Tennis Talk

I know I am bad. Even with the economic meltdown that the world is facing now, I still can’t help it to plan for something that needs a dip in the hip pocket. Notwithstanding the expenses that we might incur on our trip back to RP next year.

My ex-workmate back in the Philippines is a big fan of Roger Federer. She came back to RP from her holiday in the US with a sports magazine with Roger’s face on the cover. It was the first time that I heard of or read his name. The next year after that, I had a chance to see his game in the Australian Open – just in the tube. But right there and then, I like him. And the admiration grows as I came to hear and read news about his personality plus hearing praises of the commentators while he is playing. I found him very down to earth. My judgement may not be that sharp but I share the same opinion of him not just with my then officemate but also with my mother-in-law (who I reckon is very sharp). My high regard of RF runs deep as it is not only based on the superficial qualities, I don’t really find him so pleasing to the eyes and his tennis skills is somewhat below his par now, but also on his attitude. Mcj once said that he is successful mostly because of his attitude.

Okay, back to where I was, I just checked the tickets for the Australian Open next year. I’ve told myself that I should see Roger play live before he retires from tennis. But I think, next year AO is not the time yet. Going to Melbourne for just the AO would be lame, I want to go shopping and sight seeing as well. In short, it will not just be a trip that will be planned in the spur of a moment. It’s not like hiring New York movers to go Down Under. It should just be well-planned and long thought of.

So, I found a compromise – Brisbane International. The new tennis stadium in Brisbane, Tennyson, will be for the first time used for the Brisbane International tennis tour. It is an event just a week or so shy of the AO. I have doubts if Roger will be there as I haven’t seen him played even once in Hopman Cup in Perth for these past years – this event is also leading the AO. Yet, I would be happy just to see the other big names and faces of the tennis world. All we just need are to take the train to town and a couple of hundreds of bucks.