Thursday, January 14, 2010

Who knew I was a tennis fan…


Living in Doha has its perks. One of these perks is being able to attend professional tennis events for a reasonable price ($10 bucks). In the fall the women’s season ending event was held in Doha, but I could not go because I was on call. I was annoyed but got over it. It only made me more determined to go to the men’s event in the winter. Guess what, I was on call again. Thankfully I work with amazing people who were willing to hold the phone for me while I attended matches on two different days.


I love tennis matches! I got so into it that after my first day at the tournament I spent four hours on the ATP website learning more about the tournament structure and the scoring system that determines rankings. So it might have become a consuming addiction… but when I knew something that my colleague Wil (Wil is a real tennis player and follows the sport wholeheartedly) didn’t, I figured I could set aside the drive to keep learning about tennis (I should note that I know nothing about individual players, only the system). After the tournament ended with a underdog victory by Davydenko! I was able to move on from the addiction and instead have developed a more healthy appreciation for the sport.


Here are some pictures from the Doha ExxonMobil Open




Darcis (122) and Nadal (2) before the Quarterfinals

Darcis pulled out with injury in the second set

Nadal (2)


Niland (He went to the same Tennis High School as my co-worker Wil)


Federer (1) in the Quarterfinals - he wins this, but looses in the Semifinals


4 comments:

  1. That is sooo awesome! Maybe we can play here next time you come to visit! I have two raquets!

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  2. Mandy, Mandy, Mandy... I think you read it wrong - I have become a fan, not a player...

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  3. Annie, I played tennis competitively for 34 years...until my knees finally gave out at the age of 48! My sister and I have followed Nidal for years! I followed Chrissy Everet, John McInroe and Jimmy Connors when they first turned pro...Wil will know how long I've loved tennis by my mentioning those names! LOL

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  4. Hopefully spelling does not count...Nadal....not Nidal...I'm sure I mis-spelled McInroe too! LOL

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