Legg Mason '09 pictures/videos/blog thread

[Topaz]

Lots of us TTWers are in the metro DC area, and more than a few of us are probably attending Legg Mason at some point this week. Here is a place to post your pictures, your videos, and/or your thoughts about what you saw! I'll start!

Monday. Got to the site and on the practice court was Wayne 'the train' Odesnik. He got through his first round match, and will be facing Igor Andreev in the second round. He's played really well at LM in the past, and I'm a big fan of the scrappy player.

Odesnik:

Then I found Ivo Karlovic and Tommy Haas playing a practice match on one of the side courts. For the few games while I was there, Karlovic was winning, with Haas unable to break his serve. Haas still looked good, though, and came up with some sweet passing shots.

Ivo:

Haas:

 

[RalphNYC]

I was supposed to go Sunday, did it rain at all there? Was pouring cats and dawgs in Delaware.

 

[Topaz]

Video (sideways, sorry!) of Ivo's serve:



Then I headed to the stadium to see Youzhny vs. Kendrick. Youzhny won, but I'm not sure how. Kendrick, at least to me, seemed to be the more aggressive, but somehow Youzhny fought through in three sets.

Kendrick receiving serve:

IMG]http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k90/topaz720/LM09/0a74eb93.jpg[/IMG]

After two sets, it was time to roam the practice courts (and drink...but we don't need to hear about that here, do we?):

Tsonga (from a distance):

 

[Topaz]

Robredo, up closer:

Dudi Sela was on court as well, and tried to outserve Robredo, but neither one actually hit the targets that Robredo had set up on the other side of the court.

Sela:

Then it was time to head back to the stadium for the 'feature' match, Lleyton Hewitt vs. Donald Young.

 

[Topaz]

It was a competitive match, but the experience of Hewitt won out. Young really needs to think hard, IMO, about what exactly he is doing with his career. This would have been a good match for him to actually win.

Then, unfortunately, my batteries were dying, and my head was starting to hurt. Isner vs. Golubev was next, and I only stayed for the first few games. Some video:

 

[Topaz]

I was supposed to go Sunday, did it rain at all there? Was pouring cats and dawgs in Delaware.

Ralph, I did not go on Sunday, but I did hear that there were some rain delays. They got all of Sunday's matches in, though.

 

[Love Game]

Lots of us TTWers are in the metro DC area, and more than a few of us are probably attending Legg Mason at some point this week. Here is a place to post your pictures, your videos, and/or your thoughts about what you saw! I'll start!

Monday. Got to the site and on the practice court was Wayne 'the train' Odesnik. He got through his first round match, and will be facing Igor Andreev in the second round. He's played really well at LM in the past, and I'm a big fan of the scrappy player.

Odesnik:

great start, Topaz!

i noticed that wayne looked pretty good sleeveless in indianapolis, so if (hope, hope) igor also wears his sleeveless in their match, that could be YUM! :twisted:

good catch on the shirtless practice!
i wonder whether igor might do a shirtless, too ... (hint, hint)?! :mrgreen:

 

[RalphNYC]

i wonder whether igor might do a shirtless, too ... (hint, hint)?! :mrgreen:

Or Ivanovich too, that would be nice

 

[Love Game]

Or Ivanovich too, that would be nice

is she here? :twisted:

 

[RalphNYC]

is she here? :twisted:

unforunately no... just sayin'

 

[Cindysphinx]

Hey, Topaz! I went on Monday too. Couldn't resist 2-for-1 tix.

I saw Tsonga practicing briefly (too much hair!).

And yes, Donald Young needs to start all over. I thought he really didn't show himself well at all.

I'm going again on Thursday.

 

[stanfordtennis alum]

Topaz, like always, great pics.. hope u enjoyed the early rounds and hook us up with some pics if u get to go back to the tment.. have fun!

 

[Topaz]

Okie dokie, today started out with Tsonga on the practice courts:

Then, I had a bit of a conundrum! I couldn't decide where to go! I started off with the Hewitt/Guccione match (which was already quite full), but then changed my mind and headed over to watch Bhupathi/Knowles vs. Miryni/Ram. It was on a small side court, and for some of the match, I was sitting right on the court. Lots of fun, except when you see the servers practicing their kick serve out wide, and it is coming right at your face! Eeek!

The Beast, Max Miryni ('Let's go fishing!'):

This was a very fun match (and from the sound of it, so was Hewitt's match)...started off with a bunch of breaks, then everybody got back on serve, and in the tiebreak, M/R were up 6-1, and ended up losing that first set 6-8!!! Bhupathi gets pretty fired up, and seemed to really play his best when behind on the score count. He has a very peculiar service motion:

When he is in his 'prep', he literally has his index finger on he top of the grip, and then adjusts it right before he starts his motion. I have a video of it, too, but I'm not sure if that detail will come through or not.

