My 2019 US Open Experience

Hello everyone! I am happy to share with you my 2019 US Open experience, which was also my first ever grand slam that I’ve attended and although it was very brief (2 and a half days) it was something i’ll cherish forever. Over the course of this article i’ll write about many different things and to make it easier for you folks in case there is something in particular you’re wondering about, I will provide a table of contents of what I plan to include in this article. It also will help if you don’t want to read the whole thing which probably will be long.

Access to the grounds
Crowd
Courts
Food/Drinks/Shopping
Kvitalep Absence
Elina Svitolina (why does she have a chapter??)
Favorite Matches I watched
Regrets
Overall Experience

Access to the grounds

So let’s dive into this shall we? Now obviously this is all from my perspective, people reading this that have already gone or who will go will likely have different perspectives so I just hope this helps a little bit at least. I stayed at a hotel that was only a mile away from the stadium so I was able to walk there and back every day. It may not be that easy for other people so my fair warning would be if possible take the Subway because they have a stop that goes right to it. (7 to Mets-Willet Point) It’s not the most pleasant experience but hey it was a first for me so it’s worth a shot if you haven’t tried it before. It’s also free so there’s that (well you’ll need a little card I guess so technically not) but better than a $60 dollar uber everywhere you go. Yes, that was brutal. I won’t even get into New York drivers either. That’s a whooooole separate article. Bottomline: subway. Boom you’re there.

Crowd

I always knew there would be a massive crowd attending this event as they do every year, but I just have to say that I could never have quite prepared myself to face the crowd I walked through this weekend. I felt it immediately as I walked in you’re swept into a sea of people wandering trying to find their next destination on the grounds. Every tournament I have been to before I never had a real problem getting around or feeling cramped up against people, even Cincinnati and Miami which are definitely events that host a lot of people. But here, the main thing is you just have to be patient. They are EVERYWHERE. It will take awhile to get around the grounds no matter how fast you want to go or how much you try to weave through people. The worst example is after a match on Arthur Ashe stadium and you want to get out of there back onto the grounds… it’s a massive logjam where it’s basically standstill human traffic for about 15-20 minutes before you get out. That is if you aren’t close to the exit which I wasn’t. You have a huge group exiting and then another decent size group entering and it’s a mess. Again, if you’re not patient it’s big trouble for you.

Now, another part about the crowds I want to quick mention which i’m sure a lot of you have heard by now is during the matches especially at AA stadium but at Louis Armstrong too. They talk a lot. You cannot avoid it, you just can’t. It feels at times like you’re at a baseball game where there is constant chattering during the games. I mean it didn’t hinder my experience but it’s not exactly tennis etiquette you may be used to. Also for AA, people in the way up top sections are free to move around whenever so you know… they don’t exactly stay still. Up and down up and down. Get used to it. Ok let me say a positive about the crowd. When you’re in AA and it’s a great match, the crowd is absolutely electric and it’s something I never experienced before and it felt unbelievable to be in there. Those are the kind of crowds you want to be a part of for a tennis match.

Courts

This part won’t be as detailed as I would like since I didn’t really spend a whole lot of time on any particular court and/or didn’t see all of the courts in full. I can still describe the ones I went to and a basic description of the grounds. When you walk in Louis Armstrong is the first court you set your eyes upon so let’s start there. I am not used to a secondary court being so big. It felt like a main stadium court and i’m sure that’s the purpose of it in the first place. Even if it’s big, there isn’t a bad seat in the house and I think if I would’ve been able to sit closer this would’ve been my favorite court. I wasn’t exactly aware upon being here that Louis Armstrong features two seating sections; one is general admission where it’s first come first serve but you’re high up there and best case it’s still not particularly close. It can even be way way up there if it gets really crowded. I wasn’t there for when Coco Gauff played there but she filled up that stadium to its capacity which is very rare. Anyway, if you get reserved tickets you can get right on courtside level and that is one thing I may look into the next time I go because this court always features big name players and seeing them very close on such a big court would be amazing.

