US Open 2024 - Day 4

[Composed 8/29/2024]

Today consisted of little more than our short flight from LGA to DCA. I love that both airports are surrounded by impressive skylines. I get to pretend I'm on a private photo tour whenever we leave NY and land in DC.

As we flew back to DC, Shira and I reflected on this year's Open. For the first time in nearly a decade, we watched Tuesday and Wednesday at the Open instead of Friday and Saturday. A scheduling conflict caused us to move our plans up in the week.

We arrived Tuesday morning with some hopes and worries. On the hopes side, we wondered if arriving earlier in the week would make for fewer crowds. On the worry side of things, we wondered if the quality of tennis would be less, as there's more chance for lopsided games.

Both of these guesses were wrong. The grounds were just as busy on a Tuesday as they have been on Friday. Still, if you arrive early, you can sail right in through the gates.

As for the quality of tennis, it was excellent. The fact is, ranking alone isn't a solid predictor of a match.

We arrived thinking that this year would be an anomaly, and that next year we'd be back to our Friday/Saturday attendance. But, by the end of this trip, our thinking has changed: there's just so much tennis to see, coming earlier is for sure a win. Yes, it means taking more time off from work, but the trade-off seems worth it.

In short, more tennis, more better.

US Open 2024 - Day 3

[Composed 8/28/2024]

We started our second day of spectating at the US Open with a daunting realization: there were a staggering 63 matches available to us today. Yikes, that's a lot of tennis!

We started the day watching a favorite player of ours: Taylor Townsend. We've been fans of hers since a memorable match back in 2019.

Today she took on Paula Badosa. Despite her putting on an emotive performance, and the crowd strongly rooting for her, she wasn't able to get the win. Still, she was entertaining as always to watch.

On the food report side: the garlic, taro, and mango-flavored treats we picked up at Tous Les Jours have all been outstanding. So even if Taylor couldn't pull out the win, one of our favorite bakeries did.

We then caught an Alex vs. Alex match in Alexander Zverev vs. Alexandre Muller. Zverev is a favorite, and Muller is a wildcard. So, Zverev taking the match wasn't a big surprise. But, Muller put up a heck of a fight and we were sitting in the shade, so all in all, it was delightful.

Then we headed over to see Big Foe take on Alexander Shevchenko (yet, another Alexander!). Foe came out strong, but alas, Shevchenko ended up retiring in the 3rd set, so it wasn't really a complete match. Tiafoe, a Maryland native, is considered our hometown player, so we always love to see him succeeding. Even with only 2 full sets played, Tiafoe managed to turn his player's area into a dorm room tornado. That's impressive!

From Tiafoe's match, we made our way to Lucia Bronzetti vs Aryna Sabalenka. Man, Sabalenka hits with power. Her play feels like a mix of Serena's massive power, with Nadal's thirst to win every single point. It's an impressive combination, and today, Bronzetti didn't have an answer.

From Sabalenka's match, we made our way to Ben Shelton vs. Roberto Bautista Agut . At 37 years old, Agut has been around forever. So this was a classic age vs. experience showdown. Yeah, age won the day. Still, given my age, I'll root for the geriatric player any day!

By now it was 6 p.m., and any normal person would have called it a day. And yet, we still had 5 high-quality matches ahead of us:

• Monfils vs. Ruud
• Coco vs. Maria
• Azarenka vs. Burel
• Djokovic vs. Djere
• Fritz vs. (heart emoji) Berrettini

We actually managed to hit all of these matches. We had relatively high hopes for Djere vs. Djokovic, as the last we saw them play Djere took two sets off Djokovic, and an upset looked possible. Djere again started strong, but an injury of some sort caused him to retire early in the third set.

We again cheered on experience over youth, hoping that Monfils would pull out the upset against Ruud. Monfils did have a strong start but petered out against Ruud starting in the second set.

Azarenka is another favorite of mine and showed why in her match against Burel. Azarenka came out strong, taking the first set 6-1. I stepped away to get ice cream—which was paid for by a US Open employee flashing her badge—and came back to find Azarenka in tears with the trainer.

Apparently, a migraine had struck. Burel took the offensive, getting the break. Azarenka sat at the changeovers with a towel over her head, no doubt trying to find some relief.

Somehow, Azarenka managed to not only pull out the win but also, in dark glasses, she did the on-court interview and even signed autographs. If my head was throbbing, the last thing I'd be thinking about is interviews and autographs. She's a professional, and it shows.

Is Berrettini still the sexiest man on the tour? Yes, next question. If only you could earn points for sexiness. Sorry Berrettini, better luck next time.