The Dusseldorf experience from joes
by joes
Dusseldorf day 0 - May 20 (Pat-less, he 's still in Hamburg!)
Today the girls and Waling brought me to my campsite in Dusseldorf, which is very close to where PJfan is staying. The tournament has an "Open House" on the Saturday before, and it's free entrance for everyone then. So even tennis fans with no money at all have the chance to watch some players practise. In our case it was Thomas Enqvist, hitting with Kulti and Tillstrom. At that court I first saw some of the girls, Peggy, Anja and Martina. Waling and the kids went off home and I met Helga, Wendy, Ina, Andrea and another Pat fan, Ingrid. I went for dinner with them, and while they were shopping Helga showed me where the Internet possibilities were in that same shop. Could chat with Peta, Robyn, Henry, among others. Little did I know that that was to be my last Internet day!
Then we went looking for a place to have dinner, very very busy everywhere because of a fair that is held every four years, so thousands of people more than normally live there wanted to be fed in Dusseldorf this week. The ride back to the campsite was pretty awkward, I had no light on my bike, and the last bit, the crossing of the Rhine over this loooong bridge, with the cycle-track just at the outer side of it, with all that pitchdark water under me.....eeek! I arrived "home" at eleven o'clock - bedtime! No light in the tent either. Stupid me.
Dusseldorf day 1 - May 21 (Pat-less, again! Grrrr!)
Today it really starts. Because part of the Aussie squad is still in Hamburg, the organization swapped the playing days of the blue and the red group, so today it was the red group playing: Enqvist - Haas on CC1, Kucera - Spadea on CC2 - that's where I had tickets for. Because of the way the tournament is organized you have no way of knowing for sure where your player is going to play, so the thing is to get standing place tickets for CC2 to get in and watch practises, and hope for not too many must-see matches on the (more expensive) CC1. Around two o'clock the Aussies were scheduled to practise on court 10 (the only standing place for the public to watch practises is between the courts 10 and 11, so to watch practise on 12, you are one court width (sp?) away, 13 and 14 are very far) No Aussie in sight though. Rain break - the first. Many more to follow! So we went to our place under the big umbrella and waited for the rain to stop. It did, after hours. Then PJfan spotted Tony and ran to him to find out what was happening (I'll leave the conversation to her to tell you) and Pat and Lleyton were supposed to hit out on court 10 shortly. So back to practise court 10, we hung our bags there and waited. But... what's that? Jared Palmer and Alex O'Brien came up and went to practise on OUR court! Duh!!! They passed us, Jared said : "Ladies and gentlemen: Alex O'Brien!" I bet they get applauded in the States but at that moment, all we cared about was that "our" court was taken. A short nod was all they got. Sorry.... And we hung our bags on the sides of court 11. A security guard remarked, tongue in cheek: "A bit demonstrative, is it not? Aaaaah, women can be so cruel...." No Pat, no Lleyton. Back home then. I asked PJfan (who gave me a lift each day in her car, to and from the tennis - BIG THANKS!)to have a drink with me at the bar in the campsite, she said "OK", and while we were there (in a chair, at a table, with light) I thought of the banner I had in the making, I had the letters cut out in the morning, all it needed were a few big stitches to keep the letters in place. So to work I got with my needle and thread, and a woman at a table next to us said: "You should do that with a sewing machine!" Yeah, the thought had occurred to me, but how to sew in a 1 meter high tent with no current? "But I've got one, hang on, I'll bring it here!" And there she was back, with her machine, and PJfan and I had our banner ready in less than an hour and a half!
Dusseldorf day 2 - May 22, PAT-day, finally!!!
