Flushing Meadows, NY. The last of the Men’s Quarterfinals.
González [11] vs Nadal [3].
A Chilean on one side of stadium court, a Spaniard on the other.
The crowds are pouring into the mostly empty stands.
It’s still early. On serve. Everything is live.
Sumo, the American Pitbull Terrier, walks the slate floors. Panting.
Sake, the wandering cat, hunkers on my bright orange Human Genomics bag, which is my netbook carrier.
Inside this bag I have 240 GB. This bag is my giga power.
Nadal doesn’t have his legs taped. I know that he recently had a leg injury.
This detail tells me that he at least thinks he’s healthy.
*******
Some time has passed. Nadal won the first set in a tie break [7-4].
Nadal celebrates to himself as he walks to his chair.
After the commercial break, I see Nadal and the tournament trainer.
Nadal points to his right oblique.
The trainer starts tamping the area, honing in on the source of pain.
He digs deeper.
The announcer talks about the ab muscle that the trainer relieves with his thumb.
Four games into the second set. On serve. Play is suspended.
Enrique, the inveterate chair ump, says the source of the rain is a bad cloud.
The bad cloud will pass though, says the forecast.
Patches of rain tonight. Extensive rain tomorrow.
Just a regular paradise, Flushing Meadows, NY.
Now the announcers are having a conversation with themselves and everyone else.
I learn that Nadal is not entirely without tape. Appearances deceive.
Hidden under his yellow shirt, a cast of tape supporting his abdomen.
Evidence of a preexisting condition.
And this is where things will stand for the next 35 minutes or so.
To pass the time until play resumes: previously recorded footage.
::Keep it locked on TOE::
UPDATE: After midnight, the tennis action is finally suspended for good with Nadal up 6,7 6-6, [2-3] in the second set tiebreak.
[Stills pilfered from ESPN2]