It’s only right that we talk about the granddaddy of them all and that is Arthur Ashe stadium. Once you turn the corner after seeing Armstrong, you run into AA although it’s impossible to miss wherever you are on the grounds or even if you’re not on the grounds. From the outside it’s majestic the way it’s built, but being inside is on a level that is everything I ever wanted it to be. I was near the very top but it didn’t affect my love of it one bit. If you followed my journey in Cincinnati a few weeks ago, you were probably aware of how I fell in love with a particular spot to view matches and that was on a balcony that was as high as you could go in the entire grounds. You could watch the stadium matches (and overlook the entire grounds for that matter) without being in the stadium but it felt like you were in it if you know what I mean. Well, I said to myself this is probably what AA seating will be like and lo and behold… yep. To a tee that’s what it felt like so naturally I loved every minute of it. If you aren’t a huge fan of being very far from the action then maybe it won’t be your favorite spot but for me, it’s perfect.

Considering I spent most of my time on those two feature courts, I can’t go into extreme detail like I said before about the other courts. I never went on grandstand which is another one of the bigger courts, but I did watch about a set and a half on court 17 which is a famously popular court. Think of grandstand in Cincinnati where you can be right on top of the action and that’s exactly what this court is. Even with a very limited amount of time on it, I can say that this court is my favorite. I would’ve loved to see more on it but it just didn’t happen. If you get one of your favorites on this one you are a lucky fan.

One last thing i’ll talk about in this section is the practice courts and I spent barely any time on them because I wanted to see as many matches as possible and none of my favorites were there practicing so I felt I didn’t NEED to see anyone practice. But, they are aligned all next to each other one by one and then there is a bleacher section behind all of them to watch the different practices all at once. It can be nice if you don’t mind who you’re seeing but if there’s a particular player you want to see, make sure you get a nice spot directly behind the court they’re on if possible. How it works is that once you enter the practice courts there is like an underground type area that is fenced where you can stand and watch the practices from ground level and people walk around from court to court. Then there are sets of stairs that lead up to the bleachers where you sit and watch the practices. Or stand if it’s too crowded and no seats are available. So take your pick which option you prefer and a picture of a view from underneath the bleachers is below. As far as getting autographs and selfies go, I don’t know if it’s easy to get them or where a prime spot might be. I mean it felt like it would’ve been hard to get anything because you’re either high up or behind a fence but there may be a spot that i’m not aware of.

Food/Drinks/Shopping

First things first, the main thing here is you don’t want to get too much food or drinks here as you know how sporting events prices are crazy expensive and here is no different. I got no food at all here and maybe I should’ve because there were a few places that looked interesting. So sadly I cannot recommend any food options. I did get ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s once but we all know what that is, it’s great don’t get me wrong but it’s not a US Open specialty. Speaking of specialties… the one item I will recommend is the famous Honey Deuce and I kept hearing the hype and it’s worth it. Even the hefty price tag of $18 is worth it. It makes you feel like you’re kind of fancy and enjoying the US Open to the fullest and hey you get a nice souvenir cup to keep too so at least get one for that if nothing else. Yes it tasted fantastic too.

As for shopping, they have plenty of options to get your souvenirs. There are at least four big US Open shops  that I spotted with plenty of gear to enjoy ranging anywhere from a T-Shirt, to towels, to a nice looking embroidered pillow. There was also a  little Wilson store and an Adidas store with Louis Armstrong sandwiched right in the middle of the two. The only thing missing was a Nike store which was I would’ve hoped for most since my favorites are both Nike. Maybe next year! So the bottom line here is to expect a lot of options as long as you don’t mind spending a bit and above all try the Honey Deuce!

Kvitalep Absence

Ahhh yes this is absolutely something that needed to be included because I felt it dearly. Let me tell you a fact that I’m still processing. This tournament was my 14th that I’ve attended in my life. The first one was in 2013 in Cincinnati. For the FIRST time, I didn’t see Petra Kvitova or Simo Halep once at any time whether it be a practice or a match. I thought that might be the case in Cincy earlier this year but turns out they both stuck around after they lost their matches to practice some more while I was there so I survived. Not this time. I mean you think maybe it’s not that notable but for me it’s not as easy as you think to always know you’re going to see your favorites at any given event. For six straight years and 14 straight events for that matter.  This was a hell of a streak and it was especially tough for it to end at my first grand slam. I don’t care if this was a slam or not, I can safely say that this experience was not the same without them.

