As I already mentioned above, Venus Williams was the reason of this impromptu trip to London. And so I found it funny when I saw these shaves by Gillette being marketted as “Venus” at the on-board store in the ferry boat I took from Hoek van Holland to Harwich. I felt like the universe “knew” and so this coincidence 😛 .
The last-minute nature of the trip meant higher risk of me forgetting something. And unfortunately, I did forget something this time: my adapter. You see, the UK uses a different plug type than the rest of Europe (So annoying, I know!). And so not bringing an adapter with me made my life a little bit more difficult there. But fortunately, the hotel I stayed in provided several different plug types, even a USB one, which I found extremely useful!! I was really glad I chose to stay at this hotel! Haha 😆
BAHASA INDONESIA
Tema postingPhoto Tales kali ini adalah beberapa cerita sampingan dari perjalanan dadakanku di bulan Juli 2017 untuk menonton pertandingan tunggalnya Venus Williams di finalnya Wimbledon. Posting-posting utama dari seri ini bisa dibaca melalui tautan-tautan berikut:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Getting to London and Back
3. Part II: Wimbledon 2017
Foto #95
Venus (Cukur)
Seperti yang kusebutkan di atas, Venus Williams adalah alasan aku pergi dalam perjalanan dadakan ke London ini. Makanya aku merasa lucu ketika melihat cukurnya Gillette yang dipasarkan dengan nama “Venus” ini di toko di dalam kapal ferry yang kunaiki dari Hoek van Holland ke Harwich. Aku merasa kok alam semesta ini “tahu” sehingga kebetulan ini terjadi, haha 😛 .
Namanya perjalanan dadakan, artinya ada risiko lebih tinggi untukku kelupaan sesuatu. Dan sayangnya, aku beneran kelupaan sesuatu kali ini: adaptorku. Jadi ceritanya Inggris Raya itu kan menggunakan colokan yang modelnya berbeda dari semua negara Eropa lainnya gitu kan ya (Nyebelin memang!). Jadilah tidak membawa adaptor itu membuat hidupku agak sedikit lebih repot di sana, haha. Tetapi untungnya hotel tempatku menginap memiliki colokan listrik dengan beberapa tipe loh, bahkan ada colokan USB segala, yang mana sangat amat berguna untukku!! Aku lega banget deh aku memilih untuk menginap di hotel ini! Haha 😆 .
Posts in the A Summer Weekend in London series:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: The Flights
3. Part II: London
As my Instagram followers (@azilko) have known, I went on yet another weekend trip this weekend! Haha 😛 . This time, I went back to: London!!
The ultimate mandatory tourist-in-London selfie
Yep, I know that I was just literally in London a month ago for an impromptu weekend trip for Wimbledon. But indeed that was the point, that trip was entirely for Wimbledon so I didn’t have any time to enjoy London, my favorite European city, itself, haha.
To make this trip more fun, I decided that I would fly to my most favorite airport of London (London is served by six airports, btw): London City Airport (LCY)! At the time I realized that despite this airport being my favorite, the last time I flew there was actually in 2013 when I was flying back to Rotterdam with CityJet’s Fokker 50 after a conference in London in my first year of PhD. That was already more than FOUR years ago! 😱
I got upgraded to Europe Business Class AGAIN!!
And also, remember that two weeks agoI got upgraded to Europe Business Class on my KLM Berlin to Amsterdam flight. As it turned out, this time I got upgraded to Europe Business Class AGAIN on my KLM Cityhoppr KL994 flight from London City to Amsterdam!! Awesome, eh!! Hahaha 😆
I knew London was my favorite city so I knew what to expect. I knew that I would enjoy it because, well, London. So all in all it was, indeed, a really fun weekend. As usual, here are some teasers of the trip:
The Millenium Bridge
The Tower Bridge
London at dusk
Big Ben
Trafalgar Square
Lunch at a one-Michelin-star restaurant in Soho
BAHASA INDONESIA
Posting-posting dalam seri A Summer Weekend in London:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: The Flights
3. Part II: Lond
Seperti yang followers Instagramku (@azilko) ketahui, aku jalan-jalan lagi loh akhir pekan ini! Haha 😛 . Kali ini, tujuannya adalah: London!!
Selfie turis-di-London wajib yang London banget.
Iyaa, tahu kok aku memang baru saja pergi ke London bulan lalu untuk sebuah perjalanan akhir pekan super dadakan untuk menonton Wimbledon. Tapi ya justru di situlah intinya, perjalanan ini kan murni untuk Wimbledon aja sehingga aku tidak memiliki waktu untuk menikmati London itu sendiri, yang mana merupakan kota favoritku di Eropa, haha.
Nah untuk membuat perjalanan ini semakin seru, aku memutuskan untuk terbang ke bandara favoritku di London (London memiliki enam bandara, btw): Bandara London City (LCY)! Waktu itu aku baru menyadari bahwa walaupun bandara ini bandara favoritku, terakhir kali aku terbang kesana adalah di tahun 2013 ketika aku pulang ke Rotterdam dengan pesawat Fokker 50nya CityJet setelah sebuah konferensi di London di tahun pertama PhD/S3-ku. Yang mana artinya sudah lebih dari EMPAT tahun yang lalu dong ya! 😱
Aku di-upgrade ke kelas bisnis Eropa LAGI dong!!
Apalagi ya, dua minggu yang lalu kan aku di-upgrade ke kelas bisnis Eropa di penerbangan KLM Berlin ke Amsterdam tuh. Nah, kali ini ternyata akudi-upgrade ke kelas bisnis Eropa LAGI dong di penerbangan KLM Cityhopper KL994-ku dari London City ke Amsterdam!! Asyik banget ya!! Hahaha 😆
Aku tahu London adalah kota favoritku sehingga ya aku tahu perjalanan ini bakal seru dan aku akan sangat menikmatinya karena, yah, London, haha. Jadi secara keseluruhan perjalanan ini memang asyik banget dah. Seperti biasa, di atas aku unggah beberapa teasers dari perjalanan ini.
Deboarding a KLM’s Boeing 737-800 reg PH-BCD at Berlin-Tegel Airport
I flew direct with KLM between Amsterdam and Berlin in both directions. There was not much to tell about my departure flight with PH-BCD, a KLM’s Boeing 737-800, which was a regular pleasant short-haul flight with KLM. My returning flight with PH-BGX, a KLM’s Boeing 737-700, however, was far more interesting because: I got upgraded to Europe Business Class, again! Yeay!! 😎
The main difference between the two cabins, IMO, is not the seat, as the seats in Europe Business Class are the same as in economy except with blocked middle seat and a bit of extra legroom. It is, definitely, the food service. The following were the services on my departure flight to Berlin in economy (left) and my return flight from Berlin in Europe Business Class (right):
Snack service in Economy Class
Service in Europe Business Class
Obviously Europe Business Class comes with a sparkling wine (champagne) as a drink option as well 😆 . After the meal the purser went around asking if we (the business class passengers) wanted anything else for a drink. I asked for a tea.
Btw, in business class the purser also referred me as “Mr. Zilko”. When she served my meal, she said something along the line as “Mr. Zilko, here is your meal, enjoy“; whereas in economy the flight attendants normally just use the neutral “Sir/Ma’m/Miss“.
Cheers from 41,000 feet
Berlin
As I said before, Berlin turned out to be a very vibrant and nice city that it immediately became my most favorite German city; and actually one of my most favorite European cities as well. Mostly it was the atmosphere, though, where it did not feel like “business-centric” a la Frankfurt or “too touristic”. I don’t know, it is a little bit difficult to describe. Another reason is obviously the very many interesting places across the very big city.
Alexanderplatz and Berlin Mitte
Berliner Dom, the cathedral of Berlin
Most of Berlin’s attractions are located in the Mitte area, stretching from Alexanderplatz in the east, possibly the busiest square in the city, to Tiergarten in the west. On Saturday, I walked all the way from Alexanderplatz up to the Siegessäule in Tiergarten, which I can tell you know was a long walk of almost 5 km. I walked for a total of around 15.2 km on Saturday, btw 😆 .
But indeed a long the way lied many of Berlin’s famous landmarks and architectures, such as the Berlin TV Tower, the cathedral of Berlin, and the Branderburg Gate. So unsurprisingly, this was probably the most touristy area of the city as well where I saw a lot of horse carriages and rickshaws running on the main street.
