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 Chaleen Goehrke
If Germany’s top players Angelique Kerber and Julia Görges, who currently rank twelfth and eleventh in the world rankings, are not seeded at a WTA tournament, that says a lot. Only Caroline Wozniacki (number two) and Venus Williams (number eight) are not on the tableau of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Such an opportunity to meet the top elite of women’s tennis can otherwise only be found at the Grand Slams.
At the invitation of tennisnet.com and the sponsor and official timekeeper RADO, I and three other tennis fans got exclusive glimpses in front of and behind the scenes. My goal for the day was clear: photos, photos and more photos. No star was safe from me. Right at the qualification game of the Ukrainian youngster Marta Kostyuk against the experienced Alizé Cornet I got my first star in front of the lens. In the box right next to me I saw Daria Kasatkina. Whether the number 14 in the world wanted it or not – a photo was needed.
In the sports and lifestyle village, the players prepared for their games on the training ground. They were observed and surrounded by numerous onlookers, for whom access to the training grounds was open. When I arrived, Sloane Stephens, the surprise winner of the last US Open, had just finished her training. They directly surrounded many small children – and I, of course. But who doesn’t want a photo of the possible successor to the great Serena Williams?!
The biggest highlight and the chance for the highest selfie yield came in the evening. In the Turkish Airlines Tiebreak two teams of three players each played against each other. In one group Julia Görges, Laura Siegemund and Caroline Garcia, the other group was Angelique Kerber, Coco Vandeweghe and Kristina Mladenovic. The group winners then met again in a decisive match. The games went up to ten and, like in a normal tiebreak, had to be won with a two-point gap. Line referee at the new entertainment tournament was a computer that vocalized out when the ball went out. This was a laugh in a few moments, both for the players and for the spectators.
Coco Vandeweghe also took care of a good mood and mood. Playfully unremarkable, but in return she had the fans completely under control after only a few moments. One fan couldn’t even hold on to himself and shouted to her: “CoCo, I love u!” And she replied, “I don’t know, because I can’t see you.” From then on, all the sympathy points were with the American. The final was played by local heroes Angie and Jule. In the end Julia Görges won and was happy about 1,000,000 air miles.
When the event was over and the players wanted to leave the court, I took my legs in my hand and chased after them – with success. The next selfies landed in my pocket. By the way, in the heat of the moment I left everything and had to hurry back. But luck seemed to have been kind to me that day. Not only did I get my things back – no! Suddenly I was faced with superstar Maria Sharapova. Sieged by several photographers and journalists, she smiled from right to left into each lens. Of course, my lens was not to be missed. So I also put on my most likeable and charming smile and took the opportunity at a favourable moment. A real stroke of luck, because also my companions went out on a photo with the best paid player of the tour for a long time, but went away empty-handed. Which gave me a few jealous looks.
My absolute favourite motive I hadn’t gotten in front of the camera yet. Angelique Kerber managed to get away from me after the tiebreak final. I know – rookie mistake. So all my hope rested on Players Night. All the players made themselves comfortable in the VIP area. One prettier than the other. So I was on the lookout and my winning streak was to continue to the end. Angie was just about to run past me when I was able to catch her and get a selfie for my gallery of honour. So my goal for the day was achieved.