Two weeks of top tennis in Brazil

Maria has just completed two rather gruelling weeks of top tennis at the Brasil Open in São Paulo and at the Rio Open held at the Jockey Club in Rio de Janeiro.

“I have a load of commitments in addition to the hours I work on television and sometimes it gets very hectic!,” Maria told her website.

“At times there was very little sleep but I got it all done!”

Two full weeks

Everything, of course, always happens all at once, especially when the professional tennis tours come to town.

“I decided to pace myself better this year, as best as I could,” Maria added. “But at times it all got very crazy!”

“The Brasil Open was held on clay at the Ibirapuera indoor arena during one of the hottest weeks of the year and at one stage the air conditioning failed so it made the conditions very uncomfortable for everyone.”

After 11 successful years in Costa do Sauipe, the Brasil Open moved in 2012 to São Paulo, where it is played at the Complexo Desportivo Constâncio Vaz Guimarães.

The ATP World Tour 250 clay-court tournament also moved from outdoors to indoors due to regular wet weather in São Paulo in February.

A new champion

This year Pablo Cuevas, the first Uruguayan to reach the final in São Paulo, turned in a dominant serving display to end the dream run of qualifier Luca Vanni, claiming his third ATP World Tour title with a 6-4 3-6 7-6(4) win.

“It was a very long match that went on for over three hours and we didn’t have a clue who would win until the very end, it could have gone either way,” said Maria. “That’s the way it goes on clay!

“We lost the top seed, Feliciano Lopez before the event even began and Vanni took his spot.

“The second seed, Tommy Robredo, went out to Nicolas Almagro in the second round, who then lost to Cuevas so I guess the right players came through.

“Our local wild card, João Sousa, did very well and made it to the semis where he lost a very long match to Vanni, 6-4 in the third. The Brazilian crowd were really hoping he would get to the final but he so narrowly lost out.”

A quick switch to Rio

With the finals finishing in São Paulo late on Sunday night and Maria’s commitments starting as soon as she could get to Rio the following day, it was a big rush to get to the airport for the one-hour flight early on the Monday.

“I got to the hotel, dumped my bags and went direct to the Jockey Club where SporTV was covering a huge number of first-round matches and the team was very stretched.

“I don’t usually do the opening matches but I was happy to help out and it got to be yet another very long day since I left home very early!”

Maria was in great demand in the hospitality village where she was very touched by the honour of appearing in Xerox’s timeline display.

“They did this great walkway celebrating decades of Xerox and I appeared in the sixties,” she said.

“They wanted to get pictures of me with the exhibit.”

“Between transmissions I also spent a lot of time with the Rolex guests, some of whom had flown over from Geneva for the tournament,” Maria said.

“I was really amazed at how many of them wanted photographs and autographs from me every day!”

Maria conducted a number of clinics for sponsor guests but the highlight was the Nick Bollittieri Kids Day event when they had some 200 eager young players looking to pick up some good tips.

“That was a bit tough because we didn’t finish the TV transmission until around 4am and the clinic started at 9.30 in the morning but somehow I made it and didn’t fall asleep,” she said.

Actually Maria was commended for keeping up the pace in the commentary box as Rafael Nadal fought into the early hours of Saturday morning to win his quarter final match against the in-form Pablo Cuevas.

“That was a bit controversial and Rafa criticised the organisers over the scheduling as the ATP apparently had insisted all matches had to be played on the stadium court and they all went to three sets!

“It made it tough for everyone – players, spectators, officials and media – and it became a challenge of endurance to get through it all.”

Wardrobe malfunction

“Rafa had an amazing wardrobe malfunction too. He left the court to change his shorts because it was so hot and humid in Rio, and came running on wearing them back to front!” Maria laughed.

“He went to serve and tried to put a ball in his pocket and, of course, it didn’t work, and then he realised what he had done in his rush.

“He managed to win the opening game of the final set and then had to change under a towel on the court in the 90 seconds. It was really hilarious and the crowd that was left went mad!”

