us open 2011: it must be...

it’s been a year of thrilling tennis so far (with inspired writing, always as the accompaniment). but there has been been one sort of disappointing thread for me, and other nadal fans, throughout the season. an irksome (now 0-6) record against djokovic in finals.

before yesterday’s early evening match, a few friends extended me notes of support (loved that) and a few asked me if i was nervous. was i ever! i know some deeply devoted fans who wouldn’t have watched it live, to avoid witnessing and experiencing a potential disappointment. my line on monday had been, i have to believe. if he believes, I have to. which maybe sounds a little corny to say out loud. but if I didn’t believe he could win, well then what would be the point of watching?

and watching nadal fight—and then get pushed back—and fight again—and then get pushed back, that wasn’t easy. i was cursing, jumping, pacing around my apartment. by the middle of the third set, i’d given myself a headache. by the end of the third, my voice was hoarse. i’d hoped i’d be gargling champagne (or at least, white wine) in celebration. after the loss, i drank, but without the same gusto. i wondered for a moment if it was all worth it, to be so crazy about a sport.

but I wouldn’t have given up those hours—witnessing that inconceivable toughness, physical and mental, from both players. i would have hated to miss all those exhilarating moments, even if in the end they added up to a “loss” for my favorite player.

one of the reasons I love sports, especially tennis, is at the best or most dramatic of times, it's like "life" (i'll leave it to the real writers to plumb that more eloquently) and with the best athletes, you're reminded how you want to conduct yourself in it. (one of my favorite quick rafa-isms after last night's match: accept the challenge, and work.)

and in some funny way, this particular rivalry is to me, is a bit like love and relationships--the way i (like to, try to) do them, anyway... believing always (though occasionally hearing the doubts of others, and sometimes getting set back on my heels). knowing, as nice as the other guy is, he has the power to crush. understanding that maybe i don’t have the right "strategy," or don’t know what one should be. but i’m there, always “with great illusion,” and enjoying the moments that are brilliant and beautiful and fun. never really sure of the outcome--i can't know or control the other guy, only me and what i do--but knowing that I’ve helped make those good moments happen before... well...again, believing always in just being there and trying my best at that moment…

we will see what's gonna happen, no?

(VAMOS)

paris postcard: roland garros, the king on clay

nadal played his third round match against antonio veic on the day i was there. the seats i had brought me closer to the court than i'd ever been for a "real" nadal match. but after the first handful of games i realized that even from my very nice seats, my zoom and i were not going to get better photos than i could find online the next day, shots from the "pros." with their credentials they have a bit more freedom to roam--i was fighting gals with frizzy hair, guys with caps, taller people, who were all sneaking into the corners of the frame. i was missing shots--and the tennis.

still, i made some photos with intent--to try to catch nadal acknowledging the crowd, cleaning the baselines with his nikes, sliding, kicking up clay. but for most of the match, the camera was in my lap. i just watched the action, the playing out of every point.

i could appreciate his speed, his powerful and agile directional shifts. nadal's compact frame and his low-to-the-ground movement must give him the confidence to maintain balance on a surface that constantly pushes one off. tennis is a much more quiet, meditative game at roland garros (grunting aside)--no squeaky sneaks on the clay, just occasional long raspy slides. it was practically soothing. but the relative silence also has the effect of intensifying the tense moments, if you will. i liked the long points that showed both loft and the zip of his groundstrokes. it never seems effortless--how could it be? but it certainly is awesome.

it looks like it would be fun, too.

i like the ball boys in the photographer's pit

this one's my favorite, for the movement, the wrinkles in his shirt, and the clay kicking up.

***

steve wrote a really nice feature for his blog about manuela davies, a professional sports photographer, during week 2 of the open. if you're interested in tennis or sports photography, you'll appreciate the "day in the life" peek, but you might also be interested to know more about the challenges the pros have to navigate. it's a dreamy piece, but with a dose of reality.

paris postcard: "plus 1"

vamos...

photo of rafa's nikes taken on may 28, 2011

and

the cutest spanish superfans

@ roland garros. may 28, 2011

both photos ©anita aguilar

paris postcard: french moves, rafael nadal (part 2)

all photos taken at court philippe chatrier on may 28, 2011

© anita aguilar

paris postcard: french moves, rafael nadal (part 1)

shots from a single, side-to-side sequence

all photos taken on may 28, 2011 on court philippe chatrier

© anita aguilar

who's that girl (photographer)?

there's one person in the world that can make me feel marginally okay about the fact that nadal lost to federer last sunday morning, and this (he?) in turn, allows me to look at photos from the tournament without pain.

admire them, even.

nov 26, 2010. kristy wigglesworth/ap

nov 26, 2010. kristy wigglesworth/ap

nov 27, 2010. kristy wigglesworth/ap

nov 28, 2010. kristy wigglesworth/ap

nice, no? i can feel what it was like to be behind the big fat lens for these.

as you'll notice from the credits, they were all taken by a woman, kristy wigglesworth of the associated press. or maybe her name is kirsty? not often enough do we see the work of women photographers in the sports pages.

naturally, i was intrigued. wanted to know where/if she studied photography, where she's worked, how long she's been at the AP. maybe even what camera and lenses she favors.

and i found this:

ms. kirsty/kristy getting choked by a british tv news reporter after she accidentally bopped her with her lens.

i haven't been involved in any fisticuffs since the 7th grade, when dina romeo wanted to duke it out behind the library after school. (how jersey is that.) actually, that never came off (she was a no-show), so i'd have to go back all the way to 5th grade...

jesus. i'd better toughen up.