The famous Brandenburg Gate
Berlin Wall and the “Dark” History
Another aspect Berlin is famous (or, rather, infamous) for is its “dark” history. You must have heard about the existence of the Berlin Wall, a wall dividing the city into West and East Berlin during the Cold War that was torn down starting in 1989 thus unifiying the city back together. Part of that wall still exists and now becomes some sort of monument. I like the one in the east side, called the East Side Gallery, where one side of the wall is used for murals.
A remnant of the Berlin Wall which divided the city into West and East Berlin during the Cold War.
Another remnant of the cold war was Checkpoint Charlie, a Berlin Wall crossing point between the two parts of the city. The guard house still exists (sort of) and now becomes a tourist attraction. Even now there are actors dressed as allied military policemen standing in front of the guard house.
At the “Checkpoint Charlie” in Berlin
Not so far way from the Brandenburg Gate was the Holocaust Memorial, a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. I really found the design of the memorials really beautiful and artsy which formed some sort of maze.
The Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.
Summer Heat
Anyway, going to Berlin in the middle of summer, I mistakenly did not expect a lot of heat. Well, this was actually due to the weather forecast from which I learned that it would be cloudy a lot during the weekend but low precipitation so I didn’t really need to bring an umbrella. However, I was wrong big time because not only that it was not cloudy, it was actually scorching hot and apparently at some point the temperature was:
38.5 Celsius!!
Crazy!! 😖
The Food
In general I liked the food in Berlin as well, also that overall I did not find it to be expensive (especially in comparison to the Netherlands). However, though, I felt like the waiters there were very “forefront” about tipping, even directly asking me how much I would tip them. I am not sure if this was because probably I dined in touristy area or so. But for those more familiar with Berlin, is this really the general practice there? I mean, in other German cities I have been to, I never experienced this straight-forwardness.
Currywurst in Berlin.
Anyway, I really liked the gourmet-ish currywurst that I had in my first afternoon there. It came with fries and salad, so it did not taste anything like the “cheap” currywurst sold on the street in the entire Germany. It tasted much more “proper”, in my opinion 😛 . Other than that, though, I had an Argentinian steak and a schnitzel during my stay there. The steak was great, but the schnitzel was standard.
Turun dari pesawat Boeing 737-800nya KLM dengan rego PH-BCD di Bandara Berlin-Tegel.
Aku terbang langsung dengan KLM di perjalanan ke Berlin dan kembalinya. Nggak banyak sih yang ingin kuceritakan dari penerbangan keberangkatanku dengan PH-BCD, sebuah Boeing 737-800nya KLM, yang mana merupakan penerbangan reguler yang nyaman dengan KLM di rute jarak pendek. Penerbangan kepulangannya dengan PH-BGX, sebuah Boeing 737-700nya KLM, tapinya, jauh lebih menarik karena: aku di-upgrade ke Kelas Bisnis Eropa, lagi dong! Horee!! 😎
Perbedaan utama dari dua kabin ini, menurutku, bukanlah kursinya, karena kursi di Kelas Bisnis Eropa itu pada dasarnya sama aja kayak kursi di kelas ekonomi tetapi kursi tengahnya dikosongi dan dengan legroom yang lebih lapang. Perbedaan utamanya jelaslah di layanan makanannya. Berikut ini adalah layanan di penerbangan keberangkatanku ke Berlin di kelas ekonomi (kiri) dan penerbangan kepulanganku dari Berlin di kelas bisnis Eropa (kanan):
Layanan makanan di kelas ekonomi
Layanan makanan di kelas bisnis Eropa
Jelas lah ya kelas bisnis Eropa juga menawarkan champagne sebagai salah satu pilihan minumannya, haha 😆 . Dan setelah selesai makan, purser-nya berkeliling bertanya apakah kami (penumpang kelas bisnis) ingin minum apa lagi gitu. Aku meminta segelas teh hangat.
Btw, di kelas bisnis purser-nya juga memanggilku dengan sebutan “Mr. Zilko” loh. Ketika menyajikan makananku, ia kurang lebih berkata “Mr. Zilko, here is your meal, enjoy“; sementara kalau di ekonomi kan paling pramugari/a-nya menggunakan panggilan netral semacam “Sir/Ma’m/Miss” gitu ya, haha.
Cheers dari ketinggian 41.000 kaki
Berlin
Seperti yang sudah kusebutkan, ternyata Berlin adalah kota yang hidup banget dan asyik sehingga otomatis langsung menjadi kota di Jerman favoritku; dan bahkan sebagai salah satu kota favoritku di Eropa loh. Utamanya karena atmosfernya sih, asyik banget gitu dimana tidak terasa “bisnis banget” a la Frankfurt tetapi tidak juga “terlalu touristy“. Hmm, memang cukup sulit untuk dideskripsikan dengan kata-kata, haha. Salah satu alasan lainnya jelas karena ada banyak banget tempat menarik di kota yang berukuran besar ini.
Alexanderplatz dan Berlin Mitte
Berliner Dom, katedralnya Berlin
Kebanyakan atraksinya Berlin berada di area Mitte, yang terentang dari Alexanderplatz di timur, mungkin lapangan paling sibuknya Berlin, sampai ke Tiergarten di barat. Di hari Sabtu, aku berjalan-kaki loh dari Alexanderplatz sampai Siegessäule di Tiergarten, yang mana ternyata jauh juga dimana jaraknya hampir 5 km. Btw hari Sabtu itu aku berjalan-kaki sejauh sekitar 15,2 km loh totalnya, haha 😆 .
Tetapi memang kok di sepanjang jalan ini banyak banget landmark-nya Berlin yang kece-kece, misalnya Menara TVnya Berlin, katedralnya Berlin, dan juga Gerbang Brandenburg. Jadi, tidak mengherankan, area ini mungkin adalah area yang paling touristy di kota ini dimana aku banyak melihat kereta kuda dan becak juga di jalanannya.
Gerbang Brandenburg yang terkenal itu
Tembok Berlin dan Sejarah “Kelam”
Satu aspek lain yang terkenal dari Berlin adalah sejarah “kelam”-nya. Pasti pernah dengan kan mengenai keberadaan Tembok Brlin, sebuah tembok yang membagi kotanya menjadi Berlin Barat dan Timur sewaktu Perang Dingin dan diruntuhkan mulai tahun 1989 sehingga kotanya bersatu kembali. Nah, sebagian dari tembok itu masih berdiri dan sekarang dijadikan monumen. Aku suka bagiannya di sisi timur, yang disebut East Side Gallery, dimana salah satu sisi temboknya diisi banyak mural.
Satu peninggalan Tembok Berlin yang membagi kotanya menjadi Berlin Barat dan Timur sewaktu Perang Dingin.
Satu peninggalan dari Perang Dingin lainnya adalah Checkpoint Charlie, tempat penyeberangan Tembok Berlin di antara kedua bagian kota. Bangunan penjagaannya masih ada (kurang lebih begitu) dan kini menjadi atraksi turis, haha. Bahkan ada aktor yang berkostum sebagai polisi militernya Sekutu di sana loh.
Di “Checkpoint Charlie” di Berlin
Tak jauh dari Gerbang Brandenburg adalah Holocaust Memorial, tempat untuk mengenang korban dari Holocaust. Aku suka sekali disainnya yang bagiku nampak indah dan berseni sekali yang membentuk semacam labirin.
Holocaust Memorial di Berlin.
Panasnya musim panas
Anyway, pergi ke Berlin di tengah-tengah musim panas, aku malah tidak mempersiapkan diri akan panasnya loh. Ya habis gimana, ramalan cuacanya mengatakan cuaca akan mendung tetapi curah hujan rendah sehingga aku tidak perlu membawa payung. Ternyata, aku salah banget karena selain cuacanya tidak mendung, malah panas banget loh dan ternyata di satu waktu mencapai:
38,5 derajat Celsius!!
Gila kaaan!! 😖
Makanannya
Secara umum aku juga suka makanan di Berlin, apalagi bagiku rasanya tidak terlalu mahal (jika dibandingkan dengan Belanda), haha. Namun, aku kok merasa pelayan-pelayannya cukup agresif juga ya dalam hal meminta tips, bahkan bertanya langsung kepadaku aku ingin memberikan tips berapa. Aku nggak tahu sih apakah ini disebabkan aku makan di tempat-tempat yang banyak turisnya atau gimana. Bagi yang familer dengan Berlin, apakah memang seperti itu di sana? Soalnya, di kota-kota Jerman lainnya, aku tidak pernah menghadapi situasi se-straight-forward ini.
