The Road to Rafa Part 1: Madrid Spain

10 years later...we revisit the trip to Madrid and Spain

In 2022, I was a Madrid Open media credentialed photographer.All tennis fans should come visit Madrid! Explore the marvelous medieval capital of Spain.

Enjoy a delicious tapas tour - with fellow international tennis fans

Top Highlights of Madrid

• Beautiful Day trips with fans, friends, and family-friendly vacations
• Visit world-famous parks, museums, and towns in the morning.
• Eat a late dinner then enjoy more exciting tennis at night!
• High-speed AVE trains and modern metro system make it very tourist-friendly.

Photos:

• Madrid Open 1000 - media photos
  (ATP and WTA) - with Alcaraz, Nadal, Djokovic
  
  
• Segovia, Avila, and Toledo - Google day trip photos
  
  

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the places and moments that take our breath away."- Anonymous

(Read Part 1: European Tennis Dream - a tennis tour story)

Madrid

On the first leg of my tour, I wanted to start by exploring Nadal's true natural element...his raison d'etre...the Spain that he loves and the element of Clay. This is what made him famous for the title "the King of Clay".

There are only nine Master Series 1000 Tournaments each year. They are second only in size and scope only to the four majors. Of these 9 Master tournaments, only 3 of them are on Clay. It just so happened that one was scheduled to be held in Madrid, Spain just the following week. The perfect storm...

In 2016, I was granted my Media Credential to cover the Italian Open in Rome (the Eternal City). Witnessed Roger, Rafa, and Djokovic plus Stan Wawrinka with his plaid shorts a few months before he won the French Open. 

In 2018, I finally completed the ATP clay tour trifecta at the Monte Carlo Masters. With an amazing friend's help, I awoke each morning overlooking the French Rivera and the legendary Monaco courts.

In 2022, I worked alongside ATP Media, Amazon Prime, and Tournament's Media Team. The tournament is featured in Netflix's "Break Point" - Episode 4: Great Expectations

Serendipity - in Madrid

   

It was summer, the clay season was in full stride, Rafa was dominating the European clay court season (Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome). This was going to be perfect, I told myself. This is the year I would tour Europe.

I quickly arranged to buy tickets for the tournament as I knew I would be there just in time for the weekend finals.  When you scramble with that first inspired idea, it grabs a hold of you and reels you in.  I think half the fun of a great adventure is planning it all out and having points were you can deviate and seek alternative options in your travel.

Tours are the most confining way of travel - I rather plan my own itinerary. I like to roam around and walk, see the least trodden paths for myself...

(Read the rest of this chapter: Madrid Open...Barcelona)

The Madrid Open

Redesigned from what was originally an indoor court winter tournament to an indoor clay court event with the first-ever retractable roof of its kind.  Called the "Caja Majic" or Magic Box - it is a wonder of engineering that glows and the players' safety cave should it ever rain. The views are amazing and you get a real feel of the crowd's energy when inside.

    

One problem: the tournament's website was completely written in Spanish!  Luckily, I found tickets on sale at Viagogo that go on sale, sometimes below box office prices. I even was able to secure the last seat available along the baseline for the Nadal vs Federer Finals. The women's final is also included in the event ticket, between Safina and Wozniacki.

Just remember to notify your bank or credit card that you will be traveling abroad to these countries first, because the online ticket systems may block your purchase.

The other courts are also well lined up for easy spectator access. Lots of fans dot the scene, and even the Spanish Prince showed up to cheer on Rafa that day.

The electricity and energy in the air had the feeling of a world cup or European soccer (aka football) match, with the rows dotted with red seats and yellow hats.

 The chants of "Vamos Rafa!" and "Viva El Toro!" (Nadal's nickname) could be heard all around and outside the stadium.

