August 27 - my Day at the US Open
August 27, 2015 - Day at US Open
The weather was glorious, I woke up before my alarm bright eyed and bushy tailed. US Open Time.
You know it’s going to be a good viewing day when the first thing you see is a Richard Gasquet backhand. Followed at the closer end by Feliciano Lopez stretching. Yes, they were practicing together.
Tommy snuck onto the court from the stands to surprise Feli.
The one prominent male player I had never seen on court had been Rafa. In this case, I totally stumbled upon it. I was actually heading to Ferrer’s practice session on P2 and found out Rafa was on P1. Of course everyone wanted in but it came in handy that I was travelling alone and there was one seat available that allowed a view of Ferrer as well. Rafa was practicing with Leonardo Mayer (I don't know if Leo had known Federer was his opponent at that point). Watching his ball in action is something that TV simply does not capture.
Ferrer will have to Believe In The Sleeve if he’s actually going to play New York - found out he did take that off in a later session.
So I’m looking in the direction of Ferrer’s court when who should I see approaching but Magnus Norman (oh, and Stan behind him). They took over the court when Rafa was talking to Uncle Toni. Apparently, there was a scheduling issue. Leo packs up and the Rafa fans clear out, assuming he was done. They missed the best surprise of the day. Rafa ended up having a hit with Stan. On this back court that, if planned in advance, would’ve likely been on Arthur Ashe and closed to the public. I’ve seen Stan practice several times before so this time I was more focused on Rafa’s side and the way he reacted to that pace. He was getting decent depth, a sign Rafa fans would be pleased to hear.
When Magnus leads the way, you can absolutely count on Stan looking at his phone. His addiction knows no bounds.
There was, as you’d imagine a lot of chatter about the Kyrgios matter during this practice. Those watching Stan here mostly just referred to Nick in disgust - no heckling. Interestingly, Vekic was scheduled second on Court 6, which you can actually get a glimpse of from the correct angle from the seating at this practice court. Elias Ymer was the first match and he, honestly, the easiest player to spot from a really far distance between his skin tone and the wildness of his hair.
I actually left the session upon find out Ymer-Struff were 4-all in the third. Ymer is a player I wish good things for. Seeing him in person, I can tell you his shots are electric. He seized control of the tiebreak by clobbering everything and there was nothing J-L could do.
While I knew Vekic was next, I had a better purpose: Vicky Duval. I went to Court 17 for the second set. Vicky lost the first and you could tell her game was sputtering but the fire in her is still awesome to watch. It seemed every game was a battle. She was down 2-4 but won the next three games before having to call the trainer for a blister on her foot. In the midst of this run, I was scrolling through twitter to find out about the draw when I see Ben Rothenberg post a picture from this match. IT WAS MY VIEW! I turn around and he’s sitting in the next row. I move back to chat with him, filling him in about how close this has been, predicting Sharapova will be done in the first round and throwing in that I’d dislike Kyrgios but quick to point out to him that’d be my reaction if anyone beat Andy so early in a major. We both left after the second set. I was saddened to see the third set bagel but I would guess she wasn’t moving well.
I did glimpse at the Vekic-Cirstea match but to return to the practice courts. Raonic-Pospisil left, replaced by Kei Nishikori with Frances Tiafoe. Kei’s stature from last year’s run has basically made him a rock star here - I’d actually spotted him earlier practicing with Jack Sock (hilariously, I heard two different kids claim Kei was with Berdych) but didn’t stay. I didn’t get much of a feel regarding Tiafoe, maybe due to seeing how far away he was from even a player like Ymer. On the other court, Gasquet again, this time with Hewitt.
So I’m about to leave and I take one last glance over at Armstrong and Grandstand. I see a Mohawk. Nick Kyrgios is in the building, wearing a Michael Jordan t-shirt. I see Hewitt but not with his practice gear. I considered leaving as I didn’t recognize the other player. But I’d been looking the wrong way. Stepping out from a crowd was Bernard Tomic! My butt was definitely staying for some of this one. I’m going to use the screen capture from @breakpointsaved for what I wrote about this.