This morning the Aussies were scheduled to play on court 10, so that's where we were headed for as soon as they let us in, which was at 11 am, we had been waiting there since 9.15. The joys of going to tennis tournaments! Anyway, we got there and who was already practising there? Marcelo Ríos e.a. Duh!!! Really mean. Well, there came Tony Roche, he went on the court, opened his ball tins, his manner told everyone (but the Chileans) "here we are, we're scheduled here, please, you can go now." The Chilean coach then came up to him and they talked and Tony went off to.... court 13!!! There were Spaniards on 11, Swedes on 12, so imagine. A bit later came Peter Rafter, then we saw Lleyton approach the gate where we stood. He was looking downward, his face hidden under his hat, but hey, there was no fooling us! The other people were fooled though so he had trouble getting through the crowd. I gently pushed aside two fur-coated elderly ladies (as long as you say: "Bitte, bitte", they don't mind --- I hope!) and stood aside myself, so he could pass. He nodded to me, acknowledging my efforts. Off he went to that far-off court, where Fromberg had appeared too now. At one time we saw Peter gesturing to someone, "come over here!" and it turned out to be Pat, he walked around to the other entrance, not along where we stood. Well, we were already happy to see him so didn't mind too much. (Did we?)He started his practise by catching balls the others hit at him, and throwing them back. They had fun. We had fun. He was there!!! Later on he took a racket and practised with that too. However far away it was, I just had to try out the new 300 mm lense, we'll see how the pics turn out. We then slowly walked to our seats at CC2 where the first match between Australia and Spain would take place. In the meantime the commentator told us that Fromberg was not fit to play, in his place would play, for Australia: Patrick Rafter! YAY!!!! The camera was screaming with joy, as we had our seats at the front row, just behind the players. But what was that Spanish flag doing there? Yikes, the wrong flag was in front of us, and the people that look after the courts wouldn't change them. We asked them ever so nicely.... Anyway, Lleyton played well, Costa asked for treatment at 4-1 and retired two rallies later. So we had our first win, but it was a pity the match stopped so suddenly. The second match began. The first two games Pat played really well, he stood there, power was oozing from him, you could feel that. But then it slowly trickled away from him, he played more and more defensively, lost all the long rallies, hit balls out and into the net, his serves went wrong, he was NOT a happy man. And showed it. Somewhere in that second game Lara came and took her place, and did and redid her hair. Nerves? We saw it out, we saw it in a knot, in a ponytail, in a samurai ponytail, out again.... So Pat lost, and we were suffering with him. The doubles match was a beaty. Sandon and Lleyton hit the balls well, we saw good rallies, fantastic lobs, nice volleys, beautiful points were made. A bit sad for the Spaniards, they weren't bad, they tried hard, but Lleyton and Sandon were just the better pair today. After the 2-1 win for Australia the girls went to the place where the players came out to go to the cars that took them to the hotel. There they came, first Peter, then Lleytons parents, with a big grin on their faces, as they knew what was coming next....and there was Lleyton, the second he spotted us, he took to running and he flashed past us. PJfan fuming, she wanted to give him something and had no chance now. Then came Pat, some of the girls ran with him, then, after a long time, Tony Roche came so PJfan finally could get rid of the ANZAC cookies she had made. Back home at 7.30 pm, went for a short ride along the Rhine which was very nice, then bed.
