LadyTigress' Wimbly Blog

[LadyTigress]

:) I posted this on Andy's site, but I decided to post here too! I went to Wimbly on the middle Saturday (didn't do much and had seats right at the back, so I didn't do a blog for it) and I went on Wednesday on the second week! Here is the blog from Wednesday:

Woke up today after having had no sleep the night before - partly due to the heat, partly due to nerves for tomorrow's big quarterfinal. I don't know why nerves, I mean I didn't have to get out there and play a possible epic five-setter in front of a packed stadium. All in all I got a fragmentary and troubled sleep from about 2am to 7:30am. Then I had to get up (yes, that early) because I wanted to get the good seats - being at the back on Centre Court is all fine for your first ever Wimby experience, you're too excited to be disappointed, but this time I wanted the good stuff, and I wanted photos where the players were bigger than ant sized! Got on the train at about 9am... accursed trains had delays again, so instead of arriving when the gates opened at 10:30am, I arrived at 10:45am and hot-footed it over to online ticket collection, hoping that not to many other online ticket holders had been there before me and thus I would still get a good seat from what was available (your ticket is assured when you buy online the way I did, but how good the seat is depends on if you arrive first). I was delighted to find my ticket stamped with "Entrance E, Row G, seat 87". That's right in the front tier, about six rows from the very front seats, on the side of the court where the umpire sits, but not in the middle, off to the side a bit. Still a FANTASTIC seat.

Having arrived insanely early, having nothing to do, and having been upset on Saturday when I never managed to find any players, I started off on a Player Hunt. I hit the autograph box first, hoping to find a line up for the day of my fave players, but no such luck - there were no autographs at the autograph stand today. I'm guessing because it was quarterfinals and all the players were really busy... I expect in the early rounds the autograph box actually has some players to it.

Anyways, being in the know, I then decided to hit the Aorangi practice courts, where all the players hang out to hit a few balls before a match or the day before a match. This turned out to be the best decision of my day - NAY, my life! I saw STACKS of tennis players... of course, many minor players who I didn't know, but a healthy glut of famous ones too! Pat Cash arrived shortly after I showed up, of course he's way before my time but I knew who this was and took some photos. (NB: I ended up with over 200 photos by the end of the day, but obviously have only provided the best pics here)

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/PatCash.jpg

[LadyTigress]

Then it was quite a while before anyone else showed up, and TV cameras began amassing, so I deduced that soon, Andy Murray would be along. Andy actually WASN'T the next player who showed up - that was unexpectedly; RAFA himself. Someone next to me asked him to sign an autograph, and he said he couldn't right now because he wanted to go practise (understandable, I know that the players have to book slots on the Aorangi practice courts and if they don't show up, they forfeit their spot), but Rafa PROMISED he'd be back once he was done and would sign ALL the autographs (my first real life confirmation that he really is as sweet off court as he appears on TV). I managed to snap Rafa a couple of times before he made tracks to his practice session, and I could see him practise for his whole hour from where I was, although he was too far away for photos to be anything than of him looking ant-sized, so I didn't bother. I kept an eye on Rafa so I'd know when he made a move back towards us as promised, and settled in to wait for more tennis players.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/RafaArrives1.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/RafaArrives2.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/RafaArrives3.jpg

[LadyTigress]

The TV cameras by now had rushed off at top speed - apparently Andy didn't want the hassle of facing fans and cameras on his way to his own practice sessions and had sneakily taken the back entrance in. In the mean time I kept my eyes open. Elena Dementieva showed up - but no one else recognised her, to my surprise. Because no one recognised her and stopped her, I actually wasn't fast enough to whip out my camera or autograph book before she swept by us and disappeared down the underground staircase. Jamie Murray appeared next, unexpectedly from the same underground staircase, getting on the drop on me before I could pull autograph book or camera - once again no one recognised him so he was gone before I really had a chance - first three seconds when he was coming towards me I was thinking "Unnnnh... hang on - that's Jamie Murray!!!" then the next three seconds when he'd gone past me and left "Wait! Where's my stuff... DAMMIT! MISSED ANOTHER ONE!".

