Ben's Journal: US Open - Day 2 - Tennis Time (Finally!)

[Composed 8/27/2025]

Getting To The Open

The first day at the Open began on a down note. On our walk to the stadium, we learned that Iris Tea and Bakery had permanently closed. During our first stay in Flushing, we marveled at the exotic Asian restaurants, nearly all of them featuring off-limits treif. Out of curiosity, we wandered into Iris Tea and Bakery and found a magical world full of delicious treats, all labeled with their contents, the latter being helpful so we could steer clear of the pork buns. Since that introduction, it's been our tradition to stop at Iris on the way to the stadium and stock up. The taste, freshness, and cost of the baked goods were always many orders of magnitudes better than stadium food.

We were genuinely sorry to see that Iris is no more. Thankfully, Tous les Jours, another fine bakery, is across the street and still open for business. We stocked up there. Still, Iris will be missed.

Breezing Through Security

The US Open bag policy is actually quite generous. You're allowed a bag of significant size, there's no 'clear' requirement, and you can bring in food. One tricky part of their policy is that backpacks are firmly forbidden, yet they allow single-compartment drawstring bags. These are, of course, backpacks. It's odd that they have a firm rule, followed by an exception to it.

I've always been on the lookout for a bag that meets this quirky requirement while being more comfortable than the standard drawstring bag. This year I picked up one of these from Amazon, and was pleased when I sailed through security. The wider straps are more comfortable than a typical string bag, yet it's still identifiable as a draw-closure bag.

This year, they added magnetometers, and my bag didn't contain enough metal to trip it. So the guards at the entry didn't even bother opening my bag. If they had, all they would have seen is a selection of pastries from Tous les Jours.

Shira thinks all this optimization is silly. She brings a tote that meets the largest possible dimensions and doesn't give it a second thought.

The Pregame Experience

After sailing through security, we had some time to kill before our first match. We made our way to the American Express Fan Experience, where they were giving away the same custom-monogrammed tennis balls as last year. They also had a shoelace service where the attendants would swap your laces for a tennis-themed set in an exotic threading pattern. I waited an excessively long time for this privilege, and frankly, I'm not sure the result was any nicer than the laces I already had. But gosh dang it, this is the Open, and I'm going to embrace it to the fullest!

Oh Yeah, Some Tennis, Too

At 11 a.m., it was finally time to watch some tennis. We hit up Grandstand for the Caty McNally vs Emma Navarro match. It seemed fitting to start our tournament watching two Americans battle it out. We stayed for about 50 minutes, as the match did not get especially competitive. The highlight of the match was enjoying an 'Everything Cloud Bagel' from Tous les Jours. I'm not even sure I can describe what a cloud bagel is, other than to say that it was heavenly.

From the two American women, we zipped off to catch Novak Djokovic vs Zachary Svajda. In past years, we may not have even bothered to watch an early-round Djokovic match, especially one against a qualifier. But these days we watch Djokovic with the nagging question: is this the end? When will the tennis great finally call it quits?

This mindset isn't healthy and often triggers a cascade of negative thoughts every time Zachary makes a quality shot. Would this lost point lead to a break, which would lead to a lost set, which would lead to a lost match, which would lead to the end of a career? Of course, this is ridiculous, as the players of all levels and abilities have ups and downs during a match. Trying to read anything into specific points is, well, pointless.

When Svajda took the first set, I thought maybe Djokovic was in trouble. Like many times before, he was just having a slow start while his young opponent was having a strong one. After the second set, it was clear that Djokovic was in fine shape and that this qualifier wasn't going to be a career ender.

Looking back at the scoreline, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, Djokovic was never in any trouble. I was just being overly sensitive. One day Djokovic's luck will run out, but it wasn't today.

From the Djokovic match, we made our way to Taylor Fritz vs Lloyd Harris. Here we found a match similar to the one we'd just left. Fritz, ranked 5th in the world, was struggling in the first set against Harris, ranked 353(!). It was again time to question the front-runner's abilities and wonder if we were going to see the upset of the tournament.

