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After a week of witnessing nearly every aspect of the Aircel Chennai Open in vivid and happy detail, the end of the tournament almost feels like saying goodbye to a close friend. I would be lying if I said I don’t feel a little empty inside when I process the fact that no longer will I walk through the gate of the SDAT stadium at precisely 3 pm every day. The rushing to the Media Room to check on the scheduled activities for the day, the flitting between the courts to ensure that you catch at least part of the action from every match, the sound of the ball hitting the racquet that seems to emanate from every direction – I’ll miss all of it, and then some.
As I look back at the seven bustling days that I spent at the venue, I realize just how much more satisfying it is, from both a reporter’s point of view and a tennis fan’s perspective, to actually be at the courts for any tournament than to watch it on the television. Here are the top five reasons why I believe it’s always a good idea to buy a ticket to a tennis tournament if it is being held at a distance anything less than the equator’s length from your house:
1. The actual match play looks infinitely more impressive
Edouard Roger-Vasselin hitting one of his razor-sharp volleys
Whether it is Stanislas Wawrinka’s jaw-dropping backhand, Vasek Pospisil’s cannon-fire serve, Ramkumar Ramanathan’s booming forehand or Edouard Roger-Vasselin’s deft volleys, all of it looks impressive at a whole different level when you watch from the stadium. It’s difficult to put my finger on exactly what it is that makes the play look better; the TV broadcast, after all, is replete with close-ups, a wide variety of viewing angles, slow-motion replays and, on the latest HD screens, incredible clarity. But there’s something about the way the players wind up for each of their shots, and the way they seem to measure each shot in order to achieve that inch-perfect accuracy, that makes you appreciate their talents even more.
A lot of the great shots you see on TV look like random works of inspired genius; there’s even a hint of a suggestion that they are born out of plain dumb luck. When you are sitting just a few feet away from the action, however, you know that luck has nothing to do with it. Every swing, every step, every slice and every slide is the result of a series of carefully calibrated actions. A typical rally in a professional tennis match – be it a qualifying encounter or a high-stakes final – represents athleticism of the highest order, something that is often lost in the TV broadcast of a match.
2. The atmosphere is incomparable
This is a bit of a no-brainer, really. It’s nice to plonk yourself on your couch and watch a match with all the comforts of your home at your disposal. But that’s got nothing on sitting amidst a vociferous group of supporters who passionately chant the players’ names at every changeover, and share your appreciation as well as disapproval of the peaks and troughs in the play.
Mayanti Langer with Ramkumar Ramanathan (second from left), the star who brought the house down
Matches involving local players, of course, are particularly electrifying. The Ramkumar Ramanathan vs Somdev Devvarman second round match was host to a robust and raucous atmosphere, with nearly every point prompting wild cheers (irrespective of who won it). Yuki Bhambri, Rohan Bopanna and even Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Purav Raja managed to turn the stands into a carnival of sorts. For some reason you never really think of associating the word ‘carnival’ with the mostly straitjacketed sport of tennis, so the festive atmosphere was both a pleasant surprise and an indelible memory to take home from the event.
3. The proximity to the tennis players makes you feel like a rock band groupie
Marcel Granollers, the rock star
While on the one hand you worry about the relative lack of security for the stars, on the other hand your closeness to them gives you a unique thrill. For a tennis fan, names like Stanislas Wawrinka (that backhand!), Mikhail Youzhny (that backhand, again!) and Fabio Fognini (those effortlessly slapped winners!) sound akin to those of rock stars. So when you see one of them casually walking across the grounds, you find it hard to resist jumping up and down and shouting out their name.
One day, as we were rushing out from Centre Court to catch the end of a match on Court 1, my friend bumped into Vijay Amritraj. Literally. And that was the high point of our day. See what I mean?
4. The press conferences
Yuki Bhambri was all smiles at the press match conference after his 2nd round win over Fabio Fognini
Alright, this is something that only those with media accreditation have access to. But it was such an important part of my whole experience that I found it worth including in this list.
I can’t even begin to explain what a good job a press conference does of clarifying any doubts you may have about anything that happened in the match. Fabio Fognini had a whole array of questions posed to him after he retired from his match against Yuki Bhambri, and while he struggled to answer most of them convincingly, the session still left us much better equipped to comprehend the vagaries of the professional tennis world. Somdev Devvarman was eloquent, sincere and gracious after his loss to Ramkumar Ramanathan, and we were left with a much higher opinion of him after the conference. At any rate, I know I certainly did.
A press conference may sound like an unnecessary evil from afar, but on the ground you realize what a tremendous value-addition it is, even with the ATP’s representatives constantly shooting daggers with their eyes at any reporter who asks a question too many.
5. The feeling of being a part of something monumental
Stanislas Wawrinka doing the cricket stunt, a popular feature of the tournament
The Aircel Chennai Open may only be an ATP 250 tournament, and it may never be able to offer enough appearance fee dough to make the Federers and Nadals of the world participate in it. But that doesn’t stop it from being a larger-than-life, perpetually buzzing phenomenon that is hard to walk away from.
Any professional tennis tournament, big or small, holds a lot of gravitas for the numerous people involved with it – the players, the officials, the organizers, the advertisers, and even the ballkids and security guards. That sense of urgency permeates through to everyone at the venue, even those merely standing by passively. The likes of Stanislas Wawrinka and Benoit Paire may have given this year’s edition of the tournament a nice sheen, but the substance underneath is rock solid anyway.
When you are at the venue, everything assumes a little extra importance, even your routine of walking through the stadium gate. And I think I’ll miss that, more than anything else, now that the Aircel Chennai Open is over.