The last two events that I’ve been to where I didn’t get to see either of them play a match kind of gave me a preview what it will be like when they eventually retire. I absolutely love attending events. I love tennis. But I especially love the feeling of going to the grounds wearing kvitalep gear and stressing about their match and fistpumping like crazy and yelling in the hopes of seeing them win. I really really missed that here. I do like watching matches as a neutral fan too but there is nothing like watching your favorites live. So still unchecked on my bucket list… watching kvitalep live at a grand slam.

Elina Svitolina

The chapter I never thought would be included in an article like this but here we are. I didn’t have Kvitalep and it made me think, “I should try to find one player to connect with and root for during my stay here” It just so happened that she was involved in my first ever live grand slam match that I attended. Well, that’s certainly a great start isn’t it for a connection! She dominated that match and I thought right then, wouldn’t it be cool if she won the whole damn thing? Some of my fellow Simo fans may come after me for this but at first I was neutral about her but she’s really grown on me lately. I appreciate the battles she’s had with Simo over the years (especially grateful for this years Wimbledon SF result too) and she seems really nice and friendly and I like watching her play. I won’t ever be a hardcore fan of course but i’m just saying it was nice to have some sort of connection. I also saw her beat Madison Keys on my final night so she was the first and last woman I watched play and the only player I saw win two times. Maybe I needed to be there for the match against Serena who knows! I feel she’ll still get a chance in a slam final sooner rather than later.

Favorite Matches I Watched

This one is easy but hard at the same time. One match will stand out but I didn’t see that many matches because I wasn’t there very long so I don’t have a ton of options if you know what I mean. My favorite match that I watched had to be Stan Wawrinka defeating Novak Djokovic on Arthur Ashe as my final match of the tournament. Stan is my next ATP favorite after Roger so this was incredibly satisfying. Both Players were hitting incredible and the crowd was electric. There were times I thought Novak might find a way to win a set but Stan did what he’s done in previous matches against him and refused to back down and just outhit him. Everything about it was fantastic, except the ending. I loved the crowd until the moment they started booing Novak off the court and then I hated them. I will never understand that because the guy gave it his best and played until he knew he couldn’t. A champion like that would not just quit like that especially in a slam where the stakes are highest unless he was in a situation where continuing to play would only make things a lot worse. I am not his fan by any means but I respect him and he deserved a lot better. End of rant. The match was terrific.

Of course I have to mention seeing Roger Federer for the first time at a grand slam live. I have seen him play a good amount of times before and won’t go into extreme detail here but seeing him at this stage and this stadium was something I didn’t know I was going to be able to do before he retired but I’m really glad I did. The fact that the match was extremely short for a best of 5 set match could be part of the regrets section but hey, it’s not like that’s in my control, and a win is a win! Whether it was a 3 hour match or a 1 hour match, it’s another experience that I’ll never forget.

As for the ladies side, I didn’t see a lot and none really stand out. Svitolina beating Keys was a good one and I also enjoyed watching Donna Vekic play on court 17. My favorite moment though was after Naomi Osaka defeated Coco Gauff and encouraged Coco to do the on court interview with her. It was hard what to see what was going on at first when from way up all I could see was them talking and that was nice but then we could see what was happening next when Coco looked ready to talk even after a loss. It’s what the WTA needs and why tennis is such an amazing sport. The crowd really got behind both players and I’m glad I was there to see it.

Regrets

This part is basically about the things I wanted to do or hoped to see but either didn’t happen or I didn’t have time for it. The first thing was seeing a match under one of the roofs at either Arthur Ashe or Louis Armstrong. I never have seen a match under a roof live before and was really curious how it would differ from an outside match in temperature, crowd noise, etc. I mean it’s not like I wanted it to rain too much but at the same time I guess I did! Just for one match or so. It rained the whole entire day two days before I got there and of course the day after I left. It also would’ve felt nice having to something to watch while it’s raining unlike when i’m at Cincy or Miami where it pours for hours and then you’re stuck there taking cover and waiting for it to clear. It’s the worst part about any live tennis event.