The intrepid @krisherdown reports from the scene of a Kyrgios-Tomic practice session. pic.twitter.com/FJPtbcd7Ym
- Katie Bee (@breakpointsaved) August 27, 2015
I didn’t tweet this because it could have set off a lot of trouble: I think Nick needs to hear how young people react to him - and I don’t mean those groupies in the upper tier. The kids who recognized him either outright walked out or begged their group leader to take them elsewhere. I appreciated that, even at that age, they understand poor sportsmanship. From my position, I did not hear anyone heckling. I did hear “I Love You, Nick” from the groupie section.
Nick seemed off physically as well as mentally. Bernie, who is normally not the picture of well-being, looked great! He genuinely seemed to appreciate the audience. Given this is where Bernie got the nickname Tomic the Tank Engine during Roddick’s farewell, truly noteworthy. I do hope he gets to play Hewitt second round so he at least has one good New York moment. Tomic-Kyrgios is a match that has never happened for real but now I totally wish it would.
Other bits and pieces:
Even with a baseball cap, sunglasses and no sign of the Under Armour logo on his jacket (covered by a towel), Jamie Murray is recognizable. He was talking to his coach. I just wish I hadn’t waited until I hear that Scottish brogue waft through the air before getting the guts to approach him. By then it was too late.
When I went to buy a souvenir, I was behind Reka-Luca Jani (reading credential hanging on her bag). I think she was aiming to buy official towels for family. That’s the problem when you lose first round in qualies: not enough time to snag stuff.
Stan’s French Open outfit is even uglier up close. Nishioka was wearing that version on the practice court. The blue and black versions, both spotted on Asian coaches, are easier to deal with. Also, I headed over to the Yonex booth. Seeing a ton of Those Shorts and the skirt version with that pattern (did any WTA player actually wear that? Come to think of it, does anyone other than Bencic wear Yonex gear?). This shirt, on the other hand, is adorable:
The weather was glorious, I woke up before my alarm bright eyed and bushy tailed. US Open Time.
You know it’s going to be a good viewing day when the first thing you see is a Richard Gasquet backhand. Followed at the closer end by Feliciano Lopez stretching. Yes, they were practicing together.
Tommy snuck onto the court from the stands to surprise Feli.
The one prominent male player I had never seen on court had been Rafa. In this case, I totally stumbled upon it. I was actually heading to Ferrer’s practice session on P2 and found out Rafa was on P1. Of course everyone wanted in but it came in handy that I was travelling alone and there was one seat available that allowed a view of Ferrer as well. Rafa was practicing with Leonardo Mayer (I don't know if Leo had known Federer was his opponent at that point). Watching his ball in action is something that TV simply does not capture.
Ferrer will have to Believe In The Sleeve if he’s actually going to play New York - found out he did take that off in a later session.
So I’m looking in the direction of Ferrer’s court when who should I see approaching but Magnus Norman (oh, and Stan behind him). They took over the court when Rafa was talking to Uncle Toni. Apparently, there was a scheduling issue. Leo packs up and the Rafa fans clear out, assuming he was done. They missed the best surprise of the day. Rafa ended up having a hit with Stan. On this back court that, if planned in advance, would’ve likely been on Arthur Ashe and closed to the public. I’ve seen Stan practice several times before so this time I was more focused on Rafa’s side and the way he reacted to that pace. He was getting decent depth, a sign Rafa fans would be pleased to hear.
When Magnus leads the way, you can absolutely count on Stan looking at his phone. His addiction knows no bounds.
There was, as you’d imagine a lot of chatter about the Kyrgios matter during this practice. Those watching Stan here mostly just referred to Nick in disgust - no heckling. Interestingly, Vekic was scheduled second on Court 6, which you can actually get a glimpse of from the correct angle from the seating at this practice court. Elias Ymer was the first match and he, honestly, the easiest player to spot from a really far distance between his skin tone and the wildness of his hair.