Dusseldorf day 3 - May 23
Today the Aussies were scheduled on court 14, the least favourite one with us girls. So far away... But there they were. We were joking: "They must have made a deal, if Lleyton were to win his two matches, then he could choose the practise courts!" They were training for a long time, I went and saw a bit of the Hrbaty-Norman match, and expecting the others to come and join me there. But they didn't come... So off I went again to the practise courts, they were still training. I thought aloud that I should have brought my binoculars with me and :"Aaargh!!!" cried Maria next to me, "why didn't you say that before?" and got that item out of her bag. Then PJfan had a look through my camera and saw that Pat had his bag over his shoulder so we had eye contact and dashed without another word off to the other entrance where he soon came out. YES!!! PJfan asked him to sign her ACE mag and I asked him whether he wasn't tired after three hours practise. Yes, I agree, stupid question, but you know how these things go...... He said: "Yeah, I'm tired all right" or words to that effect, we both didn't hear well. Well, I asked him something, he replied, we had a conversation! HA! After that I watched some more of Hrbaty-Norman, went back to the umbrella's, had a drink, brought back the plastic glasses (?), returned and..... all the girls were gone! Oh, no, there was Anja shouting for me, waving: we're over there! They had gone to practise court 6, after Muddy Waters had given them a "come with us" sign. Pat practise AGAIN! YAY!!! We were sitting front row again, very close to the action, as court 6 is a sort of a show court, with seats dug out of the hill, like stairs. So a good view from wherever you sit. It turned out we (PJfan and I) sat next to Lleyton's mum, so we talked a bit, I asked if Lleyton always fled running whenever he saw fans waiting for him, she laughed and explained: "He's always mobbed!" Oh, well, I can understand that. Our average age was NOT interesting for a nineteen year old! All the time we chatted we had Pat practising soooo close, no worries, the camera was clicking away, there went my third roll.... After Pat's practise there was another highlight: a show match with members of the local music band ATEMLOS (=breathless), Lleyton and Marat Safin, they each had a music guy for a partner. I have no idea what the result of that match was, as they kept the scores themselves, there was no umpire, we couldn't hear much, so big question mark. They did have fun, you could see that! Lleyton smiling, even laughing out loud, applauding his partner's and his opponent's shots at times, it was lovely. The music guys weren't bad, of course not up to the pro's standards, but they must have had some tennis lessons, there were nice rallies. Back to my tent at the end of the day, and it was not too late so I took the bike and went to the city. I had found there are cycle-tracks all along the river Rhine, and if I took the other bridge I was in the town center in twenty minutes! In search for the Internet caf?s I found the first one had closed down per May 1st, and at the second one all the monitors were taken, yes, for the obvious reason: the fair! Duh!!! There were two others, but the one closed at 8 pm and the other one was too far away for now. So I went out again and found a terrace to drink something, and the caf?s former name was....OZ! They hadn't found a new name yet, the former owner had suddenly disappeared, leaving no forwarding address.... sounded like he had gone walkabout to me! So you see, I really tried, but had no luck. By ten pm it was time to return home as I had no intention to repeat Monday's horrible experience with a bridge crossing in the dark....
Dusseldorf day 4 - May 24
Again the Aussies were scheduled for court ten for practise today, but after we had seen what happened the other days, we wouldn't believe it until we saw it. They were there! Darren Cayhill, Peter Tramacchi, Richard Fromberg, Tony Roche and Paul Kilderry. Paul came closer and chatted a bit with us, he had come back from the States where he had won two Challengers, and the evening before they had spent in Pat's room all of them together, enjoying the chocolates PJfan had given to Pat. Paul also signed my banner. Tony Roche and Muddy Waters had already done so. Next to me was a man from Oberbayern, in the south of Germany, who said he was a Pat-fan too. So immediately I asked him if he wanted some facepaint on. Yes, of course we wore the Fanatics T-shirts and painted our faces! He said OK, but then the Australian colours. Huh??? Green and gold ARE the Australian colours! OK, then. He thought it would have been red white and blue like the flag. He told me he had played tennis as a boy, then stopped, until, many years later, he saw Pat on TV, sat straight and thought: "Edberg is back!" Then he had picked it up again (like so many others!) and now he felt his place on court was at the net, always at the net. So I said he too was a natural serve and volleyer, and he agreed. In the meantime, Pat had appeared on court, half a meter away from where we were standing. The first thing he said was: "Good morning ladies!" While Pat was fumbling in his bag, my new friend asked him would he please sign his hat, which he did, and the next moment I had my "GO AUSSIES!" banner out, thinking: Now or never! He signed it!!! The practise didn't go that well for Pat, he hit lots of volleys out..... Then it was time for the first match, Lleyton-Ríos. 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 5-0 and..... Ríos retires! Uh??? Again??? You begin to think he just glares his opponents off court... After an hour: the Pat match! Our seats this time were way up high, but still with a good view. Too far away for pictures though. So I only took a few! I had seen the Oberbayern man before that, and he offered me or anyone of us his fourth row seat for the doubles match, "but I must see MY PAT (!) from close by..." Funny to hear a man say that! As you know, Pat lost the first set 6-4. But he stayed calm, no racket throwing like Monday, no frustrated screams, he was patient. And the second set went to a tie break which he won. The relief that we all felt at that time! Phew! The third set he was a bit like the old Pat again, and Mass?just was too disappointd, after almost having had matchpoint, he didn't offer too much resistance anymore. After Pat's singles match I met yet another Pat fan, a woman my age from the north of Holland. We had a great time together! The doubles match was like a repetition of the Monday doubles match, with almost the same result. So at the end of that day we were tied with Russia, 5-1 each!