Another regret was not watching more junior matches. I was looking forward to that since that’s another thing I never got to do before. But there was just no time and I knew that likely was going to be the case. You want to see the pros and when you’re only there a few days it’s hard to squeeze in juniors and I just didn’t do it. I saw a few games of the top girls seed Emma Navarro but that was it. They played right behind the practice courts there was a walkway between them which was nice. If i’m there longer I will do more of that next time.

One last regret (but again something out of my control) was not being able to see a five set match. You always see those thrillers on TV and think wouldn’t it be cool to be apart of that? I thought I might when I watched Daniil Medvedev beat Feliciano Lopez on my first night there since it went back and forth. I guess it was the next best thing as it was filled with constant drama and was the very beginning of the Medvedev show. It was still interesting to try a best of five for the first time regardless.

Overall Experience

If you’re still reading at this point, thank you. I told myself no matter what even if I don’t like the US Open at least I could say I experienced a grand slam. I loved it. Once you get past the crowd factor and the massive swarm of people everywhere it’s a terrific experience. I still need even more time to get the full experience but it’s a start and there’s so much already I can take from it. I am here to recommend this tournament because the views are amazing, the Honey Deuce is amazing, and if you love tennis you’ll love seeing players battle it out on the biggest stage possible. I wouldn’t recommend the city itself but that’s just me. If after all of this you still have any questions I’d be more than happy to answer them. Thanks again for reading and I hope you’ll come out one year if you’re thinking about it!

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One Day I Will Process What Happened. Today is Not That Day….

Sitting through the Roland Garros trophy ceremony in 2014, thinking “Simo put up an unbelievable fight, her time will come, it’s fine.” Sitting through the 2017 Roland Garros Ceremony thinking “I really wonder what it’s like to lift one of these slam trophies, the pain is very real this time. I feel it. A huge punch to the gut. I really thought it was her time, at her favorite grand slam. ” Sitting through the 2018 Australian Open ceremony thinking “Did it really happen again? What did she do to deserve this fate for a third time? Do the gods want her to have a slam?” June 9th, 2018. The 2018 Roland Garros ceremony. “She did it. We did it. So this is what it feels like. Bliss. Pure bliss.”

The point to the intro is, you will feel many things in times of hardship. But how do you get through them? Realize what the greater goal is after defeat. You feel heartbreak for the first time. You move on, it happens. You feel heartbreak for the second time. You move on, it happens. It really hurts, but it happens. You feel heartbreak for the third time. You don’t want to move on. You start to question everything. But you have to move on. You have to. You wait. Just wait. Sure enough, like the old cliché saying goes… good things come to those who wait. The longer you wait for something, the more you appreciate it when you finally get it. We’ve all felt what that winning a title feeling is like, but never in a slam. We wondered: what can that possibly feel like? You see her serve, you see Sloane Stephens hit a forehand return into the net, you see arms in the air, hands on her face, and you realize… it’s real. How real is it? That’s the feeling I wanted to talk about in this article. Not about the match overall, but the feeling of seeing an idol to so many all over the world win something that she’s never been able to grasp in her lifetime.

I think every Simo fan will tell you after this victory that there are no words to describe this feeling. But I love words. They give us the ability to express ourselves in vivid detail, they give us the ability to let loose, get over our worries, conquer our fears, immerse ourselfs in joyfulness, and paint a picture that is different from every other person in the world. Our words are our own. We may all be celebrating and talking about the same title, but each and every one of us is uniquely describing what it feels like that will be more different from the next person. That’s what makes this so special.