Clay court tennis in Europe has a very different feel than the hard courts of North America. If you are a true tennis fan, I highly recommend seeing one live and combining a mini-vacation with it so you can truly appreciate the Art, Architecture, and History of this capital*

Madrid Parks and Sights

The Bull-fighting in Madrid carries on a tradition that has been passed down for hundreds of years. You can find daily tours of this Plaza del Toro epic arena (the 2nd largest in the entire World) and is definitely worth it to see the magnificent horses and bulls there. You can even try on a matador costume and pose with the other young tourists. to the Picasso Museum nestled in the Gothic quarters of Barcelona, there are many small streets and alleys to admire the architecture. If you get hungry, it is easy to grab small tapas or enjoy paella (seafood with rice) at a local restaurant; I was eager to experience Nadal's homeland of Spain both as a traveler and as a tennis fan.

This is a wonderful capital city with a lot of beautiful parks full of young adults enjoying the summer outdoors. Outside the famous Prado Museum (Museo del Prado) are artisans and musicians displaying their crafts outside while crowds of tourists and young college students lounged on the grassy courtyard or under the trees. The weather was absolutely perfect for early summer. I found Spain to be the most friendly towards young travelers for the 20s and 30s tourist crowd among all of the Western European countries during my tour.

Inside there are works of art that date back for many centuries. I found Spain to be an amazing country, full of vibrant culture and life. The people are very friendly, jovial and welcoming to Americans.

The Mc'D menu there is very different from state side. They have more biscuits and chicken on the menu. It is the food of choice for the youth (teenagers and early 20's). It was the most affordable meal over there too.

While there, I also got a chance to see the Plaza Manor area both in the day and its lively nightlife after dark. In Spain, they all eat rather late (after 8pm) so it took me a few days to get accustomed - sometimes, I would be the first patron having "a late lunch" at some of these locations.

The people are all very kind even when they did not understand any English, they would encourage me to describe or even use gestures to describe what I wanted. It was all very sincere, and I was pleasantly surprised that they would go this extra mile for a foreign stranger looking for a cheap bite to eat. They also have a custom of providing an empty glass with every bottled drink they sell - whether it was be water or orange juice or wine.


Next stop:

Part 2: Barcelona and the Sanchez-Casal academy

(Tennis training hub of Europe)

Read more about my Tennis Travels.

The Roadmap to Rafa - Summer in Europe

• Prologue: The Journey Begins with a Dream...
  
• Madrid, Spain (Mutua Madrid Open): Nadal vs Federer Final on Clay
• Barcelona (Sanchez-Casal Academy): Training next to a French Open Champion
• Paris (French Open): I sat 3 rows behind Rafa
• London (Wimbledon): Church on Grass
• Rome (Italian Open + Vatican): the Soul of Tennis People

One Tennis Pilgrimage - sharing my own chapters...from the modern gospel of Tennis.
Stories from this Tennis Player's "Camino de Santiago" trail - 2021 was a Holy Year.

Citi Open 2013 HD Pictures

Citi Open 2013 Media, a set on Flickr.

Citi Open 2013 Media, a set on Flickr.
Washington, DC - ATP 500/WTA combo event; Tennis-Bargains Senior Photographer, Mikhail Bezruchko mikhailbezruchko.zenfolio.com/ - FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/mikhailbezruchkophotography

On assignment for www.Tennis-Bargains.com
Copyright Tennis-Bargains.com.
All rights reserved.

Citi Open - Early Round Highlights

Grigor Dimitrov aka. "Baby Fed"

Early Round Recap by Nikhil S.

An action packed Tuesday evening at the Citi Open in Washington DC - lot of great matches and young talent on display. If you still haven't visited this year, today and tomorrow (Thursday) are going to be great days to visit (click here for tickets and tournament info)

Somdev Devvarman (UVa Alum)

Upset of the day (Tuesday)

Somdev Devvarman (yes that two "dev's" in one name) taking out defending champ Alex Dolgopolov. Alexander has been affected by health issues this year nad he looked out of sorts but Devvarman showed incredible foot speed and great touch to pull this one out.