Rafa finished his practice session ten minutes early because it was starting to rain slightly. I watched him leave and a helpful proximity alarm call emitted by overexcited fans alerted me to his nearing presence. THIS time I was on the ball. I took a couple of quick photos as he approached, plus video footage. Then just as he neared me, the TV cameraman filming Rafa stood RIGHT IN FRONT of me, blocking me entirely. Never fear, faithful readers, I wasn't about to give up that easily. I launched myself over the barrier till my torso hung dangerously over the drop of the steep staircase and my feet waved in the air, pushed past the TV cameraman, and held out both arms. I was duly rewarded for my efforts. LadyTigress saves the day again. I got the best close up photo of Rafa, he also signed my autograph book, AND I finally was able to deliver to him the gift and good luck card that I've spent weeks thinking about and which I failed to deliver on Saturday. Rafa said "thank you" to me personally :heartsabove::heartbounce: (and I must admit my pulse fluttered despite the fact that it is always my policy to try hard to keep a level head when meeting famous types - they like you better if you don't scream at them)... then I watched as he signed the last couple of autographs and descended down the staircase, and I made dang sure he held on to that bag with the pressie and good luck card and didn't drop it or discard it.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/RafaSigns1.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/RafaSigns2.jpg

And my best photo of the day:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/RafaSigns3.jpg

[LadyTigress]

After this the crowds dissipated and the TV cameras left Aorangi. I stayed in hope, and was perfectly prepared to miss the first bit of Fed's match against Mario if it meant to could catch a few more of my fave players in person. Jamie Murray came out briefly but he was on his way to a doubles match and couldn't stop. Someone else turned up... sorry to admit I don't know who he was, I couldn't remember the name, although I did know that he was also a player that had been big in the 80s, and a couple of older fans hanging round asked him "where's John McEnroe". I decided to take photos as this was obviously a person of note, despite my failing to remember his name.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/UnnamedPlayer.jpg

At 1:30pm, half an hour after Centre Court play was due to begin, I was just considering leaving. Everyone else had left, there was just me and a couple of hardcore dedicated hopefuls hanging round. Staying, it turned out, was a wise choice. Completely unexpectedly, and with no fanfare whatsoever, Andy Murray appeared out of the Aorangi building. By this time I wasn't going to be surprised a third time, and expertly whipped out camera and autograph book (although in my haste I did not have time to turn the book to the next page after Rafa's signature, and instead had to just open it up somewhere in the middle). I got photos, video, and autograph. I said "good luck" to Andy, but he didn't reply even though he looked at me. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and conclude that his mind was simply focused on his upcoming match, rather than leaping to the conclusion that he was just grim and miserable as the media have so often attempted to portray him as.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/AndySigns1.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/AndySigns2.jpg

[LadyTigress]

It didn't look like anyone else was going to come around, and I'd already got the drop on things by staying well past the crowds and catching Andy. I knew that all my other fave players - Nole, JJ, Dinara, Marat, Fed, etc - were either not here because they'd gone out, or had first up matches today and would probably be in the locker rooms already. So I left, finally, at this point, and decided to check out my great Centre Court seat. :-D It was a good seat, real close up and much better for photos. As luck would have it, the start of the Fed-Mario match had been postponed due to the drizzle, which was just clearing up as I arrived, so I hadn't missed anything, and I didn't have to hang around for play to begin.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/FedOnCourt1.jpg

As you know, Fed vs. Mario was first up. I didn't actually know much about Mario, except that he was Croatian and was the last person to beat Fed here at Wimby. I didn't rate Mario's chances of doing it today. One thing about players is that they always seem to be so much taller than you expected, even though you know their height stats on paper. Mario was tall. He kept talking to himself I saw, psyching himself up, and when he played he looked like he was putting a huge amount of effort in. In contrast, Fed did not look like the match was truly exerting him or pushing his boundaries in any way. I may never have got Fed's Frankish (French-like) looks or appeal to some ladies, but I must admit I was wrong to underestimate him on court, and I definitely swallowed the words I said about him being all washed up now that Rafa and Nole are the next big things. He was pure class, there's no other word for it.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/FedOnCourt2.jpg