Currywurst di Berlin.
Anyway, aku suka banget currywurst yang nampak lebih gourmet sebagai makan siang pertamaku di sana. Sosisnya disajikan dengan kentang goreng dan salad, dan tidak terasa seperti currywurst “murahan” yang banyak dijual di jalanan di seluruh Jerman. Rasanya lebih “proper” gitu, haha. Selain itu, aku malah makan steak ala Argentina dan schnitzel. Steak-nya sendiri enak tetapi schnitzelnya standar lah.
I took the Tube from Liverpool Street Station to Southfields, the closest Tube station to the All England Lawn Tennis Club, the venue of the tournament. I had to walk for about 20 minutes to my gate (there were several gates as the entry point, and a spectator was assigned to a specific gate based on his/her ticket), which was quite a nice walk in one of London’s posh neighbourhoods 😛 .
The neighbourhood of Wimbledon
The gate was finally opened at 10:30 AM. The multiple gates system was quite good in my opinion where the queue in each gate was not terribly long. I was handed my official ticket at the gate and then got the thorough security check before I was admitted to the ground. And there I was, feeling very excited that I was back in Wimbledon again this year!! Even more excited because I was finally going to watch a Venus Williams’ official singles match for the first time ever; and it happened to be a Wimbledon final match!! 😍
Venus’ match would not start before 2 PM so I had plenty of time before that. So obviously I went around Wimbledon’s beautiful venue, and planned on taking a selfie at Henman Hill with the Wimbledon 2017 flowers arrangement. While doing so, a BBC live camera was apparently shooting the Henman Hill and so me selfie-ing got broadcasted on live TV, lol 😱 .
Selfie-ing at Henman Hill!
After going around for a few rounds, I started to get hungry so I decided to get my favorite dish from two years ago: the southern fried chicken that was only sold at one stall in the whole venue: in the Aorangi food area underneath Court No.1 😛 . This time, though, the chicken was a little bit too overcooked and the chips was too much to me that I could not finish it, haha 😛 . But of course, after that I still had my scoop of strawberry and cream. You know, a trip to Wimbledon is NEVER complete without one!
Southern fried chicken
Because a trip to Wimbledon is NEVER complete without a bowl of strawberry and cream
The weather was not perfect today, where thick cloud was hanging throughout the day and occassional showers fell. So I went underneath the Centre Court, where (finally!) they had put some boards listing the past winners of the championships. As for the (recent) ladies’ singles, here is the partial list:
The list of the ladies’ singles champions
Yep, as you can see, a certain surname is indeed dominating the list since the year 2000! Haha . Yep, Venus Wiliams and Serena Williams had won twelve Wimbledon singles titles for the seventeen years between 2000 and 2016. The other five were won by Petra Kvitova (twice), Marion Bartoli, Amelie Mauresmo, and Maria Sharapova.
Anyway, I decided to enter the Centre Court not long after, as I got quite tired from walking anyway, haha 😆 . But since it was still about 45 minutes before the match would start, I decided to go closer to the court first to take my picture taken 😛 .
Back at Wimbledon Centre Court this year.
Then, I went back to my seat, rested my legs a little bit and charged my camera’s battery while there was still time, haha 😆 . Just before 2 PM, the match preparation started with the ballkids entering the court, followed by the line-judges. At 2 PM, both finalists, Venus Williams and Garbine Muguruza entered the court. At this time, I felt a little bit emotional seeing Venus Williams walking there, still fighting hard for grandslam singles titles, even at the age of 37, while battling an incurable auto-immune disease! To me, she is a total inspiration.
Seeing Venus Williams entering Wimbledon’s Centre Court for a Wimbledon singles final gave me chill!!
Muguruza won the coin toss and elected to receive, meaning Venus would serve first. The two players warmed up, and then the match started. The match started really competitively and was immediately at a really high level. The match’s first shot was even Venus’ big serve to the T that became an ace.
Venus Williams started the match with an ace
The two players really went toe to toe and so the match was really, really exciting at this point. Muguruza, especially, played really well in my opinion where I felt like she read Venus’ serves really well today. Nonetheless, the match finally reached the score 4*-5 (15-40) on Muguruza’s serve, meaning Venus had two set points, or opportunities, to win the first set. At this time, both players hit amazing shot after shot after shot, producing a long rally in the teens, which ended with Venus’ forehand error that hit the net. And from my observation, this became the turning point of the match.
Garbine Muguruza was reading Venus’ serves well today.
For whatever reason, it appeared to me that Venus dwelled on this point too much, thus affecting her mind state. Since then, she appeared to rapidly lose her timing and focus, and started to hit more and more unforced errors. Muguruza did well where she kept her composure and focus. It was not that Venus did not try. It was obvious that she tried hard; but she just could not string several good points together. As a result? Well, Muguruza won nine straight games since that turning point, closing the match in only 73 minutes and won 7–5, 6–0.
Garbine Muguruza won her second grandslam title.
Venus, being a champion that she is, was being grace in defeat. It was clear that she was disappointed and sad herself, from her voice during the runner-up interview with Sue Barker on court during the trophy ceremony. But indeed, Garbine Muguruza deserved to win today! She played an amazing aggressive tennis and it paid off at Wimbledon. Thus, she won her second grandslam title and became the first player, ever, to have beaten both Serena and Venus Williams in grandslam finals. Her first grandslam title was the French Open last year where she beat Serena, in a match which I also watched in person 😣. Though to be honest, I like Garbine Muguruza. But obviously at this time, I still like both Venus and Serena Williams “better” 😛 .
Garbine Muguruza won Wimbledon 2017.
Venus Williams and her runner-up trophy.
The next match that followed was the men’s doubles final between Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, the fourth seed, versus Mate Pavic and Oliver Marach, the sixteenth seed. Kubot and Melo had been playing especially well this year. And with their victory over Henri Kontinen and John Peers, the first seed, in the semifinals, Marcelo Melo would take the world no.1 position from Henri Kontinen in the following week.
Anyway, I stayed during the first set of the match, which went toe to toe but in the end, Pavic/Marach got the important break from Kubot/Melo in the twelfth game, and won it 7–5. I decided to stretch my legs after the first set and left my seat. I went around the ground where at the time, some other events were also being held, namely the legends events and the wheelchair events.
A men’s legends match between Lleyton Hewitt/Mark Philippoussis and Mansour Bahrami/Michael Llodra
It was around 6 PM already so I decided to have dinner. I got the sizzling pheri-pheri chicken where I exchanged the bread for extra salad, haha. This dish turned out to be really delicious, btw, and I actually preferred this one than the southern fried chicken I had earlier! Haha 😆 .
Sizzling pheri-pheri chicken with lots of salad!
I went back to my seat and at the time, Kubot/Melo had won the second and third set 7–5, 7–6, respectively. However, they were down a break in the fourth set already. Pavic/Marach took the fourth set 6–3, meaning the match officially went to the decider fifth set. Both teams held their nerves really well during the decider. Kubot/Melo had the slight advantage of serving first, and so that Pavic/Marach had to face the pressure of serving to keep the match alive for a few times. This pressure almost got to them were Kubot/Melo had a few break points and even championships points; but Pavic/Marach were able to save them all.
An exciting men’s doubles final this year between Lukasz Kubot/Marcello Melo (in the closer side of the court) versus Mate Pavic/Oliver Marach (in the farther side of the court).
The match went toe to toe in the decider, and finally hitting 8*–9 score just after 8 PM. For whatever reason, I felt really tired already (I think Venus’ loss took some energy out of me 😛 ). I felt like I already had my ticket money worth anyway, even though the final ladies’ doubles match was still scheduled following the men’s doubles final. And so I decided to leave the venue.
I walked back to Southfields station and then took the Tube to Victoria. I checked-in at my hotel in the area and got into my room. I checked the score, and it turned out after more than 4.5 hours, Kubot/Marach finally won the fifth set 13–11, haha. The ladies’ final followed afterwards. The match turned out to be the complete opposite where the second seed, Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, double-bagelled (won 6–0, 6–0) the ninth seed, Chan Hao-Ching/Monica Niculescu.
