Big-Time Tennis

We had never been to a pro tennis tournament before, so we looked forward quite a bit to attending the Western and Southern Open here in the Cincinnati area. It’s a major tuneup for the upcoming U.S. Open and attracts many of the top players in the world.

Nadal winds up to hit another powerful serve

On Center Court last night we saw Rafael Nadal defeat Grigor Dimitrov, a 20-year-old up-and-comer with a big serve (130 mph) who managed to win a set but in the end was overwhelmed by Nadal’s powerful, bulletlike returns. Nadal just winds up and bangs the crap out of nearly every ball, and hits amazing line drives that clear the net by about half an inch and land deep in his opponent’s court. His net play was a little spotty, though – I don’t know if he was off last night or if he always has trouble with this part of his game.

That match was followed by Serena Williams v. Mona Barthel. Barthel looked positively scrawny compared to Williams, but she hit hard and battled gamely in the first set. Williams, meanwhile, appeared to be troubled by some very sore knees as she walked stiffly around the court, but she was able to hit powerful shots even from awkward positions, and won easily.

Warped Space/Time

Stood in line at the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles this morning to renew my driver’s license. Whiled away some time by using my iPhone to pull up the New York Times and read an article on black holes.

Seemed appropriate.

The Cincinnati Restaurant Scene

Here’s some news that really sums up the state of the regional restaurant scene – both the progress that’s been made and how far it has to go overall.

Bon Appetit food writer Andrew Knowlton recently included the new Metropole restaurant in downtown Cincinnati on the magazine’s ‘50 Best New Restaurant Nominees‘ list for 2013.

It was the only restaurant in Ohio, Indiana or Kentucky to make the list.