Cincy Tennis - Day 2

The first full day in Cincy was a ridiculous success. I saw several really great tennis matches, and as expected, had several opportunities to get photos and interact with some of my favorite players when they were on the practice courts. The one big disappointment for the day was that Serena Williams pulled out of the tournament with an injury, but there was still tons of great tennis to watch.

Best part of the day for me was meeting my favorite doubles team (Michael Llodra of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia). I know they aren't household names for most people (what doubles teams really are though), but they are ranked #3 in the world. They were funny and entertaining, and they took pics with us!

Later in the day, during Llodra's single's match, I happened to sit in the bleachers near his coach, only to have two tour players (Zimonjic and a French player named Adrian Mannarino) come join us to watch the match. Yea, I know they are just tennis players, but many are very popular in their countries, so I was just a little starstruck when they sat right next to me. I guess everyone has their idea of "celebrity" and for me that includes tennis players.

Here are a few pics from the day. I have been taking pics with my iPhone because I've had complications with my camera so some of the zoomed pics are a little grainy. Hope you enjoy. (And yes, Federer pics are coming.) In case you want to be super nerdy and learn more, I linked the players Wiki pages in the captions.

Jeff and Serbian doubles champion Nenad Zimonjic. He and his former partner Daniel Nestor won three grand slam doubles titles (2  Wimbledon titles and 1 French Open) in the last three years.

Frenchman Michael Llodra is a top ranked singles player and half of the #3  ranked doubles team with Nenad Zimonjic. Like Zimonjic, Llodra has won three grand slam doubles times (1 Wimbledon and 2 Australian Open).

Gael Monfils, also a Frenchman and the 7th ranked player in the world, is the best athlete in professional tennis. He is like a tennis "acrobat."

David Ferrer, Spaniard and 6th ranked player in the world.  Ferrer is a skilled tennis player, but he is most known for being a "workman" and a bull dog, a guy who absolutely positively never quits.

Samantha Stosur just broke back in to the women's top ten rankings (she has been as high as #4). She's an Aussie I photographed while signing autographs. She always wears those cool shades. 

Me and Carlos Bernardes - one of the best known and  most respected chair umpires in professional tennis. Carlos is from Brazil, and he was happy to take pics with both me and Paul.