharapova made an appearance (sans boyfriend Sasha), Ferrero and Ferrer proved that they just can’t get enough of each other and Marco Baghdatis, Gaston Gaudio (yeah, Gaudio!) and Juan Monaco played a good-looking game of pick-up futbol on the practice field. Be sure to check out our homepage for tons more photos from the day.
Here are those eyes I was talking about:
I haven’t yet seen Roddick, Blake or Fish, but heard that they’ve been spotted practicing at the tony La Quinta Resort. Why so shy, dudes?
In terms of real, live, actual matches, there are two results worth noting: Melanie Oudin lost to Roberta Vinci, Mardy Fish beat Michael Berrer to set up a second round clash with Novak Djokovic, and Carlos Moya took out American qualifier Tim Smyczek. Click here for more results.
Is it possible to have too much Roger Federer during one 6 hour period? Nah. Roger returned around 3:00 pm for his second hitting session of the day, this time with Serbian player Filip Krajinovic (identified by a nice guy from St. Louis who was sitting next to me.) Krajinovic beat Gaudio in the first round of qualifying, but then lost to American Tim Smyczek, who got beat by Mardy Fish in the first round of main draw action today. I’m assuming a practice session with Roger Federer is a pretty good consolation prize.
I also had a nice chat with big-time Fed Fanatic, Kathy, who will be sharing some really interesting tidbits on the now-famous “Genius At Work” banner with us this week. With some help inside help, Kathy arranged to present the second version of the banner to the Genius, himself, today – after it’s traveled from tournament to tournament picking up signatures from Federer fans around the world! We’ll be publishing her story soon, so keep an eye out.
Now some travel notes to my fellow Indian Wells attendees who will be showing up this weekend: The chicken pita sandwich at John’s (in the IW food court) is surprisingly tasty. The BBQ stand near the main stadium won’t kill you, either. Hang out by the West Gate entrance near the practice field to watch your fave players come in and out of the venue – some, like Sam Stosur, may stop for a photograph with you. Nearby the West Gate is the outdoor extension of the players’ lounge, where you can spy Rafa eating cookies or (more likely) coaches on smoke breaks. Stop by the Tennis Warehouse tent to see when the next autograph session will be. Be sure to pull out the “BNP Paribas Open” section of the Desert Sun newspaper which will likely be delivered to your hotel room door. Not only does it have interviews and news from the tournament, it also includes the draw and the day’s order of play. Oh, and even though I’m about 85% positive that I spotted Francesca Schiavone eating there, Babe’s BBQ restaurant near Palm Springs is pretty mediocre. Don’t be fooled by the outdoor fireplace and bronze pigs flanking the entrance. I have yet to find a divine, reasonably priced restaurant in the Palm Springs area (there are some good not-so-reasonable places.) Any suggestions?
Tags: Fernando Verdasco, Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic, rafael nadal, roger federer
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Mmmm… ok, never heard of this Filip Krajinovic guy, but I must say I like what I see. Is this so very wrong? Is he at least legal?
And I’m so happy Federer is wearing a normal t-shirt that has
1. NO RF monogram
2. NO “there’s no finish line” or similar.
Also, no RF cap, also. Yipieee! I’ll even tolerate the black socks… since the shoes are black, too. But I don’t like lighter outfits with black shoes and socks, i must say.
Spies at work. Wow, you are like TMZ of the world of tennis. But anyway, thanks for the sneak peaks although make sure you let the players have some breathing space too, lol!
I don’t know if it’s reasonably priced, but Native Foods is awesome (if you don’t mind not eating meat). I’m vegetarian and my sister is vegan and i felt sorry for her last year because she was kind of living on a diet of those overpriced frozen margaritas. So we got some real food there and are definitely going to go back next week. So excited for tennis mania!!!
I typed in my comments but the stupid captcha thing errored out on submitting the form, losing my write up. Please do something about it… either the form should save the post or captcha should verify before I submit.
Hey Nikdom, i looked in the comments. No sign of your comment anywhere. Arghh!
Yeah, that does tend to happen when the CAPTCHA Code thingy is activated. That’s why it’s always a good idea to highlight your text> right click> and ‘Copy’, BEFORE you hit the ‘Submit Comment’ button. That way if something goes wrong you can just right click and ‘Paste’ before trying again.
You can also try refreshing the CAPTCHA ma-mathingy before submitting your post.
I feel for you, though, it’s happened to me a couple of times too.
Djoko: Do you think, Fernando, that I now look like Rafa?
