paris postcard: roland garros, the king on clay

nadal played his third round match against antonio veic on the day i was there. the seats i had brought me closer to the court than i'd ever been for a "real" nadal match. but after the first handful of games i realized that even from my very nice seats, my zoom and i were not going to get better photos than i could find online the next day, shots from the "pros." with their credentials they have a bit more freedom to roam--i was fighting gals with frizzy hair, guys with caps, taller people, who were all sneaking into the corners of the frame. i was missing shots--and the tennis.

still, i made some photos with intent--to try to catch nadal acknowledging the crowd, cleaning the baselines with his nikes, sliding, kicking up clay. but for most of the match, the camera was in my lap. i just watched the action, the playing out of every point.

i could appreciate his speed, his powerful and agile directional shifts. nadal's compact frame and his low-to-the-ground movement must give him the confidence to maintain balance on a surface that constantly pushes one off. tennis is a much more quiet, meditative game at roland garros (grunting aside)--no squeaky sneaks on the clay, just occasional long raspy slides. it was practically soothing. but the relative silence also has the effect of intensifying the tense moments, if you will. i liked the long points that showed both loft and the zip of his groundstrokes. it never seems effortless--how could it be? but it certainly is awesome.

it looks like it would be fun, too.

i like the ball boys in the photographer's pit

this one's my favorite, for the movement, the wrinkles in his shirt, and the clay kicking up.

***

steve wrote a really nice feature for his blog about manuela davies, a professional sports photographer, during week 2 of the open. if you're interested in tennis or sports photography, you'll appreciate the "day in the life" peek, but you might also be interested to know more about the challenges the pros have to navigate. it's a dreamy piece, but with a dose of reality.

AO 2011: fantasty tennis

i'm leaving my original typo in the title, because somehow it fits.

i just signed up for tennis.com's grand slam fantasy tennis event. i believe this makes me a superfan of tennis and tennis.com.

i've only enlisted in 2 fantasy sports enterprises before today--and both were related to football (soccer), a sport i know next to nothing about. i joined out of "fantasy sports curiosity" but mostly because one of my best friends and her husband were starting a league and the promise of weekly updates -- brit trash talk!--by rich was too fun to pass up. (he's so good, he was able to parlay it into a paying gig, blogging the world cup for men's health magazine.) i hovered around the basement of the our league's standings, though i eventually pushed myself to a more respectable 3rd or 4th from the bottom. but to be truthful, all the things that real football fans probably geek out about--assembling a "dream team," mulling over "contracts" and managing the injuries and substitutions, week to week--turned out to be way beyond my level of interest.

but this tennis game seems to require just the amount of attention i can commit to.

will my fandom translate into points? meh. i just want to see if they could make a fun fantasy version of a sport i already love. and i need one more tennis distraction during my work day.

here's part of my team:

nadal. jan 15, 2011. photo © mark baker/ap via tennis.com

djokovic on jan 12. photo © ben solomon via australianopen.org

verdasco, with his cool hair. on jan 13. photo © getty images via australian open.org

and don't think i picked them for anything but their potential winning ways.

otherwise i might have picked...

tommy

marcel granollers (l), tommy robredo (r) after winning the heineken open doubles tourney.

in nz. jan 15, 2011. photo © wayne drough (ap/nzpa)

i round out my team with:
murray, because he'll go just far enough (and i won't ever pick federer or soderling. for anything);
almagro and isner, not because i actually like them or their games, but because nadal seems to have trouble against them (like my barometer?)...
i wanted to pick baghdatis, but a groin injury heading into the fortnight is not promising.

so: troicki, who (despite a loss yesterday) has been riding a good, strong wave. also, he makes the most desperate faces:

jan 15 © ap photo/rob griffith

photo © ap/rob griffith

photo © ap photo/rick rycroft

and my wild wild card? nishikori. 'cause he's with BG now, and i just like that pairing.

