Cheryl Murray

• My Thursday in Monte Carlo - Nadal continues to impress

  2008-04-25 11:27:00
  

  Juan Carlos Ferrero played well yesterday. No. Really. It's just – well, Rafa on clay is a bit other-worldly, isn't he? Monte Carlo is the perfect place to see precisely what the Spanish wonder kid can actually do on the terre bateau. Why? Because he isn't tired yet. I won't go into a long spiel on the rotten, horrible season the ATP maps out for clay because Rafa has kindly done it for me on many occasions in the past month. But suffice it to say that by the time Roland Garros rolls around, he isn't exactly fresh as a daisy. Here though? This is Nadal at his very finest; an impressive sight to be sure.
  
  Now would be a good time to air my frustrations with the wireless technology in Monaco. Monte-Carlo is a scenic masterpiece. Yesterday, there was a cruise ship anchored in the Mediterranean – I had a perfect view from the press room. There is one today too, but I don't want to brag too much. The Cote D'Azur is about as close to paradise as one can get and still watch some good tennis. But the internet access? Well, there is no delicate way to put this. It stinks. With a capital S. There are times of the day (read: any time I'm actually AT the tournament) wherein if you allow too much idle time between viewing webpages, you get kicked off to make room for somebody else. How long is "too much idle time" you ask? My rough guess is about ten seconds. I'm not kidding. This morning, I got kicked off in the time it took me to craft a 4 sentence e-mail. Alas, this is the price you have to pay for paradise.
  
  Now for a little "insider" information – just between you, me and several million Frenchmen. Richard Gasquet causes, shall we say, frustration among the fans and journalists of his country. I'm sure they meant no disrespect to Sam Querrey, but I've never heard so much groaning and grumbling in my life as I did when Gasquet lost yesterday. I nearly felt bad for the poor guy. Then again, I'm sort of tickled that an American who lives by his serve is into the quarters of a clay masters event. I'm hoping to get an interview with Sam later today. Be watching for it.
  
  Oh. I almost forgot. On the way home from the tournament last night, I counted 1 sushi bar, 1 chinese restaurant and 12 pizzerias. I ate at a pizzeria again (no surprise, since there are 3 within walking distance to my hotel), but was successful in ordering a white wine this time. I think the waiter only glared at me a little bit. Two nights ago, the waiter I had actually argued with me. "No, mademoiselle. You want the RED. RED wine. Not white." For the sake of diplomacy, I ordered the red.

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