Vamos Brigade at the Artois
by MAC
We don't spend a lot of time writing about Lleyton Hewitt, nor do any of us take pictures for Andy Roddick's site. We don't get impatient when Rafa's playing in case we miss Jamie Murray practising. We did have the wonderful char working on the court one gate to give us some great gossip about the other players but mainly we are the Vamos Brigade and it's pretty much all about Rafa.
Not everyone who went had the time to blog but plenty did. Check out MAC's blog, Char's blog and Other Artois blogs. Here are the highlights.
Tuesday 12th June
char - Right, I'm currently writing whilst in alot of aching pain. Being on your feet all day is soooo tiring. I'm aching places where I didn't even know muscles existed!
Amethyst - I am throughly sunburnt (quite literally ) but am still very very elated after my wonderful day there. By the time the gates opened, the three of us (myself, MAC and vamosnadal) were full of enthusiasm to go seek out Rafa and after checking in quickly with char, we headed straight off to the practice courts. Our efforts were rewarded as we suddenly saw Rafa, Feli, Roig and Costa advancing onto the court . Like last year, they’d “selfishly” chosen to use the furthest practice court from us, plus the then dull weather ruled out any chance of a shirtless practice.
MAC - Finally, the sun came out - or it seemed like it anyway - as Rafa and Feli came onto court.
MAC - The first match was just finishing and the queue wasn't that long so we were hopeful. About an hour later when we had moved forward by about four people we weren't quite so chipper. No-one but NO-ONE was leaving that court. They were even prepared to sit through Karlovic/Fish rather than give up their seats. Don't these people ever need to pee? Sat outside gloomily listening to scores until finally a few of the weaker-bladdered came out. Got in just in time for the second set.
Amethyst - Despite joining the queue 90 minutes before Rafa was expected to play, our chances of getting into the court didn't look good at all. But our luck ultimately was in and due to a combination of some people in front of us giving up, and a few spectators dribbling out every change of ends, we managed to get in just before the end of the first set. We had really good seats in the first few rows and Court 1 isn't very big so it felt like we were really close to the players.
char - For Rafa and Feli it was clear that the support was all for them - don't think many people had ever heard of the two they were playing.
Wednesday 13th June
Juanita - You just see players wandering around and get so close to them at Queens. I then managed to get courtside to watch the last bit of Rafael's practice - he looked so relaxed and was smiling all the time.
Lovely - I ran to the practice court. I can't remember who was on the court behind me (think it was Safin now that I think hard about it) because as soon as I saw Rafa hitting the ball I thought, "ah bingo". He looked beautiful, all tanned and joking around with Rafael.
char - This morning had the best moment so far - got a photo with Safin as he arrived. Did he stop for anyone else? Hell no. Just for me. Yesterday I was talking to a security guard who said he was stationed in the men's locker room earlier. When I said that was very lucky he reminded me that for him he couldn't really appreciate it that much. HE then said he had seen all four of the players in the Nadal-Lopez match naked. I thought that there are probably loads of people on these boards that would love that job.
MAC - Since I just happened to have my Mallorcan flag and a marker pen handy it seemed wrong not to proffer them to him with a winsome smile and a badly pronounced "por favor" as he passed in front of me. Now the trouble with flags is that they aren't firm like a program. I had it held on my hand and all he could do was hold my hand to steady it as he signed His fingers then brushed mine as he handed back the pen. I am NEVER washing again. After that he left me in a dribbling heap to return to the players' fastness. I was still shaking when my friend finally found me a few minutes later.
MAC - And finally it was Rafa time. I wouldn't say the reception was rapturous but it was certainly warm. As Annabel Croft remarked on the radio as I was driving home "he has such presence and charisma when he walks on court". Go Annabel! Another person worthy of honorary VB membership.
Lovely - The match went by like a flash, it wasn't fair. When he would towel off I was like "Take your time, Rafa, wipe it nwwice and slow". But I did enjoy the match, though. It was like 10 minutes of pure ectasy. It was great.
Thursday 14th June
char - Whilst I have said Rafa was doing a "Monfils" (pretending to talk on a mobile phone to avoid fans), this morning he was really good. He posed for a few photos and actually smiled in them - a rarity for most tennis players.
MAC - Decided it might be nice to see him up close again so we pushed our way back out to go and lurk by the court entrance. Luckily there was no-one there so I got a good position by the barrier where you can see the very back of the court. No use for seeing practise but very handy for when he would come off court. I then noticed that Rafa had now sat down on the bench. Figured this was just prior to coming off court. And then to my everlasting delight he took his shirt off He sat there for ages in a shirtless state and the security guys were really good about keeping out of my way as I craned around the corner to take pics.(See Pic of the Week). I primed Daisy to distract him when he came out by getting him to sign something so I could get a decent photograph. She stepped up gamely to this challenge only suffering the mildest of twitches in her finger as he signed. So she now has a permanent mark that Rafa made on her body.
MAC - I will not dwell on my feelings about Bogdanovitch/Roddick. Suffice to say that if they hadn't fannied around as long as they did we probably would have got to see an entire Rafa match rather than two half matches with no result. Still that delay did mean that vamosnadal got to see him for a few games.
Daisy - It was a magical day, meeting other VBers, drinking Pimms and getting MAC's flag signed by Rafa. I haven't got over the pen mark on my finger yet. I only managed "por favor" and "gracias" but it's a step in the right direction no?
Friday 15th June
char - A little insider info, though it's not gossip (don't get too excited!). Basically there are some practice courts in Chiswick which are linked to the club as there aren't enough on site and I think some are indoors too. Anyway, players arrive and then get shuttled in a minibus to these. So a fun sight this morning was a minibus with Gilles Muller, Monfils and Andreev driving off, none of them talking to each other. Quite funny really.
MAC - Once we got our tickets I shot straight to the practise courts to watch him for a while. I dragged babolatbabe and OjosEspanoles away from their hot chocolate to stand by the court exit so they could get to see him up close - something baboltatbabe had yet to experience. She promised faithfully to see what he smelt like but as with the rest of us completely forgot to actually breathe in when he came past us. After that we went in for our 10 seconds of media fame. TV does add at least 30 pounds to your weight doesn't it?
Lovely - The match was somewhat entertaining even thought he lost. I loved when he would come to the net and yell" si!"
MAC - Nothing to say about the match. Rafa didn't look particularly tired though I guess that all those first serves into the net tell a different story. Still - all in all it was a fab week full of great Rafa moments. And it was great to meet up with so many VB friends.
Not everyone who went had the time to blog but plenty did. Check out MAC's blog, Char's blog and Other Artois blogs. Here are the highlights.
Tuesday 12th June
char - Right, I'm currently writing whilst in alot of aching pain. Being on your feet all day is soooo tiring. I'm aching places where I didn't even know muscles existed!
Amethyst - I am throughly sunburnt (quite literally ) but am still very very elated after my wonderful day there. By the time the gates opened, the three of us (myself, MAC and vamosnadal) were full of enthusiasm to go seek out Rafa and after checking in quickly with char, we headed straight off to the practice courts. Our efforts were rewarded as we suddenly saw Rafa, Feli, Roig and Costa advancing onto the court . Like last year, they’d “selfishly” chosen to use the furthest practice court from us, plus the then dull weather ruled out any chance of a shirtless practice.
MAC - Finally, the sun came out - or it seemed like it anyway - as Rafa and Feli came onto court.
MAC - The first match was just finishing and the queue wasn't that long so we were hopeful. About an hour later when we had moved forward by about four people we weren't quite so chipper. No-one but NO-ONE was leaving that court. They were even prepared to sit through Karlovic/Fish rather than give up their seats. Don't these people ever need to pee? Sat outside gloomily listening to scores until finally a few of the weaker-bladdered came out. Got in just in time for the second set.
Amethyst - Despite joining the queue 90 minutes before Rafa was expected to play, our chances of getting into the court didn't look good at all. But our luck ultimately was in and due to a combination of some people in front of us giving up, and a few spectators dribbling out every change of ends, we managed to get in just before the end of the first set. We had really good seats in the first few rows and Court 1 isn't very big so it felt like we were really close to the players.
char - For Rafa and Feli it was clear that the support was all for them - don't think many people had ever heard of the two they were playing.
Wednesday 13th June
Juanita - You just see players wandering around and get so close to them at Queens. I then managed to get courtside to watch the last bit of Rafael's practice - he looked so relaxed and was smiling all the time.
Lovely - I ran to the practice court. I can't remember who was on the court behind me (think it was Safin now that I think hard about it) because as soon as I saw Rafa hitting the ball I thought, "ah bingo". He looked beautiful, all tanned and joking around with Rafael.
char - This morning had the best moment so far - got a photo with Safin as he arrived. Did he stop for anyone else? Hell no. Just for me. Yesterday I was talking to a security guard who said he was stationed in the men's locker room earlier. When I said that was very lucky he reminded me that for him he couldn't really appreciate it that much. HE then said he had seen all four of the players in the Nadal-Lopez match naked. I thought that there are probably loads of people on these boards that would love that job.
MAC - Since I just happened to have my Mallorcan flag and a marker pen handy it seemed wrong not to proffer them to him with a winsome smile and a badly pronounced "por favor" as he passed in front of me. Now the trouble with flags is that they aren't firm like a program. I had it held on my hand and all he could do was hold my hand to steady it as he signed His fingers then brushed mine as he handed back the pen. I am NEVER washing again. After that he left me in a dribbling heap to return to the players' fastness. I was still shaking when my friend finally found me a few minutes later.
MAC - And finally it was Rafa time. I wouldn't say the reception was rapturous but it was certainly warm. As Annabel Croft remarked on the radio as I was driving home "he has such presence and charisma when he walks on court". Go Annabel! Another person worthy of honorary VB membership.
Lovely - The match went by like a flash, it wasn't fair. When he would towel off I was like "Take your time, Rafa, wipe it nwwice and slow". But I did enjoy the match, though. It was like 10 minutes of pure ectasy. It was great.
Thursday 14th June
char - Whilst I have said Rafa was doing a "Monfils" (pretending to talk on a mobile phone to avoid fans), this morning he was really good. He posed for a few photos and actually smiled in them - a rarity for most tennis players.
MAC - Decided it might be nice to see him up close again so we pushed our way back out to go and lurk by the court entrance. Luckily there was no-one there so I got a good position by the barrier where you can see the very back of the court. No use for seeing practise but very handy for when he would come off court. I then noticed that Rafa had now sat down on the bench. Figured this was just prior to coming off court. And then to my everlasting delight he took his shirt off He sat there for ages in a shirtless state and the security guys were really good about keeping out of my way as I craned around the corner to take pics.(See Pic of the Week). I primed Daisy to distract him when he came out by getting him to sign something so I could get a decent photograph. She stepped up gamely to this challenge only suffering the mildest of twitches in her finger as he signed. So she now has a permanent mark that Rafa made on her body.
MAC - I will not dwell on my feelings about Bogdanovitch/Roddick. Suffice to say that if they hadn't fannied around as long as they did we probably would have got to see an entire Rafa match rather than two half matches with no result. Still that delay did mean that vamosnadal got to see him for a few games.
Daisy - It was a magical day, meeting other VBers, drinking Pimms and getting MAC's flag signed by Rafa. I haven't got over the pen mark on my finger yet. I only managed "por favor" and "gracias" but it's a step in the right direction no?
Friday 15th June
char - A little insider info, though it's not gossip (don't get too excited!). Basically there are some practice courts in Chiswick which are linked to the club as there aren't enough on site and I think some are indoors too. Anyway, players arrive and then get shuttled in a minibus to these. So a fun sight this morning was a minibus with Gilles Muller, Monfils and Andreev driving off, none of them talking to each other. Quite funny really.
MAC - Once we got our tickets I shot straight to the practise courts to watch him for a while. I dragged babolatbabe and OjosEspanoles away from their hot chocolate to stand by the court exit so they could get to see him up close - something baboltatbabe had yet to experience. She promised faithfully to see what he smelt like but as with the rest of us completely forgot to actually breathe in when he came past us. After that we went in for our 10 seconds of media fame. TV does add at least 30 pounds to your weight doesn't it?
Lovely - The match was somewhat entertaining even thought he lost. I loved when he would come to the net and yell" si!"
MAC - Nothing to say about the match. Rafa didn't look particularly tired though I guess that all those first serves into the net tell a different story. Still - all in all it was a fab week full of great Rafa moments. And it was great to meet up with so many VB friends.