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SCOTTSDALE 2000:
The day I left for Scottsdale it was pouring down rain in L.A. (little did I
know that would be par for the course in Scottsdale as well), and in the
little airport in Burbank you have to walk outside to get on the plane, so
obviously I got soaked. When I got in later that night, I turned on CNN to
see that a Southwest jet had crashed through the fence in Burbank. Geez,
guess I got out of town just in time, seeing that I also took a Southwest
flight on the very same day! I had many adventures that first night, from
thinking that I had lost the rental car keys (I was even out there in the
rain looking under the car for them), to finding my suitcase keys jump out of
the top of my shirt in the drawer (when I didn’t even know I had lost those),
to losing the directions to the restaurant where the get-together that I organized
was to take place! I swear, I was beginning to think that senility was setting
in just a tad early in my case.
There was no tennis until Tuesday afternoon because of the rain. Then we were
in business! This was my first tournament (other than DC) and it was a
wonderful experience. Scottsdale is a great tourney -- so small and
intimate. The players walk around the grounds (by themselves, mind you,
with no entourage) and it is so easy to see them from day to day. Actually,
one day I watched Lleyton as he walked from the hotel to the back of the
stadium to get ready for his match and not one person stopped him! He was
completely by himself. I didn’t have the heart to interrupt him, so I
was perfectly happy just to watch him as he walked by me. Actually, the truth
is, by the time I had composed myself from the shock of seeing him up close
and with no one else with him, the moment had passed. I never did get an
autograph from Lleyton that week as much as I chased him around. He signed
autographs a lot, but I always seemed to be on the wrong side of the stadium!
Next year he won’t be so lucky! I’ll be the resident stalker.
LOL!
I had tickets for the entire tourney, so I was able to watch all of Lleyton’s
matches, and let me just say this: He was on FIRE!! I couldn’t believe
how well he was returning serve (and neither could most of his opponents from the look on
their faces!). It was a delight watching him for an entire week. He had
a few little outbursts, but all in all, he behaved himself, with the exception of a
night match when he yelled out an obscenity (starting with the letter F) and the
umpire had to give him a warning. Of course he practically ran over to the
chair to plead his case, gesturing wildly with his arms, but the umpire didn’t
change his mind. How could he? I’m telling you, he screamed the
word. You could probably hear him in the next town, he was so loud!
During one of the night matches (I think it was against Ferrero, but the days are
just running together in my mind now), he was quite nervous during the match and
kept playing around with his shoelaces in between points. The woman sitting
behind me was about to go nuts. She kept saying, "Just tie your shoes
already." But he didn’t have to tie his shoes; he was simply full of
nervous energy that night. He also kept playing with his necklace, his hair,
his hat, etc. She just didn’t understand him. Of course, this was
the same woman who during the final insisted that Tim Henman was on "our"
Davis Cup team, and she was from Arizona. Her husband then said to me that
Tim was the "European Davis Cup champion" and that they played France in
the final. DUH??!! The heat must have gotten to those two, because they
didn’t have a clue what they were talking about, and I was just too worn out
from
the heat by that time to explain it to them!
At the match with Rios (again at night), these loud Chilean guys came and sat in the
seats next to me and had the Chilean flag with them. So here I am, yelling for
Lleyton as loud as I could, and they are practically hitting me in the face with
that darn flag! At one point, one of them actually apologized to me for
getting in my face so much. It was quite comical, though, because they would
just hold the flag up during the changeovers, but not say anything or even yell for Rios,
until he came back on the court, and then they practically knocked me over with
their zealousness!
During the final, the box seats next to me (which no one had sat in for the entire
week) were suddenly taken by this woman and her young son. When she got there
(after it had started of course), everyone was yelling "Go Tim"
(don’t ask me why everyone was rooting for him; I have no clue), and she
turned to me and said, "Which one is Tim?" Like would it kill these
people to actually know who was playing and what they looked like??!! So after
Lleyton won (and played his heart out!), he gave a very nice (and LONG)
speech, thanking what seemed like just about every person who worked for the
tourney. As I was taking pictures during this, suddenly I started to shake
like I was extremely nervous. Of course, this was when he was looking right
in my direction, so I guess my heart just started to flutter a little bit at
the sight of that gorgeous teenager. I had to calm myself down after that.
He is quite an adorable guy!
All in all, it was a great week and one that I will definitely be repeating next
year, along with my buddies Sue and Britain, who I had a wonderful time with!!
Debbie
See Debbie's pics
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