One set to Fed, and one game each in the second set, and then the rain started coming down again. It was a bit silly. I understand the reasons why the have to cover the court and stop play, but to describe what we were experiencing as "heavy rain" was twisting the truth too far on the part of the court officials. In reality it ranged from spitting to light drizzle, and I spent two hours repeatedly putting the umbrella up and down as the Wimby employees repeatedly uncovered and then covered the court again. It was at this point that I wished I'd packed my "555 Fully Conjugated Spanish Verbs" book which I had left out of the bag this morning on the flimsy reason that it would not fit and also be an extra weight to carry. Food and drink was sparse for the same reason of not wanting to carry a heavy load around all day (although I did have money to buy from the Wimby shop if I was desperate, but I didn't want to leave my seat). I sipped frugally on a very small bottle of orange juice, and nibbled a 4x KitKat bar I'd bought the day before, I thought it was thus appropriate food. At last, an hour after we'd been promised, play resumed, and Fed, as I expected, took it in straight sets.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/FedOnCourt3.jpg

[LadyTigress]

Then a brief break. My back and thighs ached by this time from having been forced to sit through two hours of rain (note: Wimby plastic seating - cramped and very uncomfortable), but there was no way I was going to leave. This was the match that everyone had come for, the Big One: Andy Murray versus Rafa Nadal. Centre Court was packed to the rafters, I saw maybe two seats unoccupied. People paid up to £2000 for one ticket to see this match, in the mad patriotic scrabble for tickets following Andy's out-of-this-world playing on Monday night. I of course had had the foresight to bag my ticket on Monday morning from the eminently cheap ticketmaster, fully expecting that it would ultimately come down to Andy vs. Rafa. I was lucky in the first match, Fed took his seat on my side of the court (I was at the front as I said, but to the side of the middle, so I could only photograph one player at a time when they were down my end otherwise they looked tiny. My luck held. Rafa plonked himself down my end of the court again. Of course, I got good photos of both of them whenever they changed ends. I saved the majority of my photos for this match and they came out good too. I was less than 25 metres away from either Andy or Rafa at any one time.

Rafa warming up:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF1.jpg

Andy's stats are shown:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF2.jpg

Andy prepares himself for a tough match:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF3.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF4.jpg

I accidentally forgot to turn my flash off on this one, and Rafa caught me red-handed... woops... sorry Rafa!:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF5.jpg

Andy takes a towel break:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF6.jpg

[LadyTigress]

Support was mainly on Murray's side - although I have observed many a Brit backing Rafa, this time it was a matter of national honour, so the crowd were staunch Murray, with a scattering of fresh-faced and far too young Rafa fans shouting "Rafa mi amour" and "I love you Rafa... marry me... pleeeeeease?" (ICK, I thought. :p and in any case it's "amor mio" not "mi amour" in Spanish, estupido) I myself was supporting both players, since they are both among my favourites - sense of patriotism with Andy, heart with Rafa. I shouted out "Come on Andy" a good few times - I considered "Vamos Rafa" but never did it - one, I didn't want to be lumped in with those crazed kiddies somewhere behind me, and two, judging by the support of everyone else around my seat, I did seriously worry that I would've lynched for being unpatriotic if I had. I decided to remain quiet and save the "Vamos Rafa"s for the final when the absence of a Brit would make it acceptable again.