Marcelo Melo’s return to world no.1 was made even sweeter with a Wimbledon title.
And here, my impromptu trip to Wimbledon 2017 officially ended.
AELTC
The ladies’ singles draw
Trying to adhere to Wimbledon’s rule by wearing white shoes today
Henman Hill
Back at Wimbledon in 2017!
The famous Fred Perry statue
Wimbledon
Wimbledon Centre Court with the roof closed
A band before the match
The final this year: Garbine Muguruza vs Venus Williams
Aku menaiki Tube dari Stasiun Liverpool Street menuju Southfields, stasiun Tube terdekat dengan All England Lawn Tennis Club, lokasi turnamennya. Aku harus berjalan sekitar 20 menit dari sana ke gerbang masukku (ada beberapa gerbang yang digunakan sebagai pintu masuk, dan gerbang untuk setiap penonton sudah ditetapkan secara spesifik berdasarkan tiketnya), yang mana oke juga karena aku berjalan-kaki di salah satu daerahnya London yang terasa posh banget 😛 .
Lingkungan di areanya Wimbledon
Gerbangnya dibuka jam 10:30 pagi. Sistem beberapa gerbang ini cukup baik menurutku dimana akibatnya antrian di masing-masing gerbang tidak lah terlalu panjang. Tiket resmiku diberikan di gerbang dan setiap penonton harus melewati pemeriksaan sekuriti yang ketat sebelum diizinkan masuk. Dan di sana lah aku, kembali merasa bersemangat banget karena aku kembali di Wimbledon juga tahun ini!! Lebih bersemangat lagi karena akhirnya aku akan menonton sebuah pertandingan tunggal resminya Venus Williams untuk pertama kalinya; mana pertandingannya adalah babak final Wimbledon pula!! 😍
Pertandingannya Venus baru akan dimainkan jam 2 siang sehingga masih ada banyak waktu sebelum itu. Jelas aku berkeliling arenanya Wimbledon yang memang indah banget itu, dan berencana untuk selfie di Henman Hill dengan rangkaian bunga Wimbledon 2017nya. Ketika sedang selfie-selfie, ternyata kamera siaran langsungnya BBC sedang menyorot Henman Hill dong jadilah aku yang sedang selfie-selfie ditayangkan langsung di TV, huaaa 😱 .
Selfie dulu di Henman Hill!
Setelah berkeliling beberapa kali, aku mulai merasa lapar sehingga aku memutuskan untuk makan menu favoritku dari dua tahun lalu: southern fried chicken yang hanya dijual di satu konter saja di seluruh arenanya: di food court Aorangi di bawah Lapangan No.1 😛 . Kali ini, ayamnya agak terlalu matang dan kentangnya juga kebanyakan sehingga aku tidak habis, haha 😛 . Tetapi tentu saja, biarpun begitu setelahnya aku tetap membeli strawberry and cream dong ya. Karena tentu saja, perjalanan ke Wimbledon itu TIDAK PERNAH lengkap tanpa seporsi strawberry and cream!
Southern fried chicken
Karena perjalanan ke Wimbledon itu TAK AKAN pernah lengkap tanpa satu mangkok strawberry and cream
Cuaca hari ini tidak lah sempurna, dimana awan menggantung tebal dan terkadang hujan juga turun. Jadilah aku pergi ke bagian bawah Centre Court, dimana (akhirnya!) Wimbledon memasang papan-papan yang berisi daftar nama juara-juara turnamen ini sebelumnya. Dan untuk tunggal putri, berikut ini (sebagian) daftarnya:
Daftar juara tunggal putri
Yep, seperti yang bisa dilihat, satu nama keluarga tertentu memang mendominasi daftar ini ya semenjak tahun 2000! Haha . Ya, Venus Williams dan Serena Williams telah memenangi dua belas gelar tunggal Wimbledon di tujuh belas tahun antara tahun 2000 dan 2016. Lima lainnya dijuarai oleh Petra Kvitova (dua kali), Marion Bartoli, Amelie Mauresmo, dan Maria Sharapova.
Anyway, aku memutuskan untuk masuk ke Centre Court tak lama setelahnya, karena aku merasa cukup lelah telah berjalan banyak, haha 😆 . Tapi karena masih 45an menit sebelum pertandingan dimulai, aku turun ke dekat lapangannya dulu untuk foto-foto 😛 .
Kembali di Wimbledon Centre Court tahun ini.
Lalu, aku kembali ke kursiku, dan mengistirahatkan kakiku sekalian menge-charge baterai kameraku mumpung ada waktu nganggur, haha 😆 . Sebelum jam 2 siang, persiapan pertandingan dimulai dimana ballkids masuk ke lapangan dan diikuti dengan hakim garis. Tepat jam 2 siang, kedua finalis, Venus Williams dan Garbine Muguruza memasuki lapangan. Waktu ini, entah mengapa aku agak baper gitu melihat Venus Williams berjalan memasuki lapangan, masih bertekad dan berjuang keras untuk menjuarai turnamen grandslam lagi, di umurnya yang sudah 37 tahun, sembari melawan penyakit kekebalan-tubuh yang tidak bisa disembuhkan! Ia sungguh menginspirasiku.
Melihat Venus Williams memasuki Centre Court -nya Wimbledon untuk babak final tunggal putri turnamen ini membuatku merinding!!
Muguruza memenangi coin toss dan memutuskan untuk receive, artinya Venus akan servis duluan. Kedua pemain melakukan pemanasan, dan kemudian pertandingan dimulai. Pertandingan dimulai langsung dengan level yang tinggi dan amat kompetitif. Bahkan pukulan pertamanya adalah servis kerasnya Venus ke T yang menjadi pukulan as.
Venus Williams memulai pertandingan dengan pukulan as.
Keduanya bermain dengan seimbang dan sangat ketat sehingga pertandingannya berlangsung amat, amat seru. Muguruza, terutama, bermain dengan amat baik dimana dari sudut pandangku dia bisa membaca servisnya Venus dengan baik hari ini. Toh walaupun begitu, pada akhirnya pertandingan mencapai posisi skor 4*-5 (15-40) di servisnya Muguruza, yang berarti Venus memiliki dua set points alias kesempatan untuk memenangi set pertama. Di poin ini, kedua pemain memukul pukulan yang brilian, brilian, dan brilian berturut-turutan, sehingga terciptalah reli sebanyak sekian belas pukulan, yang berakhir dengan Venus membuat kesalahan di pukulan forehand. Sepengamatanku, ini menjadi titik balik pertandingan ini.
Garbine Muguruza membaca servisnya Venus Williams dengan amat baik hari ini.
Entah karena alasan apa, nampaknya Venus terlalu memikirkan poin tersebut dan gagal move-on darinya, yang mana mempengaruhi fokus dan mentalnya. Semenjak poin ini, secara cepat ia mulai kehilangan timing dan fokusnya menurun, dan akibatnya mulai membuat banyak kesalahan-kesalahan sendiri. Muguruza tetap mempertahankan fokus dan ketenangan-dirinya. Bukannya Venus langsung menyerah sih. Memang terlihat ia berusaha keras membalikkan situasi; tetapi masalahnya ia tidak bisa untuk memainkan beberapa poin dengan baik secara berturutan. Sebagai akibatnya? Hmm, semenjak titik balik itu, Muguruza memenangi sembilan game berturutan dan menjuarai turnamen ini dengan skor 7–5, 6–0 dalam 73 menit.
Garbine Muguruza menjuarai gelar grandslam keduanya.
Venus, yang memang bermental juara, berlaku sportif dalam kekalahan. Jelas ia merasa kecewa dan sedih sekali, nampak dari suaranya ketika diwawancara oleh Sue Barker sebagai runner-up di turnamen ini di upacara pemberian piala. Tapi memang kok, Garbine Muguruza layak menang hari ini! Ia bermain tenis secara agresif dan brilian, dan strategi ini memang cocok untuk Wimbledon. Akibatnya, ia menjuarai gelar grandslam keduanya dan menjadi petenis pertama yang pernah mengalahkan Serena dan Venus Williams di final grandslam. Gelar grandslam pertamanya adalah French Open tahun lalu dimana ia mengalahkan Serena di final, sebuah pertandingan yang mana juga aku tonton langsung 😣. Walaupun sejujurnya, aku juga suka Garbine Muguruza sih. Tapi jelas untuk saat ini, aku masih lebih suka Venus dan Serena Williams 😛 .
