The Tennis Thread

Parent Cafe
1221

Glad you had a great day and very nice being invited to lux box! Totally different experience watching matches in lap of luxury!

I’m exhausted, mostly from the heat/humidity even though spent almost all my time in between shade in LA and Grandstand ( which I’m very sad to see go) but dragging myself back today. After sitting at Court 5 in no shade to watch my Tommy lose in 5 sets I had enough of courts with no shade. Was going to take today off when rain was in the forecast but scratched that because nice forecast instead and today and weekend won’t be as hot or humid.

Sad for LL losing after having mp’s.

S and the GF join us tomorrow for the weekend. Going to be very expensive. :slight_smile:

1222

It was HOT yesterday!! We watched the first 2 morning matches in the shade at Grandstand (saw Jack Sock collapse) and had lunch at the Heineken house then watched women’s and mixed on Court 4 then topped it off watching Donald Young and Taylor Townsend (who really impressed me) beat two young Americans on Court 7.

I enjoyed the suite but I really enjoy the knowledgable crowds on the outer courts.

We will be NYC tourists today and then fly home tomorrow.

1223

Two great matches tonight in Ashe, especially the 5-set men’s thriller. While I am not happy with the outcome, the 5th set was fantastic, we were also able to move down closer as it was after 1 in the morning! Great stuff.

1224

@Snowdog what a great match! I was watching on TV and rooting for Rafa, but Fognini was really on fire.

1225

He was indeed on fire, unfortunately. Consistently drilling to Rafa wide in the forehand corner and not missing too much. Fognini got too many of Rafa’s 2nd serves as well. Bad year for Rafa, glad I got to see him up close though and such an exciting evening!

1226

Just heard Bouchard slipped and fell in the locker room and pulled out of doubles.

1227

I was there last night - we were watching Nadal and Fognini. Our D was flying in last night to visit us for Labor Day weekend and we left early. After seeing how late that game went, I’m glad we left when we did!

Tonight H and D are there watching.

1228

Attended all day Wed., evening session on Thurs., and all day Friday. Wow it was great!! Very hot and humid but it was fantastic for a first experience at the US Open.

I’ll start with last night’s Rafa/Fabio match. Great tennis :slight_smile: but the outcome really bummed us out. :frowning: We didn’t get back to our hotel in Manhattan until 2:15 am and had to get up for an early flight home. I’m getting too old for less than 4 hours of sleep!

Best matches we saw over the 3 day period were the Rafa vs. Schwartzman, the Bryan Bros. vs. Querrey/Johnson, Querrey/Johnson vs. Paes/Verdasco and Lopez vs. Fish.

Schwartzman really impressed. I’m now a fan.
The Bryan brothers upset was jaw-dropping. Steve Johnson was the surprise difference.
Paes had an uneven match.
Fish was an emotional (last career) match. His journey is fascinating. If you don’t know it read this: http://www.theplayerstribune.com/mardy-fish-us-open/
Feliciano was so classy in his post-match speech. Lovely tribute to Fish’s play. Too bad he started cramping in the 5th set.

As for the venues I was not a fan of Ashe. Too big and impersonal to me. Also, it really bothered me on two levels.

First Ashe is so disorganized. Entering the stadium took too long. You should not miss the start of a 7pm evening match because they are unable to handle the crowds. They would only let a group at a time on the escalators. Workers couldn’t answer simple questions. Also the design makes it very congested in the concourse area.

Which leads into my second gripe, they don’t enforce common tennis etiquette. At times it felt like we were at a loud party and a tennis match broke out. People talk at regular volume throughout the match and come and go during play!!! (although I admit it was better Friday evening for Serena and Rafa.)

Louis Armstrong was better but I may have been biased by our awesome court side box seats. Fabulous…simply fabulous! :slight_smile:

The Grandstand was a nice size and popular because of the shade. However, it seemed a little understaffed. The movement during points was at times distracting…but not nearly as bad as Ashe.

We only sat in one outside court and that was for 3 matches in a row. We had great seats and it was fantastic tennis, but my back really missed the backseat!! :wink:

The US Open was fun, but I look forward to Indian Wells. Everyone we spoke to raved about the experience.

1229

D1 attended the Open today. Posted a pic on Facebook of Federer playing. As she said, not a bad way to pass a Saturday.

1230

@88jm19 - I have been going to Indian Wells for seven years now. It is very organized, not crushingly crowded, the workers and volunteers are cheerful. The grounds are landscaped, there’s room to move around, the lines for food are not horrendous.

I have met many people and have friends who have been to both the Open and to Indian Wells and they all say Indian Wells was much nicer. You’ll have a great time!

