ANDY MURRAY BEATS “RAFA” RAFAEL NADAL IN THE TENNIS FINALS IN MADRID “WRAP REPORT” BY GLOBAL CHICK AS SHE HOPS A PLANE

Written by: Global Chick on 10th May 2015

ANDY MURRAY BEATS "RAFA" RAFAEL NADAL IN THE TENNIS FINALS IN MADRID "WRAP REPORT" BY GLOBAL CHICK AS SHE HOPS A PLANE

epa04742248 British tennis player Andy Murray holds the winner trophy after defeating Spanish Rafael Nadal in the Mutua Madrid Tennis Open tournament's final match in Madrid, Spain, 10 May 2015. Murray won 3-6 and 2-6. EPA/CHEMA MOYA |

Final thoughts from the clouds

Well not quite the clouds, but a cerveza at the airport, watching the men’s final on livescore brings to mind the main takeaway from this trip – the scheduling all round was… interesting!

Take nothing away from the tournament, it had it all. Seeds scattering all over the place with reckless abandon, the return of a couple of old champions and fan favourites and a feeling that we have the best yet to come when it all comes to a dusty old end at Roland Garros.

Even as we scoff our tortilla and sup a lager on a day of tapas (which made a change from chicken goujons and chips – that’s fries to the rest of the world), we think back over a tournament that saw an unexpected chat with some of the world’s best women on the first day (but for some like Simona Halep for all the wrong reasons).

But just a couple of days in to an already grueling schedule, late-gate seemed to set the tone for the rest of the week. Bad enough two players (Andy Murray and Philipp Kohschreiber) had to take to the court at 1:12am, but it knocked stuffing eventually out of women’s finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova, who delighted us in press with admitting if she was a fan, she would hate to follow herself.. but that’s why so many love you.

Having shared digs for the week with two Rafa fans, one of whom was obsessed with every bit of minutiae imaginable, we can only imagine how agitated they were by his slow start in the final as Murray steamed ahead 3-0. And it’s tough trying to explain to them what life is like for real in a media centre. ‘Do you actually WATCH tennis’ was wailed at us over many failed attempts to (a) find a kettle and (b) boil water in a pan. We mean seriously who does that? Why does Spain have NO kettles?

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal hits the ball against British Andy Murray during the Mutua Madrid Tennis Open tournament’s final match in Madrid, Spain, 10 May 2015. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN

Yes we DO watch tennis, sports fans, we do, but often after the first match of the day we are in and out of press constantly. We get in and we scour the order of play like vultures scouring the desert roads for roadkill. We ruminate for ages as to whether to go for people win/lose, win only or just… mehhh.

We chat to the lovely press people and beg them to make coffee, print stuff out and generally make our lives easier. They become our family. We cringe when people are horrible to them – they are not waiting staff, you know. They are the people who get things done. Be rude to them and you will not be the one who gets given the first printout of the draft schedule ahead of everyone else and told not to push it around.

And yet we come back to that day when we stayed until the ungodlies, and the look of horror on the ATP rep’s face as she realized she would have to tell us hardy souls that no quotes would be forthcoming… just yet anyway.

We try and make players smile – not because we want to be nice and fluffy. Sometimes we are anything but. Yet you know that when you face a two time Grand Slam champion, and former World No. 1 who just had a crushing defeat, for example, you want to get something out of them. You try not to annoy them, but sometimes it does happen. You don’t want to say anything stupid, but oh sweet lord, we can vouch that most certainly happens.

British tennis player Andy Murray hits the ball against Spanish Rafael Nadal during the Mutua Madrid Tennis Open tournament’s final match in Madrid, Spain, 10 May 2015. EPA/CHEMA MOYA

But when all said and done, we end up watching Britain’s finest, and Spain’s Warrior King duking it out in the steel tinder-box that is the Caja Magica at the airport, because the schedule was accommodating the Grand Prix, apparently. We love a bit of high octane vroom vroom, really we do. But not everyone can stay until the Monday. Some of us try and get the last flight home and thus find ourselves tucking into tortilla and beer! If only we hadn’t booked the groceries to be delivered first thing on Monday.

Just a word about the King of Clay – Rafael Nadal has looked pretty imperious most of the week, with just the merest hint of wobble in his first set against Tomas Berdych. But Murray had been quietly understated all week, with lots of ‘hopefully it will work’ and ‘hopefully I can play my best tennis’. He said he wanted to play more attacking tennis. He did. And he won the trophy which is actually a bunch of tennis racquets around a maypole (look it up on google… and then don’t judge us!). We know what people call it. Mucky minded lot, you are!

Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal (L), and British Andy Murray hold their trophies after the Mutua Madrid Tennis Open tournament’s final match in Madrid, Spain, 10 May 2015. Murray won 3-6 and 2-6. EPA/CHEMA MOYA

Believe us when we say that successive late nights and early starts eventually knocks back the hardiest of souls. And that’s not even taking playing tennis into account. But have no fear – Global Chick will be back reporting on a court near you. She just needs the milk to be delivered on time on Monday morning so she can finally feel human with a cup of coffee, before she gets down to work!

Topics: Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, global chick, Madrid Open final, Mutua Madrid Open, nadal, Rafa, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

May 10, 2015 at 8:29 pm

-@andy_murray BEATS @RafaelNadal IN THE #TENNIS FINALS IN #MADRID “WRAP REPORT” BY GLOBAL CHICK AS SHE HOPS A PLANE- http://t.co/qktXo5FLwe