Garbine Muguruza menjuarai Wimbledon 2017.
Venus Williams dengan piala runner-up-nya.
Pertandingan selanjutnya adalah final ganda putra antara Lukasz Kubot dan Marcelo Melo, tim unggulan keempat, melawan Mate Pavic dan Oliver Marach, tim unggulan ke-enam-belas.Kubot dan Melo sudah bermain baik tahun ini. Dan dengan kemenangan mereka melawan Henri Kontinen dan John Peers, tim unggulan pertama, di babak semifinal, Marcelo Melo akan naik ke posisi peringkat 1 dunia menggantikan Henri Kontinen di minggu berikutnya.
Anyway, aku menonton set pertama yang berlangsung seru, tetapi akhirnya Pavic/Marach berhasil mematahkan servisnya Kubot/Meli di game ke-dua-belas, dan memenangi set pertama 7–5. Aku memutuskan untuk meluruskan kaki setelah set pertama. Aku kemudian berkeliling arenanya lagi dimana beberapa pertandingan lain sedang dimainkan, misalnya pertandingan legenda atau tenis kursi roda.
Pertandingan legenda putra antara Lleyton Hewitt/Mark Philippoussis dan Mansour Bahrami/Michael Llodra
Karena sudah jam 6 sore, aku memutuskan untuk makan malam dulu. Aku memesan sizzling pheri-pheri chicken yang mana aku menukar rotinya dengan salad ekstra, haha. Menu ini ternyata enak banget loh, dan sebenarnya aku malah lebih suka menu ini daripada southern fried chicken yang sebelumnya aku makan! Haha 😆 .
Sizzling pheri-pheri chicken dengan banyak salad!
Aku kembali ke kursiku, dan waktu itu Kubot/Melo sudah memenangi set kedua dan ketiga dengan skor 7–5, 7–6. Namun, mereka tertinggal di set keempat. Pavic/Marach memenangi set keempat 6–3, yang mana artinya pertandingannya masuk ke babak penentuan dimana set kelima harus dimainkan. Kedua tim bermain baik dan tenang di babak penentuan ini. Kubot/Melo sedikit diuntungkan karena servis duluan, sehingga beberapa kali Pavic/Marach berada di situasi bertekanan tinggi dimana servis mereka tidak boleh terpatahkan agar tetap bisa bertahan. Tekanan ini nyaris menghancurkan mereka dimana Kubot/Melo memiliki beberapa break points dan bahkan championships points; tetapi Pavic/Marach berhasil menyelamatkan semuanya.
Babak final ganda putra yang seru banget tahun ini antara Lukasz Kubot/Marcello Melo (di sisi lapangan yang lebih dekat) melawan Mate Pavic/Oliver Marach (di sisi lapangan yang lebih jauh).
Set kelima berlangsung ketat banget, sampai akhirnya mencapai skor 8*–9 setelah jam 8 malam lewat. Entah mengapa, aku tiba-tiba merasa lelah (aku duga sih kekalahannya Venus menghabiskan banyak energiku 😛 ). Aku merasa toh aku sudah cukup menikmati harga tiket yang harus aku keluarkan; dan walaupun masih ada babak final ganda putri yang belum dimainkan, aku memutuskan untuk meninggalkan arenanya.
Aku berjalan ke Stasiun Southfields dan kemudian naik Tube ke Victoria. Aku check-in di hotelku di daerah situ dan masuk ke kamarku. Aku menyalakan TV dan ternyata setelah 4,5 jam lebih, Kubot/Marach akhirnya memenangi set kelima 13–11, haha. Final ganda putri dimainkan setelahnya. Dan pertandingan ini berkebalikan sekali dengan final ganda putra, dimana tim unggulan kedua, Ekaterina Makarova dan Elena Vesnina, men-double-bagel (menang dengan skor 6–0, 6–0) tim unggulan kesembilan, Chan Hao-Ching/Monica Niculescu.
Kembalinya Marcelo Melo ke peringkat 1 dunia menjadi semakin manis lagi dengan gelar Wimbledon.
Dan di sini, perjalanan dadakanku ke Wimbledon 2017 resmi berakhir.
As my Instagram followers (@azilko) have known, I went on a weekend trip this weekend! But now, the destination was not in the UK, though it would have been understandable if you would guess so because of my recent UK visa application, it was actually Berlin, in Germany, haha.
At the “Checkpoint Charlie” in Berlin
I planned this trip before I got my UK visa. And I already knew at the time that I would likely to go on a rather lengthy “flight-free” streak due to the application so I would better make a plan to not make it any lengthier, haha. At the time I found an okay return ticket to Berlin with KLM so I thought why not. Though, indeed luckily my streak was broken two weeks earlier with my impulsive weekend trip to London two weeks ago. I had never been to Berlin before and I had heard good stuffs about it.
Anyway, as it turned out: I LOVE Berlin!! 😍 Berlin was indeed very beautiful and there were a lot of interesting places all around the city. So far, Berlin has become my most favorite German city!!
But it turned out that a weekend was definitely not enough for a first-time visit there, haha. So I definitely need to go back again sometimes in the future. Hmm…
Currywurst in Berlin
A remnant of the Berlin Wall
Berliner Dom
Brandenburger Tor
The Holocaust Memorial
Got upgraded to Europe Business Class!!
BAHASA INDONESIA
Seperti yang followers Instagramku (@azilko) ketahui, aku pergi dalam sebuah perjalanan akhir pekan kemarin ini! Tetapi, kali ini tujuannya bukan di Inggris Raya (UK), walaupun masuk akal sih kalau menebak aku pergi ke sana karena aplikasi visa UK-ku baru-baru ini. Tujuannya adalah Berlin di Jerman, haha.
Di “Checkpoint Charlie” di Berlin
Aku sudah merencanakan perjalanan ini sebelum aku mendapatkan visa UK-ku. Waktu itu aku sudah tahu sepertinya aku akan memasuki periode “bebas terbang” yang agak panjang karena aplikasi visaku itu sehingga aku harus mulai membuat rencana supaya periodenya nggak berkepanjangan dong ya, haha. Waktu itu, aku menemukan tiket pp yang harganya oke ke Berlin dengan KLM sehingga aku berpikir mengapa tidak. Walaupun pada akhirnya aku beruntung sih periode ini berakhir dua minggu lebih cepat dengan perjalanan akhir pekan dadakanku ke London dua minggu yang lalu. Aku belum pernah ke Berlin sebelumnya dan aku sudah sering mendengar cerita yang seru dari sana.
Anyway, jadi ternyata aku SUKA BANGET sama Berlin!! 😍 Jadi ternyata Berlin memang kota yang indah banget dan ada banyak sekali tempat menarik di seluruh kotanya. Sejauh ini, Berlin telah menjadi kota di Jerman yang paling kusukai deh, hehe.
Namun, ternyata satu akhir pekan aja nggak cukup deh untuk perjalanan pertama kali ke kota ini, haha. Jadi memang kapan-kapan aku harus kembali lagi nih. Hmm…
In short, I followed the same travelling strategy to London as two years ago. IMO, this strategy was quite efficient and economical given the last-minute nature of the trip.
Getting to London
I started the trip by taking the Hoek van Holland – Harwich ferry boat on Friday evening which arrived on Saturday morning. The timing was perfect because I could go straight to Wimbledon after arriving in London with the regional train service from Harwich. Also, this saved me one night of London’s expensive hotel room, haha 😛 .
Anyway, so straight from work, I went to Amsterdam Centraal to take the train to Hoek van Holland. Apparently the Hoek van Holland station was being renovated at the time and so I had to take a bus service from Schiedam.
Boarding Stena Britannica
I arrived at the international port a little bit too early today where check-in had not yet been opened. Long story short, finally they started boarding passengers at around 7:30 PM and I went to my cabin (the cheapest still available one, obviously 😛 ). This was my third time taking this ferry service, the other two being once obviously two years ago and another once three years ago in the winter, so I wouldn’t get to too much details here.
Fish and chips dinner
I had dinner at the restaurant, where I ordered a fish and chips menu. Then I walked about the boat where the facility was quite cozy. It was quite crowded, btw, and I guessed most passengers were passengers with vehicles since I did not notice a lot of “foot passengers” in the departure terminal. Anyway, the boat left the dock at around 9:50 PM and then off to the English Channel we went! I then had a big glass of cider before heading for bed.
