Tennis Weekend

Lots going on at the Foro Italico when the Internazionali BNL d'Italia's in town

Those who know me know that I'm a big sports fan. I'll watch pretty much any sport and follow most of them closely. Over the past several years, I've become increasingly interested in and a fan of tennis, especially men's tennis. Sometimes described as like boxing from a distance, the sport's particular combination of skill, grace, athleticism, intelligence and intensity really appeals to me, and I have high admiration for the game and its players.

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend a top flight international tournament, the Internazionali BNL d'Italia or the Rome Masters for short. Formerly called the Italian Open, it's one of the nine ATP Masters Series tournaments held each year throughout the world, the most prestigious tournaments after the four Grand Slams and mandatory events for the top players. The Rome Masters is held on a clay surface and is an important lead up to the French Open, the year's top clay event. It was my first time to attend an international tournament and I was quite impressed by the size of the event. It's quite the party -- thousands from around Europe come to watch some high quality tennis and experience the international atmosphere of the sport. There are a lot of fun events and promotions as well, with booths for sports equipment, charities, and the tournament's particular sponsors. It's also a magnet for the young amateurs of the local area and so it's usually easy to find a good match, sometimes a very good one, at some of the smaller and quieter courts.

What the Stadio dei Marmi looks like normally...

... and its transformation for the Rome Masters

The tournament is held a few miles up the Tiber from the NAC at the Foro Italico, built in 1938 and originally named the Foro Mussolini after the dictator of the day. In fact, it's the only place in Rome that you can still see the name of Il Duce as there was quite the backlash against him and his legacy after his fascist regime fell in 1943. It's been expunged everywhere else since Mussolini is often blamed for the virtual civil war that Italy descended into after the '43 armistice with the Allies, a war that didn't end in many ways until the end of the anni di piombo, the "years of lead" in the '70s and '80s marked by numerous terrorist activities. The Foro Italico is modeled after the famous forums of the Roman Empire but also retains the particular fascistic and rationalistic style of its age. It's home to many sports complexes and is the prime location for sporting events in the city of Rome and hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics. The complex's largest structure, the Stadio Olimpico, is the home of the Azzurri, Italy's national team, as well as the local club teams of A.S. Roma and S.S. Lazio. The Stadio Olimpico will also be the site of the 2009 Champions League final later this month.

The tennis itself was a blast to watch. We caught the quarterfinal match between qualifier Juan Monaco and Fernando Gonzalez on Friday evening, and then returned Saturday for the semifinal matches Roger Federer v. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal v. Fernando Gonzalez. Djokovic, the third seed, rallied to beat Federer to face the top-seeded Nadal in the finals on Sunday. It was no surprise that Nadal was there. He's the top player in the world and currently the defending champ of 3 of the 4 Grand Slams. Besides that, he's been the best clay court player in the world (and, some including me would say, of all time) for several years running. Sunday's victory over Djokovic gave Nadal a record 4th title at the Rome event, 30 straight victories on clay, and a lifetime record of 147-4 on the red stuff. As you might imagine, Rafa, as he's known, is pretty amazing to watch.

Rafael Nadal, in yellow, winding up for one of his lethal forehands in Sunday's final against Novak Djokovic

The semester is winding down here in Rome, and it's time to once again start prepping hard for final exams early next month. I'll do my best though to provide those updates on my Easter travels, hopefully sooner rather than later.