The Schedule
We had tickets to two of the sessions on Saturday. The first match in the 3pm session featured Singles with 4th-seeded Milos Raonic playing against Benjamin Becker. Attending my first professional tennis tournament, I could say that the cheap seats (bleachers) we had were expensive, but the view of the court was excellent.
Watching tennis on television, you know that the men hit the ball hard, but it's a different experience when you're in person watching a match and your eyes have a difficult time tracking the tennis ball. Yes, the men hit the ball that hard. It was rewarding to see one of the best servers in the game, Milos Raonic. Against Becker, Raonic dominated with his serve and broke once in each set to script a convincing 6-4, 6-4 win. The win propelled Milos to the finals against the Jurgen Melzer on Sunday. Watching Raonic's match on Saturday, I gave him the edge against Melzer, but Jurgen prevailed in a tight 7-5, 7-6(4) match. Still, watching 21 year old's game, I believe Raonic has a bright future.
For the second match of the session, the doubles semifinals pitted Mirnyi and Nestor versus Querrey and Isner. A quick trip to the car to grab the camera (I was told initially that I couldn't bring the camera at the front desk, but that was incorrect) and then back to my seat, I was able to snap some photos of the players.
Isner Preparing to Swing
At 6'9", John Isner dominates the court with his size. First, Milos, and then John—it was a good day to see top notch serving.
Warming Up the Serve
Fellow Americans Isner and Sam Querrey make a good doubles team, but their opponents, Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor, are one of the top doubles team. Nestor, in particular, has been and, still is, despite almost being 40, one of the finest doubles players ever. He has been #1 and a gold medal Olympic winner, and, with several different partners, has won 76 doubles titles, including 7 majors, coming into the tournament. Mirnyi is not bad either with 42 doubles titles and 5 majors.
Mirnyi and Nestor Walking for the Changeover
So take two of the best doubles players ever and you will have a good team, even if they are 34 and 39. Mirnyi and Nestor won the French doubles title last year, were seeded #1 as defending Men's Doubles champions of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championship.
Isner and Querrey Discuss Tactics Before the Serve
Not surprisingly, given the quality of the servers, the first set went on serve to the tie break, where Mirnyi and Nestor prevailed 7-3 to win the very engaging opener 7-6. Mirnyi and Nestor don't dominate like some other players, but they're rock solid, and in the second set, they capitalized on openings offered by the Americans. Both Isner and Querrey dropped service games and the American duo fell 6-2.
On Sunday, Mirnyi and Nestor extended their winning streak in Memphis, splitting the tight first two sets with Dodig and Melo 4-6, 7-5, before outlasting them in the super tiebreak 10-7 to win back-to-back titles. In most professional sports, winning a title is tough enough. And two consecutive? That's a feat for the veteran team of Mirnyi and Nestor, a feat that not many people can say they have accomplished.
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