There are a lot of days in a NYC summer when I wish I was literally anywhere else but there’s no place I’d rather be than the Big Apple in the last week of August and the first week of September. That’s when tennis takes over and the worries of hot garbage, finding A/C, and sweaty backs on the subway float away. Thankfully, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is only a 30-minute ride away, which means I’ve already been out there three times.
Day 1 of the main draw was all about Serena, of course. Monday nights under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium was a storybook start to the G.O.A.T.’s swan song. I’m glad I was watching on TV—that crowd was LOUD. I love how much fun Williams seems to be having with her “evolution,” and I hope she makes it beyond Round 2…but she faces a stiff opponent in the No. 2 seed from Estonia, Anett Kontaveit. That’s tonight (Wednesday) at 7 PM on ESPN! The network will continue to show matches daily at Noon and 7 PM all the way through the final. You can find a schedule to learn who is playing here.
The excitement continued on Day 2 (Tuesday) after Serena’s big win, with lots of players finding the spotlight. First up, I caught longtime fave David Goffin on Court 12 about halfway through a thrilling 5-set match that ultimately broke my heart. Goffin led most of the way but fell to one of the many, many rising Italian players. After losing a 5-point lead in the final tiebreaker, the Belgian couldn’t claw his way back.
Then it was over to Court 11, to support American Taylor Townsend, who is returning to the sport as a new mom. It was fun to watch her win the second set against Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova—especially in a hard-fought deuce that had the pair swapping advantages several times. It was time for me to move on to Arthur Ashe, so I missed the third set, but I found out later that Townsend didn’t make it out of Round 1. Hopefully she’ll be back next year!
Up next, Rafael Nadal played against a surprisingly tenacious opponent from Down Under. Rinky (best name ever?) Hijikata won the first set but struggled to hold on to the lead after that. The score doesn’t really reflect how close the game was—and watching it in person was electric. I’m excited to see more from the Aussie!
To round things out, I moved a bit closer to the action (after 11 PM, people go home, and security lets you move down) for Danielle Collins vs. Naomi Osaka. It was the forth time they met and the stakes were high for both players—Collins was a finalist earlier this year at the Australian Open and Osaka has been out of the WTA Top 10 rankings for almost a year now. Both ladies fought hard—the quality was incredible, with the crowd getting a finals-level match. Collins pulled out the win and I wouldn’t be surprised if she makes it deep into Week 2.
I’ll be back in Flushing tomorrow! On the docket are the women’s doubles match featuring Venus and Serena Williams, along with a men’s single match with Nadal vs. Fabio Fognini. I can’t wait! Looking even further out, Matteo Berrettini and Andy Murray will face each other on Friday in Round 3, one of the biggest match-ups so far this week.
By the way, did you know the U.S. Open actually begins a few days beforehand with Fan Week? I went on Tuesday and Friday last week. Among the highlights were the Legends Match, where we got to see Andy Roddick, James Blake, Kim Clijsters, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands in a three set match-up. There was also the qualifying tournament, with several Americans making their way into the main event—one gent we saw, emerging American Christopher Eubanks, is already on to the second round. He’ll next play No. 11 seed Italian Jannik Sinner on Thursday.
The best part of Fan Week is that it’s free! And, yes, all of your favorites are there—they’re over on the practice courts and you’re invited to go watch them play. So, the next time you’re thinking about coming to the U.S. Open, consider adding a day or two for the warm-up to the big show.
|
|
|
|
