melbourne 2010 qualifying, practice, and 1st round

donald young celebrates a point

xavier malisse celebrates a win

ping-pong style serve?

feliciano lopez shows off ... again

i win !!!

oh elena, what's happened to your pretty face?

daniela hantuchova practises hard

janko the tattoo man

animated chat

puffing andy roddick

a hot day for tommy robredo

not so great for sebastien grosjean

sydney 2010 qualifying and practice

Svetlana Kuznetsova grimaces during practice

Daniela Hantuchova waits at practice

Jelena Jankovic gets lots of sunscreen

who's striking a pose

new doubles partners Llodra and Ram

tennis gossips

Andreas Seppi hits at practice

Nick Lindahl at practice

guess who's getting a special @ Via's Tennis Photos?

change....

stretch....

bend....

fierce opposition....

pull....

celebrate....

pack....

wave.... hasta la vista baby!


this must be the first pic posted here that is not taken at a tournament... a familiar face in a taipei street scene

more images coming soon to this blog and at Via's Tennis Photos :)

sydney tennis 2009, part I

this was monday, 12 jan 2009....

mr 'balcony guy' richard gasquet, seen here with his coach (?) at a men's singles match.







it wasn't the hottest day yet, but spectators were already taking shade and rest outside the centre court.


these motor carts (how else to call them?) seen in european tournaments last year, have made their way to australia. yay.


has mario ancic turned into a mean muscle machine, after taking time off tennis? we are definitely seeing results



i mistook djokovic as jurgen melzer from a distance away from his practice court. really time to check my glasses. at least the camera managed to 'see' him with david nalbandian here, taking a bit of rest and doing a bit of discussion.


another fan had mistaken this guy for fernando verdasco. at least *i* wouldn't make the same mistake. he's dark but he's no spaniard ;)






this guy coaches a few chinese female players. i have a feeling he's french (????) but i call him andrew denton anyway. denton is an aussie tv personality :)

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/about/about_andrew.htm

sydney tennis 2009, part II

(yup part II... last things first!)

tuesday was a more interesting day than monday, since this year the men's draw is cut back to a field of 28, so there are fewer first round matches. i don't know if that helps with attracting top players (with byes on offer), as i think those who play will play anyway, and those (rafa?) who won't come, won't come anyway.

miss long legs stretching out in a 'quiet spot', after a centre court loss to agnieszka radwanska


jeremy chardy also stretched, before playing his first round match later in the afternoon








one of men's fashion icons ... janko tipsarevic with his colourful sunglasses, and tattoos in japanese(?)


sydney launches more 'fan-friendly' features. lots of creatures hopping and swirling around the grounds this year...


and this ... in coordination with the atp's new space theme perhaps?


while i was away in brisbane, alize cornet has somehow become a new fashion icon herself. not that we could see anything irregular this day at a tight outside match...



agnieszka radwanska and maria kirilenko in a doubles match


fabrice active around the grounds, although not having signed up for competition







leaving the best till last, right? another sweaty shirtless frenchman ...


joyous in serving ...


... and enjoying another light moment