You can mark it down in indelible ink--if you are going to have problems in a tournament it will usually come from a 3.5 women's doubles match--and we weren't disappointed this weekend! Seems that the sniping and arguing went on during the entire match and then at the end, there were various accusations concerning the ladies' abilities to see the lines and make the proper calls. The culmination of the match was when one team refused to shake hands with the other team after the match was over. The saddest part is that one of the players is a certified USTA official... Makes for bad vibrations and thoughts doesn't it?
Some of the players felt the need to educate me on bathroom breaks and their length and number. One guy told me that "If you knew the rules, you would know that we all great a bathroom break before sets and then as many as we want and need during the match." I just shook my head in amazement and then went and put a lock on the men's bathroom door... Not much you can do with blatant ignorance.
REST PERIODS always seem to be a matter of discussion when the heat rule is in effect and players are hot... Here's some of the highlights of our various discussions about rest periods...
* Some think that you should get a minimum of five minutes on every changeover. Its hot so they need more time.
* Some think there should be a minimum of ten minutes between sets and at least ten minutes if they are playing a match tiebreak in lieu of the third set.
* The guy above who knew everything about a bathroom break, said that he should be able to take a break anytime he wants during a match. He played a four hour match and two different times the site director spotted him in the bar area during the match. Guess he needed a vodka tonic to see him through until the next break.
* When I saw the above mentioned guy taking 6 minutes on a changeover, I went by to "lovingly encourage" them to move it along. He glared at me and said, "We are playing according to the rules. You need to go and bother someone who is breaking the rules because its sure not us!" Again--you can't overcome blatant ignorance...
* One lady would go and sit down between point and read her notes. When I asked her what she was doing, she said, "I'm hot--and when I'm hot, I'm going to sit down between points and rest." After a somewhat lengthy and heated (pardon the pun) discussion, she told me to leave her court and go bother someone else. I lovingly told her that the next break she took would cost her a point, and then a game, and then she would be defaulted out of the tournament. She finally went to play but not after asking my name and telling me she would report me to the highest levels of authority in the USTA. I started to give her my business card so she could spell my name correctly in her complaint!
* Then there is the age old saying that the last match of the day will always go the longest--and that sure held true today! Our last match was a 3.0 men's consolation singles match and they managed to play their hearts out for 2.5 hours in a match with a 3rd set tiebreak. The old adages hold true, don't they?
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