***

and this is for my sister.

you like his colors, but what of the socks?

nov 24, 2010. alastair grant/ap.

"king" of the moment

nadal, photographed by alastair grant/ap, during his match against tomas berdych. the O2 arena, nov 26, 2010.

i woke up this morning, really excited, thinking about...tennis.

there was a fantastic semifinal match yesterday, between my maximum favorite player and andy murray. it might have been one of my favorites of the year, and quite possibly the best indoor tennis match i've seen since 1982 (when mats wilander went down to john mcenroe in the longest match in davis cup history, a 6 hour - 22 minute grind that scarred my heart for years).

nadal defeated murray in three sets.

you know me--i couldn't rattle off the score, or remember significant points without looking at notes or a news report. but i won't forget the faces, the expressions of either player. tennis players are not an undemonstrative bunch--in between the vamoses and the come ons, they'll grimace or frown, raise an eyebrow (in the case of nadal). or he may look like he's about to choke the life out of his... racquet (murray). and then sometimes they say nothing--nerves, fear, doubt, exhaustion can be read in their eyes for a half-second between points, when they catch the eye of someone on their team. and then they shake it off. and hit a winner. not sure if there are any still photos to evidence this (probably because photographers are tethered to the sidelines). but believe me, the match was full of those moments from both players. it was exquisite, fun tennis.

i also thought of one pose after he earned the win--a few photographers got this shot.

nadal has a couple of victory moves in his repertoire (usually he's dropping down, flat on his back). i wondered after this one, how he'd celebrate. but his simple victory smile was entirely appropriate for the tone of the match and respectful of his relationship to murray and murray's home crowd. it's one of the things i like most about him--his sense of place, his sense of a moment. he seems more often than not to understand things wider than himself, even when the moment is "his." it was true when he was younger (i'm recalling his matches against agassi during the andre summer farewell tour) and as he was establishing his dominance over federer (at the australian open a couple of years ago). a few suggested he seemed almost too good?

i wonder if that will change, if someday he will change with more titles, more money, more adulation. who could blame him, i guess, if it all went to his head? i suspect it will not, but there is no way to know.

so for now, enjoy...

nadal d. murray 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (6). london, uk. nov, 27, 2010.

photo: kirsty wigglesworth/AP

tennis' year end issue: the pin up edition

it would be nice to work at an office where this cover would spark a lively little conversation about why it's a perfect shot (and it's not because nadal is sin camisa). i guarantee if i hang this up in my cube, no one will want to talk about his humble qualities. probably not even his second wimbledon, his first us open, or his new serve.

maybe, because i work with a lot of artistic folks, we could have a chat about clive brunskill's photography and the editors'/art director's wisdom in selecting that shot?

but more likely they will taunt me for his hotness and project all sorts of raunchy inclinations. and i can protest that i prefer his smile to all his other physical attributes, no one will believe it. that conversation can be amusing sometimes, but more often, it ends with me feeling weird about the whole thing.

i might still put it up. perhaps there are tennis fans lurking on my floor. or maybe i can convert a few....

***

the print issue arrived last week--i always let out an audible cheer as i pull it out from under the pile of "other" mail. i scanned the TOC and saw that maximum favorite writer had a couple of articles in the issue. (more cheering.) i waited until the weekend for the actual reading--last week was one of juggling (and sometimes struggling through) new projects. my head was just too full of other stuff for me to really savor the writing and the reading. it would have been like going to le bernandin with a head cold. a nice experience, but you'd miss the fullness of it.

the piece that i really, really love, "the old heave ho" was originally a blog post from this summer. i have never thrown my racquet (chris evert was my idol, so the most i ever did was slap my thigh a few times, purse my lips, and give a purposeful blink, followed by the far-off squint) and i wasn't a fan of pros (or "regulars") who had tantrums, but i've had a few off-court, off-the-handle moments. i think even non-tennis players could relate to this one.

and what would i think about a guy at local court or at a club (if i belonged to one) throwing his racquet? after reading this, i just might give him my best, most empathetic smile.

anyway..while "the old heave ho" reappears in the nov/dec, he's given it a fall/winter makeover.

which one is better? i won't tell.

read the original post here, and buy the mag (with the bonus cover-age).

then we can talk.

2010 us open: front page/home page, baby

wrapping the cup

so i moaned a little about football and the WC, but i still watched (as i said i would).

i'm still not fully sold on the sport, but i had a little heart surge a few times during spain's games whenever there was a little action over by the nets (though i think it only happened once yesterday). i'm glad i got to see the one spanish footballer i've cheered for over the years, iker casillas, win the big one.

in any case, i'm going to miss it a little. i enjoy big day-games. sometimes having mike tirico, chris fowler, and (my favorite) ruud gullit in the studio was enough. late last week in particular, it all felt like a welcome break from the lameness coming out of the nba.

