FULL TILT POKER BLOG

Aussie Millions:Tennis Anyone?

Posted by jgreenspan | Filed under Uncategorized

As I’ve mentioned before in this blog, the truly wonderful thing about this tournament is the city in which it’s held. Since most who make a trip to a poker tournament will have a lot of time on their hands way before they want it, the surroundings and the availability of secondary activities is really important.

Happily, the Full Tilt qualifiers who have busted from the Main Event can now engage in two activities related to the Australian Open tennis tournament, which is played on grounds a couple of miles form the casino. They can A) watch tennis — a grounds pass is only $29; or B) they can stalk the tennis pros who are staying in our hotel.

Richard Brodie chose the later activity.

Richard with Maria Sharapova

Here’s the thing: I don’t blame him a bit.

This morning I was invited to breakfast by Andy Bloch. He’ staying in the Crown Tower, and the residents there have access to a lovely lounge on the 29th floor. When Andy and I arrived, the place was littered with tennis pros. I only recognized a couple. Most notably, Andy Roddick was arranging to give his box seats to Phil Ivey.

I didn’t know who the rest were, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of them. The women were tall and leggy and had perfect posture. The men were slight, but clearly powerful. As I gawked, it occurred to me that these were some of our species’ finest specimens. Sculpted by both DNA and endless hours of training, their bodies are as ideal as any.

It’s probably not appropriate for me to go on about tennis players’ bodies in a poker blog. I just wanted you to know why I felt stalking was a viable choice. (Note that Richard Brodie hasn’t stalked anybody. See his blog for proof.)

After breakfast, Andy and I headed off to the tennis grounds to take in some matches. The great thing about the early rounds of a grand slam is that you watch world-class players from just a few yards from the court.

Robby Ginepri serves

It was hot — really hot, over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The conditions clearly affected the tennis. The players had little energy for rallies; usually, after a stroke or two, a player would fire a shot that was sure to produce either an error or a winner.

Almagro suffers on the heat

We watched a couple of matches. In the second American Robby Ginepri played a grueling five-set marathon against Nicolas Almagro. The play was sloppy, with key double-faults and other errors. In the end, Ginepri outlasted Almagro.

Afterward, Andy and I were considering watching another match, but came across this sign:

Play was suspended due to the heat. We were told it would likely be another two or three hours before play resumed. We opted to head back to the air-conditioned confines of the Crown, where we could watch and play more poker. It’s good to have options.

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