Master Series - Ericsson Open 2001
by Noor
Mar/20/2001
I left my house about 8:30 and as I was driving on the key biscayne bridge, it started to pour--and guess who's job it is to wipe the courts? Me! But once I got deeper into the key and onto the site around 9am, it was dry! Yay! No wiping the courts for me:) I'm a court monitor again this year, so I set up the courts and sit on court during the matches. I checked in and prepared some of the courts with supplies. First person I saw practicing was Hicham Arazi--everytime I see him I think of the '98 USOpen. First match on my court was Hopmans and a Venezuelan girl (I forgot her name). During the break I headed into the stadium and Rios was practicing. I was sitting in the front row of the box seats, but it felt weird taking pics of him, he didn't look too nice. So I left and headed back to my court for Jan Siemerink v. Stephane ? of France. That was a good match.
After my 5 hr shift was over, I saw Goran and took some pics. Also saw Richard Krajicek taking some pics with some ladies and then later practicing. Chang practicied in the stadium in the morning, then later on was in one of the outer courts practicing. I saw Magnus Norman--finally got an autograph--Yay!! He was really sweet. A woman asked me to take a pic of her with him, so I did and afterwards she asked me, 'Have you seen Patrick Rafter around?' Just what I was wondering!! She later told me she saw Jonas Bjorkman and he said Pat would be in tonight.
After Magnus left, Rusedski came in with Pat Cash--I took a pic or 2 even though I don't really care for him. Then everyone's favorite came in--Alex Corretja (Just kidding:P ) So I'm using my new digital camera to take all the pics and it takes the pic like a second after I want it to, so most of alex's pics are headless! Maybe it's a sign?I left around 4:30pm and was sunburned, cause I left the sunscreen at home thinking it would pour today. Later on my court (after my shift was over) was Spadea v. Tarango--maybe I should have stayed just to see the spectacle Tarango would've probably caused *lol* . So that's it for today, at least what I can remember from it. Tomorrow's mission--find Pat, Flip, Lleyton, Marat, and Guga! The babblers are arriving soon enough and we're gonna have a blast!!! Thanks to the IW Roo girls for the wonderful reports--I'm glad you all had a great time!
Mar/21/2001
Wow, wow, wow!!! What a day I had!! So I was dropped off there in the morning, hoping I'd have a good day. I went to sign in and got a good workout carrying all the balls and towels to my court for the day. First up was Els Callens--she lost, but played a good match. Then was Alicia Molik's match--go aussie!
On my break I decided to see who was on court. OMG!! It was Pat, Lleyton, Tony Roche, and Peter. I couldn't believe it. I wore another shirt over my uniform one so they wouldn't kick me out for taking pics (it's against the rules…). I only caught the last 20 minutes--he was there for an hour total. Loved hearing Pat talk with his mates, sounding so relaxed. He looked good, but a few times seemed frustrated with his serve, but everything will be fine by match time. At the end Pat signed my cap!!!! Yay!!! The only autograph I've ever really wanted. He made my day. Then I actually spoke to him--shocking since I'm super shy. I asked him if he was playing doubles with Lleyton, and he smiled that wonderful smile and said 'Ah, yeah with Lleyton, maybe.' So I guess that's a yes? Didn't get Lleyton's autograph cause he was signing at the same time as Pat. Wow Pat made my day, and it was only 11am. For the rest of the day I had a huge grin on my face. Pat was clean-shaven, wearing a gray tshirt, white cap, and navy short--looking really young. Warrior paint was on too.
