On a day when the defending champion and the No. 1 seed are playing, a wild-card entry was the center of attention. Obviously this was no ordinary no-name wild card. This was Nicolas Mahut.
If the name rings a bell, it should. Mahut was involved in the longest match in tennis history last month in the first round at Wimbledon. He lost to John Isner 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68, and not surprisingly, Mahut still hears a lot about that match.
He doesn't mind talking about it, especially after his next singles match. It wasn't historic by any means, but it was a win, as Mahut beat Alejandro Falla 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the first round at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Tuesday in Newport.
Mahut said that the support of the fans here helped push him through a match that, in his eyes, wasn't his best.
"It's because of you that I won today," Mahut told the fans after the match. "I was not feeling very good today, but because of all your support, I won."
In the first match of the day on center court, a svelte Mardy Fish made quick work of fellow American Michael Russell, 6-1, 6-2. Fish, who lost more than 30 pounds since he last graced the grass courts at the Hall of Fame, won in 51 minutes. And while he said his newfound fitness allows him to play better longer, he was in no way disappointed that his match finished so quickly.
"I would have rather had 50 minutes," he said. "I've been around too long to try to feel like I need match practice. I just take the wins."
Top seed Sam Querrey is on the court now, against Jesse Levine, and is up a break, serving at 3-2. Up next on center is 2009 champ Rajeev Ram.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Top seed Sam Querrey had little trouble with Jesse Levine, winning 6-3 6-3 on center court. Defending champion Rajeev Ram improved his Newport winning streak to six matches with a 6-3, 7-6(3) win over Ivan Navarro.
Querrey and Ram, who met in last year's championship match, could face each other in the semifinals this year, if they each win their next two matches.
Up next for Querrey is Jamaican Dustin Brown, while Ram will play qualifier Raven Klaasen of South Africa.
In Africa the vuvuzela din, sounding like the whine from a dense cloud of annoying mosquitos, is punctuated by scoring roars sometimes so rare one can hardly remember them at match's end. Men scramble around on an an expansive green rectangle ceaselessly, like so many cockroaches pursuing a morsel on a string. Zombie-commentators drone on and on. I yawn.
To the north in England, on a much smaller expanse of green, silence is kept, interrupted only by polite applause. Yellow balls catch white lines or miss them, and brief dashes of desperation end in disappointment or relief. Commentators mildly criticize or cloyingly admire. At the conclusion, fans cease nail-nibbling and burst into a hearty round of applause. I am unmoved.
At home, on green diamonds things are as they always are... slow, slow, slow - hey! a hit! - slow, slow, slow. Commentators recite statistics and provide perspective, sprinkling it all with bits of comedy. Occasionally it's fun. Maybe at the end of it I'm mildly pleased or mildly annoyed. Sigh.
These days are the driest time in the football desert. I lack the thirst-quenching adrenaline of football, and I suffer.
Post a Comment