Personally, from the very beginning I had no idea how I would react if this ended in our favor. I still had no idea at 5-1 40-30. When it happens though, it just hits you. Boy oh boy did it ever hit me hard and I know I’m speaking for everyone here. There was no punch to the gut, no tearing up because you had to watch Simo in pain, and no more enduring more agonizing months of waiting. I was standing on championship point, the ball hit the net and I was suddenly on the floor, hands in face? I think that’s how it went. I don’t remember. It happened so fast I just knew I was on the floor. Also the fact that there were definitely plenty of tears streaming down too. I saw Simo also having her hands in her face and I could not believe what was happening. I saw elation on my TL, pure elation. I wept some more for you guys. My happiness was fun, Simo’s happiness was fun, but seeing everyone else explode was better than I ever imagined. I never ever in my lifetime read through so much happiness from her fellow players, neutral fans, and above all… my dear Simo fans. You guys were there being positive when she was going through her worst moments. You made me smile when I didn’t think I could. You guys never gave up. I love you all and you deserve this so much. Like I said, we are all celebrating her greatness at the same time, but each of us felt something different. Whether watching at home, at a party, at a bar, at a family/friend gathering, or with thousands of other fans… we watched it. We really did watch it.

You realize in that moment that it’s real, that the suffering is over, and that we were about to lose our minds in the best of ways. You see her climb the wall and hug her team and her family. You remember what it was like to watch many tennis players do that after winning a grand slam. You say to yourself “I want to see that from MY favorite player.” Well guys, we did. Simo hugged her proud coach Darren tight; the embrace we’ve seen before but you knew this one meant the most. She hugged Mama and Papa Halep, her proud parents. This was likely happening at the same time we were hugging the people we watched the match with. I don’t think there was ever more love at that moment than any other time in our lives as a tennis fan.

She walked up to the podium, waved to the crowd. She spoke. We listened. I feel like I drowned out the noise of every sound in the world to hear her in this moment, a moment where she tried to address so many inspired people all over the world that always wondered what this moment would be like, and realized how hard she worked and believed to get to this very stage. This was not a speech of disappointment, or a speech congratulating the winner, this was Simo on the podium, ON TOP! She had a smile that didn’t say ‘I’m holding back something I don’t want you to see’ but rather, ‘I’m smiling because I did it. This is my time and I’m going to make sure you know how much this means to me’ Last but not least… lifting the trophy. The final stage of this unbelievable day when she showed the world how high she could lift it, how high her spirit was, how bright her smile was, and that nobody was snatching this trophy away from her. We never again have to ask the question of “what would a grand slam trophy look like in Simo’s arms?” It is in her arms. Eyes closed she hugged it like it was her long-lost family member that she never knew how much she loved until it was in her grasp. Hold it tight dear Simo, and don’t worry…. it’s never leaving you anyway.

I hope you enjoyed my description of this moment. I really needed to let it out in the best way I could. June 9th, 2018. Simo’s day. Our day.

One day I will process what happened… but today is not that day.

2017 Season Preview/Predictions of Simo Halep. Is a Grand Slam Title Finally in the Cards?

Welcome back fellow Halepenos and HalepBand!! It is that time again as we are ready to kick off another year of supporting our champion. Last year Simo started very slow with a first round exit in the first slam in the year down under. She came into it with an illness which ended up becoming a more serious issue than initially expected and she even announced that she would have nasal surgery to fix it which would’ve sidelined her for at least a month including fed cup. Here’s where I jump in to say THANK GOD SHE POSTPONED IT WE GOT THE GREATEST KVITALEP MATCH OF ALL TIME BECAUSE OF THAT!! Ok. Moving on. Simo went on to win three titles in 2016: Madrid, (her first one in 14 months) Bucharest for the second time in her career (the first one she ever won multiple times) and another huge win in Montreal over Madison Keys the week before the Olympics which she didn’t participate in. She kind of struggled towards the end of the year but one of her highlights even in defeat was a very hard-fought battle against Serena in Flushing Meadows at the US Open which she lost in three sets. Including one of the most clutch sets you’ll see in a long time where she faced 12 break points in the second set and saved every single one to win it.

