Canada Open 2001
by Phyllis
Jul/29/2001
I was able to see Pat and LLeyton practice for about 1.5 hours today. Many people came out to watch the practice - the atmosphere was almost like a match. I must say (and this may be an occupational hazard on my part - I'm a psychologist) that Pat did not seem very happy. I don't think he smiled once, and he did not seem particularly happy with his game. Darren Cahill seemed to be giving him some pointers. He graciously signed some autographs afterwards - but there were too many people to get really close. You can certainly see the downside of his popularity. I will post more soon.
Jul/30/2001
It was another beautiful sunny day, and the tournament site was packed, since it was family day. Pat played an exhibition (one set) with Jonas Bjorkman. It was quite light-hearted, with some acrobatics from both players. Pat won in the tie break. If he practiced today, I didn't get a chance to see it. Apparently the order of play will not be available to 11 o'clock this evening. There was a ball hockey game between some professional hockey players, and a lot of Swedish and Czech players. Jonas Bjorkman was a very keen player, as were Thomas Johansson and Thomas Enqvist. The tennis players actually won! It was very entertaining. I am assuming Pat will play tomorrow, since some of the other top players are still making their way here from other tournaments.
Jul/31/2001
I did not get the impression that pat was enjoying himself. At times he did not seem to be mentally present. He was clearer the vastly superior player - had many break point opportunities, and somehow could not seem to muster the energy to do so. In the post-match oncourt interview, he was asked if he was out of breath at times. He said that physically he was fine; he was having trouble mustering up sufficient intensity. That was certainly the impression I had, but I was not sitting close enough to see his facial expressions. The crowd was very much behind him, really willing him to win. Very different atmosphere in the Hewitt-Larose match. Larose was such an underdog, that the home town crowd really tried to support him. And he rose to the occasion, at least for the second set.
Aug/1/2001
Pat and Lleyton lost their doubles match today to the Bryan twins. They definitely looked like they were having fun. Please forgive me for psychologizing - as I said, it is an occupational hazard. Pat's serve looked very good, but neither he nor Lleyton returned particularly well. Pat's match is at one o'clock (EDT) tomorrow, and Lleyton is the first evening match.
Aug/3/2001
Pat was very happy with his play tonight. In his on-court interview he said that he could not find any flaws in his game tonight. He seemed relaxed but focused. He plays Ferrero tomorrow night.