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 EN BREF
#2
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the World
Teams ... |
HOW DOES IT WORK THEN....?
You may wonder how we actually spend the day, how do we organise
the work here, in Doha? First,
the warmth is preventing us from walking outside really.
 For example, there is a superb swimming pool at the hotel, where a
few silly people are taking the sun during the day - they must
have a death wish, I for myself would rather die in a car crash
than from skin cancer - but so far, we finished too late in the
evening to go and plunge there.
So, no walking to the venue, for example, which would have been
possible in the winter.
 So, after a nice and varied breakfast,
the excellent shuttle organisation picks us up right in front of
the hotel three times per hour, on time, 20 past, 20 to. Easy to
remember. And always on time. Except on Fridays, of course, as
all the drivers are off to pray at certain times during the day.
A quick drive, I would say 5-10 minutes, and here we are at the Khalifa Sport Centre. Just in case you don't know, that's where
the Tennis Federation is based, and if you watch the Qatar
Tennis tournament on TV sometimes, well, we are basically under
the Tennis centre court seatings.
 Every time I've been coming here, I have been wondering why on
earth they would cover up the corridor coming from outside to
the VIP Entrance (which we are using). It was a bit dark I
thought.
It's only since this trip that I got it: it's actually boxed and
air-conned. Clever.
You come in the place, and you have a vast entrance/hall, with
the glass court right in front of you, but the entrance doors
are on the side.
You turn right, along the hall, and you arrive in what is the
"normal entrance, again, airy and light. Turn right again, and
the media room is there, with tea/coffee/soft drinks all day
long, plus a few lovely nibbles at lunch time. Lovely, simple,
efficient. |
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 Back in the "main entrance", you have two sets of courts (4 and
4), for "training", a few seating, but still scoreboard, and
then the full Monty 4 other courts, superb seatings, scoreboard,
plenty of space.
For the occasion, the last "training court has been transformed
into the Refs' rooms, there are sooo many of them, who have been
working relentlessly for hours per day.
You also have the normal
"lounge" for players/officials, comfy armchairs, nice atmosphere.
On the first floor, you have a gallery that takes you to the 8
side courts, a food display, lovely and cheap food, really nice,
plus a long corridor that takes you to the Qatar Federation
offices
 Back to the glass court, well, you've seen enough photos, a
great space, they repainted the flooring last year according to
PSA/ASB recommendations, so the ball on TV looks really sharp
I'm told
Strangely enough, it's not as cold as it is in December on the
glass court arena. It's fresh, but not cold. Nice....
 At the end of the day, Steve and I are usually the last ones to
leave, but the buses are waiting for us, and we normally have
them for ourselves, whereas in the morning, it could be a bit
crowded...
Then we come back to the Hotel, I normally order a quick room
service with local food - a sucker for it - while Steve goes
down to the cafeteria to grab a quick sandwich.
And that, people, is the glamorous life of SquashSite
journalists on tour... |
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EN BREF
#1
Everything you never knew you needed to know about the World
Teams ... |
A
BIT DIFFERENT...
 Feeling
a bit weird.
It's not the first time I come to Doha, far from it really. Why
should I feel that impression of unknown...
Well, first of all, the warmth. It's the first time I come to
Qatar in the summer, and it took me right back. To my youth.
When I used to fly from Tananarive, Madagascar, my home at the
time, to go on holidays in France.
At that time, planes couldn't fly for as long as they do today,
and we had to land in the middle of the night in Djibouti. It
was July too, and when we would step out of the plane, that
feeling of entering into a ball of cotton where it was hard to
breathe at first, then quite pleasant as your body would
accustom to it.
Maybe it just takes me back when, and I feel a bit nostalgic for
those golden years of youth? |
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Also, we have
changed hotel, and for the better, I have to stress. Not that
the previous hotel had anything wrong with it. But this one, the
Courtyard by Marriott brand new hotel, minutes from the
venue - the other one was much further away - is just top notch.
 Three floors where you can choose food styles, lovely bars as
well, where you can follow sports, have a cigarette or a drink
if that's your thing, or more relaxing and quiet if you prefer a
cooler ambiance, enjoy a tea, like I do...
To describe to you the breakfast in the third floor venue, I have
only one word. "Renaissance", in Hong Kong. All the players will
know what I'm talking about.
The food is just gorgeous, varied, imaginative, of the highest
quality. I had the chance to eat lunch there too, and as it was
Friday (our Sunday Lunch for the Occident), it was a bit of a
special event, and we all enjoyed it thoroughly. "It was one of
the best meals I ever had," I heard from a ref. I can only second
that statement. I think that with the Kuwait tournament hotel,
it's really one of the best we've been invited to...
The rooms are really comfy, and the bed is large, soooo
welcoming, especially when you had a pretty full schedule for
the past six weeks. I spend the first day here sleeping, eating,
and chatting with plenty of nice people I'm delighted to see
again.
To be honest, I've also spent my day meeting out people in the
corridors that I know are in the event, but not having a clue
who they are. Some know who I am, and smile. Others just pass
through me. Oh well, I'm sure at some point I'll manage to get a
clue of who they are.... |
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In the evening, we had a lovely get together with the teams,
where Cubs (for those who don't know us, Steve Cubbins,
SquashSite webmaster and photographer in Chief) clicked his way
through the evening, making sure he got everybody in his little
magic box.
 Meanwhile I was going from the buffet to chat with the ones I did
recognise/know. It's a tough job but.
So, why do I feel so scared for tomorrow? Is it because we are
going to have 14,403 matches in a about 5 hours? Is it because I
know about 10% of the players? Is it because I have again to
work in English after spending a few weeks enjoying my French
writing, so much easier?
Or is it because, as ever, I just think that I'll never be able
to write a single word that makes sense?
"Stay tuned", and let's find out, shall we?
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