Headed back to my court and didn't forget the sunscreen. I'm still recovering from the bad burn I got yesterday. Next break I head over to the other practice courts and saw a crowd with lots of media there. I looked and it was Marat!!! He was with Barbara Schett playing with kids for the special olympics. It was the cutest thing with Marat holding their hands while they were hitting the ball. I got some pics of him, don't like his really short hair though. So then right next to me walks by Jan-Michael Gambill!! Could it get any better?? He walked in and then played a few points with the kids. So I got Marat's and Jan-Michael's autographs!! Woohooo!!!! Headed back to my court--and stayed there till 1:50pm when my shift was over. I changed out of my uniform shirt and headed to stadium. I saw a mob of kids near the exit. Once it cleared, I asked who was there--they said PAT RAFTER!!! I missed him for the 2nd practice, but it was okay--I was still happy from the morning practice session. They said he was with Scott Humphries. Guess who was there before too? Flip!!!! I missed him!!! Oh no, but they did say he was looking gorgeous with no shirt (heehee-and I missed it!). Oh well, I'll find him next time. I then stayed in stadium and watched Capriati practice with her dad and some other guy--took some pics of her, she was really sweet and looks really fit. I didn't realize how hard she hits the ball. When she left, I got her autograph. So I left the stadium--Max Mirnyi was in there practicing. I saw Jonas Bjorkman walking, so my friend and I got his autograph. Then headed to grandstand to see Magnus Norman practicing with Roger Federer. Got Federer's autograph, but Magnus left the opposite way--doesn't matter cause I got his autograph yesterday. Headed back to stadium and there was Marat again!! He was wearing a back brace, I hope he'll be okay. He looked good in practice. I got some good shots of him and another autograph for my sister. Later came in Tim Henman and got his autograph after his practice. I was about to leave when who walks in, GUGA!!! Yay!! Watched him practice for an hour, but only got 2 pics cause the cd in my digital camera was full. And I got his autograph--woohoo!!! The place was full of kids for guga--they really look up to him it seems. One more thing, a friend of a friend is in transport and last night he drove Kim and Lleyton back to their hotel. So that was my day--pretty exciting, can't wait for more. I almost completed my mission from yesterday--only one I missed was Flip, but there is time for it! I'm looking at my 143 pics now and some are headless and some have nothing in them, but some are good. I even got one of pat's shoulder *lol*--that camera delay is annoying, Robyn. So I guess I'll post them to photopoint or something. I'll figure it out soon enough. Stay tuned…another report tomorrow with some babblers included since some are in town.
Mar/22/2001
Ok here goes…I signed in and chose to monitor 4 of the practice courts--pretty easy job. So as I was setting up, I almost ran into Tim Henman. Then I found Marat and Jan-Micheal practicing---about 30 minutes into my shift. Yay!! I took pics of JMG, but didn't get any of Marat and Tim. Next I called Diane and finally met up with her and Joelle :) --what wonderful ladies! We hung out a little bit, checked out Marat's practice. Escude was there too.
We were wondering what time Pat practiced, so I called up the practice courts number on the back of my id. The guy was really nice, and he asked who I was looking for--said Pat Rafter, and he asked who I was. Guess this isn't a really public number, but I said I was just a fan and that Peter had told Di and Jo between 10-2pm--so he told me where and what time! No need to search:)
I went back to work and came back for Pat's practice a little early and met Jo there and later Di.
Pat finally came--no one really recognized him till he got there. He was walking by himself on the way there. Peter, Tony Roche, and David Wheaton were there too. Some kids got on the court after Pat and he put some zinc oxide on them--it was really cute:) Pat practiced for an hour--I took about 40 pics!-not all came out though. I gotta learn when to stop…
Ok so I went back to my courts that I hadn't checked in about an hour. Saw a huge mob--it was Pete with Tommy Haas. I watched the practice till the end so I could get autographs. I was near the front but the mob of kids shoved me and I didn't get pete's. I asked Tommy for his (one of the five total people who did) and he only signed 2, mine not included:( Next up on that court was Lindsey Davenport--I got her autograph and she was really sweet. Right next to Lindsey's court was Guga with Magnus Norman--that was a great practice to watch. I took some pics of Guga. Since it was one of the courts that was assigned to me, I went on court and checked supplies and stuff--it's nice to be right up close to the action. Capriati practiced with Kim.