Yeah, no. Harris did indeed have a fantastic first set and took the second to a tiebreak. But by the last two sets, it was clear that Fritz was dominant and that, like the Djokovic match, there'd be no breaking news coming out of this match.

During the Fritz / Harris match, our friends Sara and Joe arrived. This is their first in-person US Open, and we're excited to share the magic of the Open with them. Joe, like Shira, is basically a tennis super fan. Sara, like myself, is more here for the spectacle of it all. Sara came prepared with the right attitude. As we caught up, she explained that her goal for the day was to Be Like Water. Very wise, Sara, very wise.

From the Fritz match, we made our way back to a standing-room-only Grandstand where Francis Tiafoe vs. Martin Damm was already underway. After watching a few points through cracks in the crowd, Shira managed to procure us seats.

Tiafoe looked to be playing well and ultimately wouldn't lose serve in the whole match. According to the match stats, he had no unforced errors in the first set. In fact, the match was going too well for Shira and Joe's taste. This looked to be our fourth match of the day where the higher-ranked player would sail to an easy victory. Convinced of the outcome, we ducked out to the Elena Rybakina vs. Tereza Valentova. Ultimately, Shira made the right call, but apparently, the last set of the Tiafoe match was a nail biter. That's the challenge of having so many matches to choose from: you just can't predict where the best action will be at any given moment.

Rybakina took the first set off of Valentova without much difficulty. But in the second set, Valentova fought back. I loved her fist pumps and positive energy. And she almost took the second set. Alas, almost doesn't count for much in tennis, and for our 5th match of the day, the front-runner came through unscathed.

The weather was glorious today. At a high of 73°F, this is about the most perfect conditions one could ask for. We tried to explain to Sara and Joe that what they are experiencing is an outlier: usually the tournament is a hot and humid mess, where every scrap of shade is treated as a luxury. None of that made sense today, it's just effortlessly gorgeous outside. What a pleasure!

From the Rybakina match, we made our way over to Holger Rune vs. Jan-Lennard Struff. At this point, it was 7:00 p.m. and I demanded we take a break to eat or otherwise unplug from tennis. After a couple of games, Shira finally relented, and we got empanadas and halloumi fries from the Immigrant Food kiosk. I was more impressed with the fries than the empanadas, but I was just thankful not to be watching tennis.

Ironically, the Rune vs. Struff match turned out to be an upset, with 35-year-old Struff beating the 22-year-old, 11th ranked Rune. I'm all for cheering on the old guy!

After our pick-me-up, we met up again with Sara and Joe in Arthur Ashe Stadium. We'd walked in on Carlos Alcaraz vs. Mattia Bellucci. I asked Joe for a match update and his response was succinct: just look at the scoreboard. At that moment, it was 6-1, 1-0 Alcaraz. Poor Bellucci, he never had a chance.

You know the match isn't much of a contest when the commentators are talking more about Alcaraz's haircut saga than the match itself. Pro tip: maybe don't have your brother trim your hair using a clipper he doesn't know how to operate. I can't tell if this incident shows Alcaraz is comically naïve or Zen-master chill. Either way, it doesn't seem to be impacting his tennis, so that's a good thing.

We closed out the night watching Aryna Sabalenka vs. Polina Kudermetova. This match followed the Djokovic, Fritz trend by starting off competitive and closing out with a resounding win by Sabalenka. Sabalenka tends to be quite emotive on the court, and she was so tonight. She seemed to have no patience with herself for making even the slightest misstep. It brings to mind Rafael Nadal's disposition on court, where he treated every point as though it was the most important one of the match, and failure was not an option. That's a high bar to set, but it does seem to be working for her.

The two quick night matches meant that for the first time in years, we caught both night matches. As the stadium emptied out, we explained to Sara and Joe that we usually walk the 2.3 miles back to the hotel rather than call an Uber. They were game, and so we traipsed through a darkened Flushing at 11:30 p.m. The weather had cooled a bit, but it was still a wonderful night and the walk to the hotel was a breeze.