janice lucena is nike's tennis design director. i didn't see her discuss nadal's blue checked shorts anywhere (but i also didn't google around for too long. i did find that his shorts are a fairly hot topic amongst super fans--but i guess this is nothing new? even ny mag got into the act last month).
anyway, ms. lucena is quoted in sarah thurmond's piece on tennis.com about color and design in tennis clothing. she also gave a couple of good lines about rafa's style to a new york times blogger during the us open.
***
this reminded me that i never posted any photos from my second trip to this year's US open. it's been one month, but it feels like 2 seasons ago, thanks to today's forty degree weather.
shall we reminisce about one of my favorite nights of the summer?
***
my first trip to the 2009 us open on labor day was so cheerful, so nearly perfect, i nearly convinced myself that i didn't need to go back.
but as the second week progressed, the matchups and the storylines were just so...beguiling. oudin, clijsters, pennetta, wozniacki still in...murray already out, and most meaningfully (to me): nadal was making a good show of it, despite his injury. by the time wednesday rolled around, i was getting ideas. nadal v. gonzalez on thursday night was a tempting ticket... it was pretty easy to talk myself out of the opportunity from a purely practical perspective (did i need to go all the way out there a second time? shouldn't i just save the money? or at least spend it on a class or a workshop? and: if i'm going to all the way out there, flying solo, shouldn't i just watch it from home). but really, the ride would seem long and lonely, and the ticket price would really only sting if in the end nadal lost. i didn't know if i could take being there for the losing.
and then i solicited and received some advice: if it doesn't rain, go see rafa. he was born to play at night.
SOLD!
within the hour, i hopped on the train. it wasn't possible to tell from the us open site at that late juncture in the afternoon if there were still tickets available. i figured, if i go, and there are some available and i can afford them, great. if not...then it wasn't meant to be...
by the time i arrived, the first set was well underway. but i wasn't the only one running late.
pretty good hops
i have many shots similar to this, his service motion well-documented.
can you tell how the wind is starting to pick up and swirl around?
i kept picturing nadal standing at the bow of a ship...bracing for wind from all sides...
nadal would lose a set point for the second set, on a let, after something blew onto the court. we were in for another tiebreaker (nadal won the first, 7-4).
and it started sprinkling again. full-throated boos rained down on gonzalez as he tested the lines, serving at 2-3, and they stopped play. and then the real rains came.
so i bought a hotdog. and then met up with a friend who was covering the match. he brought me some press notes and a big fat brownie. and then i went back to sit in the mist, with my magazine. i had a good feeling that play would resume.
the techs took their slow drive onto the court and there was wild rejoicing. people danced and lip synced for the television cameras.
i love this drying method. i've seen my mom clean floors like this. i am excited for her to see that this is how they do it at the slams, too.
after a short while, i noticed many people rushing toward the exits: we were officially allowed to move down, waaay down. i hotfooted it, not believing my luck. all the waiting was paying off. i was already picturing the kind of photos i would be taking from courtside...
and just as i was texting my friends ("4th row!"), i was getting incoming messages ("sorry, babe." "whoops. that sucks...") and after thinking, babe? when did my friends start saying babe? i realized they heard the news before i did: no more tennis for the night.
but let me just say that even with this resoundingly "bad" news, people were in good spirits. many lingered to take photos of each other courtside because like me, they couldn't believe just how close they came to being...so close.
i took this picture of the perfect stranger who had been posing courtside with his friend--it would be "the closest i got to rafa." my camera was drawn to the colors and stripes he was sporting.
i met them shortly afterwards (he is alexei, a filmmaker, and she is kiara, a singer). see what i mean about people being so happy?
anyway, ms. lucena is quoted in sarah thurmond's piece on tennis.com about color and design in tennis clothing. she also gave a couple of good lines about rafa's style to a new york times blogger during the us open.
***
this reminded me that i never posted any photos from my second trip to this year's US open. it's been one month, but it feels like 2 seasons ago, thanks to today's forty degree weather.
shall we reminisce about one of my favorite nights of the summer?
