On Wednesday, August 13th, one of my dad's friends surprised us with four tickets for the tennis match that day. Since my dad had to work, one of my aunts, who was visiting, went with me, my brother and my mom. My mom got instructions on how to go to the tennis venue from her friend who had gone before. So this time, we took a taxi to the Olympic subway line. Once we got to the transfer point for the Olympic Green, we got out of the station and took a No. 2 Olympic bus that took us directly to the Olympic Green Tennis Venue (it was really crowded & squishy though). We then went through security and had our tickets checked. In all, it took us around one and a half hours to get there, compared to the three and a half hours last time. It was overcast and humid, but no rain!
Rafael Nadal was playing against Igor Andreev on Court 1 for the first match. He's my mom's & brother's favorite, so we went there first, even though it was not in Center Court. The tickets we had came with a grounds pass, which allowed us to watch any match on any of the courts. The match between Nadal and Andreev was amazing because it was free seating and our seats were only about 50 feet away from the court! I have never seen a big tennis match in person and it felt like we could almost reach out and touch the players. We had watched the entire Nadal vs. Federer match at Wimbledon on TV, but this was so totally more awesome than Wimbledon (pardon my grammar). Nadal's serve looked so much harder once you got close up (up to 197 km/hour). Plus, you could see the ball rotating really fast when he hit it. We could also see that the players were really sweaty with the heat and humidity. That must make it a lot harder to play well.
Rafael Nadal was playing against Igor Andreev on Court 1 for the first match. He's my mom's & brother's favorite, so we went there first, even though it was not in Center Court. The tickets we had came with a grounds pass, which allowed us to watch any match on any of the courts. The match between Nadal and Andreev was amazing because it was free seating and our seats were only about 50 feet away from the court! I have never seen a big tennis match in person and it felt like we could almost reach out and touch the players. We had watched the entire Nadal vs. Federer match at Wimbledon on TV, but this was so totally more awesome than Wimbledon (pardon my grammar). Nadal's serve looked so much harder once you got close up (up to 197 km/hour). Plus, you could see the ball rotating really fast when he hit it. We could also see that the players were really sweaty with the heat and humidity. That must make it a lot harder to play well.
After that match, we lined up to get some drinks and snacks. The
line was so long that we were worried we couldn't get into Center Court
for Roger Federer vs. Tomáš Berdych's match. So my mom stayed in line
to buy food and we went in to find our seats with my aunt. My dad and
I like Federer the best. I even wore my Swiss t-shirt to the match show
support for him. (We borrowed a big camera to take action pictures).
Federer is known for his backhand, which is one of the best. He also
has a more smooth and relaxed game vs. Nadal's rapid game with a lot of
spin and stuff.
It was awesome that we could see both Nadal and Federer play in person on the same day! Even my mom, who doesn't play tennis, said it was like a dream come true.
On Thursday, Aug. 14th, we had gotten three tickets for tennis. We checked the schedule for the matches on the Internet and figured out who to watch--Federer vs. Blake, then Venus Williams vs. Li Na (China) and then Nadal's match, with the possibility of watching the Bryan brothers play Hewitt and Guccione. Each tennis ticket allows you in for four matches of the day!
But the rain didn't cooperate. We still went
ahead in case it stopped raining, like last Sunday, as my dad really
wanted to see these famous players play! The transportation didn't
cooperate either - our taxi had to stop twice with engine trouble!
Finally, we got to the subway stop. By now, we had the route to the
tennis venue down pat.
We got there around 6:00 pm. It was still
raining. They told us that if they canceled we would get a refund, but
with such a tight schedule, they waited almost four hours and dried off
the courts--they first used big squeegees, then big air blowers, then
towels to dry off the surface of the court. The officials came out to
check that it wasn't slippery and the players could finally start to
play! We found out the next morning that the last match didn't end
until about 3 a.m.!
We were sad for Federer that he lost to
Blake 6-4, 7-6, but were glad that an American won! Then came the Li Na
vs. Venus Williams match. It involved a lot cheering when Venus double
faulted and screams of joy when Li Na won the first set. We left soon
after that as it was after 11 p.m. and my brother was falling asleep.
We hopped on the Olympic bus a few stops and got a taxi. It was after
midnight when we got home. I went straight to bed.
It was awesome that we could see both Nadal and Federer play in person on the same day! Even my mom, who doesn't play tennis, said it was like a dream come true.
On Thursday, Aug. 14th, we had gotten three tickets for tennis. We checked the schedule for the matches on the Internet and figured out who to watch--Federer vs. Blake, then Venus Williams vs. Li Na (China) and then Nadal's match, with the possibility of watching the Bryan brothers play Hewitt and Guccione. Each tennis ticket allows you in for four matches of the day!
But the rain didn't cooperate. We still went
ahead in case it stopped raining, like last Sunday, as my dad really
wanted to see these famous players play! The transportation didn't
cooperate either - our taxi had to stop twice with engine trouble!
Finally, we got to the subway stop. By now, we had the route to the
tennis venue down pat.We got there around 6:00 pm. It was still
raining. They told us that if they canceled we would get a refund, but
with such a tight schedule, they waited almost four hours and dried off
the courts--they first used big squeegees, then big air blowers, then
towels to dry off the surface of the court. The officials came out to
check that it wasn't slippery and the players could finally start to
play! We found out the next morning that the last match didn't end
until about 3 a.m.! We were sad for Federer that he lost to
Blake 6-4, 7-6, but were glad that an American won! Then came the Li Na
vs. Venus Williams match. It involved a lot cheering when Venus double
faulted and screams of joy when Li Na won the first set. We left soon
after that as it was after 11 p.m. and my brother was falling asleep.
We hopped on the Olympic bus a few stops and got a taxi. It was after
midnight when we got home. I went straight to bed.
Cool!! I beat it was awesome to be like 50 feet away from the court. I like tennis too. My favorite player is Roger Federer. I also like Nadal.
Cool my Uncle is a tennis player.