Afterwards I saw Pioline walking to his practice. Saw the last few games of the Goran doubles match--heard he broke a racquet and got a few penalties. Tarango was also on court practicing--my friend and I didn't want to work that court--heehee:) Next I went to Jonas' match, he won that easily. My sister and some of her friends joined me for the Todd Martin match--besides the fact that I was shivering, it was a great match. I was bummed when Todd lost:( I was cheering for him--it was pretty sad cause supposedly he's retiring this year, I wish he could have won. Both he and Max played a wonderful match--wish no one would've lost….Still no sign of Mark--I'll find him one day this week! ok, I think that's it for today, I was on the grounds for about 14 hours and I'm really tired. I hope I have enough energy for Pat/Lleyton tomorrow! Can't wait for that:) Will give you a report tomorrow…
Mar/24/2001
Joyce came with me in the morning and we met all the other wonderful babblers who had come in last night. Then I headed to my court which had the Siemerink/Gaudio match and the Patty Schynder match too. I made sure to get my break from 12-1pm cause the practice court place I called told me the time:) They stopped giving info now cause too many people were calling--wonder who that was…:)
So I headed for Pat's practice and ended up walking behind Pat to the court. Not many people recognize him surprisingly. I met up with the other babblers at the court and watched Pat--this was the first time seeing Pat for some of the babblers. He was in a really good mood--smiling a lot, etc. I had to leave the practice for about 15 minutes cause I was about to faint--it was so hot out there. I came back feeling a little better and stayed till the end of the practice. Pat signed a lot of autographs. I didn't ask for one cause I got one on Tuesday, but was just watching pat signing and people were pushing me. Then Pat asked me if I was getting crushed--Pat spoke to me! I said yeah with a big smile--it was worth it just to see Pat:) I know I'm crazy, but seeing Pat makes me happy. I got some really nice pics--he looked especially adorable today. Joelle got her pic with Pat since the one from earlier this week didn't come out.
After Pat's wonderful practice I headed back to court for the Patty Schnyder match--she lost. Then I was off. I met up with the babblers and saw some of the Henman/Santoro match. Some of us left that match after the end of the 2nd set, and saw Flip on one court and Guga on the one next to him. Cool!! I took some more pics of mark--wow is all I can say about him…I'm hopeless. Afterwards I headed back home.
Pat was on tv here--they put him in the guest services center to see if anyone would recognize him--some people did. I wish I had a question to ask--I would have ended up walking up to Pat! I missed it:( In the interview they discussed his sportsmanship and charity work--Pat is very humble.
So tomorrow I have a scholarship interview at 8:15am then I have to head over to the tennis center, but I wish I could be there early so I could work on the grandstand--I don't want to miss any of Pat's match. If I were so lucky to get to work grandstand--then I'd get to sit behind Pat--here's hoping I get lucky tomorrow. Then we have the wonderful CF day that Di prepared and also Pat and Lleyton's doubles match, but I should be off work for the doubles match…so that's it for today, stay tuned for an exciting Pat day tomorrow.
Mar/25/2001
Wow!! What a great day we had:) I had my scholarship interview in the morning and then headed to the ericsson. So I signed in and asked my nice co-chair if I could be on grandstand since he decided he'd assign people to courts today--and he put me there!! Yay:)
So I headed off to watch some practices, looked in the grandstand and Pat was there practicing. First thing I noticed was that he shaved his head again:( I had to leave early from the practice, but I sent joyce and karen his way and they got their t-shirts signed by Pat. Our CF day went very well, we sold lots of tatoos--all for a great cause--thanks Di for all your hard work!
Next we headed for Pat's singles match in the grandstand--we had the banners and roos and cheered Pat on! He was playing beautifully. My turn to go on the court was during the 2nd set till the end of the match. So as I walked on court during the changeover, the babblers started yelling my name and cheering me on--people probably were wondering who this Noor person was *lol*--too funny. The guy I was replacing said he didn't know I had a cheering section--neither did I! So I sat down behind pat on the court! I was on there for about the last 15-20minutes of the match and I was so excited to be sitting down there:) I was also on for the beginning of the next match which was Capriati.
All the babblers then ended up at pat/lleyton's match. The match was wonderful and amazing. We were having a blast with the roo, the banners, and the aussie flag. I don't know how to describe it, but it was so awesome. I'm so glad they won, hopefully I'll get to see them in their next match. We ended our tennis day with the agassi/dent match…no pat tomorrow, but hopefully we'll catch his practice.
Mar/26/2001
So I started off the day watching the Haas/kiefer doubles match since that was my court for the day. Later I took my seat on court. I got to sit next to Tommy! The match was really entertaining, but they lost in the third set. I had called the practice courts number and had asked for Pat's and Flip's practice times and they actually gave it to me:) So we headed for Flip's court and watched him practice.