Off to the sea!!!
I got up at 5 AM (British time), showered, packed all my stuffs, and headed down to the main deck for my breakfast. The breakfast was a buffet English breakfast which was just okay. Anyway, the walkway connecting the boat with the terminal building was broken this time (just like two years ago) so we were taken to the port with bus at 6:30 AM. I cleared immigration and waited for my train service to London Liverpool Street via Manningtree at 7:33 AM. Here, I realized I should have bought the rail and sail ticket so I could have taken the earlier 7:20 AM, haha. Anyway, both trains were on time so it was really convenient, and I arrived at London Liverpool Street station just before 9 AM.
Back in London!!
Back from London
As I would spend the whole Saturday in London, I planned to come back to Amsterdam on Sunday. Of course, this time I would just fly. And this was where I missed Garuda Indonesia’s fifth freedom Amsterdam – London-Gatwick route which they closed last year. A last-minute London (any airports, London is served by six airports, btw 😮) – Amsterdam ticket was quite expensive these days! Haha 😆 . Back in the day, Garuda still offered their promotional fare even for last-minute reservations. This time, the cheapest option would be to fly out of London at around 7 AM on Sunday but obviously I would never do that, lol 😆 . So I went with the second cheapest option that was easyJet’s afternoon flight out of London-Gatwick.
I missed Garuda Indonesia’s AMS-LGW route which they served using their Boeing 777-300ER. Pictured here was PK-GID at London-Gatwick from two years ago.
Anyway, obviously I did not have time to go around London this time. Even though I did manage to stop by for maybe 10 minutes at the Buckingham Palace as I was staying in the Victoria area, haha. Buckingham Palace was super busy at the time, due to the ceremony involving the famous royal guards there.
A royal guard at Buckingham Palace
I then took the regular train from London – Victoria Station to Gatwick Airport. It was quite convenient where the journey took about half an hour. I already checked-in online so I went straight to security and then to the departure area.
As I was quite early and actually had not had breakfast anyway, I decided to have brunch at my favorite restaurant, Jamie’s Italian, at the airport! Haha 😛 . I had their Italian steak and fries, and swapped the fries with my favorite polenta chips 😛 .
Italian steak and polenta chips at Jamie’s Italian
At about 3:20 PM, boarding for my easyJet flight EZY 8885 to Amsterdam started. Quite funnily, though, even though the gate was equipped with an air bridge, easyJet did not use it and the passengers had to board by going down and up a pair of stairs, haha. Anyway, the flight would be with an Airbus A320-200 reg G-EZWY (equipped with sharklets) and then I settled onto my 8A seat.
Breaking my flight-free streak at six weeks with this easyJet’s Airbus A320-200 reg G-EZWY
The last time I flew easyJet was three years ago, coincidentally also on the London-Gatwick – Amsterdam sector. Unsurprisingly easyJet had retrofitted their cabin in the meantime, and this time I felt like they had really generous legroom! This was made possible by the new very thin seats they installed, and this generosity obviously came with a price because easyJet still fitted their A320 with 180 seats (almost the maximum capacity of this type): the seats did not recline.
EasyJet’s new seat, very slim hence more legroom, but non-reclinable
Anyway, boarding went quite efficiently, and we took off from runway 26L. It was a typical uneventful flight with an LCC to Amsterdam. The flight attendants went on a round to sell stuffs, but I did not buy anything, haha. At 5:50 PM, we landed at Schiphol Airport. Upon arrival, I found it funny that they announced that we were about 10 minutes ahead of schedule. But actually, we landed at the friggin’ Polderbaan so the early arrival would get negated by the long taxi to the terminal we would have to do anyway, haha.
G-EZWY parked at one of the LCC stand in Pier H/M. I got off the plane (via stairs) and headed to the terminal, cleared immigration, and took the train to go back to Amsterdam 🙂 .
My cabin
The restaurant area in the ferry boat
A cozy lounge in the boat
A cinema in the boat
Watching tennis
A window view
A cider before bed
A buffet breakfast
A train to London Liverpool Street from Manningtree
Secara singkat, aku menggunakan strategi yang sama untuk pergi ke London seperti dua tahun yang lalu. Menurutku, strategi ini cukup efisien dan ekonomis mengingat kondisi perjalanan ini yang serba dadakan.
Berangkat ke London
Perjalanan aku mulai dengan menaiki kapal feri Hoek van Holland – Harwich di Jumat malam dan tiba Sabtu pagi. Waktunya sempurna banget karena aku bisa langsung pergi ke Wimbledon begitu tiba di London setelah naik kereta regional dari Harwich. Juga, ini menghemat biaya hotel satu malam di London yang mahal banget itu kan, haha 😛 .
Anyway, sepulang kerja, aku langsung pergi ke Amsterdam Centraal untuk naik kereta ke Hoek van Holland. Rupanya waktu itu stasiun kereta Hoek van Holland sedang direnovasi sehingga aku harus naik bus yang berangkat dari Schiedam.
Menaiki kapal Stena Britannica
Aku tiba di pelabuhan internasionalnya agak terlalu awal dimana check-in-nya masih belum dibuka waktu itu. Singkat cerita, penumpang dipersilakan naik kapal sekitar jam 7:30 malam dan aku langsung pergi ke kabinku (yang paling murah dan masih tersedia tentunya 😛 ). Ini adalah kali ketiga aku menaiki layanan feri ini, dua kali yang sebelumnya adalah sekali dua tahun yang lalu dan sekali tiga tahun lalu di musim dingin, jadi aku tidak akan menuliskan terlalu banyak detailnya sekarang.
Makan malam dengan fish and chips
Aku makan malam di restoran kapalnya, dimana aku memesan menu fish and chips. Lalu aku mengelilingi kapalnya yang memiliki banyak fasilitasnya sehingga lumayan nyaman. Hari ini kapalnya cukup ramai, btw, dan aku tebak sih kebanyakan penumpang adalah penumpang yang membawa kendaraan pribadi karena kulihat tidak ada banyak “penumpang pejalan-kaki” di terminal keberangkatan. Anyway, kapalnya diberangkatkan sekitar jam 9:50 malam dan langsung kami berlayar menuju Selat Channel! Setelahnya aku minum segelas besar cider sebelum pergi ke kabin untuk tidur.
Berangkat menuju ke laut!!!
Aku bangun sekitar jam 5 pagi (waktu Inggris), mandi, mem-packing barang bawaanku, dan kemudian turun ke dek utama untuk sarapan. Sarapannya adalah sarapan buffet ala Inggris yang mana rasanya biasa saja. Anyway, gabarata di Harwich rusak lagi kali ini (seperti dua tahun lalu) sehingga kami diantar ke pelabuhannya dengan bus jam 6:30 pagi. Aku melewati imigrasi dan menunggu keretaku ke London Liverpool Street jam 7:33 pagi dengan berganti-kereta di Manningtree. Aku baru sadar saat itu seharusnya aku membeli tiket rail and sail sehingga aku bisa menaiki kereta yang lebih awal, jam 7:20 pagi, haha. Anyway, kedua kereta yang kunaiki untungnya berangkat tepat waktu kok dan cukup nyaman, dan aku tiba di stasiun London Liverpool Street sebelum jam 9 pagi.
Kembali di London!!
Kembali dari London
Karena aku akan menghabiskan sepanjang Sabtu di London, aku berencana kembali ke Amsterdam di hari Minggu. Tentu saja, kali ini aku naik pesawat. Dan di sini lah aku kangen dengan penerbangan kebebasan kelimanya Garuda Indonesia rute Amsterdam – London-Gatwick yang mereka tutup tahun lalu. Tiket penerbangan last minute dari London (bandara mana pun, London memiliki enam bandara, btw 😮) ke Amsterdam itu lumayan mahal akhir-akhir ini! Haha 😆 . Dulu, Garuda masih menjual tiket promonya loh bahkan untuk reservasi dadakan. Kali ini, opsi termurah adalah terbang dari London sekitar jam 7 pagi di hari Minggu tapi jelas dong ya aku ogah, haha 😆 . Jadilah aku memilih opsi termurah kedua yaitu dengan penerbangan sorenya easyJet dari London-Gatwick.