***

so that is fantasy.

this is compulsory (real tennis world insight from señor tignor):

men's preview: "can anyone kill off that ambidextrous euro-beast called fedal?"

the women's draw: "this whole women’s draw prediction is one massive caveat"

and

the "rivalry"(rafa/fed presser): guess who said, “i for sure am feeling less favorite than him,” he said, “and not more favorite than djokovic, murray, soderling, these kind of players, no?”

read up. it's "game on" soon...

dc 2010: the doubles (mon dieu!)

FRANCE def SERBIA - 3-6 6-7(3) 6-4 7-5 6-4

arnaud clement, left and michael llodra...

photo: darko vojinovic/ap, via tennis.com

michael llodra (l) and arnaud clement.

photo: darko vojinovic/ap, via tennis.com

magnifique.

(how nervous is gilles simon now?)

who's that girl (photographer)?

there's one person in the world that can make me feel marginally okay about the fact that nadal lost to federer last sunday morning, and this (he?) in turn, allows me to look at photos from the tournament without pain.

admire them, even.

nov 26, 2010. kristy wigglesworth/ap

nov 26, 2010. kristy wigglesworth/ap

nov 27, 2010. kristy wigglesworth/ap

nov 28, 2010. kristy wigglesworth/ap

nice, no? i can feel what it was like to be behind the big fat lens for these.

as you'll notice from the credits, they were all taken by a woman, kristy wigglesworth of the associated press. or maybe her name is kirsty? not often enough do we see the work of women photographers in the sports pages.

naturally, i was intrigued. wanted to know where/if she studied photography, where she's worked, how long she's been at the AP. maybe even what camera and lenses she favors.

and i found this:

ms. kirsty/kristy getting choked by a british tv news reporter after she accidentally bopped her with her lens.

i haven't been involved in any fisticuffs since the 7th grade, when dina romeo wanted to duke it out behind the library after school. (how jersey is that.) actually, that never came off (she was a no-show), so i'd have to go back all the way to 5th grade...

jesus. i'd better toughen up.

***

and this is for my sister.

you like his colors, but what of the socks?

nov 24, 2010. alastair grant/ap.

"king" of the moment

nadal, photographed by alastair grant/ap, during his match against tomas berdych. the O2 arena, nov 26, 2010.

i woke up this morning, really excited, thinking about...tennis.

there was a fantastic semifinal match yesterday, between my maximum favorite player and andy murray. it might have been one of my favorites of the year, and quite possibly the best indoor tennis match i've seen since 1982 (when mats wilander went down to john mcenroe in the longest match in davis cup history, a 6 hour - 22 minute grind that scarred my heart for years).

nadal defeated murray in three sets.

you know me--i couldn't rattle off the score, or remember significant points without looking at notes or a news report. but i won't forget the faces, the expressions of either player. tennis players are not an undemonstrative bunch--in between the vamoses and the come ons, they'll grimace or frown, raise an eyebrow (in the case of nadal). or he may look like he's about to choke the life out of his... racquet (murray). and then sometimes they say nothing--nerves, fear, doubt, exhaustion can be read in their eyes for a half-second between points, when they catch the eye of someone on their team. and then they shake it off. and hit a winner. not sure if there are any still photos to evidence this (probably because photographers are tethered to the sidelines). but believe me, the match was full of those moments from both players. it was exquisite, fun tennis.

i also thought of one pose after he earned the win--a few photographers got this shot.

nadal has a couple of victory moves in his repertoire (usually he's dropping down, flat on his back). i wondered after this one, how he'd celebrate. but his simple victory smile was entirely appropriate for the tone of the match and respectful of his relationship to murray and murray's home crowd. it's one of the things i like most about him--his sense of place, his sense of a moment. he seems more often than not to understand things wider than himself, even when the moment is "his." it was true when he was younger (i'm recalling his matches against agassi during the andre summer farewell tour) and as he was establishing his dominance over federer (at the australian open a couple of years ago). a few suggested he seemed almost too good?

i wonder if that will change, if someday he will change with more titles, more money, more adulation. who could blame him, i guess, if it all went to his head? i suspect it will not, but there is no way to know.

so for now, enjoy...