 

[norbac]

Nice pics Topaz.

Tsonga's hair!!!! He's growing it out!

 

[Topaz]

Air Knowles:

After the first set wrapped up, I wandered into the stadium court where Ginepri and Becker were starting their third set, after splitting two previous tiebreak sets! Very tight match, with some great shots, and some great duds. Both guys had trouble holding serve. I started out in the lower seats, but couldn't see well, so then migrated up to my actual assigned seat (better for seeing and picture taking, but I fry like an egg until the sun goes down).

Ginepri:

 

[Topaz]

Becker:

One more of Robby:

True to form, the third set went to a tiebreak as well. Ginepri was up 4-1, choked, and lost 4-6. Aiy aiy aiy!!!

Next up, Cilic vs. Devvarman!

 

[Topaz]

I realllly thought this was going to be a quick match. I mean, Somdev is good, but Cilic is the #6 seed. He's on a much higher level. Right???

Not today. Cilic went out in straight sets. He was missing left and right, and Somdev just played steady, and also mixed up the pace of shot well. He can certainly hit winners, but he also hit some nice slice and loopers, and I think he just threw Cilic off his timing a bit. Maybe Cilic underestimated Somdev a bit?

Cilic:

Somdev:

 

[Topaz]

Next up for Somdev...Ivo Karlovic. Uh yeah...good luck Somdev!!!

Finally, the marquee match, Tommy Haas vs. Frank Dancevic (a younger version of...Tommy Haas!).

Instead of the two guys playing, I think they just should have had their girlfriends duke it out...my money would totally be on Sarah.

Getting started:

Tommy warming up:

Frank warming up:

Tommy steamrolled the Canadian in the first set, so I wandered out to the grandstand with a friend...where things were out of control!!! Isner/Querry vs. Robredo/Gonzales!!! No room at the inn for this one, so I actually had to watch from outside the court, on the hill, through the windscreens. I could see fine, but not good for taking pictures, sorry. They split sets, and were even-steven until the Americans blinked, hiccuped, and then game, set, match to the hottie team! Very entertaining points, some incredible gets...really, the best match of the night!

After the doubles wrapped up, I stuck around for a bit of Berdych vs. Gulbis. Two guys who just hit hard, harder, and even harder. (And they say the women's tour is full of baseline bashers? Hunh.) I figured this match would either be really good, full of great shot making, or really bad, full of insane misses.

Well, I stay for the first set, which Berdych took easily. Berdych was actually mixing things up a bit, and Gulbis was hitting six feet out pretty consistently. *yawn*

Gulbis:

 

[Topaz]

Berdych:

Sorry for the blurriness...once I lose the sun I have to use a flash, and well, no flash during points, so no action shots once the sun goes down.

Also have a few videos:

The serve of Max Mirnyi (let's go fishing!):



Bhupathi serving...not sure you can see the grip stuff I was talking about...just seemed peculiar to me:



Some Gulbis groundies:

 

[Love Game]

...
Isner/Querry vs. Robredo/Gonzales!!! No room at the inn for this one, so I actually had to watch from outside the court, on the hill, through the windscreens. I could see fine, but not good for taking pictures, sorry. They split sets, and were even-steven until the Americans blinked, hiccuped, and then game, set, match to the hottie team! Very entertaining points, some incredible gets...really, the best match of the night!

cant decide whether i love your pics or your blog more ....... really enjoying the blog a lot ... like the way you called robredo/gonzalez the hottie team, and it sounds as if they really took care of busines, too ...... i'll have to look up whether they've partnered before ...... question: since you were a ways away, you might not have noticed, but could you tell any extra strength (so to speak) in gonzo's FH?

 

[Rob_C]

Maybe Cilic underestimated Somdev a bit?

They've played before. Cilic beat Somdev in the finals of Chennai in Jan of this year.

 

[shadows]

Awesome pics Topaz, really enjoying reading your write ups too! thank you for sharing ^_^

 

[Topaz]

Thanks guys!

since you were a ways away, you might not have noticed, but could you tell any extra strength (so to speak) in gonzo's FH?

Honestly, all of the guys were hitting a lot of body shots right at the net people. Gonzo is so fun to watch...you can kind of tell when he's going to juice up his FH...he almost 'coils' his body and then *whammo*.

They've played before. Cilic beat Somdev in the finals of Chennai in Jan of this year.

Ah, good call! Hunh, still, at least to me, a very unexpected result! Maybe Cilic was just off his game a bit last night.

