quelle drag

monfils is no more at roland garros this year. he lost to fed in 3 sets: 7-6, 6-2, 6-4. june 3, 2009. photo via rolandgarros.com.

i don't love the outcome, but the photo is something else...

monfils le magnifique: monday night rewind

monfils at roland garros. june 1, 2009. via rolandgarros.com.

after the big win over roddick. june 1, 2009. photo by jacques demarthon/afp/getty images). via yahoo sports.

i missed this match, sadly, as well as most of the replay. i was actually hoping for a rain delay, so they might show it once again...on second thought, they may have instead shown the "upset of the century." i didn't see one minute of that nadal match, and i'd like to keep it that way. anyway, i will be listening to today's action on roland garros radio in the am, and then working from home in the afternoon, so i'll get a lot more tennis viewing in today than i have in recent days...and whether i see it live or a recording, i'll definitely look forward to monfils v. federer.

guess who i'll be rooting loudly for?

monfils le magnifique

on the list of "dream assignments" or things i'd like to do before i die: to spend some weeks photographing atp tennis players--specifically nadal and monfils--during the european clay court season.

however mercurial or frustrating his game and attitude can be to someone who roots for him, monfils is soaring inspiration for a photographer. the clay brings out the best in him and it shows in the shots...all the "flights of fancy" and falling to earth:

this was the point of the match, if not the tournament. it went something like: backhand-pirouette-belly flop-backhand-recover-rush the net-forehand volley-forehand volley winner. monfils secured the break... even melzer gave him a high-five. tho if memory serves...monfils lost the set?
may 30, 2009. photo via rolandgarros.com

monfils won in 4: 6-2, 4-6,6-4,6-1. photo via rolandgarros.com

i love this one, also taken during the melzer match, by award-winning getty photographer, ryan pierse. may 30, 2009.

more of pierse's award-winning photos here.

in the pink: round 3

nadal..in a speedy thrid round win over lleyton hewitt (6-1, 6-3, 6-1). may 29, 2009. via rolandgarros.com

i wish the fédération française de tennis had given the photographer credit for this one. it's one of the best photos i've seen all week.

though i like this one, too:

monfils reached the third round with a straight set win over victor crivoi, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. may 28, 2009. via rolandgarros.com

in the pink: round 1

nadal at roland garros. may 25, 2009. photo by jacques demarthon/afp/getty images.

nadal photographed during his first round match against marcos daniel of brazil. nadal won, 7-5 6-4 6-3. may 25, 2009.
photo: jacques demarthon/afp/getty images.

it took me a few minutes to adjust to nadal's look for the french: all that mardi gras color is a lot to take in at 7am on the monday of a long weekend. but the more i see it, the more i like it. it's bold against the burnt orange terre battue, and it photographs beautifully.

and it is actually very "paree"--think fauchon...

nadal's pink nike shirt will be the talk of the town for this fortnight, and it will be noted in virtually every feature article written at the tournament's conclusion, and again at year's end. fashion faux pas or not, nadal's sartorial decisions--cuts and color combinations that most players wouldn't attempt (or couldn't pull off), the precise fit of his garments and how he puts them all together--mirror his style of play and his approach to the game: audacious, studied, and unlike anyone else on the tour.