Aku kangen dengan rute AMS-LGWnya Garuda Indonesia yang mereka layani dengan pesawat Boeing 777-300ER. Foto di atas adalah PK-GID di Bandara London-Gatwick dua tahun yang lalu.
Anyway, jelas kali ini aku tidak memiliki banyak waktu untuk berkeliling London. Walaupun aku masih sempat untuk mampir 10 menitan di Istana Buckingham sih karena aku menginap di area Victoria, haha. Istana Buckingham ramai banget waktu itu, karena sedang ada upacara yang melibatkan penjaga istananya yang beken banget itu.
Seorang penjaga di Istana Buckingham
Kemudian aku menaiki kereta reguler dari London – Victoria menuju Bandara Gatwick. Perjalanannya sekitar setengah jam. Karena sudah check-in online, aku langsung menuju pemeriksaan sekuriti dan masuk ke area keberangkatan.
Karena aku datang awal dan juga belum sarapan, aku memutuskan untuk brunch di restoran favoritku, Jamie’s Italian, di bandara! Haha 😛 . Aku memesan steak Italia kali ini, dan meminta menukar kentang gorengnya dengan polenta chips kesukaanku itu 😛 .
Steak Italia dan polenta chips di Jamie’s Italian
Sekitar jam 3:20 sore, boarding penerbangan EZY 8885ku ke Amsterdam dimulai. Lucunya, walaupun gerbangnya dilengkapi gabarata, easyJet tidak menggunakannya dong dan penumpang mesti naik ke pesawat dengan menuruni tangga dan kemudian menaiki tangga lagi, haha. Anyway, penerbangannya akan dioperasikan oleh sebuah Airbus A320-200 rego G-EZWY (yang dilengkapi dengan sharklets) dan setelahnya aku duduk di kursi 8Aku.
Memutuskan rekor “bebas-penerbangan”-ku setelah enam minggu dengan Airbus A320-200nya easyJet dengan rego G-EZWY ini.
Terakhir kali aku naik easyJet adalah tiga tahun lalu, kebetulan juga di sektor London-Gatwick – Amsterdam. Tidak mengejutkan bahwa di selama tiga tahun ini mereka juga telah mendisain ulang kabinnya, dimana kali ini aku merasa legroom-nya mantap banget! Ini dimungkinkan oleh kursi generasi barunya yang super ramping itu, dan tentu saja kemurahan-hati ini juga harus dibayar karena easyJet tetap mengisi A320 ini dengan 180 kursi (nyaris kapasitas maksimal pesawat tipe ini): kursinya tidak bisa digerakkan/dimundurkan.
Kursi barunya easyJet, amat ramping sehingga legroom-nya lebih lapang, tetapi tidak bisa digerakkan.
Anyway, boarding berlangsung cukup efisien, dan kami lepas landas dari landasan pacu 26L. Ini adalah penerbangan uneventful seperti biasanya dengan LCC ke Amsterdam. Pramugara-pramugaranya menawarkan barang dagangan di penerbangan ini, tetapi aku tidak membeli apa-apa. Jam 5:50 sore, kami mendarat di Bandara Schiphol. Setelah mendarat, pramugaranya mengumumkan bahwa kami mendarat 10 menit lebih cepat daripada jadwal. Aku merasa lucu karena kami mendarat di Polderbaan laknat itu sehingga biarpun kami mendarat lebih cepat, pada akhirnya toh akan sama saja karena taxiing ke terminalnya kan lama banget, haha.
G-EZWY parkir di salah satu tempat parkir LCC di pier H/M. Aku menuruni pesawatnya (pakai tangga) dan menuju ke terminal, melewati imigrasi, dan naik kereta untuk kembali ke Amsterdam 🙂 .
As usual, I went early to Stade Roland Garros, arriving there at around 9 AM and was amongst the first ten spectators at the gate today, haha. Though, as usual as well, the gate was only opened at 10 AM. Just like last year, btw, there were three security checks prior to entering the site 😛 . Anyway, I had toast sandwich for breakfast, which was okay. I loved the cappuccino, btw, mostly because it looked like this, haha:
Cappuccino
The first matches today would start at 11 AM. I was torn between watching my “usual” women’s legends final at Suzanne Lenglen or the boys (junior) singles final at Court No. 1. In the end, I chose the women’s legends final as I was already quite close to the court anyway, haha.
The final was between the defending champion, Lindsay Davenport/Martina Navratilova, and Tracy Austin-Holt/Kim Clijsters. Overall, the match was okay though it was clear Kim Clijsters was the best player on court; and there were too many errors from Navratilova and Davenport. Btw, it was nice to get a glimpse of Big Babe Tennis (a term describing women’s tennis being dominated by strong, tall players who play with a lot of power (in the early 2000s)), when Lindsay Davenport and Kim Clijsters were exchanging big cross-court shots in some of the points. Even though Navratilova and Davenport fought, in the end, Austin-Holt/Clijsters won the match 6–3, 3–6, [10–5].
Tracy Austin-Holt/Kim Clijsters defeated Martina Navratilova/Lindsay Davenport 6–3, 3–6, [10–5].After the match, I left Court Suzanne Lenglen and decided to have lunch at the restaurant, planning to have my usual steak with some ratatouille, a dish they always had every year since I first visited Roland Garros in 2012. But it turned out they (finally) changed their menu this year, haha. Instead of a steak, they had grilled aloyau beef presented in sticks, haha. So I had this one (though, arguably, this was still similar-ish to steak anyway 😛 ).
Grilled aloyau beef
After lunch, I went around the venue a little bit to stretch my legs before, at around 2:30 PM, going to my seat at Court Philippe Chatrier. Btw, at first I wasn’t sure with my seat as it was in one of the top rows in the stand (so it was quite some “distance” from the court), but this turned out to be good because the whole time, the seat was covered by the shade of the press boxes! Haha 😆 . You know, it was a really hot and sunny day today so it was nice to sit under some shade, really 😀 .
Back at Court Philippe Chatrier this year
The women’s singles match started at 3 PM. I just realized this year that the trophy (Coupe Suzanne Lenglen) was brought into the stadium in a Louis Vuitton box, though, haha. This was prior to the finalists entering the court. Anyway, not long after, Jelena Ostapenko and Simona Halep were welcomed in the court and took their seats. Ostapenko won the coin toss and chose to receive.
The coin toss
Then, the match started.
I won’t go to too much tennis details here, but Ostapenko started really well. As a young player in her first grandslam final, she was fierce! I like this attitude from a tennis player. The first set went pretty much neck to neck, until Halep broke Ostapenko’s serve in the tenth game and took the first set 6–4.
Simona Halep took the first set 6–4
Halep took the first three games of the second set, though those were three close games. At this point, Ostapenko was down 4–6, 0–3. I was hoping Ostapenko would not give up at this point and kept on fighting, so that the final would last a little bit longer so my ticket worthed more, lol 😛 . And, gladly, she was not!! She believed on herself, sticked to her own game, which was to be hyper aggressive, and eventually turned the fortune around. She won six of the next seven games and won the set 6–4!
Jelena Ostapenko took the second set 6–4.
The third set started out similarly, where Ostapenko was immediately down 1–3. Again, at this point she did not give up and kept pressuring Halep with all those aggressive shots. From 1–3 down, she won five straight games and, thus, winning the match 4–6, 6–4, 6–3!! WOW!!
Jelena Ostapenko’s winning moment after hitting a backhand down the line return winner.
Understandably, Halep was upset but she was, as always, gracious in defeat (IMO, Simona Halep is one of those players with great sportsmanship). The trophy ceremony followed afterwards, where Ostapenko was handed her first ever singles trophy, and it happened to be the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen, a grandslam trophy!!
Jelena Ostapenko won her first singles title ever, and it was Roland Garros
It will be interesting to see how Jelena Ostapenko goes from hereon forward. I hope she can keep on this level of play and, especially, her fight to prove that this victory is not just a one time wonder thing. We will see…
Anyway, the men’s doubles match followed afterwards. Btw, the draw of this event also fell apart in this tournament, where two unseeded teams made the final: Ryan Harrison/Michael Venus and Santiago Gonzaels/Donald Young. For whatever reason, I felt really tired already and so I decided to skip this final and went back to my hotel. Well, but only after dinner at the restaurant I always visited every year nearby the venue, of course (read Part III ) 😛 .
