Monday Report
by Barry Wood

Wimbledon is famous for three things - tennis, strawberries and cream, and rain. But Wimbledon is not the only place it rains all over the tennis courts. It happens in most places. But not usually in Pattaya. There are distinct weather patterns in Thailand. It rains quite a lot, but not for long, between May and October. And then it stops. It doesn't rain in February, and it hardly ever rains softly all day long at any time. A heavy deluge, man's rain, for maybe 20 minutes, and then it's done. So no-one expected light rain soaking the courts at the Dusit Resort for hours and hours. Usually the problem is that it's too hot and the heat rule is needed, offering a break for the players before a third set. There are options of course. Ille Nastase once attempted to play while holding an umbrella, and Pam Shriver once came out onto a wet court wearing flippers. Doesn't help the nifty footwork though, so the easier option is to sit down and have a cup of tea and look for a gap in the clouds. On Monday, that didn't come. That meant the only action that some of the players saw was to take an early morning trip to a ceremony held to release baby turtles into the sea as part of a conservation programme. Players who made the trip included Anastasia Rodionova, who used to be Russian but is now representing Australia, who came with her sister Arina, along with American Vania King and Italy's Nicole Clerico. But as far as tennis went, the only time they got onto court was to practise, and even that was on a wet playing surface and in the rain. So we try again tomorrow. After all, it can't rain forever. It isn't Wimbledon.