ALRIGHT I shall officially end this btw I update my previous post so there's more to read, scroll through to see what's new.
Side note: I need to rant seriously CityFail is really getting to me and I don't know how I'm going to survive this year. First of all the train this morning was 7 minutes late and then we had to wait for another 5 minutes at Auburn because the bloody signal didn't turn green so yeah more waiting. Oh and I was furious, why, because I had an appointment at 10 o'clock near St James station and because oh the train delay I had to cancel my appointment and now I can't schedule because the person is booked out for the rest of the day. Gee, thanks for ruining my day.
I think the next few photos sums up the whole night and general experience- magical! The atmosphere is so electrifying in the beginning, tense during the match and of course you have the passionate fans like me but what I love most is how all of us tennis fans gather in that once spot.
Angre Agassi with the trophy
Almost time
Murray entering
Nole entering
Coin toss and photos
By the time the warm up began it was time to cover our ears. There were 4 seats occupied to my right by English Murray supporters ( 1 man and 3 lady friends) and boy were they vocal, the man was seated right next to me so guess who had busted eardrums that night....week....month (just kidding). Elisa and I (especially) refined our reflexes as we covered our ears the moment we felt the momentum going towards Murray, or if he had won a point or if they were mocking Nole which was very offensive. Excuse show some courtesy please, you don't become world No.1 by playing pathetically so yeah respect is something that you my NOT friend are missing. British accents are in general very nice but not when someone is roaring or bellowing out a cheer. It just sounds croaky and as if you have a sore throat, oh did I mention that they were vocal at all the wrong times like when someone is about to serve which is a definite NO NO. So if you watch the match again or if you remembering watching the match and you heard some heavy British accents then you know where it came from and who exactly had to bear the full brunt of it. Oh and fyi the lady sitting to the left of Elisa also blocked her ears whenever they cheered.
Her: "You must be deaf?"
Me: "Believe me I am."
To Elisa- "Can we swap seats" and of course she rejected my offer.
But fortunately they're smokers and heavy drinkers, okay usually I don't rejoice at this because we all know the harmful side-effects of smoking and the consequences of not drinking responsibly but because they're addicts they have to physically leave to buy beer and to smoke and when they do....muahahaha I can give my ears the peace and tranquility they deserve in a tennis arena (?).
Yeah it's courtesy to the players that during breaks the crowd can get up and walk freely and during play the gates are closed so that you can't enter until the next break which is 2-3 games depending on how far into the set you are. So yay for them buying beer and smoking because that man disappeared for a long time and I was happy!!!! or if you read my blog from the blog I IS HAPPY (:
One other thing, I got asked if I was Serbian by a Chinese person. Dude how naive can a person get and you know it's just plain insulting when it comes from your own country man. I mean how the hell do I even look European, Thai, Phillo and Korean I can understand but seriously. I mean you don't ask everyone who supports Roger Federer if they're Swiss in fact that's just stupid. Note you don't have to support your own country man, although it makes perfect sense but hey I was all for Maria Sharapova beating Li Na, sigh what could have been if it wasn't for that blind linesman. Don't get me started here because I will say very very nasty things about him/her.
THE MATCH ITSELF NOW (warning shit load of words followed by a shit load of images)
First set started off smoothly, tense towards the end especially the tie break, that was unbearable to watch. Thank you Elisa for being on Team Serbia, I know you hate Murray as much as I do.
Second set, I got worried that Nole might go down 2 sets to love which would have been a repeat of last year's US Open finals and I have too many bad memories so let's not go there. Still, we had yet to see a break of service and yet thus what followed was another tiebreak which as you would understand, made me even more nervous. I hate seeing my man frustrated and upset with himself so I prayed like I always do with every one of matches. Thank you for answering my prays and giving him the strength and courage to persevere. Second set over and no heart attacks just yet but my hand is numbing at this stage elisa knows just how hard I clap and hot my palms become. JBHI-5's personal space heater right here. Oh and that feather moment which I later read again in the newspaper cracked me up although at the time we were all like wtf is Murray doing but hey presto on his second serve HE DOUBLE FAULTED HIS FIRST DOUBLE FAULT SINCE HIS QUARTERS. That was a good moment because Nole got the mini break he needed for the set and also it.
Third set offered more relief and whilst service games continued to be tight, I'm so glad that Nole dug deep and finally broke, yes that moment when someone broke and then closed it out for a 2 sets to 1 lead.
Fourth set and come end of the third set, I told Elisa that this was the beginning of the end and boy was I right. Double faults came out of nowhere, throughout the entire semi with Federer we were calling out for doubles. Oh well they were much appreciated. A free hitting Nole is what I like to see, with his angles, shot making prowess, brilliant touch and feel at the net and ability to see and read everything so well (his challenges were mostly spot on). And just like that Nole had a double championship point and I was getting ready to erupt because I have been waiting 5 years to finally see him lift up the trophy in person. IT HAPPENED, 5 YEARS WORTH OF FANGIRLING ALL THIS MOMENT OF ABSOLUTE GLEE.
Immediately during post match celebrations I started taking photos with anyone decked out in support of Serbia. In fast during the match I was actually spotted by this Serbian pair (also from Sydney) who came to find me immediately after the match was over. They told me that they had spotted me during the match because I was obviously supporting him and they said that once the match was over they just had to have a photo with me probably because a non-Serbian supporter in the arena was rare. Anyway BRING ON THE PHOTO TAKING. Walked out of RLA, more photo taking, saw a crowd of Serbian supporters at Garden square and I knew that something was going to happen and then I remembered that the winner always has an interview with Channel 7 after the match. We stayed behind to make the most of our ticket and started chanting with the crowd, I would love to learn some Serbian phrases so I can one understand them and two become even more involved. Kept on seeing the back of Jim Couriers head and then Nole arrived, too short yet again to actually see him so I just waited it out till he went onto the balcony to acknowledge us. I wonder how clearly he heard Jim Courier asking him the questions because we were loud- very but I later questioned that when I watched that interview online but hey if you watch the ESPN interview you can actually here us. Took more photos of Nole with his trophy only this time he was heaps closer and was actually facing us. I love seeing tennis live and yes I have bigger plans for next year hopefully that involves a corporate seat. |
First set over, it was so tense, so many breakpoints that went by unconverted. Murray served too many aces
Hang in there, HADJE NOLE
Alright big jump in time because I wanted to give Nole the best chance at winning and because my camera has a shutter sound which I can't turn off that meant no photos and of course seeing the match live in person with my own eyes as well (:
The winning moment and someone blocked my view of the one person who matters T^T but the celebrations that followed <3
VICTORY!!!!
Also Elisa, you can see the umpire getting down
I wish I was seated there
Behind the scenes, what you don't see on tv
Smiles all around
The couple I was talking about
The Chinese pair on my right here who failed to recognise that I am Chinese and not Serbian.
Ceremony
FACE US PLEASE... sigh one day
Photos and look at that the press numbers
VICTORY LAP AND YES GOOD PHOTO BECAUSE HE ISN'T LOOKING IN THE OTHER DIRECTION
I want to be seated there but it's all reserved for corporates
ND hat (:
A rare fellow Asian supporter and OMG HER SHIRT <3
YAY FOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I IS HAPPY
AND THAT'S IT, thank you for patiently reading guys and I hope you enjoyed following me as I share my tennis experiences and yeah I should be there again next year so take 2 anyone?
