Draws for Alassio are here.

I was scheduled to be the third match on Court 2. I arrived a little after 10:30 to find that match #2 on Court 2 was just beginning and other players told me it could be a long match. Also rain was predicted by midday. Rain did arrive around midday (when the match was at 63 1/2 I think…Meanwhile one court was just starting its 4th match of the day. (At this tournament players are assigned to a particular court so that not before 11 could mean 11 or it could mean 1pm…).

The rain was soft at first, then heavier, then play was suspended…then the rain stopped and one court was prepared for play…then it poured, then it hailed for quite some time before merely raining hard. It finally stopped around 2:30 though more is predicted.

The clubhouse is very small and is a restaurant as well, so it was packed with diners, players and people there to watch the tennis on TV (Monte Carlo Open).

I was looking for a warmer place to sit (it is in the low 50s), so eventually ended up in the women’s locker rooms with a few other players to wait out the rain. It was pretty fun and Gail Benedetti has some good stories.

Above, the court at 10:30, then a car, court and table covered in hail, hanging out in the locker room (dancing to “It Never Rains in California”), and at the end, the courts at 2:30. Next update at 4pm (3:30 here now).

In the end I didn’t play today and play tomorrow 3rd match (not before 11am) on Court 2. It shouldn’t be much later than that…one of the matches ahead of me is Gail Benedetti and she has been playing pretty quick matches.

Matches went on between 4:30 and 5pm but only a few courts were playable after all the hail and rain.