1231

It’s New York. Everyone talks during matches especially on Ashe since you are so far away from the court. Plus, the people in the court side seats and lux boxes are not tennis fans and are there to be seen, not for the tennis. I haven’t seen a match in Ashe in years even when we had series tickets. Now we have series seats in LA. Ashe should be the stadium that is torn down.

If you want quiet I suggest Wimby. You can hear a pin drop. I was once completely mortified on a wee outer court there when my phone rang. It was when you had to get a cell phone once you got to the Uk, so in my defense I couldn’t figure out how to put it in silent mode but didn’t think anyone would be calling me!

Yesterday was another very long day and I am getting to the point where week is now one big blur. Highlights for me yesterday was Young/Troicki followed by Lisicki/Strycova (which was typical ladies drama filled chokefest) I am going to so miss the GS. :frowning: :frowning:

I’ll probably be at Louie for most of the day.

1232

Loved Wimbledon! It may sound strange but I really liked the queue experience! It was so much fun.

Australian Open 2017 is on the list. We spoke in-depth to a couple of Aussies at the US Open. They said you can hear a pin drop there too…even though Aussies are known for their very fun dispositions. (Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oie! Oie! Oie! and all.) And as a side note: at Wimbledon they have such a strong presence that before a match with an Aussie player, they stand as a group and sing their anthem. The organizers allow this and it just contributes to the experience.

In my opinion if you want the party atmosphere at tennis go to a Davis Cup match…but still be quiet and don’t walk during play. Respect the players.

1233

@88jm19 Indian Wells is great, I go every year, you will love it. BUT, maybe because I am from Southern California, to me the US Open is magical and I prefer it 100X over Indian Wells.

1234

I’ve been to both Indian Wells and the Open a fair bit, and I agree with tx5athome that they are just very different experiences. The New York energy is totally different…and this Californian likes that. I’ve been at the Open for the last three days. I also saw the Querrey-Johnson win over Paes - Verdasco and really enjoyed it. I love watching Leander Paes play doubles, but Stevie Johnson was awesome! It speaks to the importance of doubles in college play and all his doubles experience leading SC to four consecutive national team titles as well as winning two NCAA singles titles. It’s hard for me to admit as a non SC fan that he is arguably the best college player ever…and by all reports a great guy.

I was lucky enough to sit in the USTA President’s box one night. One has an extraordinary view from behind the court from the box. Though neither match was great it is so cool to be so low behind the court where you can really see how much “action” there is on the top players’ balls. I think people who only see tennis on tv don’t understand that it’s the combination of the spin and pace that separates the top few from the rest of the pack…Their balls are so heavy!

1235

GS>ATP/WTA tourneys (and I’ve been to lots of those so.)

Yesterday was nice and relaxing. I only left Louie to eat. Men’s matches were a bit ho-hum. Glad I got to see myTommy again even in a losing effort. Nice to see Martina play, too. Saw most of RBA/Djoko once we got home. Good job by RBA to take a set and making Djoko work. Fell asleep during ladies match, so watching now. Another day today on Louie. The new schedule this year has really changed the feel of Labor Day weekend, especially the Sunday session. I don’t like it as much, tbh.

1236

Is anyone tired of the Neil Patrick Harris Heineken ads yet?

What about the Rafa Tommy Hilfiger underwear ads? =D>

1237

I am tiring of the esurance Bryan brothers ad. It was funny the first time, but now not so much.

1238

Finally done for the year (unless a ticket for good seat in Ashe for next Friday miraculously falls in my lap.) Yesterday I saw what has got to be top contender for Worst Match of the Year. I’ve been watching more women lately but this reminded me why I hate watching women. #2 in the world and can’t even hold serve against a BBB??!!??!!?? Match was a total ****fest.

And then there was Andy v KAndy. Fabulous watching VB lose.

1239

Neither of the big two matches were ever in doubt - but at least neither won in straight sets. Knew Feli would crash and burn in TB.

Happy for Cilic he is doing so well defending title after miserable year.

Very happy for Vinci making her first SF - though match was a bit of a mess. I just hope she manages to avoid a trip to the bakery.

1240

This was my first time at the Open or any Slam for that matter, we had a blast. Met a ton of nice people and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Heard lots of older people complaining about the prematch light show, music on the changeovers in Ashe etc, I think they’re wrong. Most under 35 don’t want to hear a pin drop. If you want to get butts in all those seats, that means appealing to the same young people who might attend NBA or MMA.

Have to say watching Stan in Armstrong on Saturday was painful…I’m 5-2 and could barely fold my legs into the 2 inches in front of my seat, not to mention he seemed distracted to the point of disinterest. Even if you could beat your opponent with one hand tied behind your back, show some respect!