Friday, April 6, 2012

7 Days of Blogging: Day 5 (Indian Wells)

Bucket list #17- attend an ATP/WTA event.....check. Scott and I went to Indian Wells (Palm Springs), CA, for the BNP Paribas Open. It is considered the "5th major" so all the big names in tennis were there. It was wonderful! We had so much fun! The weather was horrible for 2 of the 3 days we were there, and we still had a blast. Can't imagine how fabulous it would be with cooperating weather.

Being the wonderful wife that I am :) I had arranged for Scott to play Dinah Shore at Mission Hills Country Club the first morning we were there (Friday). Dinah Shore is on his "bucket list" of courses, so he was excited. Even so, when Scott dropped me off at the tennis center that morning he actually said he was jealous of me for a few reasons and considered cancelling his tee-time. He said first of all, Friday was perfect weather wise and we knew the weather was going to change drastically over night, so this was the best day to enjoy some world-class tennis. Secondly, I'd be watching Scott's favorite tennis player, Rafael "Rafa" Nadal, play. Scott decided to go to the course early to see if he could tee-off early. I had gotten him the earliest tee-time available in advance, but you never know where a slot may have opened. Scott made me promise to keep him updated via text on Nadal's match. Scott headed to Dinah Shore and I headed into the main stadium pictured above.
Federer was warming up when I arrived.
Then Nadal came out to warm-up. Here is a frame-by-frame look at his serve. How fun!





Time for my first in-person ATP match. Del-Po/Fed. That's Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Roger Federer for you non-tennis followers. Woot woot. Soooo fun! Great match. We opted to attend on Championship weekend to see great tennis, risking potentially not seeing our fave players if they were to already be eliminated. The risk paid off. We got to see some fabulous matches and all our fave players.





Nalbandian vs. Nadal
(Scott was able to get on early at Dinah Shore made it in time for the second set.)



Azarenka

Azarenka vs. Kerber
Ivanovic vs.
Sharapova



Day 2....brrrr!!!



Nadal warming up.


Finally it's time to see my favorite player! :)
First Isner comes out. He is sooo flippin' tall!
Then Novak "Nole'" Djokovic. He is soooo fun to watch play!








The Djokovic/Isner match got done just as the skies opened up and started pouring down buckets of water. Since we had aisle seats, we managed to be among the first out of the stadium, therefore we managed to snag a table under the tent. It was standing room only within a minute of sitting down and the people really packed in. Since it ended up being a 3-hour rain delay, we were very thankful to have a table to hang out at! In addition to the rain, it was cold and windy. We decided this must be the worst weather the BNP Paribas Open has ever had.
It was funny. Scott was just sitting there hanging out, and a lady came up and asked him if he was one of the players. Really lady?! I mean, Scott's athletic looking and all, so I can see why she thought he was a tennis player. But how can she not realize the players have nice, warm lounges to hang out in during rain delays?! Her brain must have been frozen. ;)



Drying the courts....FINALLY.
3 hours later, play finally resumes with Rog vs Rafa, one of the greatest rivalries of our time. It was worth the wait to see these to go at it.
I've already shown enough pics of both Rafa and Rog in their previous matches, so I'll show some of the celebrities braving the cold instead. Above is Mirka Federer, Mary Jo Fernandez, and Gwen Stefani and her boys.
Gavin Rossdale
Ben Stiller (Will Ferrell was there, too, but I didn't get a picture).
We had such a good time that we decided we were going back next year for sure. Can't wait!

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