A few weeks ago RADO and tennisnet announced the “Follow your Stars” competition – and Dominik Sharaf, Till Hahn, Chaleen Goehrke and Tjark Friesen were lucky: They were our Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Bloggers on Monday and took a look at the court and behind the scenes thanks to their VIP ticket. Read what they experienced and who they met today and in the days to come!
From Tjark Friesen
The “condition” to blog about the day was more a second win than a chore for me. Arrival, hotel accommodation and all-round care were included, and so on Monday morning I took the ICE train from Maintal via Frankfurt to Stuttgart, where the shuttle driver was already waiting for me on the track. The other three winners from Frankfurt, Dortmund and Wuppertal also arrived on time and so we got to know each other on the way to the hotel.
What was and is impressive for me was how RADO managed to choose exactly the four crazy sports freaks out of more than 60 applications, who understood each other splendidly right from the start. So we talked shop about all possible topics of the tennis circus, the chances and hurdles to become a professional, and our own ability to thresh the yellow felt ball over the net.
Arriving at the Porsche Arena, we were welcomed by the RADO-Germany boss and a glass of champagne and got an insight into the art of watchmaking. Then we went to the first game of the day – we were there to watch tennis. A first highlight for me was the young up-and-coming Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk: With her timid 15 years she defeated her opponent Alizé Cornet, number 37 in the world and proven sand court specialist quite confidently despite losing a set – she won six of her eight tournaments on her favourite surface. You will certainly see and read more about the Eastern European in the near future!
After the game I enjoyed culinary delicacies in the VIP area. Roast beef of Black Angus beef, a red salted water shrimp on mango-chili salad, pink roasted veal with barolo sauce and various sushi specialities refreshed my palate. While strolling around the course, one met again and again a few players with whom one could take a photo.
I was surprised when I saw Mark Webber sitting at the next table. I asked him for a photo (my second photo with a Formula 1 driver in the first place, after Michael Schumacher in 1994, but that’s another story…) and he agreed very nicely. His seat neighbour – his face also looked familiar to me, but I could not place him in my brain despite a quick search – asked if he could join me on the photo. Of course I did not refuse his wish and so, as I learned shortly afterwards, Richy Müller’s wife took a photo of Mark Webber, the detective in Stuttgart, and myself – a very successful combination, I think.
After this great encounter, the focus was once again on sport, not passive watching but active club swinging. Unfortunately it wasn’t as you might think now that I met Maria Sharapova and invited her for a small training session. No: In the RADO impact speed test you could – how surprising – measure your impact speed. Three times (without warm-up program with a few Angus cattle in my stomach) I threw the ball into the safety net. But I limited myself to second serves, so that the speedometer spit out 160 kmh… 😉
At half past six the new turkish airlines tiebreak competition started. Six players determined a winner in match tiebreaks, who received one million Miles and Smiles bonus points from the airline. You’re wondering: What do you do with a million bonus points? Winner Julia Görges did the same, but came up with the idea to fly to the Maldives with it. But then she could also take her home village Bad Oldesloe completely with her and then there would still be a few points left…
Worth mentioning were the missing linesmen, who were replaced by cameras. Each exclamation rang through the hall by computer voice. These calls reminded of various computer simulations from the 90s. Between the changes of sides – as you know it from beach volleyball – the current Bravo Hits was inserted to keep the audience happy. Altogether a nice show program without great sporty value for the involved ones, times the travel group around bath Oldesloe excluded.
At the end of the day we went to the Players Night, in which the athletes presented themselves in short evening dresses instead of short tennis dresses. The players joined the invited VIP guests with live music and other delicacies. However, there was no exuberant party atmosphere, but the focus of the players was on the sporting successes in the following days. At one, two, three gin and tonic we ended the wonderful day at the bar and summed up that a reunion, at the latest next year at the same place, is without alternatives.
If you want to read more about Tjark, you can do so at https://tjarks-sport-blog.com!