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.

the O2: a well-lighted place

rafael nadal in his first match of the WTF in london. photographed by julian finney/getty images. via yahoo sports.

this is a fairly common shot, but with uncommon shadowing that sculpts every fold in his shirt, and creates mood and mystery in nadal's profile.
nov 23, 2009. photo by julian finney/getty images. via yahoo sports.

the year-end championships for the atp are underway, or as "mfw" so smartly announced: WTF is happening.

my favorite player is struggling as we speak in his first match against robin soderling, and my enjoyment level ebbs and flows with his fortunes.

but the tournament is being played under bright white and blue lights at the O2 arena in london. everyone in the stands is bathed in blue shadows. and photographers are given instant mood lighting for photographing the on-court action--side shadows sculpt angles, and if a player tilts his face toward the lights, to hit a serve or an overhead, he's got a glow that's near to heavenly. dreamy conditions for photographers, i'm sure! there's rich contrast in almost every photo i've seen so far.

the yahoo sports tennis page hosts one of the best galleries--photos do not go up as fast as on the getty site, but these are un-watermarked, and they were up today within a half hour of the start time. pretty efficient, and great.

enjoy them...and the matches on tennis channel this week, espn this weekend.

maybe not a dream match-up, but a dreamy one

i woke up in time to catch a few games of the battle of the handsomes: safin v robredo.
and then, with robredo serving at deuce, down 2-4, the rains came.

marat safin, during his match vs. tommy robredo at the internazionali bnl d'italia. photographed by julian finney for getty images. april 28, 2009.

to be continued...

***

in the meanwhile, here's a favorite photo of safin from last year's australian open:

marat safin, at the australian open 2008. photographed by greg wood for getty. january 18, 2008.

and to keep the "handsome guy with racket" theme going, one of robredo:

tommy robredo at the 2004 french open. photographed by clive mason for getty. may 30, 2004.