So…. What does 2017 have in store for us? She will begin her journey in Shenzhen again; an event which she won back in 2015. Barring health issues, as I believe every year, the highlight of this year will be seeing her stand in front of a massive crowd kissing her first career grand slam trophy. Doubters and haters will say she will never be able to do it because of weak mental strength, power, etc. but they have never stopped us before in believing it will happen. Simo has to trust herself most importantly, live in the moment and play without fear because that’s the only thing holding her back as of now since we know her fighting spirit and talent has never been in question.He can’t help her on court during them but believe in Darren to show her the way to this majestic trophy! He’s a wizard don’t ever doubt that! This partnership has many great things left to accomplish in her career. I think Simo can win at least five titles this year (my bias could even do more if I wanted! But five sounded nice to start with) And I’m gonna predict them (despite not knowing draws which of course would help) and the results at every slam for starters here:

Australian Open: QF- This one is hard to predict for a lot more reasons than usual mainly because it’s so early in the year and it can be hard to get fully zoned into grand slam mode immediately starting 2017, you don’t know who is hot and who is cold yet, and the extreme heat is always random and that can get concerning on certain days. I mean I know she can go further but she has never reached a SF here and so I’m hesitant to think she will all of a sudden, but she has the talent to even win this so I’m trying to be cautious but at the same time optimistic! Based on plenty of experience… it’s better to be pleasantly surprised than expect a title and get let down again.

Roland Garros– Winner! A boring and obvious pick for many as the one she will win first but hey, this is her favorite event to play so why shouldn’t it be here? And she has shown amazing success here before and on clay in general. I still am very bitter about how it ended last year as the conditions were extremely horrid and they made her play through them and it cost her a loss. It’s not like she played great but come on she should’ve never been out there. That could’ve easily been her first slam too who knows. Ok that’s enough of Jake’s rant session that’s a topic you don’t want to push me on! So throw away the loss to Lucic Baroni in 2015 and her resume here doesn’t look too shabby.

Wimbledon: QF- This would be the same result as last year and I feel the same way about this one as AO because I know she can have success here and the 2014 SF shows that, but grass has never been her best surface and I feel she will need some draw luck to go deep. If she didn’t have to play Angie last year I think she could’ve had a shot at the title again so while this wouldn’t be an amazing run, I am still optimistic that she can go even deeper here! She has to believe I keep saying that’s always the key!

US Open- Final. I don’t know if she can win but I can easily see her making her first USO final this year because she has played some fantastic tennis in New York and nearly made it in 2015 before falling very flat in the SF vs Pennetta. If she gets there, it’s not like I’m automatically predicting a loss I am just saying I think she’s gonna get there and the rest will play out itself. I mean it could be against Serena for all we know and that’s big trouble (not that it’s totally impossible to beat her 😉 If she already has one this year coming into this one, the thought of her playing for her second one in the same year gives me so many feels don’t touch me right now I’m getting emotional.

The main thing I’m praying for this grand slam season are that there are no extremely early round flops to break our hearts. (Ok YES ANY GRAND SLAM LOSS WILL BREAK OUR HEARTS BUT YOU GET ME) Because this has happened at least once in each of the past couple of years and we know it’s very difficult to deal with! It crushes me seeing all of her fans sad after losses like those because it’s so unexpected and it’s just like a huge bomb out of nowhere dropping down on her fanbase. If she is gonna lose at a slam I prefer it to be later because at least she gave herself a much better chance to lift the trophy.

Also another prediction that is probably worth mentioning is her ranking status this year. She is currently #4 in the world and you have to think if she can maintain that consistency and stay in the top 5 the whole year that would be another great year for her. Of course her reaching #1 in the world is another huge achievement that we would all love to see her get to at some point, but it certainly won’t be easy. However, it’s obviously not impossible and there will be some nice chances early for her to get at least to #3 by the end of the Australian Open and if she wins it, could leapfrog all the way to #2 if I’m not mistaken. Bottom line, my prediction is that she will end at #3. I think staying in the top 5 is still my main wish but I’m not ruling her out to get higher and higher if she believes in herself and takes her chances.

Last but not least, my four other trophy predictions include Shenzhen again, Miami, Cincy and Singapore. Why not try for some more new trophies for her trophy case! Feel free to make your predictions on her titles, her grand slam results and anything else you want! Regardless of how her year plays out I can’t wait to support Simo with all of you for another year. Win or lose we always have her beautiful smile, her positivity, her cuteness, her kindness, her hard work ethic, and too many more amazing qualities to count. That counts for more than any tennis result could. I wish you all a healthy and Happy New Year and let’s make 2017 the best one yet! Hai Super Simo!!

