August twelfth, 2009 was a beautiful, sunny Wednesday morning in Montreal. Since I worked at the Rogers Cup, I had access to the grounds and had specifically requested the day off so I could go check out all the players' warmups. It was indeed a rich schedule with the top ten competing throughout the day.
At 11 that day, a pal and I headed over toward Court 4 where the world's top ranked player, Roger Federer, was due to arrive at within 30 minutes. Already jam packed with about a few hundred people, there was barely any room to move.
As the time approached, the court was packed with fans who eagerly waited to get a glimpse of the Swiss Maestro. With the sun soaring at 35 degrees celsius, we watched him loosen up and start hitting balls. To be truthful, it was fairly boring and was supposed to go on for 2 hours.
So, slowly, we squeeze outside the crowd and come to an open spot. I glance up at Court four on the far side to see a tall, lanky competitor dressed in a pink Nike T-shirt and white shorts pounding a few balls. I look closer and indeed realized it was Juan Martin Del Potro.
As he arrived at the exit gate, there were 6 fans waiting for him to have his signature and he did sign. As he wrote on my picture and proceeded to my friend, I said "I wish you the best of luck in your competition today."
Del Potro turned to me and had a giant smile on his face and insisted "Thank you so much for your support." He seemed like he was very pleased about what I had said to him.
As he won the US Open this week, the irony of this situation just entered my thoughts. The fact that essentially not a soul was present to root for him and Federer had a ton of people. Every now and then, it is better to be left alone than to be persistently followed.
Del Potro played a marvelous match this week and is completely worthy of his championship. Great job!
At 11 that day, a pal and I headed over toward Court 4 where the world's top ranked player, Roger Federer, was due to arrive at within 30 minutes. Already jam packed with about a few hundred people, there was barely any room to move.
As the time approached, the court was packed with fans who eagerly waited to get a glimpse of the Swiss Maestro. With the sun soaring at 35 degrees celsius, we watched him loosen up and start hitting balls. To be truthful, it was fairly boring and was supposed to go on for 2 hours.
So, slowly, we squeeze outside the crowd and come to an open spot. I glance up at Court four on the far side to see a tall, lanky competitor dressed in a pink Nike T-shirt and white shorts pounding a few balls. I look closer and indeed realized it was Juan Martin Del Potro.
As he arrived at the exit gate, there were 6 fans waiting for him to have his signature and he did sign. As he wrote on my picture and proceeded to my friend, I said "I wish you the best of luck in your competition today."
Del Potro turned to me and had a giant smile on his face and insisted "Thank you so much for your support." He seemed like he was very pleased about what I had said to him.
As he won the US Open this week, the irony of this situation just entered my thoughts. The fact that essentially not a soul was present to root for him and Federer had a ton of people. Every now and then, it is better to be left alone than to be persistently followed.
Del Potro played a marvelous match this week and is completely worthy of his championship. Great job!
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