My experience at Match for Africa 4 - Seattle

One of the  things Seattle is known for, along with its natural beauty, lots of rain (which helps make it the Emerald City), Microsoft, Starbucks, the Space Needle, among many others, is it's amazing sports fans.  Fans at Century Link field have actually produced seismic activity during Seahawks games and is known to be the loudest stadium in the National Football League.  It, however, is not known to be a tennis town generally, so when I heard (much to my shock and joy) that Roger Federer was coming to Seattle (90 miles south of my home town) I was hoping Seattle fans wouldn't disappoint.  And they most certainly did not!

The atmosphere was absolutely electric in Key Arena, which seats 17,000, first for the incredibly fun doubles match featuring Roger Federer and Seattle's own Bill Gates against John Isner and guitarist from Seattle based band Pearl Jam Mike McCready, and then for the singles match between Roger and John.  There were some exciting points played in the doubles match, with Roger and John obviously toning their games way down for the amateurs.  Here's an example of one that was taken by my husband:

I felt so blessed to be able to take part in such a special event and from the close-up range of the 2nd row.  I have been to many live pro matches, quite a few from very close up, but this was a completely different experience from any match that I have been to.  In a competitive match on tour the players tend to be quite serious, trying to stay focused and in the zone, just wanting to get the win.  For an exhibition match, however, they are quite relaxed, enjoying themselves and wanting the crowd to have a fun experience.  Getting to see Roger smiling and happy on court, goofing around with the crowd and just having a great time was a wonderful experience.  The atmosphere felt joyful!

John Isner also did a great job of making the matches fun.  He used his sense of humor often in a teasing way toward Roger and the others.  I really enjoyed seeing this side of him.

Of course, the purpose of the evening was raising money for the Roger Federer Foundation, helping young children in Africa, and that was certainly accomplished, raising over $2 million.  It felt good spending the money for the close-up seats knowing it was going for such a worthwhile cause.  And Roger said Seattle reminds him of home in Switzerland with the lakes and mountains and that he would definitely be back, so that was happy news to this major Fed fan's ears! 

Me watching Roger sitting right beneath the G in the GOAT shirts (thanks @Maria_youRFan)

Isner back in form in Houston

I have to admit I've been a bit of a skeptic when it's come to John Isner this year.  After an injury at the start of the year, after which he lost his spot as #1 American man on the ATP tour, it just seemed that his game was headed the wrong direction.  Known for his incredible serve, which seems as if he's serving from a tree, as Andy Roddick once said, he usually can hold serve easily, but then is able to do little on his opponent's serve.  When he started having trouble this year even holding his own serve, though, things definitely weren't looking good. 

I watched his semifinal against Juan Monaco in which he got broken three times in a row to lose the set 6-1.  It really was quite shocking and my negative view was being further cemented.  I left the TV on, however, and was impressed to see him change his style of play in the next set,  becoming more aggressive and able to claim the next two sets for a victory.  I admit, however, that I wasn't hopeful for a win in the final against Nicholas Almagro, a known clay court player. In fact, when I had to leave after Isner got broken in the first set I figured it was a done deal.  I was impressed when I turned it on later to find him serving for the match!

I have since gone back to watch the whole match.  The thing I have been impressed with in both the semi and the final is that neither of these matches had a tiebreaks, something John is known for it seems like in almost every set he plays.  Usually his return game percentage is atrocious.  However, something seemed to have clicked for him in Houston this week and he found a way to add the aggression to his game on his opponent's serve and pull off his wins with breaks of serve to take the sets, the way tennis really should be played.  It sure would be great to see him be able to translate what he did here over on the clay courts of Europe.

Speaking of clay courts in Europe, the real clay season is starting.  Oh how I would love to see a change from the norm we have been used to seeing with Rafael Nadal stealing virtually every clay court title.  Surely there has to be someone who can beat him!  How about starting in Monte Carlo so he doesn't take an incredible nine titles in a row, which is just ridiculous by any standard.  While I certainly think what Rafa has done on clay is completely amazing, I have to say I'm very ready to see someone figure out the puzzle of how to beat him.

Unfortunately Roger Federer fans will have to wait a few more weeks to see him grace the courts again.  He is choosing to stick with his original schedule, taking a very long break for some down time, but also some intense training/practice as he prepares for his return in Madrid in May.  We will be incredibly anxious by then to see if these long weeks have paid off to get him back to the form that has been missing so far in 2013.