It's the reason they play
The Pacific Life Open. It's a fun tennis tournament to go to, and a great excuse to go to the Palm Springs area. We decided to go last night because there were some good matches on the draw.
We got to see James Blake play. We got to see the Bryan brothers playing in Men's doubles. We got to see Roger Federer too. But, the real reason that the guys wanted to go?
Hantuchova vs Sharapova.
Personally, I found the men's doubles match to be more intriguing. And seeing Roger Federer play was amazing.
He was on fire. He made some killer shots, and tore the line judge a new one. He challenged 4 calls in a row (correctly) and overturned a call as well. The one he overturned was a winner down the line by Ljubicic that the line judge called out. Roger said, "No...that was in. It's his point."
Then a couple of points later, he hit a ball back to Ljubicic after it had clearly bounced out - but no call was made. After hitting the ball weakly across the net, he held both of his hands up and said "That was out!!!"
We went to the video review, and yes...it had clearly been about 8 inches out.
The most impressive thing he did though? After he won he stayed on the court for about 5 to 10 minutes signing autographs. He didn't need to do it. He could have walked off quickly (the matches all started late because Nadal's match with Tsonga earlier in the day took so long) like so many others do. But he stayed for his fans. He's one of the guys who gets it.
The only reason that he gets paid big money to play tennis is because there are people who are willing to pay money to see him play. He understands the importance of the fans. They are the reason that he plays.
We got to see James Blake play. We got to see the Bryan brothers playing in Men's doubles. We got to see Roger Federer too. But, the real reason that the guys wanted to go?
Hantuchova vs Sharapova.
Personally, I found the men's doubles match to be more intriguing. And seeing Roger Federer play was amazing.
He was on fire. He made some killer shots, and tore the line judge a new one. He challenged 4 calls in a row (correctly) and overturned a call as well. The one he overturned was a winner down the line by Ljubicic that the line judge called out. Roger said, "No...that was in. It's his point."
Then a couple of points later, he hit a ball back to Ljubicic after it had clearly bounced out - but no call was made. After hitting the ball weakly across the net, he held both of his hands up and said "That was out!!!"
We went to the video review, and yes...it had clearly been about 8 inches out.
The most impressive thing he did though? After he won he stayed on the court for about 5 to 10 minutes signing autographs. He didn't need to do it. He could have walked off quickly (the matches all started late because Nadal's match with Tsonga earlier in the day took so long) like so many others do. But he stayed for his fans. He's one of the guys who gets it.
The only reason that he gets paid big money to play tennis is because there are people who are willing to pay money to see him play. He understands the importance of the fans. They are the reason that he plays.