On Tuesday I got to cover two matches that I really enjoyed. James Blake has easily become one of my favorite players while in China, and I was able to report on his match vs. Florian Mayer. It was really fun to watch because I've become much more familiar with his playing style and his personality as a player. I even know who his coaches and entourage are, and after hanging around them for the past ten days, they now recognize me and smile. Afterward, I was also able to attend his press conference and ask him some questions to add quotes into my article which was really exciting for me! Here is the link to my Blake article: http://www.chinaopen.com.cn/news/en/2009-10-06/1657135.shtml.
Later in the afternoon, I had the privilege of reporting on one of the more exciting and meaningful matches of the tournament. Serena Williams played Ekaterina Makarova. Serena needed only one more win in order to reclaim her position as the No. 1 woman in the world. Safina, the current No.1, had lost in really early round of the China Open, leaving the opportunity open for her.
Serena was able to easily defeat Makarova and it was great to see her celebrate after the match and in her press conference. It was the first time that she took the world n
umber one spot since April, so it was a pretty big deal. I also have a great article published about Serena's win on the China Open Website: http://www.chinaopen.com.cn/news/en/2009-10-06/1945144.shtmlIn addition, since my matches were over by early evening, I got to see Nadal's match vs. Marcos Baghdatis. It was definitely one of the most entertaining and intense matches I've seen so far. (I posted a video I took of it above). Baghdatis took Nadal into three sets, playing him really tough, though Nadal ended up winning the match. (Picture of Nadal in his press conference that I took to the right). Nadal really is one of the most talented athletes in the world, and also one of the most gracious and polite athletes. After matches, he sticks around to sign autographs for the fans, even after security tells him that it's time to go. It's easy to see why so many people love him- not only is he one of the most attractive players (obviously) but his attitude is so positive and he is so thankful for all of the support he receives.
For dinner, Emily, Matt, and I really wanted to try out this amazing noodle place we had heard about, but of course, when we arrived at 10:03, it had closed 3 minutes before. People in China tend to eat pretty early, unlike America and European countries. Luckily, we walked down the street to find an awesome restaurant- where they stretch the noodles in front of you and perform with the dough before cooking it in a pot on your table. Below is a video (Just figured out how to put my videos into my blog!) For all of the food we got, it was pretty inexpensive too.
I'll try and catch up on the rest of my week tonight!
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