Lisa's Memphis Diary - Day 3 Posted 02/20/2007 @ 8 :05 PM [Ed. Note: Lisa McDermott, seasoned Reuters reporter and favorite TW flake, is on-site this week at the Regions Morgan Keegan/Cellular South Cup in Memphis. --S. ] I wanted to flick a Bic, like you do at the end of a rock concert. That was my reaction when Venus Williams finished off the first match of her return to the WTA tour after a four-month absence in Memphis last night. 我想挥一支bic (这是什麽呢?) 就像摇滚演唱会後一样 以下是我在大威结束他四个多月来第一场比赛後的感想 But I didn’t think to bring a lighter with me, and I don’t smoke. So I’ll have to be content with watching Venus again in tonight's marquee match in the Cellular South Cup. It was so, so good to see Venus back on the tennis court. It even made up for the hazardous, twirling journey to the official press box, which sits atop a rickety, ultra-narrow spiral staircase. 我不带打火机 我也不抽烟 所以我会专心看大威今晚的比赛 能够看到大威回来真是太棒了 甚至抵消了坐在旋转阶梯上的记者包厢的危险 There was a definite buzz as Venus prepared to take the court. Nearly all the seats (the capacity of the stadium is 5,200) were filled. Photographers had staked out positions at the entrance to the court. Elvis could have walked or hobbled (he’d be 72 years old now) into the stadium and I don’t think anyone would have cared. They wanted to see Venus. 大威准备出场时引起一阵骚动 几乎整个看台都坐满了(这里有5200个位置) 摄影师们也在入口处找位置 Elvis可以走进看台上(他72岁了) 但我不觉得会有人在乎 他们只想看大威而已 Volunteers here say that there’s more general buzz about this event in Memphis this year, and it’s all owing to Venus playing here. When she finally appeared, there was thunderous applause. She didn’t wave, there was no smile, just a face that declared, Game on. 赛会工作人员跟我说今年这里被谈论的更多 因为大威要来这里打 当他终於出现时 大家非常热情的鼓掌 他没有挥手 没有微笑 就是保持那样的比赛表情 Akiko Morigami of Japan followed close behind Venus, seemingly dwarfed (she’ s eight inches shorter). Venus wore a white Reebok tennis dress with stripes extending from each hip to form a neat “V”, while Morigami wore a simple black tennis outfit. I think people assumed that because Memphis is a Tier III tournament, Venus would have a cakewalk. That notion was easily dispelled by a quick study of Morigami’s game (for me, it was through contacts dried out by a full day of watching tennis). Morigami plays both ground strokes with two hands, and has endless stores of energy. As an added, intriguing bonus, it turns out that Morigami’s coach is a former hitting partner of Venus’s, Billy Wilkison. 森上亚希子就在他後面 看起来很矮(他比大威矮了八寸) 大威穿着一件白色的Reebok裙子上面有V字线条 森上穿的是一套很简单的黑色球衣 我想人们一定会想 这只是个三级赛 大威应该会很轻松 但这样的想法很快就因为研究森上打法而消失了 森上正反拍都是双手 有无穷无尽的精力 另外 森上的教练Billy Wilkison以前也是大威的练球搭档 At the start, Venus couldn’t get a first serve into the box. But her strokes were crisp and she hit winners like she’d been away from the competition for four days instead of four months. It took her all of 26 minutes to win the first set, 6-1. But Morigami wasn’t ready for a rout. She capitalized on Venus’s erratic serving (in one game alone, Venus hit five double faults) to take the second set, 6-2. So Morigami entered the third set with a big dose of confidence, and Venus was looking disappointed. We’ve seen that look before, and it did not bode well. 比赛一开始大威一发很少进 但他的抽球乾净俐落 他打出一堆致胜球像他只是四天没打网球而不是四个月 第一盘只花了26分钟 但森上还没准备投降 他在大威一个失误连连的发球局破发(大威这局发了五个双误) 然後6-2拿下第二盘 森上带着信心进入第三盘 而大威看起来有点失望 我们之前就看过他这样的表情 这不是个太好的预兆 At 3-all in the third set, though, something kicked in. Venus snapped out of her funk and her game face reappeared. She cracked aces and painted lines. Her volleys were crisp and brutal. She put away a number of smashes that sent to ball flying way up into the stands. Morigami seemed so spooked that she hit two lobs that ricocheted off the lights in this indoor stadium. She would later quip: “I was hoping this tournament was outdoors.” 在第三盘3-3时 大威甩开了畏缩 他又开始打出应有表现 打了一些ace跟压线 他的截击也非常凶狠俐落 他的扣杀把很多球都打到了看台上 森上看起来对这个室内球场的登光不太满意 他说"我真希望这比赛是在室外" When Venus finally broke Morigami in the third, she pumped her fist and her face was set with determination. And when she closed it out, 6-1,2-6, 6-4, the crowd jumped to its feet in tribute to Miss Vee’s performance. She did her signature pirouette and waved to the crowd. She went to fetch her bag, but the crowd wasn’t ready to let her - or the moment- go. She went back to the center of the court and waved again. She was impelled to make the journey again a few moments later, and she signed three tennis balls and hit them into the stands. 当大威终於破了森上的发球局 他握拳为自己打气 脸上充满了坚定 当他结束了比赛 所有观众都站起来为他的表现鼓掌 他用他的招牌转圈像观众挥手致意 他去收拾东西 但观众还不想让他走 於是他又回到场中挥手 他终於又回来了 他签了三个球打到看台上 In her presser later, Venus said: 在他的记者会 他说 "[I was] definitely a little rusty and the first set went so quick. . . The second set, I started to think and then I started to make a few errors and then I couldn’t stop it and then I made a windfall of errors. In the third set I was thinking all kinds of things and then I said, This is your first match back, you’re actually doing pretty well, Vee." 我绝对有一点生锈 而且第一盘太快了 第二盘我开始想比较多 而且也产生很多失误 然後开始失控了 真的是个意外 第三盘我跟自己说"好吧 试试看专心点" 然後我开始想 "这只是你的第一场比赛耶 你其实做的很好啊" PS - I met Jimmy Connors’ brother John in the elevator back at the hotel. He ’s a nice fellow who resembles his more well-known brother. I found myself thinking, Geez, parting your hair down the middle has to be a Connors genetic trait. Venus is back in action tonight, taking on Caroline Wozniacki, of Denmark. I wonder if the hotel gift shop sells lighters. . PS: 我在旅馆的电梯里遇到了Jimmy Connors的哥哥John 他人很好 跟他弟弟很像 我那时想 把头发中分应该是Connors家的一大特色吧 大威今晚会回来打他跟Caroline Wozniacki的比赛 希望旅馆内的商店有卖打火机 It was a true Bic-worthy moment. And I didn’t have a Bic. --Lisa McDermott -- --

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