Verdasco: Look, Djoko, you may be number 2 right now, but you’ll never be like Rafa, and stop doing that big butt impersonation, I don’t think is funny…
Nole: Check it out!
Nando: Careful, Nole. That same behavior got Tiger Woods in a lot of trouble.
Nole: Dude, look here, I’m Rafa!
FeVer: Dude, look over there, you’re a fool whose butt is going to show up at Gototennis tomorrow!
LOL it looks like a lot of fun at Indian Wells, wish I was there!
As for Nole and Nando together… i just have to say: some serious hotness here! Probably the two most sexy players on tour right now…
Gael, wow….what a great picture!
Nole: Look, man, no seams!
Nando: I’ve _tried_. Murray and Rafa are hopeless.
[Awesome writeup - thanks for all the details. And if Franny flames out next round, we'll know what to blame...]
Las Caseulas (original) on North Palm Canyon (not the South Palm Canyon location) – excellent food and decent prices. Its been around for 50 or so years.
Roger & Justine are working up the nerve to ask (canuck!) gold medal winning doubles legend Daniel Nestor for his autograph. Or so I choose to believe.
LOL, you guys are funny.
That is one of the best pictures I’ve ever seen of Gael. He looks very handsome.
My random thoughts:
It’s too bad Oudin lost. I am happy for Moya getting past the first round. I’m sad it was at the expense of an American. YAY! Pico! And I’m at a loss as to why Simon would want to hit with Dr.Ivo. It’s interesting that Black, Fish, and Roddick chose to practice off the grounds.
Now for my caption attempt:
Djoko: Hey Nando, guess what I’m having for dinner tonight?
Nando: You’re having chicken?
Djoko: Nope.
Nando: Quail? Duck? Pigeon?
Djoko: No. Come on. Look, I’ll make it a bit more obvious. *Djokovic proceeds to reset his position, shake out his limbs, jump up and down, before “making it more obvious” for Nando by standing in the exact same position again.*
Nando: Umm…It’s not french fries is it?
Djoko: No. I’m having exactly what I ate last night!
Nando: Which is?…
Djoko: I don’t remember. So I guess I’ll just have to wing it…
Nando: *sigh* Right. I’ll bring the Tabasco sauce.
OR
Djoko: Nando, I swear! This IS how you’re supposed to look when playing golf!
Nando: You’re trying to make me look like an idiot, aren’t you?
Djoko: NAH! I would never do that to you!
Maybe rog and justine are plotting in french to play 2012 mixed dbles. at wimby. c’est magnifique.
FF, that’s exciting news about kathy. i hope you were w/her and that fritters captured the moment…….
anyone seen mirka and the twins yet?
Oh that mixed doubles pairing would be awesome. The French will go crazy.
Lorrie — genuis!!!!
Genius — too excited by the thought of Roger and Justine together to spell!
LOL, you guys are funny.
That is one of the best pictures I’ve ever seen of Gael. He looks very handsome.
My random thoughts:
It’s too bad Oudin lost. I am happy for Moya getting past the first round. I’m sad it was at the expense of an American. YAY! Pico! And I’m at a loss as to why Simon would want to hit with Dr.Ivo. It’s interesting that Black, Fish, and Roddick chose to practice off the grounds.
Now for my caption attempt:
Djoko: Hey Nando, guess what I’m having for dinner tonight?
Nando: You’re having chicken?
Djoko: Nope.
Nando: Quail? Duck? Pigeon?
Djoko: No. Come on. Look, I’ll make it a bit more obvious. *Djokovic proceeds to reset his position, shake out his limbs, jump up and down, before “making it more obvious” for Nando by standing in the exact same position again.*
Nando: Umm….It’s not french fries is it?
Djoko: No. I’m having exactly what I ate last night!
Nando: Which is?…
Djoko: I don’t remember. So I guess I’ll just have to wing it…
Nando: *sigh* Right. I’ll bring the Tabasco sauce.
OR
Djoko: Nando, I swear! This IS how you’re supposed to look when playing golf!
Nando: You’re trying to make me look like an idiot, aren’t you?
Djoko: NAH! I would never do that to you!
Thanks again for the pics Also to Zahed for the fantastic pics of Fed and Rafa on his facebook so cooooooolllll!!!
Great pictures! Filip is a talented junior from my country so I know little more about him. He does look very good, admires Federer, trains at Bollitieri’a accademy and is considered a great future player. I wish him all the best in his career. Federer is his idol not Nole strange but true
Lovely photos,I really enjoy looking at the photos especially the guy who enjoyed posing his buttocks..Hahah,very cute.I like Federer a lot and I wish him all the best!!I am a fan of him.