Anyway - they trundled on - Pic on the scoreboard is the older one, and Lynn Welch is JUST as school-marmy in Wimbledon Raph Lauren togs!!!
Out they came - JJ looking fairly relaxed and hoppity skippety at the net - very smiley while Lynn was doing all the usual faff with the rules and the coin toss ... by now it was getting a bit nippy...
Had a quick look around and spied Sneki and Sanchez - he really didn't stay sat down for long - up and down, and also writing in his notebook lots and lots
And then we were off...
It was strange - Crowd always is quite quiet at the start because a lot of people leave and it takes a while for people get themselves back - first three games went with serve and were comfortable enough - and the snooty types behind me were all "oooh that's not good - she's losing"... Mum of course was muttering (equally loudly) NO... IT'S WITH SERVE!!! ... Battle of the old biddies with Rozzie in the middle - hmmm not good!!!
Anyway... Off we went again and here's my thoughts on her play:
There is a fair bit of pop to that serve and JJ was really pretty business like in her approach.
I don't know that I ever remember her coming in on someone's 2nd serve (although Olga's 2nd was quite weak at times, so made sense)...
It's also really much more obvious watching her that she refers to her camp... A LOT... way more that you see on TV
Her first ace earned a COME ON holler from me much to the disgust of the old biddies behind me (and mum because I was sat on her deaf side, but she sure heard THAT!!!)
Little fistpumps (nowhere near as irritating as Ana's in real life) and appluading good passing shots from Olga were all trademarks, as well as the little hops accompanying hits etc...
One of her strengths (and Olga wasn't bad either) was her ability to get down low for shots - some real net-skimmers...
Also some suspiciously long shots (both of them benefitted) - but by now it was gettin' pretty gloomy - AND freezing...
Ok- so first set was business as usual and JJ ripped through the second... crowd were gettin' happier... but yeah - pretty irritated by COME ON OLGA man - but then - we Brits love an underdog (well some of us do!!!)
Found myself feeling VERY nervous at 5-0 - anticipating a picnic... AND I wasn't disappointed...
More tsk tsk-ing from the women above me so I knowledgeably turned round to mommy dearest and acted like it was all business as usual... but let me tell y'all... watching her give up BPs, then get broken... stomach churning like you wouldn't believe.
Of course it was getting dark - so that's why the last few photos are more blurry - because Lynn was telling off the crowd for flash photography, yada yada...
So... that at 5-2 - I had my head in my heads muttering all the usual Cheering Thread platitudes of Christ on a BIKE JJ... BREAK... GAHHHH
and Ok ok - serve it out.. no... hold... HOLD DAMMIT...
followed by the Rozzie trademark oh COME THE **** ON JJ!!! - Now THAT earned a really reproachful full-naming from Mommy and so much tsk tsking from behind me that I swear their dentures were gonna fall out.
Oh - and I couldn't text Alex as much as I wanted 'cos we were sat right in the eyeline of a fireman, (who was OK with the fact I texted at the CoEs and thought it was cool I was texting Serbia...) but some snotty young Hon Steward woman who (even for JJ) I was NOT going to shamelessly flirt with - but... ON the shameless flirting front - 4 of London's Fire Brigade in 1 day - pretty good going, no?
With all the Deuce-Ad/Deuce-Ad-ing that was going on - Savchuk was hitting some good shots - JJ was in between shrugging her shoulders at Sanchez as if to say "what can I do, what more can I try" and smiling wryly when Savchuk managed to get her back to Deuce... BUT - she DID it!!!
Gives you an idea of how dark it was by the time they finished, 'cos I didn't switch it back to flash for her farewell wave!
And thus concludes my first Day's blogging.
We're going to try and park ourselves to watch Amelie, maybe Marion and possibly Dinara tomorrow...
And then hopefully Jamie watch tomorrow in between some more top flight action...
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