 

[tomas9848]

Lots of us TTWers are in the metro DC area, and more than a few of us are probably attending Legg Mason at some point this week. Here is a place to post your pictures, your videos, and/or your thoughts about what you saw! I'll start!

Monday. Got to the site and on the practice court was Wayne 'the train' Odesnik. He got through his first round match, and will be facing Igor Andreev in the second round. He's played really well at LM in the past, and I'm a big fan of the scrappy player.

Odesnik:

Then I found Ivo Karlovic and Tommy Haas playing a practice match on one of the side courts. For the few games while I was there, Karlovic was winning, with Haas unable to break his serve. Haas still looked good, though, and came up with some sweet passing shots.

Ivo:

Haas:

hey i was here the same day. i got the same pics.

 

[Topaz]

Have to get to bed so I can get up early to play a match tomorrow. Will try to update after match, but no promises.

Here are some teaser pictures to tide you over:

Berdych practicing:

Robredo at net:

Ivo's serve:

Nando's FH:

 

[Love Game]

Have to get to bed so I can get up early to play a match tomorrow. Will try to update after match, but no promises.

Here are some teaser pictures to tide you over:

Berdych practicing:

excellent initiative, Topaz!

Way to capture the shot!!! this is a previously unseen side of tomas ... love it! (how close were you? :?

 

[Love Game]

'morning, Topaz!

we're really gonna need your blogging today more than ever ... do you have a seat at stadium court by any chance? :?: :?:

p.s. Hope it's not planning to rain! :-o

 

[Cindysphinx]

we're really gonna need your blogging today more than ever ... do you have a seat at stadium court by any chance? :?: :?:

p.s. Hope it's not planning to rain! :-o

Rain all day.

I'm so bummed. I guess I've been really lucky. I've never had rain on a day where I had tix to a tournament. Today will be a first for me.

 

[dragonfire]

any videos of roddick ???

 

[Topaz]

I have many more pictures from yesterday...just no time to update. Headed in today but will more than likely only stay for the first two rounds of matches. Hopefully I'll have all my stuff from yesterday and today up tonight!

 

[CCNM]

If possible more photos of Fernando G please!!!

 

[Topaz]

^^^Heh, heh, oh, noooo problem!

Though, he snubbed me when I was in line to get my picture taken with him.

 

[Topaz]

Ok, before I get to today, I will wrap up what I saw yesterday first.

The first stop once I get in the gates is usually the bathroom. Then, pick up tournament schedule for the day, and then practice courts. I found a half naked Berdych:

He was hitting with this guy (don't know who he is, and found it particular that he was wearing what appeared to be a heart rate monitor):

I knew the 'hot' spot to be would be the grandstand court. I situated myself at the top of the bleachers so I could watch the grandstand as well as court #1 behind me. When I got there, Hewitt was practicing:

And then it was time for Robredo vs. Ferrero! Steve Ulrich got things under way:

 

[Topaz]

We all know the outcome of this match already. I honestly thought it would closer, but JCF was more aggressive and took it to Tommy. Tommy spends a lot of time running around his BH. I was trying to get a picture of it, and it took 3 games!

Behind me, Karlovic and Shuttluer (sp?) were finally getting started...Karlovic was way late to the court!

Back to the grandstand, and JCF!

Diggin' the Lotto shorts!

 

[Topaz]

JCF photographs well!

So does Robredo:

 

[Topaz]

A great dig at the net!

And finally, a BH!!!

Let's check in on court #1 - kind of a snoozer of a match. Here is Schuettler:

Dr. Ivo!

 

[Topaz]

Schuettler approaches the net (which he did a lot, actually):

Karlovic took it in two.

Next up on court #1 was Igor Andreev and Wayne 'the train' Odesnik!

Wayne actually has his own cheering section!

On the grandstand, Israeli Dudi Sela was taking on Lleyton Hewitt. There were loud cheering sections for both players. Sela has a pretty BH:

 

[Topaz]

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oiy, oiy, oiy!

Hewitt didn't have much problem in the first set, but was down a break in the second when I left. It was packed in there and I was starting to feel a bit claustrophobic!

Wayne got rolled in the first set, but then proved why you just can't count him out!

Andreev:

Odesnik:

 

[Topaz]

Andreev and Odesnik battled on as I headed into the stadium where Gonzo was fighting off a challenge from Alejandro Falla.

Gonzo:

The FH!!!

The sun set, but Andreev and Odesnik were still playing!

Next up on stadium was Roddick, and I saw a few points and then left. I headed out to a great doubles match with Lindstedt/Damm vs. Bhupathi/Knowles. It ended something like 16-14 in the champion's tiebreak. Then I scooted over back to the grandstand to see a bit of Soderling, and then I left. I had a match to play this morning, so I wanted a good night's sleep. The match ended up rained out, and I missed the Tsonga match for nothing!