Dusseldorf day 5 - May 25
Not a good Pat-day today. The Aussies trained at court 14 (Lleyton's choice again, I'm sure!), Pat arrived at about 11.15, he was wearing the checkered red golf pants. He kept on his jacket for a long time, then finally started to get ready to hit, hit out for a bit, constantly touched his shoulder, aaaaarrrgh!!! then stopped after five minutes.... This was looking bad. He talked with Muddy, and off they went, the two of them. Exit Pat. We never saw another Aussie after that, they are not scheduled anywhere for tomorrow, and only now I found out that Pat wasn't playing singles anyway on the Friday, he had said that in the courtside interview (which we could not hear, it was only for the TV) on the Wednesday. After the training we went to our usual place at the umbrella's, the atmosphere was really down. It also had started to rain again, everything suddenly looked depressing. After the rain stopped Wil and I went to see the Sampras-Norman match on CC2, which was a good match, Pete served and volleyed a bit, chip-and-charged, good to watch. Then it was Vince Spadea (whom we had seen flirting with a beautiful German girl who asked us how to pronounce Vincent!) against Tillstrom. Not really fantastic. The doubles match got very funny in the end, Slovakia had already qualified for the final, so it was less important now, the players loosened up a bit, at one moment Jared Palmer explained exactly to Kulti or Tillstrom where he would serve next, and how he wanted the return! So we did see tennis, but like through a grey cloud: Pat's shoulder is such a worry!
Dusseldorf, day 6 - May 26, my last day!
This morning when we stood at our place near the front gate, a girl from the Rheinische Post (local newspaper) came to us, she wanted to write a background story on the tournament, so naturally she had to talk to us face-painted yellow dressed Aussie fans. (Which reminds me: in one of the Wednesday matches a German next to us asked: "Are you Pat Rafter fans?" He knew very well, he had heard us talk, seen our Aussie flags, hats, banners, and what more so I thought he deserved an equally stupid answer: "Yes we are, how did you find out?":-) It was in the newspaper today! In the normal Saturday newspaper, not the free one you get when you arrive at the site. Weird matches today. Lleyton lost 6-1, 6-2 with a head-to-head of 3-0 with Kafelnikov! Unbelievable. Y2K played well, I give him that, I just couldn't get myself to bring my hands together and applaud, I so dislike that man! Pat was sitting front row during Lleyton's match, Lara arrived there too, and during Frommy's match after that, Pat and Muddy suddenly disappeared..... so the eagle eyes of the Pat fans explored the site, and out we came from all different corners: possible Pat practise? GO!!! And yes! For a short while only, but hey! It was on court 10, so no complaints there! Not only were we happy to see Pat again from close by, but it also meant the shoulder must have felt better, why else would he practise? The doubles maybe? He was practising with Stolle, so..... and YES!!! He didn't touch his shoulder once, which was a big relief. But they lost too, after the 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Fromberg by Safin. So it's Slovakia-Russia in the final tomorrow! We stayed for a bit after the match, (saw Peter, who told us they would leave for Paris Saturday morning) not wanting to leave yet, but most of us left that day, so it was goodbye time. A last hug, exchanges of email addresses, "good luck" and "have fun" wishes for the happy few among us that were going to Paris, and off we went. What a wonderful time we all had in Dusseldorf! And other good news: Peter confirmed that Pat would be playing Rosmalen! Yippie!!!!
joes