***
my first trip to the 2009 us open on labor day was so cheerful, so nearly perfect, i nearly convinced myself that i didn't need to go back.
but as the second week progressed, the matchups and the storylines were just so...beguiling. oudin, clijsters, pennetta, wozniacki still in...murray already out, and most meaningfully (to me): nadal was making a good show of it, despite his injury. by the time wednesday rolled around, i was getting ideas. nadal v. gonzalez on thursday night was a tempting ticket... it was pretty easy to talk myself out of the opportunity from a purely practical perspective (did i need to go all the way out there a second time? shouldn't i just save the money? or at least spend it on a class or a workshop? and: if i'm going to all the way out there, flying solo, shouldn't i just watch it from home). but really, the ride would seem long and lonely, and the ticket price would really only sting if in the end nadal lost. i didn't know if i could take being there for the losing.
and then i solicited and received some advice: if it doesn't rain, go see rafa. he was born to play at night.
SOLD!
within the hour, i hopped on the train. it wasn't possible to tell from the us open site at that late juncture in the afternoon if there were still tickets available. i figured, if i go, and there are some available and i can afford them, great. if not...then it wasn't meant to be...
by the time i arrived, the first set was well underway. but i wasn't the only one running late.
luckily, there were still tickets available. and the cost didn't break my bank (completely).
the seat i purchased was good--no squinting required. but i was sitting on the south side of the stadium. which meant, when he was on my side of the court, i would be looking through my zoom lens at nadal's back and backside. not an unattractive view, but very limiting in terms of composition. i was able to take a couple of decent ones, from the far side...
the seat i purchased was good--no squinting required. but i was sitting on the south side of the stadium. which meant, when he was on my side of the court, i would be looking through my zoom lens at nadal's back and backside. not an unattractive view, but very limiting in terms of composition. i was able to take a couple of decent ones, from the far side...
then came the mists that turned into sprinkles. it was enough to halt play.
the first time this happened, there was still a kind of hopeful buzz that play would resume...and it did.
the first time this happened, there was still a kind of hopeful buzz that play would resume...and it did.
nadal was pumped and primed to take the second set.
pretty good hops
i have many shots similar to this, his service motion well-documented. 
can you tell how the wind is starting to pick up and swirl around? 
i kept picturing nadal standing at the bow of a ship...bracing for wind from all sides...nadal would lose a set point for the second set, on a let, after something blew onto the court. we were in for another tiebreaker (nadal won the first, 7-4).
and it started sprinkling again. full-throated boos rained down on gonzalez as he tested the lines, serving at 2-3, and they stopped play. and then the real rains came.
so i bought a hotdog. and then met up with a friend who was covering the match. he brought me some press notes and a big fat brownie. and then i went back to sit in the mist, with my magazine. i had a good feeling that play would resume.
the techs took their slow drive onto the court and there was wild rejoicing. people danced and lip synced for the television cameras.
i love this drying method. i've seen my mom clean floors like this. i am excited for her to see that this is how they do it at the slams, too. after a short while, i noticed many people rushing toward the exits: we were officially allowed to move down, waaay down. i hotfooted it, not believing my luck. all the waiting was paying off. i was already picturing the kind of photos i would be taking from courtside...
and just as i was texting my friends ("4th row!"), i was getting incoming messages ("sorry, babe." "whoops. that sucks...") and after thinking, babe? when did my friends start saying babe? i realized they heard the news before i did: no more tennis for the night.
but let me just say that even with this resoundingly "bad" news, people were in good spirits. many lingered to take photos of each other courtside because like me, they couldn't believe just how close they came to being...so close.
i took this picture of the perfect stranger who had been posing courtside with his friend--it would be "the closest i got to rafa." my camera was drawn to the colors and stripes he was sporting.
i met them shortly afterwards (he is alexei, a filmmaker, and she is kiara, a singer). see what i mean about people being so happy? 