Back at Stade Roland Garros!
Suzanne Lenglen
Charging point
Court Suzanne Lenglen
Kim Clijsters/Tracy Austin-Holt
Lindsay Davenport/Martina Navratilova
Lindsay Davenport hitting a forehand
Kim Clijsters hitting a forehand
Kim Clijsters/Tracy Austin-Holt won the women’s legends event in 2017
The 1989’s men singles’ champion, Michael Chang, playing tennis with his (?) kid
A mime
Part of the women’s singles draw in 2017
Coupe Suzanne Lenglen inside a Louis Vuitton box
Jelena Ostapenko hitting a backhand down the line return winner
Simona Halep hitting a backhand
From where I sat at Philippe Chatrier
Simona Halep
Frustrated Jelena Ostapenko after losing the first set
Jelena Ostapenko vs Simona Halep
Jelena Ostapenko’s shot was on the line, confirmed by the umpire
Seperti biasanya, aku berangkat awal ke Stade Roland Garros, dimana aku tiba sekitar jam 9 pagi dan termasuk dalam 10 penonton pertama yang datang hari ini, haha. Walaupun, seperti biasa sih, gerbang baru dibuka jam 10 pagi. Seperti tahun lalu, btw, ada pemeriksaan sekuriti sebanyak tiga kali sebelum masuk 😛 . Anyway, aku memesan toast sandwich untuk sarapan, yang mana rasanya biasa aja. Aku suka cappuccino-nya, btw, karena penampilannya seperti ini, haha:
Cappuccino
Pertandingan-pertandingan pertama hari ini akan dimulai jam 11 pagi. Aku bingung akan menonton pertandingan “seperti biasa” yaitu final legenda putri di Suzanne Lenglen atau final tunggal putra junior di Lapangan No. 1. Pada akhirnya, aku memilih final legenda putri karena toh aku sudah berada di dekat sana, haha.
Final tahun ini adalah antara juara bertahan, Lindsay Davenport/Martina Navratilova, dan Tracy Austin-Holt/Kim Clijsters. Secara keseluruhan, ini adalah pertandingan yang oke dimana jelas Kim Clijsters adalah pemain terbaik dari keempatnya kala itu; dan terlalu banyak kesalahan sendiri di tim Navratilova dan Davenport. Btw, asyik rasanya bisa sedikit mencicipi menonton Big Babe Tennis (sebuah istilah yang mendeskripsikan tur tenis putri yang didominasi oleh pemain bertubuh tinggi dan kuat yang bermain dengan pukulan-pukulan keras (di awal tahun 2000an)), dimana Lindsay Davenport dan Kim Clijsters saling memukul pukulan keras cross court di beberapa poin. Walaupun Navratilova dan Davenport berjuang dengan gigih, pada akhirnya Austin-Holt/Clijsters menang 6–3, 3–6, [10–5].
Tracy Austin-Holt/Kim Clijsters mengalahkan Martina Navratilova/Lindsay Davenport 6–3, 3–6, [10–5].Setelah pertandingan berakhir, aku meninggalkan Lapangan Suzanne Lenglen dan makan siang di restoran di sana, berencana makan steak dengan ratatouille seperti biasanya, yang selalu aku makan setiap tahun di kunjunganku ke Roland Garros semenjak tahun 2012. Tetapi ternyata mereka (akhirnya) mengganti menunya tahun ini, haha. Bukannya steak, mereka menyajikan menu daging sapi aloyau panggang yang ditusuk seperti sate, haha. Jadilah aku memesan menu ini (walaupun bisa dibilang mirip-mirip dengan steak sih 😛 ).
Grilled aloyau beef
Setelah makan siang, aku berkeliling arena untuk meluruskan kaki, dan sekitar jam 2:30 siang, aku masuk menunju kursiku di Lapangan Philippe Chatrier. Btw, awalnya aku kurang sreg dengan kursiku yang berada di salah satu baris teratas di sana (jadi lumayan “jauh” gitu deh dari lapangannya), tetapi ternyata ini ada enaknya juga karena bagian ini justru teduh terkena bayangan ruang-ruang booth media! Haha 😆 . Jadi ceritanya hari ini kan panas banget gitu mana mataharinya bersinar terik pula. Jadi enak dong ya duduk di bawah bayangan yang teduh gitu, haha 😀 .
Kembali di Lapangan Philippe Chatrier tahun ini
Pertandingan final tunggal putri dimulai jam 3 sore. Aku baru sadar tahun ini loh bahwa pialanya (Coupe Suzanne Lenglen) dibawa masuk ke stadionnya di dalam sebuah kotak Louis Vuitton (pastinya ori mah ya nggak mungkin KW, haha 😛 ). Ini dilakukan sebelum kedua finalis dipanggil masuk ke lapangan. Tak lama setelahnya, Jelena Ostapenko dan Simona Halep disambut masuk dan kemudian duduk di kursi mereka. Ostapenko memenangi coin toss dan memilih untuk receive (Halep servis duluan).
Coin toss
Lalu, pertandingan dimulai.
Aku tak akan menulis terlalu banyak detail tenis di sini. Ostapenko memulai pertandingan dengan baik. Sebagai pemain muda di final grandslam pertamanya, ia sungguh berani sekali! Aku suka deh attitude ini dari seorang pemain tenis! Set pertama berlangsung cukup ketat, hingga Halep mematahkan servis Ostapenko di game kesepuluh dan memenanginya 6–4.
Simona Halep memenangi set pertama 6–4
Halep langsung memenangi tiga game pertama di set kedua, tetapi ketiganya adalah game yang dimainkan dengan ketat. Di saat ini, artinya Ostapenko ketinggalan 4–6, 0–3. Aku hanya berharap Ostapenko tidak menyerah dan terus bertarung, sehingga finalnya berlangsung lama dan aku nggak rugi beli tiketnya, haha. Dan pada akhirnya, Ostapenko beneran memenangi set kedua dong! Ia tetap percaya diri dengan permainan hiper agresifnya, dan akhirnya berhasil membalikkan situasi. Ia memenangi enam dari tujuh game selanjutnya dan mengklaim set kedua 6–4!
Jelena Ostapenko memenangi set kedua 6–4.
Set ketiga dimulai mirip seperti set kedua, dimana Ostapenko langsung tertinggal 1–3. Lagi, di waktu ini ia tidak menyerah dan terus menyerang Halep dengan pukulan-pukulan agresifnya. Dari posisi tertinggal 1–3, ia menang lima game berturutan dan akhirnya memenangi pertandingan dengan skor akhir 4–6, 6–4, 6–3!! WOW!!
Momen kemenangan Jelena Ostapenko setelah memukul sebuah pukulan backhand down the line return winner.
Tak mengherankan, Halep kecewa dengan kekalahannya tetapi, seperti biasa, ia bersikap ksatria dan menerimanya (Menurutku, Simona Halep adalah salah satu pemain yang paling menjunjung sportivitas). Upacara penganugerahan piala diadakan setelahnya, dimana Ostapenko diberikan piala tunggal pertamanya, dan pialanya adalah Coupe Suzanne Lenglen, sebuah piala grandslam!!
Jelena Ostapenko memenangi gelar tunggal pertamanya, dan ini adalah gelar Roland Garros
Akan menarik untuk mengikuti bagaimana prestasi Jelena Ostapenko setelah ini. Aku harap sih ia mampu mempertahankan level ini dan, terutama, kegigihannya untuk membuktikan bahwa kemenangan ini bukan lah kebetulan semata. Kita lihat saja…
Anyway, final ganda putra diadakan setelahnya. Btw, undian ganda putra tahun ini juga hancur nih di turnamen ini, dimana dua tim yang tidak diunggulkan masuk ke final: Ryan Harrison/Michael Venus dan Santiago Gonzaels/Donald Young. Namun, entah mengapa aku merasa sungguh lelah sehingga aku memutuskan untuk melewatkan final ini dan pulang ke hotel. Eh, tentu dengan mampir dulu di restoran langgananku di dekat situ untuk makan malam yah (baca Bagian III) 😛 .
ENGLISH
BAHASA INDONESIA
. Yep, Venus Wiliams and Serena Williams had won twelve Wimbledon singles titles for the seventeen years between 2000 and 2016. The other five were won by Petra Kvitova (twice), Marion Bartoli, Amelie Mauresmo, and Maria Sharapova.
