This time the stadium car parks are open: I park behind the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It does not rain, but before I reach Foro Italico it starts pouring. I just take a look at the scoreboard, to see if they have had time to play something: I find that on Pietrangeli court Errani and Babos of Hungary have managed to finish 3 games, other matches had not even finished the first one and still others have not even started. Then I look for shelter, and it's not easy: the indoor stands are all crowded. I find a place in the Australian (the company) one.
At about 12.30 it stops raining and the sky seems to open. I go to Pietrangeli court, but it is hard to see anything, even moving from the short to the long side: you cannot even think of sitting down. They have time to play just 3 points, then it starts to rain again. I'm looking for shelter again, and it's even harder than before. There are fewer people than other years, but enough to create crowds when there is no play.
After an hour it stops raining again. I eat something (excellent the Calabrian stand) and go back to Pietrangeli, to take a seat and sit down, even if you see that it takes a while to resume play. The staff begin to lift the tarpaulins and people celebrate, but they only shake a little water and then put them back on. After repeating the operation a couple of times, they finally remove them. Almost half an hour passes before play resumes and everyone is afraid that it will rain again, also because some drops are felt.
At about 12.30 it stops raining and the sky seems to open. I go to Pietrangeli court, but it is hard to see anything, even moving from the short to the long side: you cannot even think of sitting down. They have time to play just 3 points, then it starts to rain again. I'm looking for shelter again, and it's even harder than before. There are fewer people than other years, but enough to create crowds when there is no play.
After an hour it stops raining again. I eat something (excellent the Calabrian stand) and go back to Pietrangeli, to take a seat and sit down, even if you see that it takes a while to resume play. The staff begin to lift the tarpaulins and people celebrate, but they only shake a little water and then put them back on. After repeating the operation a couple of times, they finally remove them. Almost half an hour passes before play resumes and everyone is afraid that it will rain again, also because some drops are felt.
After the first set, lost by Errani, I decide to go to Centre court. I think it will not take long, because I'm on the stand facing Pietrangeli, but I find I need to take an almost full round of the court because before my gate there is the corridor for the players' entrance, which is always blocked, even if of course it is needed only at the beginning and at theend of each match.. Seppi and Pouille play. The Frenchman serves very fast, looking very natural: a serve at 205 km / h seems to be ordinary, one at 189 controlled. I remember the impression that Ivanisevic's serves, at 195-200 km/h, made to me at in the 90s. But I saw them from the side, where you feel the speed more, while this time I was front, where you feel more the rotations. Besides me I have 3 children under 10, who seem to know all the players. I meet with a friend of mine, who tells me that he has taken the seats in the last row because it is the coolest, but this time is certainly not an advantage. Seppi loses the first set, then wins the second and leads by a break in the third, but then wastes everything in the final tie-break. During the 3rd set, we look over the Pietrangeli, to watch the tie-break of Errani's match, which the Italian loses.After Seppi's match, we decide to take a ride on the minor fields. I follow the match between Kutnetsova and a Slovenian, then a double with Zverev on one side and Thiem on the other. I try to follow both, but I end up following neither.
After Kutnetsova's match, I return to Centre court, where the match between Berdych and the Canadian Shapovalov is in the third set. I did not know Shapovalov, but I seehe has a lot of fans. At the beginning I think they have are all bet on him, but then I find out that they are people who know more than I do: he is very nice to see. There are also about 10 Canadian flags.
After the match with the Canadian's win, the speaker leaves us in doubt about what comes next. In fact there would still be a match of the day session, but it would also be almost time for the evening one. We do not care about it anyway, because we have a commitment and we have to go. We have seen a lot, compared to the expectations.
After Kutnetsova's match, I return to Centre court, where the match between Berdych and the Canadian Shapovalov is in the third set. I did not know Shapovalov, but I seehe has a lot of fans. At the beginning I think they have are all bet on him, but then I find out that they are people who know more than I do: he is very nice to see. There are also about 10 Canadian flags.
After the match with the Canadian's win, the speaker leaves us in doubt about what comes next. In fact there would still be a match of the day session, but it would also be almost time for the evening one. We do not care about it anyway, because we have a commitment and we have to go. We have seen a lot, compared to the expectations.
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