Rogers Cup Action!!!

This is the first tennis tournament I've had the privilege of attending. I watch whenever I can and I keep track of tennis results, but I've never been in the right place at the right time...until now! Let me first explain that I love tennis with all my heart. It's probably on par with my love for basketball except I can actually play tennis and I'm too vertically challenged for basketball.

It said on our tickets (me and my sister) that the gates opened at 10 am. The match was going to start at 1. We decided to get there at 10 to take in the sights and sounds of the tournament. It's kind of a trend for me to get to sporting events too early anyway (I got to KeyArena at about 9 am for a 7 pm game). From Mississauga, we had to take a short cab ride to a GO Station, take a looong GO train ride, take a looong subway ride to get to Finch Station in North York, and finally take a bus to York University. While at York, we had to walk the entire length of the campus to get to Rexall Center. We woke up at about 6:30 am, and we reached there at around 10:20. At that point, we were so tired already, but we were still excited. When we left the house, it was pretty cool outside, so my sister and I wore jeans and sleeved shirts. BIG MISTAKE. When we got there at around 10 am, we climbed all the way up to our seats in the 300-level and watched the players practice. The smart people stayed in the shade as they waited for the match to start. My sister and I stayed under the sun.

The match itself was a good one. It featured two young guns of tennis. Richard Gasquet of France is only 20 years old while Andy Murray of Scotland is only 19. There were some excellent shots but it wasn't as exciting as some other tennis matches I've seen on tv. It was a pretty straightforward match. Gasquet had control basically for the whole match. It was pretty cool because I've had a crush on Richard Gasquet for the longest time. I had no idea that he was going to be playing that first semi-final that day. Luckily, I got him. Although when I saw the Federer-Gonzalez match later on at home, I really wanted to watch that exciting match.

After the singles match, we stayed behind to watch the doubles match. I'm more of a singles person myself and by that time I think I was suffering from heat exhaustion so I didn't get to enjoy it too much. It was exciting, however, with the Bryan brothers winning it in the end.

I can't wait til next year when the WTA comes to Toronto for the Rogers Cup. It will be exciting, especially because I follow the WTA more than the ATP. By this time next year, I'll be ready for another scorching day watching tennis.