I actually left the session upon find out Ymer-Struff were 4-all in the third. Ymer is a player I wish good things for. Seeing him in person, I can tell you his shots are electric. He seized control of the tiebreak by clobbering everything and there was nothing J-L could do.
While I knew Vekic was next, I had a better purpose: Vicky Duval. I went to Court 17 for the second set. Vicky lost the first and you could tell her game was sputtering but the fire in her is still awesome to watch. It seemed every game was a battle. She was down 2-4 but won the next three games before having to call the trainer for a blister on her foot. In the midst of this run, I was scrolling through twitter to find out about the draw when I see Ben Rothenberg post a picture from this match. IT WAS MY VIEW! I turn around and he’s sitting in the next row. I move back to chat with him, filling him in about how close this has been, predicting Sharapova will be done in the first round and throwing in that I’d dislike Kyrgios but quick to point out to him that’d be my reaction if anyone beat Andy so early in a major. We both left after the second set. I was saddened to see the third set bagel but I would guess she wasn’t moving well.
I did glimpse at the Vekic-Cirstea match but to return to the practice courts. Raonic-Pospisil left, replaced by Kei Nishikori with Frances Tiafoe. Kei’s stature from last year’s run has basically made him a rock star here - I’d actually spotted him earlier practicing with Jack Sock (hilariously, I heard two different kids claim Kei was with Berdych) but didn’t stay. I didn’t get much of a feel regarding Tiafoe, maybe due to seeing how far away he was from even a player like Ymer. On the other court, Gasquet again, this time with Hewitt.
So I’m about to leave and I take one last glance over at Armstrong and Grandstand. I see a Mohawk. Nick Kyrgios is in the building, wearing a Michael Jordan t-shirt. I see Hewitt but not with his practice gear. I considered leaving as I didn’t recognize the other player. But I’d been looking the wrong way. Stepping out from a crowd was Bernard Tomic! My butt was definitely staying for some of this one. I’m going to use the screen capture from @breakpointsaved for what I wrote about this.
The intrepid @krisherdown reports from the scene of a Kyrgios-Tomic practice session. pic.twitter.com/FJPtbcd7Ym
- Katie Bee (@breakpointsaved) August 27, 2015
I didn’t tweet this because it could have set off a lot of trouble: I think Nick needs to hear how young people react to him - and I don’t mean those groupies in the upper tier. The kids who recognized him either outright walked out or begged their group leader to take them elsewhere. I appreciated that, even at that age, they understand poor sportsmanship. From my position, I did not hear anyone heckling. I did hear “I Love You, Nick” from the groupie section.
Nick seemed off physically as well as mentally. Bernie, who is normally not the picture of well-being, looked great! He genuinely seemed to appreciate the audience. Given this is where Bernie got the nickname Tomic the Tank Engine during Roddick’s farewell, truly noteworthy. I do hope he gets to play Hewitt second round so he at least has one good New York moment. Tomic-Kyrgios is a match that has never happened for real but now I totally wish it would.
Other bits and pieces:
Even with a baseball cap, sunglasses and no sign of the Under Armour logo on his jacket (covered by a towel), Jamie Murray is recognizable. He was talking to his coach. I just wish I hadn’t waited until I hear that Scottish brogue waft through the air before getting the guts to approach him. By then it was too late.
When I went to buy a souvenir, I was behind Reka-Luca Jani (reading credential hanging on her bag). I think she was aiming to buy official towels for family. That’s the problem when you lose first round in qualies: not enough time to snag stuff.
Stan’s French Open outfit is even uglier up close. Nishioka was wearing that version on the practice court. The blue and black versions, both spotted on Asian coaches, are easier to deal with. Also, I headed over to the Yonex booth. Seeing a ton of Those Shorts and the skirt version with that pattern (did any WTA player actually wear that? Come to think of it, does anyone other than Bencic wear Yonex gear?). This shirt, on the other hand, is adorable: