Monday - The Undercard

So after I make my way off the Bozoljac vs. Capdeville court (lingering for a few moments just in case Bozoljac does anything else crazy), and head over to see Elena Baltacha, one of the few names in the draw of the women’s challenger which is concurrent with the LMTC that I’m at all familiar with.

A lot of ink has been spilled about Elena, as she was the top British female player for a couple years, and the British media makes up a large percentage of the English writers on tennis. I had seen Elena play Jennifer Capriati at Wimbledon a few years back (more than once as the match was re-aired due to rain delays), and was pretty impressed, as she managed to battle to 6-4, 6-4 against Capriati, who was at the top of her game then. Elena had also made a nice run at the Australian Open in 2005, beating Katarina Srebotnik on her way to the third round. Elena was also memorable for wearing glasses during her matches.

The draw for the women’s tournament seemed a lot stronger last year, as Severine Bremond (in her first tournament after making it to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon), Camille Pin, Nicole Pratt, Tamarine Tanasugarn, and Tzipora Obziler (the eventual champion). I’m surprised that the entry list is weaker this year, as the purse was sweetened from $50,000 to $75,000. It would be absolutely phenomenal if Washington was made into a shared ATP/WTA event, but it’s not something I’m going to hold my breath for, as I don’t think the FitzGerald Tennis Center has the facilities to run two large tournaments at once.

Anyway, Elena is playing doubles, and the name of her partner, Story Tweedie-Yates, is about the most exciting thing going on during the match. I generally don’t like watching doubles all that much, and doubles between four women ranked outside the top 200 is even less appealing. On top of that, Elena isn’t wearing her glasses anymore, which is like Tina Turner performing in a floor-length skirt.

I start looking for a reason to leave, and find it in Gaël Monfils, who is practicing on a nearby court. I go watch him instead.