The Murray serve:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF7.jpg

Rafa prepares to hit a powerful return:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF8.jpg

Andy contemplates his next move:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF9.jpg

The boys take a break:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF10.jpg

[LadyTigress]

Andy was playing good, but he wasn't playing stellar like he did on Monday, if he had been he would've had a much better chance during the match. Once again the tallness struck me even though I knew in my head Murray was 6"3 tall... just so much taller in person than I expected. Oddly enough, both Andy and Nole are taller than Rafa by two and one inches respectively (Rafa is just 6"1), but Rafa's always a bigger physical presence on court - :p for obvious reasons. I could see Andy getting frustrated with himself when he missed points, but also psyching himself up, and he was much more friendly on court than when I saw him earlier - after winning advantage in a deuce he turned specifically to my group of seats and looked at us asking for encouragement, which we duly provided, shouting "Come on, Andy" at him... that's pretty special when player and fans are connecting and feeding off each other like that, I was glad he picked our little section of seats there.

Rafa's power serve:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF11.jpg

And he wins the point:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF12.jpg

Andy about to return:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF13.jpg

Andy feeds off the crowd to win the Advantage after Deuce point and we get the Murray fist pump:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF14.jpg

Rafa in action:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF15.jpg

[LadyTigress]

I think Rafa blocked out most of the Andy support from the crowd - he knew in advance that the crowd's favour would be with Andy this time, not him, he looked like he just put his head down and got on with it. I don't think Rafa expected some of the mistakes Andy forced him into, he'll reassess the danger of Andy Murray after this match for sure, but there was never any question that he had the edge, and he just kept slowly grinding it out and closing Andy out of it until he shut down the match and won in straight sets. Not a surprise to me, really. I’ve been tipping Rafa to win this Wimby ever since last year’s final when he just lost to Fed – I think I saw something in the eyes then, perhaps Rafa’s hunger for this title, or perhaps the undeniable touch of destiny. Despite the crowd's support for Andy, the fact that Rafa still has a lot of support here once more shone through, once things were over, and the crowd finally gave in and produced a standing ovation for Rafa's win.

Rafa in a contemplative moment:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF16.jpg

Andy having a contemplative moment of his own:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF17.jpg

Not a good photo, but check the scoreboard - Andy serves to stay in the match:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF18.jpg

[LadyTigress]

Rafa can taste victory by now:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF19.jpg

Rafa serves for the match:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/CJayd/Wimby%202008/QF20.jpg

After that, I headed home. I'd meant to swing by the Wimby shop and pick up various souvenirs, but by this point it had been a long day, so I gave it a miss. I'm figuring I can always pop in next time when I go to the final on Sunday (or at least, I fully plan on getting in there with the tickets once again and heading towards that final!).

Hope you enjoyed my Wimby diary, it was a great day, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world (barring a marriage proposal from either Nole, Marat or Rafa LOL! :p :threesome:) with those two fantastic matches, a great seat, and meeting all those great tennis players (especially Andy and Rafa).

LadyTigress xxx

[LadyTigress]

Oh, incidentally, just because people wanted to know on Andy's forum - what was the special gift I got Rafa...:

What I got him, was a small Welsh dragon ornament, about five inches high, made from gold plate and crystal. I bought it three years ago at Cheddar Gorge for £25 and its done nothing but sit on my desk since. I'm smart enough to realise that money wasn't the issue - he's massively richer than me and would just think I was stupid if I spent loads of money or anything - for me it was about something thoughtful, something unique, something special (I tried looking everywhere for some kind of activity to do as he said in his Times blog he'd been bored in the evenings, but everything was in English, nothing in Spanish). So I gave him something I owned, something quintessentially British; a Welsh dragon from Cheddar Gorge, to remember Britain and his British support base by.

In the good luck card I apologised first in his language that my Spanish was so poor because I am still learning and I have to write the rest in English (really MUST make more effort with my Spanish lessons - "Lo siento Rafa, yo necisito hablar en Ingles. Mi Espanol ne es bueno, todavia estoy aprendiendo"), then I wished him good luck for Wimbledon, explained my choice of gift and why, gave him a bit of advice from my martial arts ("sweat more in training, bleed less in battle"), and um, asked him to remember us Brits. Oh and I told him he SHOULD go and take a boat ride up the Thames like he wanted to because it's a good experience and he'll enjoy it. I hope by Wimbly next year the good luck card will be written entirely in Spanish.