I actually took better photos today, I think I've finally worked it out that my camera takes better photos during daytime. Even through the fence is ok because it steadies the camera so my hand shaking won't be an issue.

But GAH. again. JCF lost it again! This is like the fifth time I've seen him lose the first match of the year. (2004 - Guccione @ Sydney, 2005 - Hernych @ Auckland, 2006 - Guccione @ Sydney, 2007 - Massu @ Auckland) Note that last year I wasn't there and he reached the final? Do I carry such bad luck????? Should I be banned from his matches???

Anyway, to start today's report properly I got to the tennis at around 10.30am. Not long later PHM headed out to practice with Benneteau. PHM must've read my comments about the orange shirt yesterday since he wore it today! lol. So... does it go better with white or black shorts?



I think I've mentioned earlier I'm warming up to Benneteau. He has that nice fluffy hair thing going too :) But today he had stripes of sunscreen on his face. In this country, we do encourage slip, slop, slap but how hard is it to blend it in? It is not a good look!



Then, I saw Mario heading off to a nearby court to practice so I watched that. He practiced with Luka Gregorc! In my mind, he's "Starbucks guy". Well, in my mind he also looked different so I didn't recognise him lol. This certainly helped!



Mario spoke to him in English, and they seemed friendly. After the practice Mario signed autographs and took photos etc. I wished him good luck for the match and how he was feeling - not injured???? I hope. He said he was ok, and then he asked why I asked the question.... X_X er.... just wondering? I DON'T KNOW WHY I ASKED! It just came out???? GRRRRRR. Actually, it's a bit of a blur now. I really should avoid him now. Maybe it's weird because I haven't asked him for a photo or autograph yet. He might think I have money on him looool.



After Mario's practice JCF's match was just about to start so I headed to the show court. It was PACKED! Brissy people likes JCF! (More than Mario it seems - based on the crowd numbers later on!) I attempted to sit on the stands, under the sun, but it was distracting because of the crowd. The Show Courts only has seating on one side (where the sun is). So a lot of people watch it from the shady side and they just either get chairs and sit right behind the fence or stand. The shady side was packed so people started to stand/sit on the sunny side as well, in front of the seating. This blocked the view of some of the ppl sitting on the stands so they were pretty annoyed. I'm sure this problem wasn't sorted out until the middle of the first set. So that whole time, I couldn't concentrate on the match because of the complaints and the ppl blocking part of my view! ARGH.

After the first set, I couldn't stand the heat anymore so I moved to the shady side and stood to watch the rest of the match. It wasn't the best view since I couldn't see the other side of the court very well. (Better than nothing I suppose) For this reason, I don't have many pics of this match because I could hardly see it properly myself! Honestly, I can't pretty much copy and paste my comments from his previous "1st match of the year losses" because he didn't seem to 'be there'. He had some good shots early but once Serra got ahead, he couldn't fight back. There was some brief hope in the 2nd set when he broke back but that's only because Serra double faulted. Serra also made a couple of unforced errors but JCF couldn't capitalise. After watching these types of matches I'm always pessimistic about his chances next week. But he has proved me wrong in the past so I hope this year it's the same. I like the outfit though, if it helps anything.



Next up on the same court is Mario Ancic v Amer Delic. Amer has always been in my good books because I did think he was ok but now he has shocking hair....! It's long! Needs a haircut that one. Mario on the other hand, although the yellow outfit is rather yummy, he has major co-ordination issues. Yellow shorts call for white undies Mario! See through is not a good look!



The match was close. Both of them served well (Amer's arguably more consistent than Mario's it seems) so there weren't that many long rallies. Mario did come into the net often and it worked reasonably well. I'm skeptical of Mario having his brother as his new coach. All aspects of his game needs to improve to get back to the level he once was and he really needs someone experienced to help him. (I know, it's just another way of saying I miss Fiddie but still!) He just didn't seem to have a weapon besides his serve.



While we were standing to watch the match (since we didn't want to get sunburnt!) I suddenly felt someone standing really close behind me. First I thought it was a joke from someone I know but then I turned around and it was some random guy! He was wearing a blue Lacoste shirt and seriously, I could feel his breathing on my neck. WTF? I never found out who he was, but later on, I saw Michael Llodra with his coach (I presume) wearing that same shirt. So I suspect it was Llodra's coach from before. Was he Lionel? I don't remember. But Lionel is not listed as his coach on ATP???

Anyway, as the match went on, we managed to get a couple of seats right behind the players behind the fence. We were like 3 metres behind Delic. He must sweat a lot because he changed EVERY SINGLE ITEM of clothing on his body throughout the match. I'm sure he went through 4 shirts, 2 pairs of shorts, and changed even his headband, socks AND SHOES during the match. How much stuff does he carry with him???? Plus we have to put up with a pile of dirty clothing right in front of us! =.= Not impressed!

[I just realised I didn't take any Amer photos!]

Eventually, Mario won, just. That match was like 3 hours! Amer and Mario even gave each other a little hug afterwards. :) After they sat down they even chatted a little, maybe about those doggy line calls during the match lol.



I had thoughts of seeing Robin Soderling v Julien Benneteau but it might not start until almost 7pm and I was bummed about JCF... :( So we called it a day.