Postcard from Flushing Meadows
Some highs and lows from my first 10 days in the US Open's inner sanctum
NEW YORK — Monday marked the official Opening Day for the 141st US Open with fans fully back on the National Tennis Center premises. It was also Day 11 for me in the big city playing tennis hooky from the NBA.
I'm still writing and making occasional phone calls to try to track late-offseason developments in #thisleague, so I have failed (yet again) to truly unplug, but all the highlights (and lowlights) of the trip so far have indeed been tennis-related.
Some of the standout moments:
🎾 My pal Mitch Krueger was ousted in the second round of men's singles qualifying after a comprehensive first-round victory over Canada's Steven Diez. Krueger's conqueror, in withering conditions Thursday afternoon that certainly didn't help, was Holger Vitus Nødskov Rune. The 18-year-old Danish sensation has won 13 consecutive matches when you include his back-to-back ATP Tour Challenger titles on clay in Europe before he arrived at the first Grand Slam event of his career.
🎾 Rune's reward for winning three qualifying matches to secure a main-draw spot is a Grand Slam debut at night against a certain Novak Djokovic. Krueger is a Fort Worth-born Dallas resident who naturally grew up loving Dirk Nowitzki as a Mavericks fan, meaning the name Holger (as in Nowitzki's longtime shooting guru Holger Geschwindner) had only positive connotations in his life until now. The consolation: Krueger and Michael Mmoh got a wild card into men's doubles, which is a pick-me-up for them as well as me, since my credential remains valid until Krueger's elimination from the tournament (plus two days).
🎾 As if I'm not sufficiently spoiled to be part of Krueger's three-person entourage here, I attended several qualifying matches in addition to Mitch's two last week during the closed-to-the-public portion of the tournament. It honestly felt at times like I was watching my own private Open, with most of the matches I hit attracting less than 10 spectators. You couldn't help but make eye contact with the competitors while they were playing for their lives, which only added to the awkwardness. There is massive pressure in qualifying as it is, with three wins needed to reach the tournament proper and so much more prize money at stake than in tournaments typically contested by qualifying entrants who are generally ranked between 100 and 300 in the world. I really felt for the men and women who were grinding through those matches without fans. Getting to play in front of rambunctious crowds, even smaller ones on the outer courts, is supposed to be what the Open is all about.
🎾 I love posting pics of near-empty, ultra-serene NBA arenas when I get to games early … and the same holds here. Above is a shot snapped from court level of the beautiful Louis Armstrong Stadium 2.0 while I had the privilege of taking in a John Isner/Sam Querrey practice alongside Timberwolves superfan (and U.S. Davis Cup captain) Mardy Fish.
🎾 This really shouldn't excite me as much as it does, but there's a free-of-charge Lavazza coffee stand available to players and their team members in the main player hotel. It's my last stop every morning before boarding the Manhattan-to-Queens player bus. (The order: Double macchiato with the cup filled to the top with whole milk.)
🎾 I am unapologetically excited (and relieved) every time I get a text alert from the tournament that I have registered another negative COVID-19 test. I'm a very grateful 3-for-3 so far, with tournament officials now mandating tests every three days (even for vaccinated players and credentialed attendees) after initially requiring them every four days. Regular testing, of course, slams home the memories of where I was a year ago at this time … nearing the end of a nearly two-month stay (with daily testing) in the NBA's Walt Disney World bubble.
🎾 That relief surely stems from watching what happened to my dear friend and former world No. 29 Dudi Sela. The 36-year-old was poised to make his 15th (and potentially last) singles appearance at the Open, extending his own Israeli record, when he recorded a positive COVID-19 test despite being vaccinated. After flying in from his native Israel to play just his second tournament of the year after a spate of injuries, Sela got word of his status on the eve of qualifying and was immediately removed from the tournament.
🎾 Sela stands 5-9 on a good day and is sometimes referred to by his pals as Pound For Pound, which is a reference to the tremendous shot-making variety and touch he possesses in a sport increasingly ruled by NBA-sized players. His abrupt exit scuttled any hope of what could have been a really fun story: Sela and the 6-foot-11 Ivo Karlović were seeking a wild card into the men's doubles event. If you're familiar with the famed meme of Sela climbing onto a chair to hug Karlović after a match in Colombia in 2014, their appeal as a doubles combo makes a lot of sense.
Thanks for taking us inside the US Open. Glad you’re having a great time, as well as staying out of harm’s way with Covid!
Hope you get to stay as long as possible!