All Day at the Open

The day started badly: pouring rain. Should I go or not? But I had my ticket and if they play any matches, you can't get a weather-related replacement ticket for another day. So after much deliberation I left Inwood; then I caught the #7 train from Hell. It kept stopping and standing still for minutes on end. No announcements, of course. We finally dragged into the Shea Stadium station and the rain was cascading down. But incredibly, after about 5 minutes, it stopped. Matches were to begin at 11:00 and it was 11:00 when I walked in. It took them two hours to dry the courts and for play to begin.

First there was a delicious appetizer: Ai Sugiyami, the petite and cunning Japanese player, quickly dispatched her opponent. Then came the main course: Paradorn Srichaphan vs. Jose Acasuso. Paradorn's been my favorite player for the past few years. He is one of those naturally sexy people, like Albert Evans or Gael Garcia Bernal; he moves around the court like an exotic animal. Acasuso is a seeded player (24) and he's been doing well this season; Paradorn's been falling down the rankings somewhat. So I didn't know what to expect. Acasuso played strongly, but it was Paradorn who pulled off the magical shots. They went five sets and Paradorn finally clinched it, to the delight of his noisy Thai Scricha-fans. I was feeling very happy for him.

By now it was almost 5:00 so I went off on a tour of the courts; the Tennis Centre was really jammed...long lines for food concessions and for the restrooms. The Baghdatis match at the Grandstand was so packed they weren't allowing any more people in. At Louis Armstrong, the huge surprise of the first day: Feliciano Lopez, the pretty boy of tennis, whipped Ivan Lujbcic in straight sets. It was thought Lubi might go all the way to the semis this year, but Lopez wiped him out. The crowd was delighted.

I saw parts of several matches and enjoyed many players: Thiago Alves, Jie Zheng, Alberto Martin, Chanda Rubin (who is just back from a very long injury layoff), Patty Schnyder.

Meanwhile I was waiting for Bjorn Phau's match to start; because of the extended rain delay it was getting late. But I really wanted to see him play. Wandering out to Court 4, I found his match had been "moved" and was almost over. And he was winning - big time - against American Jeff Morrison. Phau is a small, compact player with excellent shot placement. Hardly anyone was watching his match because no announcement of the court change had been made. He wrapped it up in straight sets; I congratulated him and took a picture.

Photos: Three of Paradorn and one of Bjorn Phau after his match. Click to enlarge.

And then as I was heading home, my pants started to fall down and I realized I had forgotten to eat anything.

I have a ticket for tomorrow. They predict heavy rain.

Comments

[Nicholas]

Feliciano Lopez the 'pretty boy of tennis'? My favorite is Fernando Verdaso - SOOOOOOOOO cute! Great commentary on the Open. It sounds like it is so much fun to wander through the outside courts and watch snippets of the mid-majors playing.

[Philip]

Have you ever seen Feli's "fashion" photos? He's pretty sexy...