Matches of the day

Sam Querry vs Denis Istomin - 3rd Set Tie-breaker

In terms of drama, Sam Querrey's Houdini-esque escape after saving multiple points against Denis Istomin probably stands out. Both players seemed tentative in the final set tie-break with Istomin throwing in two double faults, to let Sam squeak through.

In terms of quality of tennis, the late night match between Marcos Baghdatis and Lukas Lacko on Court 1 might be hard to beat this week. Baghdatis moved like a cat counterpunching while Lacko glided around the court dictating play, as both guys traded clean flat groundies in this pulsating encounter. After winning a close 1st set tie-break Lacko looked drain a Baghdatis entered the zone clocking winners on the run to the delight of the gasping crowd. "Bag" as some of his inebriated fans nicknamed him last night, got the early break in the 3rd set and coasted along to close it out 6-4 in three tight sets.

Ryan Harrison - focused, tanned and ready

Other highlights: Young talents Jack Sock, Bernard Tomic and Grigor Dimitrov posted routine wins while young American Ryan Harrison notched an impressive scalp in ousting Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets. In the press room, Grigor Dimitrov handled the press with panache, skillfully deflecting questions about his "off court" media scrutiny. You can see a clip of his interview here.

Wednesday promises to be another action-packed day with top seeds Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro, Tommy Haas and John Isner all taking the court.

Make sure you get your Citi Open tickets here. See you there!

Australian Open - We're Going!!

Australian Open - Down Under, Here I come!!

Got my press pass, plane tickets, and a new Canon Rebel T4i - I'm so excited to see Australia (and check out the far side of the planet).

After a brief tour of SE Asia, we will be in Melbourne for 1-2 weeks at the tournament. We will be providing live coverage and lots of in-depth pictures and videos at Tennis-Bargains.com

The Australian Open 2013

Completing my Career Fan Grand Slam

• French Open 2009
• Wimbledon 2009
• US Open 2010 (Nadal's Career Slam)
• ...and now Aussie Open 2013!

Familiar Faces, Familiar Places - DC Open Revisited

DC Open Adult Open Championships

William Fitzgerald Tennis Center, Washington DC (Sept 7-9) - USTA Mid-Atlantic Tournament

Just last month in August, the ATP 500 Citi Open was held at the same location in Washington DC. It was known as the Legg Mason tournament for many years and recently switched over.

It was great that we were able to practice on the very same courts as the men and women pros just 4-5 weeks ago were competing and practicing on. The stadium court would have been the perfect place to play the Sunday finals, which surprisingly was not locked.

But seeing it without all the chairs and banners gives it a different, more apocalyptic feeling. Also, I found out that they took the smaller Grandstand and show courts and covered them in a bubble - probably for the winter indoor season.

Citi Open - Practice Courts (same ones used for DC Open in Sept)

New Practice Courts

Since last year, DC had taken a row of rarely-used Har Tru clay courts in the back corner and converted them to new Deco Turf hard courts. A smart move in my opinion. Playing on them was nice as this summer, while covering the Citi Open, most of the pros practiced or played at least once on the same surface.

So my first match was on Court 1 - the same one that Pablo Andujar (#33 in the world) had practiced on. Later, in the Semi's I was on the Court 3 where Xavier Malisse had been playing around just a month prior.

Granted that the USTA tournament was for amateurs, it included some high levels including the Men's Open players with the 1st and 2nd seeds facing off in the Sunday Final.

Familiar Faces in the DC Tournament Scene

Ms. Salie

As always, Ms. Salie was the referee and has been there for many, many DC tournaments. I've seen her at the Howard University (Banneker), Turkey Thicket and several other courts through the years. Always smiling but also knowing when to lay down the law. She will come by, put up the singles sticks and then wish you a good match. You can trust her calls and rely on her to be there when there's a problem.

Mr. Harris

My favorite part of these annual summer USTA tournaments are the pleasant people who include fellow players at various levels and NTRPs. This year I was lucky enough to run into my role model, in the 50's and over division, Mr. Harris.

