Sunday, November 13, 2005 Sunday, November 13, 2005 I managed to get a good night's rest, notwithstanding the so-called mattress on my bed. I skipped breakfast, and caught the 10 a.m. shuttle to the tennis. It is a bus, which it should be, as it's quite a trip to the tennis venue. I doubt they could have found a hotel further away!!! But perhaps they wanted everyone to have a sense of downtown Shanghai, which you can't get at the arena. And they certainly have marketed the event well. When I came from the airport, I saw two huge billboards promoting the event -- although of all the players depicted, only Rafa and Roger are in the draw. And on the way to the tennis, I saw many advertisements, including posters of each individual player on many street lights. I would love to have one of the Rafa ones -- but I don't fancy climbing up any of those poles! Checking into the foreign media desk confirmed my view that if you don't speak Chinese in Shanghai, you are at a disadvantage. They did their best, certainly, but when I asked for the location of my desk, I was taken to a locker room. Still, in the end, I had a desk, with an internet connection, and a ticket into the stadium. So it all worked out, except for finding a Diet Coke. I asked about that, and was directed to a cooler containing Pepsi. But, after about an hour, I found a kiosk selling Diet Pepsi, and realized this is as good as it gets in Shanghai. No way could I live here. :-) Okay, at lunch I decided to be a bit adventurous as I really don't know anyone here. There was a woman eating alone, and I asked if I could join her. She's English -- so her fluency is not in question -- and we really hit it off. Her name is Tanya, and she is working with a local media organization here. We had a lovely lunch -- at least in terms of company. Again, the food here is nothing to write home about -- at least not so far!!! After a bit, a couple Chinese women motioned to her, and she spoke with them. Then they came over, and it turns out that one of them was Mimi -- the reporter who called me last night. So everyone was introduced, and we sat down. Mimi's first comment was that she felt badly about the article she wrote about Rafa's girlfriend. Of course, this got my attention. She was the one who interviewed Toni and who wrote the article. This is what I know. She was at the Shanghai Hilton, and saw Toni. She asked if he would take a few minutes for an interview, and he said yes. So they sat down, and the first question she asked was whether Rafa has a girlfriend. Now, many journalists have asked that question, and I'm not sure Mimi was aware of that, but she said she knew it was something fans would want to know. She said Toni said that yes, Rafa has a girlfriend in Mallorca. But at the same time, she said Toni's English is not very good. Her English is very good, but it is not her first language. But what concerned me was when she asked me if Toni is married. I said, yes he is and has three kids. She said that he told her he is single, but has kids. So that's when I wondered whether there were some things lost in translation, where you have two people speaking a language that is not their first language. So it's possible that things were lost in translation, and it's even more possible that if Toni was joking about something, she would not have understood it. At the same time, Toni has to know to be careful when speaking with the media. So I cannot tell you if he was kidding, or if he was misunderstood, or if what he says is exactly true. What I can tell you is that Mimi feels badly about writing about it. She said she didn't realize how the article would create such interest, and that Rafa would be questioned about it. She knows that Rafa denies having a girlfriend, and although she stands by what she wrote, she realizes that it has created a controversy, and that was not her intention. I'll be in touch with Mimi, so as this story develops, we can keep on top of it. Stay tuned. . . . Now for the tennis -- posted by Susan @ 3:37 AM