***

a few parting shots from the "big picture" WC photo gallery:

reuters/marcos brindicci)

ap photo/felipe dana

reuters/dylan martinez

reuters/andrea comas

***

this one's my personal favorite. nadal and casillas, via nadal's website.

yes, i visit his website.

(i love that he's a superfan, face all painted--and then smeared, his football scarf wrapped around his head.)

he might need to keep that look for next year's davis cup.

dc: sweep (confetti, too)

after (and before!) the sweep. photo by denis doyle/getty images via yahoo sports

nadal d. berdych: 7-5, 6-0, 6-2
ferrer d. stepanek: 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 8-6
lopez/verdasco d. stepanek/berdych: 7-6 7-5 6-2
nadal d. hajek: 6-3, 6-4
ferrer d. dlouhy 6-4, 6-2

dc: back in barcelona...

photo by albert gea/reuters via the nytimes photo replay, december 2, 2009.

i'm going to miss seeing live davis cup finals action today, but you should watch and cheer for team guapo...

photo by josep lago/afp/getty images, via yahoo sports

here's the tv schedule...

and some good reading: bull run.

enjoy!

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.

shanghai surprise

today, b.c. (before coffee), i turned on the tv. it was already set where i needed it to be: the tennis channel. lo and behold, rafa! i have only seen a little tennis this week, and none of it involved him, so this woke me up quickly. then the camera pulled out wide--and i saw his get-up.

i howled.

i'm going to have to do a little googling later this afternoon, to figure out who at nike is responsible for nadal's on-court uniforms (which are anything but). tweaking nadal's traditional look with bold color, and now...pattern. (did they recently poach someone from the nike golf team?) they clearly have a sense of what nadal will look very good in--i can imagine exactly...zero other people that can actually wear this ensemble without looking like a clown.

(ok, someone is gonna say he looks like one, too. but it won't be me.)

one day ago, nadal v. blake. ap photo/andy wong, via tennis.com. nadal prevailed, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4.

nadal. october 15, 2009.
photo: philippe lopez/afp/getty images. via yahoo sports.

nadal defeated robredo 6-1, 6-4. october 15, 2009.
photo: philippe lopez/afp/getty images via yahoo sports.

celebrating "the athlete"

photo of greg lougains via si.com's walter iooss, jr. photo gallery.

"louganis was one of the biggest stars in the olympics. i had photographed him three or four times, but i never seemed to get the picture i wanted. so i went out to mission viejo, calif., where he trained, and i asked him to go off the platform at twilight. when I started to edit the chromes, there was one i'll never forget. the lights that illuminated the pool had made streaks, and the sky -- the red and the black -- mixed together. of course louganis was diving down, but i flipped the photo so it looked as if he were coming out of the flames of hell, like dante's inferno. i thought it was one of the best pictures i'd ever seen. when i brought this picture to show louganis, i was so proud of myself. i said, "greg, look at this." he said, "i'm bent," handed it back to me and walked away. where i saw a once-in-a-lifetime picture, he saw failure in his form. i was humiliated by the world's greatest diver."
--walter iooss, jr.

many years ago, there was an exhibit at newseum/ny called "replay! great moments from sports illustrated" -- i actually can't remember if it was a grand exhibit or a tightly curated one. i only remember that it was a big deal for me--all those very familiar images from the magazine presented in the "museum format" gave the photos--and the stories they told--their proper due. i was in awe.

sadly, the newseum no longer exists here. but on view at the newseum in washington, dc from now until the end of this year, is a similar exhibition, celebrating the career of sports photographer walter iooss, jr.

if you're any kind of sports fan, you know his work. he's been a sports illustrated photographer for more than 40 years, earning more than 300 covers (his first one at the age of 20, of phillies pitcher art mahaffey). if you're curious to see just how prolific he's been (and maybe how many of your favorite photos he's taken), check out a small sampling:

at si.com...
walter iooss jr's favorite shots, featuring maria sharapova (he caught one of the nicest expressions i've seen on her), bernard "the executioner" hopkins, dwight clark (his most famous shot?) and my favorite tennis player (i like his notes on the day)...

rafa, in 2006. photographed by walter iooss, jr. via "the walter iooss jr.'s favorite shots" gallery on si.com

''we did this one in a studio in new york, just before last year's u.s. open. we put a strobe on the floor to create the shadow behind him. he showed up with no wardrobe, so for an hour we shot him with no shirt on. then they finally brought some tennis clothes, so we had about five minutes left to get him in this outfit. he was a great kid with great energy, despite the language barrier. fun to watch.'' - walter iooss, jr.

bonus note: this was shot with a canon eos-1ds mark II, ef 24-105mm

and the more recent "walter iooss jr. gallery" (which specifically promotes the newseum exhibit), starring kg (yay!), kobe (eesh), a very flattering shot of serena williams (interesting commentary too), ali/frazier, and louganis.

there are a few more on the newseum site, as well as a bonus short video interview...

if you're interested to see much more, check out the companion book, the athlete...(or any of the others).