nadal d. murray 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (6). london, uk. nov, 27, 2010.

photo: kirsty wigglesworth/AP

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.

wrapping the cup

so i moaned a little about football and the WC, but i still watched (as i said i would).

i'm still not fully sold on the sport, but i had a little heart surge a few times during spain's games whenever there was a little action over by the nets (though i think it only happened once yesterday). i'm glad i got to see the one spanish footballer i've cheered for over the years, iker casillas, win the big one.

in any case, i'm going to miss it a little. i enjoy big day-games. sometimes having mike tirico, chris fowler, and (my favorite) ruud gullit in the studio was enough. late last week in particular, it all felt like a welcome break from the lameness coming out of the nba.

***

a few parting shots from the "big picture" WC photo gallery:

reuters/marcos brindicci)

ap photo/felipe dana

reuters/dylan martinez

reuters/andrea comas

***

this one's my personal favorite. nadal and casillas, via nadal's website.

yes, i visit his website.

(i love that he's a superfan, face all painted--and then smeared, his football scarf wrapped around his head.)

he might need to keep that look for next year's davis cup.

french open 2010: winning shots

francesca schiavone, 2010 french open champion, ladies' singles. june 5, 2010.

AP photo/michel euler via tennis.com

miss schiavone gave one of the sweetest, most moving victory speeches i can recall.

(i'd never seen her play an entire match before--and i wasn't really rooting for her over stosur. i just wanted the tennis to be really competitive, which seems kind of a big ask of a ladies' slam final in recent years? but she was amazing to watch--how does her shoulder stay in its socket with that backhand of hers?) during her speech, when she thanked "everybody, really" and sent her love to her "mommy and daddy," and her post-match interview, she had me crying fat, happy tears of joy. i'm not finding the speech on youtube and there seem to be no easy links on the roland garros site, but here's the AP write up that includes quotes that give you a sense of her wonderful perspective...

and what can i say about these, except...hooray!

my favorite shot...after the 6-4, 6-2 6-4 victory...

AP photo/michel euler via tennis.com

2010 french open champion, mens's singles.

AP photo/lionel cironneau via yahoo!sports gallery

surrounded! (rafa with the rg tournament staff) photo ©fft via rolandgarros.com

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.

love...

THIS:

photo of rafael nadal at the 2010 italian open, by andrew medichini/AP via nytimes.com photo replay, may 2, 2010.

nadal defeated his countryman, david ferrer, after two rain delays, two sets, 7-5, 6-2.

THIS: maximum favorite writer reconsiders rafa (a "clay-court special-ist" after all)...

and THIS:

at the italian open, may 2, 2010. photo by pier paolo cito/AP via tennis.com

inspiration: the tilt-shift

handsome writer friend is particularly gifted at creating intimacy through his writing. i could be having "a day," be in "a mood", or stuck somewhere (like port atrocity) with chaos swirling all around me, and within a minute or two of reading his work, i am quieted and the rest of the world just falls away...i tried to describe it to him once-- "it's like in west side story, when maria and tony meet at the dance...."



i know--it's a cornball comparison. i kinda can't believe i said it--and that he's still talking to me. but i think he understood what i meant, or at least, that i meant it most earnestly as a compliment.

but i've been thinking about it a lot lately--and it's been cracking me up--because a few friends of mine have become enamored of "tilt shift photography," a technique that alters the depth of field and perspective to interesting effect, including the rendering of "minis" like this...

mini eiffel, via smashing magazine and flickr

neat? but best if used judiciously...

but i really like its application to sports photography, which vincent laforet has mastered (and this is where it sort of reminds me of tony and maria at the dance). it creates a specific focus for the viewer--as he explains it, in a typical sports photograph, there can be a lot going on...on-field action, crowd reaction, all of which can make for a compelling photo. but this tilt-shift allows him to direct the attention toward what he wants to emphasize. again, maybe not something you want to see all the time, but still fun and dramatic.

i like the blur and the clouds of light...

i love that he found the guy in blue in the foreground

what do you think?

more minis via smashing magazine here.
and more vincent laforet...