Then I moved over to the court next door and we waited for Pat to come. His practice wasn't that long but I got an autograph for my sister. I complimented him on his two wins yesterday and asked him if he'd be playing both matches tomorrow. So he signed lots of stuff and then left--so we got our daily dose of Pat.
Next up on the same court was Guga. I watched his practice a little bit and then went to eat. Later on I watched the Ferrero match with Karen and Laura and then we all watched Lleyton's match in the stadium. The place was full of Lapentti fans, we were the few Lleyton fans it seemed. I didn't stay till the end so I could beat traffic, but Lleyton won quickly. Tomorrow pat plays twice--I'm probably gonna skip school in the afternoon and just go to class in the morning--it's good I have my priorities straight! And then I have the U2 concert at night which should be fun:) Some of the babblers left already, and some are leaving tomorrow--I had a wonderful time with them and miss them already! Stay tuned for tomorrow--2 pat matches, but I won't make the practice…
Mar/28/2001
Back from Pat's match! Wow, it's just wonderful to see Pat win convincingly:) I headed directly from school to the match with some friends and caught hingis' match and then pat's. Tomorrow i'll join the babblers again for the doubles and on thursday for Pat's quarterfinal match:) I'm so excited for pat!!! I think i'll just have to skip more school this week--i fell asleep in class today-that's how boring it is. All the wonderful MiamiBabblers--I miss you all!! GO WARRIOR PAT!!!
Mar/30/2001
So I was walking towards the stadium from the shuttle stop near the back courts and guess who turns the corner right in front of me??!! It was Pat!! He seemed pretty happy and was smiling. I was the only one there so I said 'Hey Pat!" And he said 'hey, how are you?' with that adorable smile:) So I watched him practice for 20 minutes with the 2 other people who stopped by to watch. As he was leaving, he left his raquet for Peter to take back and I wished him luck and he said thanks and smiled again:)
So I headed for the stadium and watched hingis-venus with Joyce. Then next up was Patty!! When they introduced him they were playing U2's 'walk on'. All the babblers sat together--di, joyce, olga, julia (olga's daughter) and me. we hung the Rafter Rules banner and had the 2 roos and aussie flag. Did we come out on ESPN?? I hope we did:) So after Pat's match we headed tocourt 1 only to be told about 20 minutes later that Pat/Lleyton pulled out with an 'injury'--it was probably so they could concentrate on doubles. So tomorrow's the semis with Pat!! I can't wait. I'm glad I was lucky enough to catch the doubles matches with Pat/lleyton--they were wonderful. That's it for today...Stay tuned for Pat's victory tomorrow!!!
Mar/31/2001
So I left school and headed to the Ericsson. Once I got there, the Capriati match had finished, so I bought my ticket for tomorrow:) It's in the upper level, but it's a ticket to see Pat, and that's all that matters:)
So I signed in and my nice co-chair told me i had nothing to do today but enjoy the matches! This is the same nice guy who put me to work (seated next to Pat!) on grandstand when Pat played there. So i was bored waiting for the matches to start. I found my friend Jessy, who's also a court monitor, and her mom in the fila store. So she's the biggest jan-michael fan--he and his mom know her well by now. I was cheering for Lleyton really loudly and she was cheering for jan-mike. Everytime she'd say Gambill, I'd say hewitt. when she'd say go jan-michael, i'd say go lleyton! So as you know, jmg won, but I like both of them so i was okay with it.
When we left and were outside, Diane Gambill came up to us and thanked us for cheering for jan-mike (guess she didn't figure out i was the loud one cheering for lleyton:) So i just smiled when she thanked us...The ushers were having a blast with us with the back and forth cheering between us. They were talking about Agassi-jmg final--i had to correct them and say jmg-RAFTER final. Same thing happened in the shuttle--no one is giving Pat a chance, hope i set them straight:) Pat will prove everyone wrong tomorrow. I'm so excited but sooo nervous for tomorrow...Tomorrow Pat makes it to the finals. All the best to Pat++++++++ GO WARRIOR PAT!! :)