 

[Topaz]

Two videos of Soderling vs. Youzhny:

 

[Love Game]

^^^Heh, heh, oh, noooo problem!

Though, he snubbed me when I was in line to get my picture taken with him.

that's very disappointing!

 

[Topaz]

If you get to the court early, you will be rewarded! On the grandstand was the one and only Fernando Gonzales, practicing shirtless! *score*

And, he was so hot, that he fried my camera. That's right...batteries kaput again! Luckily, I could still get enough juice to do a few videos and a few more pictures.

Tonight I only focused on two matches, both on stadium court. First up was JCF vs. Tommy Haas. A three setter due to a slow start by Haas, as well as JCF getting too error prone (pressing too much?) in the 3rd set. JCF is really fun to watch...a very smart player who is solid from everywhere on the court.

 

[Topaz]

Hmmm, I thought I had some pictures/videos of the Ferrero/Haas match. I can't seem to find them right now, but I'll put this post here in case I do find them. If not...move along...nothing to see here...

Here we go!

 

[Topaz]

Second match up on stadium was a rematch of Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Martin del Potro!

Here comes Hewitt:

Here comes JMdP:

The coin toss:

Warming up (sorry 'bout my thumb there):

 

[Love Game]

Back to the grandstand, and JCF!

^^^this is one of the best pics i've seen of JCF

Diggin' the Lotto shorts!

i agree w/you about the stylin' lotto shorts ... (they've looked good also on ferrer and gabashvilli)

 

[Topaz]

And then they got started...and wow...great match, with some great shots, some idiotic shots, and really, very entertaining. JMdP went brain dead a few times, LH had a surge of life toward the end, but couldn't keep it going. LH was also visited by the trainer between the 2nd and 3rd sets. Hope everything is ok...he did seem to not be moving real well for the beginning of the 3rd set.

JMdP served HUGE at times, and is much improved on his BH side. Of course, his FH is his big weapon, but he launches into it at the wrong times, and sprays it a bit too much.

I have many videos of this match, and I was able to capture some great points, including LH fighting off some match points, and the inevitable match point (and win) by JMdP in the 3rd set tiebreak.

 

[Topaz]

Great passing shot by JMdP:





Saving a match point with an ace:



And saving another match point on this rally:

 

[Love Game]

Next up on court #1 was Igor Andreev and Wayne 'the train' Odesnik!

^^^this is soooooo the purrrrrfect pic!!! (is wayne the train reading a book?!?!?! :shock: anyway, i've looked all over the internet, and yours is the only pic i've yet seen of that oh-so-quick appearance of the russian heartbreaker ... *sigh* both sleeveless! thank you, Topaz!!!

Wayne actually has his own cheering section!

could you tell whether that cheering section was having any negative effect on the delicate russian psyche, Topaz???

also, i noticed that odesnik is a lefty (as was the guy andreev lost to last week)...maybe he needs some lefty practice.

bottom line: excellent reporting! thanks, Topaz!!! :!:

 

[Topaz]

And match point (LH hits a FH into the net):



And, I think that may be it for me. The rest of the tournament, I believe, is viewable online/on tv, so I may just put a few thoughts/observations on here (with some pictures), but nothing to this degree. Hope you enjoyed it!

 

[Topaz]

^^^this is soooooo the purrrrrfect pic!!! (is wayne the train reading a book?!?!?! :shock: anyway, i've looked all over the internet, and yours is the only pic i've yet seen of that oh-so-quick appearance of the russian heartbreaker ... *sigh* both sleeveless! thank you, Topaz!!!


could you tell whether that cheering section was having any negative effect on the delicate russian psyche, Topaz???

also, i noticed that odesnik is a lefty (as was the guy andreev lost to last week)...maybe he needs some lefty practice.

bottom line: excellent reporting! thanks, Topaz!!! :!:

I think quite a few players do what you see Wayne doing...reviewing some reminders/game plan before the match. I don't think Andreev was affected...but couldn't say for sure...when I was watching, Igor was well in control. It wasn't until after I left that WO starting to come back. He is very scrappy (and yes, a lefty), and he grinds opponents out.

I actually forgot to mention...I talked to John Isner's dad (behind me in the beer line). He made a comment on Odesnik coming back in his match, and mentioned that you just can never count him out. He said John and Wayne have played each other a lot, both in juniors, and now four times on tour...and they are 2-2 head to head in the pros. He said every time they played it was a struggle for John, and a looong match. I can attest to that...one of the best matches I ever saw at LM was between Odesnik and Isner (the year Isner went to the final), and of course, it was one of Isner's third set tiebreak wins.