Some of my most memorable time at Indian Wells is on the practice courts. The players even get together and play an impromptu set from time to time. Yesterday, in the early afternoon, there weren't any matched I wanted to watch, so wandered over to the practice courts.
On one of the outer practice courts, Jonas Bjorkman was practicing his serves, all by himself. Usually, Max Mirnyi is with him, but Max had his match scheduled about an hour or two later on, so we was doing 'other' things.
Jonas had about six balls with him and like a lot of us do, practiced serving from one end of the court to the other. Then, he walked to the other side, rounded up the balls, and served them back to the first side. Back and forth, back and fourth. Only about three of us spectators were there watching him. Nobody else cared, probably because Jonas isn't a 'big name' player. (He his to us who love his style of play and who love watching doubles.)
He even took about five minutes just practicing his toss. He wasn't happy with it, or was working into the sun. Something? How many of us still practice our tosses? And, this guy is one of the best in the world at what he does.
When he was finished, I had the honor of chatting with him for about five minutes. I told him that I would be sad when he retired because he is one of the last of the serve-n-volley players left. He said, "yeah, pretty soon", (indicating when he was planning to retire).
We chatted some more about various things, and he said one of the most difficult parts of being on the tour is being away from your family. In his case, his wife and son. He seemed to indicate that when he son starts school, he will hang it up to be home on a more regular basis. But, for the time being, he says he still enjoys the sport and continues to have 'fun'.
An interesting insight by a current tour player is his take on the the state of serve-n-volley, and he indicated that "they need to speed up the courts". He did not seem to indicate that racket technology was the cause of the demise of S&V. He laid the full blame on the tournament organizers and the slowing down of the courts. (Side note, compared to last year, there is a lot less sand in the paint of the Indian Wells courts this year than last year. Jonas also said the courts are playing faster this year due to the weather. He said the balls are really sailing this year, especially during the day matches.)
Jonas is one class guy, one of the very best in the world at a sport we all wish we were better doing, and he always takes time with his fans. I, for one, will greatly miss him.
On one of the outer practice courts, Jonas Bjorkman was practicing his serves, all by himself. Usually, Max Mirnyi is with him, but Max had his match scheduled about an hour or two later on, so we was doing 'other' things.
Jonas had about six balls with him and like a lot of us do, practiced serving from one end of the court to the other. Then, he walked to the other side, rounded up the balls, and served them back to the first side. Back and forth, back and fourth. Only about three of us spectators were there watching him. Nobody else cared, probably because Jonas isn't a 'big name' player. (He his to us who love his style of play and who love watching doubles.)
He even took about five minutes just practicing his toss. He wasn't happy with it, or was working into the sun. Something? How many of us still practice our tosses? And, this guy is one of the best in the world at what he does.
When he was finished, I had the honor of chatting with him for about five minutes. I told him that I would be sad when he retired because he is one of the last of the serve-n-volley players left. He said, "yeah, pretty soon", (indicating when he was planning to retire).
We chatted some more about various things, and he said one of the most difficult parts of being on the tour is being away from your family. In his case, his wife and son. He seemed to indicate that when he son starts school, he will hang it up to be home on a more regular basis. But, for the time being, he says he still enjoys the sport and continues to have 'fun'.
An interesting insight by a current tour player is his take on the the state of serve-n-volley, and he indicated that "they need to speed up the courts". He did not seem to indicate that racket technology was the cause of the demise of S&V. He laid the full blame on the tournament organizers and the slowing down of the courts. (Side note, compared to last year, there is a lot less sand in the paint of the Indian Wells courts this year than last year. Jonas also said the courts are playing faster this year due to the weather. He said the balls are really sailing this year, especially during the day matches.)
Jonas is one class guy, one of the very best in the world at a sport we all wish we were better doing, and he always takes time with his fans. I, for one, will greatly miss him.
