I got a few pictures..will post them once I get them from my friend.
I didn't get to play with Courier or Edberg.
I thought Brugera was the nicest one out there. He seemed genuinely interested in asking questions and talking.
I told Edberg how I stopped watching tennis when he retired (true, I was an idiot. I did resume a few years back), to which Courier remarked that the same was true for him. I said "no you quit watching because you stopped making the quarters after '96." He agreed with a chuckle.
I got to ask Edberg a few questions when he was signing autographs later - and I mistook his wife for a lingering fan cause she had all these rackets for him to sign. She is stunning.
I asked Edberg his views on Sampras beating Federer last year and he replied, "It's an exhibition....it's not a real thing, but still impressive." He added that he would back Federer in a real match.
When I asked him what his most memorable match was, he replied that was a tough one. After signing a couple more of the big fuzzy balls, he said it was always a special thing to win Wimbledon for the first time. He wasn't sure which year that was. I reminded him it was '88.
So would he trade one of his Wimbledon trophies to be able to win that match against Chang at the French?
"No I quite like my Wimbledon trophies," he said.
What about the Australian Open trophies, did he feel they were less prestigious than the other Slams? He said all the Slams were big tournaments...and something else that I can't recall honestly. I was scribbling while standing.
Was tennis more competitive in his era than now? He said something about playing with a lot of great players like McEnroe...while now he said Nadal and Federer are doing something that hasn't been done for 30 or so years. He said they have taken the game to another level.
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Me and my friend played doubles against Haarhuis and Brugera - for 10 minutes. Brugera stepped into a flat serve off mine and hit a big inside out backhand winner that kissed the line. My serve is pretty mediocre but it was a sweet return.
I challenged Paul to hit a big serve at me. He responded by acing me - with an underhanded drop serve!
At one point, they were both at the net, and I had a low short ball on the ad side that I was setting up my forehand for, when Paul decided to turn to Brugera and talk - I ended up hitting the tape.
I did get a final laugh though, when Paul was fooling around and I hit a topspin lob winner off my backhand. It was then time for them to move on.
Paul was really cool. He was the only one that stuck around after the event to hang out with the amateurs. He even gave me a couple tips during the game. He noticed after a missed serve that I was letting my head fall and my chin touching my chest during my serve. So when I kept my head up, my serve improved.
I next played against Brugera on the other side, who was paired up with Mohammed Al-Ghareeb (the Kuwaiti player who took a set off Berdych last year in Dubai) while I was paired up with another amateur.
I had gotten used to the standard by then (relaxed, exhibition style) and played some good points including a short angled inside out forehand winner that Brugera did not anticipate.
I asked Brugera to hit a big serve at me. He hit a wide one to my backhand that I couldn't control well enough to clear the net.
I think John Fitzerland was the coolest out of all the "legends" that I met. He and I played against Bahrami and the Director of tennis in Dubai (who got onto the advanced players court when he should have been with the intermediates). John and I got along well. I played my best tennis in those 10 minutes too. I hit a couple serves at Bahrami that he couldn't control. John was surprised at how well I was playing, and kept complimenting me. After one point when I hit a sharp angled crosscourt backhand winner he said "You know what you're doing."
Bahrami actually looked somewhat disinterested in playing. I hit a couple lobs over him that he didn't make much effort to get and his partner had to cover him. The others showed off their athletic skills a bit more and made an effort to retrieve balls. But then the guy's about 60 so I shouldn't expect much. I think I can beat him actually.
