tennis' year end issue: the pin up edition

it would be nice to work at an office where this cover would spark a lively little conversation about why it's a perfect shot (and it's not because nadal is sin camisa). i guarantee if i hang this up in my cube, no one will want to talk about his humble qualities. probably not even his second wimbledon, his first us open, or his new serve.

maybe, because i work with a lot of artistic folks, we could have a chat about clive brunskill's photography and the editors'/art director's wisdom in selecting that shot?

but more likely they will taunt me for his hotness and project all sorts of raunchy inclinations. and i can protest that i prefer his smile to all his other physical attributes, no one will believe it. that conversation can be amusing sometimes, but more often, it ends with me feeling weird about the whole thing.

i might still put it up. perhaps there are tennis fans lurking on my floor. or maybe i can convert a few....

***

the print issue arrived last week--i always let out an audible cheer as i pull it out from under the pile of "other" mail. i scanned the TOC and saw that maximum favorite writer had a couple of articles in the issue. (more cheering.) i waited until the weekend for the actual reading--last week was one of juggling (and sometimes struggling through) new projects. my head was just too full of other stuff for me to really savor the writing and the reading. it would have been like going to le bernandin with a head cold. a nice experience, but you'd miss the fullness of it.

the piece that i really, really love, "the old heave ho" was originally a blog post from this summer. i have never thrown my racquet (chris evert was my idol, so the most i ever did was slap my thigh a few times, purse my lips, and give a purposeful blink, followed by the far-off squint) and i wasn't a fan of pros (or "regulars") who had tantrums, but i've had a few off-court, off-the-handle moments. i think even non-tennis players could relate to this one.

and what would i think about a guy at local court or at a club (if i belonged to one) throwing his racquet? after reading this, i just might give him my best, most empathetic smile.

anyway..while "the old heave ho" reappears in the nov/dec, he's given it a fall/winter makeover.

which one is better? i won't tell.

read the original post here, and buy the mag (with the bonus cover-age).

then we can talk.

courtside perspective...

i cannot stop dreaming about what it would be like, to be at the stadium, to shoot these fantastic moments:

rainy roland garros. may 27, 2010. christophe ena/associated press. via ny times photo replay, may 27, 2010

a triumphant francesca schiavone, after her convincing qf victory over caroline wozniacki, 6-3, 6-2.

june 2, 2010. bertrand guay/afp/getty images via yahoo!sports.

now that's a look. jurgen melzer. after 4 hours and 17 minutes. (defeating djokovic 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-4)

june 2, 2010. patrick kovarik/afp/getty images, via yahoo!sports.

at the change. almagro v. nadal. june 2, 2010. photo: boris horvat/afp/getty images.

nadal...through the lens of one of my favorite photographers, julien finney/getty images. june 2, 2010.

via yahoo!sports

love...in the afternoon...that beautiful terre battue. photo by the estimable clive brunskill/getty images.

june 2, 2010. via yahoo!sports.

***
i've enjoyed the luxury of watching a lot of this year's french open "live" (moving from the bed to the couch to my portable desk at 6 or 7 or 8 am) and tape delayed and rebroadcast in the evening. i can't remember being so electrified by so many matches that didn't involve rafael nadal. during one match last week (you remember this one, the fognini/monfils thriller played to its unconclusion under the brlght light of the...jumbotron?)

photo by clive brunskill/getty. may 26, 2010 via yahoo!sports

i was so fascinated, i could barely move--and then i was so disgusted and mystified by the officials, i couldn't sit still. i've played tennis in this kind of darkness as a kid--the darker it got the more energy i had. so fun! you're begging, desperate for just enough light for just one more rally...and then another. but this match seemed excruciating, with officials saddling the players with the unnecessary and unfair burden of having to decide whether to play on or go. that there seemed to be so many bad feelings broke my heart a little. (more here.)

the matches this week have been just as intense--from my end, there's been a lot more jumping and clapping and full-hearted, full-throated cheering. thankfully it's had more to do with honoring the quality of the tennis and the gutsiness of the players than any frustration over lack of leadership by tournament officials and other ancillary drama. (ok, maybe some ancillary drama. it's hard to ignore.)

but even when i've seen something with my own eyes, i value the perspective of others. like the other day, i went into the federer/soderling match trying to decide who i liked less. it was tough. i was rooting basically, from point to point, for whoever might eventually be more vulnerable to nadal. but the shot-making was so scary good--for me, it eventually transcended any rooting (for or) against one or the other player.

i don't think i missed a single point of that match--but i still wanted to read something thoughtful about it, not merely a re-cap. it wasn't easy to find...

here it is, from, who else? steve tignor: streak players.

i'm starting to feel sad that tournament is winding down--i hope that the quality of the matches will be as riveting?

but i'm heartened, knowing that the courtside perspective will be good and vital, as ever.