Cincy Diary — Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Grigor Dimitrov, Petra Kvitova, Monica Puig, and Donna Vekic (and a Glimpse of Gulbis, Too!)
Sooo…what’s it like to spend every day at a Masters tournament like the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, from qualification rounds all the way to the finals? It is kinda amazing, let’s be real. We hope to share the full experience with you day-by-day, at every practice and every match, with lots of cool photos, tweets, and maybe even a few jokes here and there, ’cause that’s the way we do things here!
Jumping right in, here we are bright and early on Sunday:
JD spotted Ernie already… #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/QWHsG6GVIT
— Tennis Inside Out (@TennisInsideOut) August 12, 2017
In recent years, the first weekend of Cincy has gotten busier and busier. This year it seemed to be back to a little smaller of a crowd again, which meant getting a good view of a Rafa practice was a lot easier than it would become later in the tournament.
Rafa embracing the Second Amendment… the right to bare arms… #SunsOut #GunsOut 😍 #Nadal #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/fNdKynpsOb
— Tennis Inside Out (@TennisInsideOut) August 12, 2017
Rafa is known for his full-throttle practice sessions, and when we peeked in we were hearing that trademark grunt on every shot he whipped over the net. While he wasn’t quite at match intensity, it was plenty hard enough to work up a sweat.
This wasn’t the only time we saw Rafa on Sunday, either. J.D. caught him over at the player’s entrance, apparently intensely interested in what the player in front of him was up to…and that player was somebody pretty special:
Royalty has arrived. And Rafa was reportedly totally checking her out. 👀😍👸 #PolishPrincess #Radwanska #Nadal pic.twitter.com/zneDTzbf7k
— Tennis Inside Out (@TennisInsideOut) August 12, 2017
This is the joy of a tennis tournament, right? A bull checking out a ninja as they go through a security checkpoint together… #ABullaNinjaandaSecurityGuardWalkIntoaBar
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Back on the practice courts, David Ferrer was apparently revving himself up for a deep run at the Masters and one of the finest matches of the tournament–but we’ll get to that last bit later. This may have been one of the most pivotal practice sessions at Cincy, since Daveeed was practicing with eventual champion, Grigor Dimitrov.
The sun was BLAZING that day, which can make photographing the players difficult, but also causes some pretty cool ethereal effects when things go right…
Some lovely shirtless David Ferrer, with love to @natasja0409 and @bounzifu 💗 And love to Ferru, because HOT DAMN. 😍 #Ferrer pic.twitter.com/7Fzm9ReCnc
— Tennis Inside Out (@TennisInsideOut) August 12, 2017
Then there was that moment in Grigor’s practice when he totally gave us the “You are so busted” stare as we totally inadvertently took a peach shot of his coach Dani Vallverdu. *eyedart*
Moving on… J.D. caught these shots of Petra Kvitova on the infamous Court #15 (previously #14) where big-name players often like to practice because there’s a giant chain link fence along one side, and no spectator access on the other. Sadly for Petra fans, it got even more difficult to see her later in the week, after she went out in the second round to a resurgent Sloane Stephens.
Petra on the practice courts… #Kvitova #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/zR3EzKlYE6
— Tennis Inside Out (@TennisInsideOut) August 12, 2017
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With all the matches and practices going on simultaneously on 17 courts, it’s just a fact of tournament life that you’re going to miss a few things. Val tried to catch a few photos of Donna Vekic at practice, but unfortunately arrived just in time to see the Croatian wrapping things up.
Anyone familiar with Vekic knows that she often wears her emotions on her sleeve, making it clear on the court when she’s dissatisfied, frustrated, or triumphant — sometimes all in the same point. On the practice court, she’s also not afraid to go for…erm…shall we call it a disgusted “UGH“?
Whatever her feelings about practice that day, though, Vekic was very kind to fans who had gathered at the fence for autographs and selfies.
We know we have Monica Puig fans out there that should enjoy these photos! The 23-year-old Puerto Rican player packs a lot of punch in every shot, and has curves for days. Puig made it through the weekend of qualies, but lost in the first round of the main draw to fellow qualifier, Taylor Townsend.
There is a lot more to come from our Cincy diaries, with our next installments including Dominic Thiem, Heather Watson, Sania Mirza, Fernando Verdasco, Kiki Mladenovic, Frances Tiafoe, and more! Subscribe by adding your email address to our mailing list in the upper right corner of the site, or follow us @TennisInsideOut on Twitter and Instagram!!