Rafa survived the quarters but met his match in the semi-final when he was beaten a few short hours later by Italy’s Fabio Fognini in another three-set marathon.

“It was sad to see Rafa not make it to the final but Fognini played really well and deserved his win.

“As often happens, unfortunately, he didn’t perform as well against David Ferrer in the final, which was a shame, but he is a showman and good to watch.”

Maria also covered the women’s event running alongside and presented the trophy to another Italian, Sara Erani, who captured her first title in Brazil and eighth on the WTA tour, winning 7/6(2) 6/1 against the young Slovakian, Anna Schmiedlova.

Helping Nick Bollittieri

She also made a special tribute to Bollittieri after the clinic, which everyone present said was both moving and appropriate.

“I’ve known Nick for many years and it was really special to be asked to do this,” Maria said.

“Last year Nick got snowed in and his flight was cancelled from the US so they asked me to step at the last minute in to do the clinic for him. It was fun to see him at work with his team this time round.”

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

One of the greatest tennis coaches of all time, Bollettieri was later honoured on stadium court when he received a silver plate from André Sá, Brazil’s doubles specialist.

“This tournament is like a family gathering. Children, grandchildren, grandmothers, grandpas. I think that’s what makes the tournament special”, said Bollettieri, who heads up the IMG Tennis Academy and has helped coach legends such as Maria Sharapova, Andre Agassi, Serena Williams and Boris Becker.

“I’ve already made a commitment to come back next year and I want to have a session with mothers and fathers. I’m very impressed with this tournament and its sponsors”.

Honouring Thomaz Koch

Maria also led the on-court tribute on Thursday night to Thomaz Koch, one of the greatest Brazilian tennis players of all time, and she presented the 69-year-old with a commemorative silver plate.

The big screen in the stadium showed a video of some of Koch’s greatest moments, both on and off the court.

“This is not just for me,” Koch said. “I would like to include my children in this. It’s such a surprise to receive this honour side by side with Maria Esther Bueno. I want to thank everyone for coming.”

Maria talked about their legacy for Brazilian tennis: “A lot of people think we always had what exists today, but that’s not the case. We worked really hard so tournaments like this could happen”.

Koch played for the Brazilian Davis Cup team from 1962 to 1981, with 74 victories in 118 matches. He was a contemporary of John McEnroe and Guillermo Vilas and reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open, winning the mixed doubles title in Paris in 1975.

Chatting for sport night owls

Earlier in the week Maria spent four hours filming at the TV Globo Studios for a programme called Carujão do Esporte where she was joined by André Sá and Fernanda Vasconcellos, a prominent actress who portrays a tennis player in a very popular Brazilian soap.

“It was for a network sports chat show hosted by the Olympic judo champion Flavio Canto which goes out in the middle of the night at 1am but has a huge audience,” Maria explained. “It really is for night owl sports fans!

“They also had a very popular band that are doing a tour and came specially for the occasion. They were very fun people and gave me the task of choosing their wardrobe!

“It all went very well and was very well received and we all had great fun too!”

Here is a link: TV Globo

Asked to sum up her past two weeks of top tennis, Maria said: “Both events went very well and are becoming well established now in the calendar, attracting good players and well run.

“I’ve known Luiz [Carvalho – the Tournament Director in Rio] since he was born and it is just great to see him running the show so successfully. I’m very touched at the good care he takes of me.

“From a personal standpoint I am always amazed at the fantastic reception I get everywhere, particularly from the Brazilian players who now feel comfortable to come up and talk to me, which is really great.

“Once again I’d like to thank my TV Globo/SporTV crew who are such a great support and fun to work with. They make everything so much easier for me and I really appreciate everything they do for me.

“It seems I make new friends all the time and this year it was the staff at a new hotel I stayed at in Rio because of Carnival, the Transamerica Prima Barra, who couldn’t do enough for me. I was particularly impressed with the towel origami they left in my room!

“It has been a roller-coaster two weeks – tiring, but great fun! I wouldn’t miss it for the world but I’m looking forward to getting back into my normal routine and some rest!”