About Vanessa Muri
Montreal City Editor Vanessa Muri has lived in London and Tokyo, but finds the charms of her hometown irresistible. From the latest scoops to the best deals in Montreal and everything in between, don't miss her weekly take on life in the fair city.
Game, Set, and Match
montreal musings Montreal
(Aug.14.09)
A few months back (OK, it was at New Year’s), I made a promise to myself that I would get out to more cultural events in Montreal. And for a while there, I was on a roll. Then this crummy weather took over, and before I could say “umbrella", I found myself down with a major case of the blahs.
But this past week two great things happened. 1) The sun shone for more than three days in a row, and 2) Jessica, one of my best friends since childhood, invited me to a day of Tennis at the Rogers Cup.
Growing up I used to be a somewhat sporty girl; played soccer and cosom hockey, hated volleyball, loved badminton. Then the rigours of high school came along and I found my sporting prowess limited to channel surfing. But I had my devoted favourites, in particular Canadiens hockey and tennis. And then university and a boyfriend came along and that was the end of that. 
I’ve been to plenty of Habs games but I’ve never seen tennis live, so I knew this would be a treat. And all the best parts – the mind-blowing volleys, the swearing in a foreign language, the frustrated racquet-tossing – were all present and accounted for. I soaked up the sun and the excitement and feel as though I made up for a decade’s worth of missed tennis in about seven hours.
We were guests in the loge of the Intercontinental Hotel (which has just undergone a gorgeous $14 million dollar transformation), and with delicious food, a touch of sangria and the warmest hosts, we couldn't have asked for more.
So when your knowledge of the major players is limited, how do you know who to root for? The cutest guy, of course. (At least, that was Jess’s suggestion).
Funnily enough, this theory seemed to work for most of the day: Fernando Verdasco, Juan Martin Del Potro and Andy Roddick all winning their matches. Though perhaps their high rankings had something to do with it...
But it was certainly more fun that trying to memorize a bunch of stats (though I now find myself going through the official program with a fine-tooth comb). And as for the channel surfing? I'll be a pro again in no time.
Gosh, it’s good to be back in the game.