Via
… just a note to alert people to this opportunity with tennis australia
link to Photo Assistants – Volunteer
i would do it if i were studying, and in melbourne for january. but now i’ll pass this on 
leave a note if you want to show interest… but please don’t ask for help ;p
ok my pics are going back in time in a random order. and this post is going to be big if i’m posting every pic that i want to throw in…
two years in a row and the sunday before the tournament is again slotted for a charity show featuring all the biggest names (as far as australia is concerned?). in case the patrons are tired of the same old format and faces, this time twice as many stars join the show. djokovic certainly finds new things to play with. and we happily donate twice as much as last year (blissfully unaware that we’ll be slugged with a flood tax anyway).
robin soderling at practice... well no one invited him
fans with banners
a team - guess who?
Azarenka enjoys team fun
Caroline and Novak sharing smiles
Novak and Caroline hi-fives... Justine still prefers watching the opposition
team roddick and azarenka
Zvonareva also having fun
novak djokovic in joker mood
djokovic eyeing the robot camera
ana ivanovic
caroline poking into ana's dress.... hmm
lleyton serves while novak cooperates
hand signal needs translation
unlikely pair, rafter and zvonareva
murray and djokovic play tennis football
fatherly encouragement from hewitt
wozniacki plays nanny while father hewitt picks up the pieces
elton john arrives to play
djokovic picks up the largest equipment and becomes centre of focus
rusty rafter getting a volley
all eyes go up
enters rafa
rafa and roger celebrate together... rare scene
i don't win, you don't win, ok?
others giggle, rafa roars in laughter
rafa still jubilant
end of show, stosur about to hit balls to the stands
outside the stadium... gisela dulko at practice
french retirees having their own fun too... here's nicolas escude
... and amelie mauresmo
and to make the bias even more obvious… these were taken during the first two sets (well there’s enough light :p)
this was before the first official ball was struck. arnaud making his rules known...
already needing towel after one game in a cool evening
first change of ends
first shift of french supporters
first complaint to the umpire
more talking during the shirt change
zealous security... and he got to stand in front of the crowd during play
umpire carlos was a fan of the match
second shift of french supporters... escude looked like ready for snow
literally last ray of sunshine
the scoreboard looked best at this point... and end of my pics of the day
for more pics of arnaud you can visit my gallery, or use the search box at the top of this page
of course there will be more but here are some first ones to go up on this blog…
rafa fans cheer banners
some excited fans, and various reaction from people nearby!
rafa fans won't like this - seriously looking like thinning hair at front top
another odd thing about rafa - right finger spasms while hitting with the left
more finger spasms
(ok i can be accused of being sour grapes, as i couldn’t get anything out of the rafa practice sessions, squashed among the stampede of the crowd ;p)
lucie safarova clenches fist
robin soderling at practice
samantha stosur waves to crowd
stosur won easily to the delight of the home crowd
juan martin del potro at match
john isner... serving above the fence, scary! 
roger federer signing for fans
it’s still (barely) possible to shoot federer at his practice, but it’s mission impossible at nadal’s, unless you’re early, or incredibly tall. sign of the times….. !??
i think their wordpress blog has crashed and for some reason, 5 hours on and still they have not got it fixed. very bad form while the tournament is underway…
anyway the atp website among other places, has the order of play schedule for tuesday. hope this may help somebody :p
you can tell that by the 2nd day, i was already getting quite tired. maybe it’s time for some real tennis watching.
hot styles... as close to 'shirtless' as it can get for the girls
another 'shirtless' female player
for richard gasquet, this is as much flesh as one gets
as little hair as one gets for Jeremy Chardy
Julien Benneteau enjoys a chat. whose gf is that pretty girl reading a book? (not julien's)
shirtless male player - Ryan Harrison
a happy girlie chat - dulko & cibulkova
some gymnastics before a match - benesova
sunbathing ball boys
this one for the peeps... sorry no zoom :p
as for real tennis shots, you know where to look!
Too many new faces mingling with the old! I can’t say I recognise half of those I was looking at. Many thanks if you recognise someone and leave a comment to tell me.
Gisela Dulko bundled out of qualifying
players have a laugh at practice courts
Evgeny Korolev at practice
Juan Martin del Potro practises
OMG I've hit a ball!!!
Kim Clijsters concentrates on practice
OMG I've hit a ball too!!!
who? practises with Jeremy Chardy
who?
Jeremy Chardy at practice
big scoop
who #2
who #3
Feliciano Lopez wonders what shots to offer the photographer
Richard Gasquet offers a smile
Gilles Simon, the thinnest to go shirtless?
Daniela Hantuchova practises with bandaged ankle
more pics will be uploaded to the photo gallery in a few weeks
old fire doesn't burn out! mcenroe pumps fist
now that the aussie dollar is reaching new highs, the world’s stars and performers are all heading down under… and it’s no exception for the tennis greats. the atp champions tour is in sydney for the first time in many years. with ticket prices higher than a day at the aus open, the golden oldies have better deliver!
this day the players were wilander v ferreira, mcenroe v cash…
wilander and ferreira at the net
pat cash smiles at the 'mambo goddesses'
pat cash making a point
the obligatory challenge by old mac
the mcenroe leaning tower... on 'goddess'
mcenroe consoles mate cashy after cashy needing a trainer
end of match cash v mcenroe
wilander signs autographs for fans
wilander all smiles with fans - (thanks to anon photographer)
as usual the ‘action’ stuff will be found at my usual tennis galleries, coming soon…..
edit: here’s the link to more champions downunder sydney 2010 photo gallery
better late than never! some observations around the grounds …
smiling Marcos Baghdatis
Svetlana Kuznetsova poses with young fan
Kimiko Date enjoys jogging
Dinara Safina hides in shade
Jarkko Nieminen at practice
Nadia Petrova waters plant
who? sits at practice
Frederico Gil marches out to practice
Feliciano Lopez waiting to practise
Feliciano Lopez jogs before practice
Victoria Azarenka first round
Kimiko Date first round
Azarenka/Date end of match
welcome to the WordPress version of Via’s Tennis Photos Blog!
the old blogger version will not be updated from now on. please bookmark or subscribe to this page if you will!
i will continue to post my stories, news, and interesting photos in larger format, photos that you won’t find on my ‘normal’ galleries
let me know if you have any feedback…