This guy is the nicest tennis player and person you'll ever meet on or off the court at these USTA tournaments. Also, he knows how to win with what he's got; an improv man with jazz talents, he reins in the hardest hitters and more determined foes. He is also a perennial - practically ever tournament I have enter in the past 2 years, he is there. Right as rain.

Last month, he was even voted by his peers for the Sportsmanship Award at the Bruce Francis Memorial Tournament.

Babolat Tennis Bag

During the last tournament, I saw that he was carrying around a Babolat Team bag along with another blue duffle bag. It just so turned out that I had just received an extra one - this one a 6-pack, just slightly bigger Babolat Team bag that I was planning to use for my upcoming bag review and then simply give away to another one of my many Tennis-Bargain Fans. But then I thought to myself - here's a man, with all his wins and matches, deserves a spare tennis bag.

In the past, I've thought of these gifts as "spoils of war" - which is what I call my treasure chest of strings, grips, bags, clothes, even custom shoes that go to victors of tennis - dripping in sponsorship and marketing juice, they dress you up nice and pretty to make them look good and their stuff sell like hotcakes.

But here was a man sporting none of that. Sunscreen stained and battle-tattered polos, still fighting and coming up with win among the best in the arena. Sure he will still win and lose like everyone else, but his mindset is what is incredible. He doesn't need to boast himself (doesn't even fist-pump or say com'mon), nor put anyone else down to succeed. He's always positive and gives you a bear hug at the end, win or lose.

"Greatful Dead Bob"

So I approached him to offer a new Babolat Bag to him. And being Mr. Harris, he insists that it be donated to another guy - someone who if you just met, you might say looks like he came "straight out of a Grateful Dead concert" because of his tie-dye shirts and straw brimmed hat :) whom I'll call "Bob".

Well Bob had just lost his first round match and was looking a little bit down. I had seen him in a previous tournament but thought nothing much - he was a big, round fella riding who had rode his bike (probably from the metro). I looked at the black backpack he had been hauling his stuff in - it was beat up pretty badly and had to be tied close with some extra string.

Mr. Harris always knew who needed help and his selflessness is never lost on him. I found out later that Bob sometimes went around collecting used tennis using his bike helmet as a bucket sometimes...probably to give them to some kids later on or use as practice balls? Bob was very grateful for the unexpected gift. And I had a found a good home for the bag. Worse players like me, have owned much newer equipment and been blessed with much nicer tennis clothes. It was fitting that a good heart and strong player be rewarded for once.

Worthy Prizes for Worthwhile People

All the trophies, medals and ribbons you collect as Champion are just pieces of metal and fabric in the end...they will only go so far toward making you happy and remembered off the tennis court.

In the end, you have to give back. To your own charities. In your own way. Don't let others tell you or sway you with constant begging or wallowing or complaining. You can't always find them advertised on a big billboard - sometimes it's just one man, sometimes it's just one bag.

Deserving folks are out there in the real world - just have to find them, or ask Mr. Harris to point them out.

You'll feel a sense of inner contentment / "cosmic balance" and satisfaction that somehow the big titles and ranking points just do not provide.

Giving Back: feels impossible when you have little or nothing to give. Yet feels natural when you see these people have everything to gain.

Mental Tennis: Watching 5+ hours of Live Pro Tennis

Citi Open Finals Flashback: Aug 2012

Alexandra Dolgopolov reacts in ATP 500 Final (Citi Open) after dropping a game

Even with the funny captions, it turns out that he wasn't actually looking at my photographer and me, thank goodness! Here's our reverse viewpoint to the TV cameras, at that same moment =)

Actually, it is hard to stay emotionally distant during huge points, when you're so physically close to the action in the photographer's pit. Sometimes I prefer to sit a little bit further and higher up so you get a better "coach's angle" of the plays.

Mental Tennis Matches: playing and spectating among Friends

As part of the press, you're asked to be impartial. Both Alex and Tommy are great guys so it would have been a hard ask to root against either. Both were in a tough struggle when they split sets after a long rain delay.

