... or "world-class tennis in Bad Gastein."
I'm not alluding to some tennis I play, but at the WTA women's tournament (the most important circuit in the world, to understand) that is taking place this settimana a Bad Gastein ed al quale io ed un mio amico non abbiamo voluto rinunciare, anche per sfruttare al meglio la settimana di ferie che abbiamo.
Bad Gastein è una stazione termale e sciistica molto antica, nella regione di Salisburgo, a circa 120 chilometri da Klagenfurt. Il posto è molto carino, e mi avrebbe fatto piacere farci un giretto, indipendentemente dal torneo di tennis. Una delle caratteristiche peculiari del percorso stradale che porta là, è il fatto che ad un certo punto è quasi impossibile proseguire in macchina, la quale va caricata su di un treno speciale, per percorrere gli ultimi 12 chilometri che collegano Mallnitz a Bad Gastein. Non è che la cosa mi entusiasmasse più di tanto, ma alla fine si è revealed an incredible ease and in a funny way. The only small problem that remains is the price a bit 'hexose: 30 € for 12 miles round trip, regardless of the number of passengers (below you can see my trusty blue Brava, waiting for boarding on the way back ).
Once there, we immediately went to the sports complex where the event takes place, and bought a ticket for which we have sucked other 20 euro each, we settled down on center court, where the meeting takes place the first shift between Petkovic (number 35 in the world, top seed of the tournament and the winner of the last edition) against Benesova (only number 75, but very nice). The initial impression is quite disarming: the television, as happens to all sports, does not make the slightest idea of \u200b\u200bthe speed at which the ball travels. In the pitches I frequent, I saw some smart person to play, but here is something else entirely. After the game, we allowed ourselves a break (one of many) taking advantage of the kiosks selling drinks, snacks and ice cream prepared for the tournament. During the afternoon we saw other matches, all of a good standard of course, and we left at about six and a half. The only downside is the day we got lots of sun and warm. I was hoping that the altitude at which it is located in Bad Gastein, 1000 meters, would help to mitigate the heat which ultimately is the undisputed star here in Klagenfurt, but I was wrong. I'm not in very good condition, and so far I have already given three times in the face after sun gel. We hope to do something. The other thing that has me a bit 'disappointed, was the organization of the tournament. I was expecting something more spectacular, prestigious, great. Instead, almost everything was "homemade." There were only two fields, one with very few seats (in fact there are three but the third we could not figure out where it was, probably in a branch office) and also the "central" is not that was great. Of course, this is a smaller tournament, but many lower-level events vengono giocati in impianti molto più prestigiosi. In ogni caso, tutto era organizzato molto bene ed il personale che si occupava di questo era numerosissimo e molto puntiglioso. Vi lascio con alcune foto fatte sul campo, oltre a quella sopra citata ( nell'ordine: Andrea Petkovic durante l'intervista dopo la partita e Iveta Benesova, quando aveva praticamente già perso ).
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