Equally hard is when you either have to play against someone you know, or watch your friends battle it out against each other.

My Advice: I try not to pick sides, remember my training, perform the very best I can that day, and always applaud great plays on both sides of the net.

DC's Citi Open Wrap-up and US Open Series update

Special Thanks:
1) To the media crew from Sage Communications / Steve Winters' team was very helpful to my staff this week. Even though it was the first year for the Citi Open group, all the facilities at the media center were run like clockwork and food was excellent. For new photographers and reporters, it was a welcoming experience to provide promotional coverage for Citi Open.

2) To the volunteers (purple shirts) who were very friendly and helpful for getting this event coordinated even with all the rain delay and late nights there.

3) For the athletes to come to DC and compete in this first ever ATP/WTA combined event in Washington. Their willingness to speak with us and offer the post-game interviews was invaluable.

4) Last but not least, to my crew Mikhail Bezruchko - senior photographer for his photography contributions and my lead ATP consultant/blog writer Nikhil Subramanian for his insights and match previews throughout the week.

Great experience for us at Citi Open 2012, and hope to see everyone out there again next year!

Looking ahead - 3 more weeks until NYC and the US Open 2012

US Open Series Bonus Challenge Standings (8/5/12)

Position	Player	Country	Total Points
1	Sam Querrey	USA	95
T-2	Alexandr Dolgopolov	UKR	70
	Andy Roddick	USA	70
T-4	Ricardas Berankis	LTU	45
	Tommy Haas	GER	45
	Gilles Muller	LUX	45
T-7	Xavier Malisse	BEL	30
	Michael Russell	USA	30
T-9	Mardy Fish	USA	25
	John Isner	USA	25
	Marinko Matosevic	AUS	25
	Rajeev Ram	USA	25
	Go Soeda	JPN	25

ATP Final: Alex Dolgopolov vs Tommy Haas

Post-Olympic tennis tonight on American Hard courts in DC -  US Open less than 4 weeks away!

A new contender vs the seasoned veteran.

Hot vs cold, Erratic vs calm, Young vs Old.

Tommy Haas - ATP Veteran
Photo by Mikhail Bezruchko.  COPYRIGHT Tennis-Bargains.com 

Tommy Haas

Tommy has already beaten Federer on grass in Germany just weeks ago. Although he did not get on the German Olympic team, this ATP 500 title would be a great sense of redemption and achievement.

He is playing his best tennis in recent history. Entering the "Agassi 2nd career" phase now at 34, Tommy looks very hungry for another title.

Well conditioned for the heat in his semi-finals match against Fish, last night he came back out to do a bit of scouting against his younger opponent. Let's see how mentally tough he will be against the flash and dazzle of Dolg.

Dolgopolov serving up 1st ATP 500 Final
Photo by Mikhail Bezruchko.  COPYRIGHT Tennis-Bargains.com

Alexandr "The Dog" Dolgopolov

At 24, he will be the young pup in this fight, but brings some amazing shot-making ability to the table. His serve can a double-edged sword. Either excellent and unreadable, or backfire and give him some trouble even when 40-0 up in his service game.

It will be Alex's first ever ATP 500 Final - but he has handled the pressure very well this week...up until today. Let's see if nerves hold or if this hot/humid DC afternoon will change anything with his game plan. Handling his emotions and playing aggressively on the return will again be keys to this match for him.

Interesting note: Apparently Alex uses the same Luxilon Ace 18 strings as me.

My prediction

Both are great competitors. I've seen Haas here for years and would be nice him to finally break through. He looks more hungry of the two. Dolg has the higher ranking and building more confidence with each win. If he brings his "A" game and step up to the next gear against Haas, it will be a great match!

It will either be Haas in 2 sets, or Dolgopolov in 3  - with at least one tie-break set. Should be a great ATP final in Washington, DC tonight.

From London back to DC - ATP Men's Final

Welcome back from London to our nation's capital DC at the Citi Open ATP 500 Men's Final.

Watch it on ESPN2 @ 4PM EST live!