Hope you enjoyed reading!

Jake

The Story of My Unforgettable Barbora Strycova Experience

I want to share a story that most of you know some parts by now, but I never got a chance to explain it more in detail from my heart on how cool and memorable it was. (And it wasn’t just one day) I didn’t think at the end of my trip i’d be writing a story on a player not named Petra or Simo but here we are and it’s fully deserved. Now, she isn’t my favorite player of course but it may seem like it with the way I think I’m gonna end up fanboying. She certainly did leap way closer to the top after this though. Let me just start by saying if you didn’t already know how special of a human being Barbora Strycova is, this story will prove it to you. I can’t help but describe how awesome she made me feel. That was the most important reason for this is she made me feel like more than just an average tennis fan, but someone who is appreciated at least a little more than usual and made me feel better about myself than any other tennis player has done before. It’s kind of hard to explain the feeling but hopefully this story does it better.

It all started during her first practice of the week which was in the early evening as the sun was beginning to set. I didn’t even know if she’d be out there because this was the day she was flying from Rio to Cincy. She was originally on the practice schedule for 330 and 6 pm but the first one got removed which was expected. The second one was still there though but then a huge downpour of rain came late in the afternoon and halted play for awhile and that can always mess up practice schedules. So I still didn’t know if she’d be there at around 6. I knew she was on the grounds, as she came through the gates just a little bit before then but it doesn’t guarantee the time of practice or anything. Aaaaanyway turns out she came out at her scheduled court 13 at around 6 like scheduled. The only problem was the courts were still soaked from the recent downpour. This was one of the funnier moments of the week as Bara was out there starting to dry the courts with her coach, but she only lasted about 5 minutes and then she was like peace out and left the courts for like 20 minutes while her coach kept drying. She came back to get her headphones it looked like and then left again. She does what she wants and no one tells her otherwise. Finally after her court was dry she was back out there and started to hit. Now, you might be reading this thinking how does this part of the story have any relevance to the later events? You have a right to think this but read the rest and find out!

As I do for a lot of players, I took a bunch of pictures of her hitting and such on both the camera and phone. There was one in particular on my phone that I loved and it’s this one here. She was hitting one of her shots and the sun shined in a perfect position and I just thought it was perfect. This picture was how you say ‘sent in’ to a brilliant Bara fan account on IG @strycovaswarm. Who I give a huge shoutout and thanks to for using it (You know who you are!) because it’s the main reason all of this started because that’s how she saw my picture (follow it, it’s all about Bara as you would expect and there’s no hiding how much she loves it too) to use for the beginning of her journey in Cincy. I will get back to the continuation of this part of the story soon, and there is still so much to say too.

I ended up getting a selfie and an autograph after this practice and it was the first time we came face to face and there was no surprise how nice Bara was at our first meeting. There weren’t many other people waiting for her but I heard one fan kind of softly say as we watched her take pictures with a couple other fans “you don’t see many players giving that kind of a smile every single time” Yup. Just look at all of her selfies. They’re all amazing in every way.

The next day for the first time ever I went to watch her play a singles match live (I saw a couple of her doubles matches in Miami with Makarova earlier in the year and they were pretty good) and it was against Genie Bouchard on grandstand which is a nice court to start on. Although all the courts are great to get a really close look at the players except stadium. The worst part about this match was the rain was a huge factor once again. There was a delay for a bit before it started, and then they played awhile where Bara was doing very well taking a set and pulling away in the second. Then there was another huge delay just before the match seemed it was going to end because Bara was up 4-0 in the second. So by the time they came back on court it was past 9 pm and they originally arrived on court at around 330. So Bara was able to complete the bagel at around 930, so six hours between the start and end to this match it was crazy! I ended up sitting in the pouring rain again to save my good spot up front even though I probably would have gotten it back anyway lol. It was all good and then after she won I got another selfie and this is where the first interesting thing of my experiences happened… There weren’t that many people again waiting for her to sign or take pictures because not many reappeared after the lengthy rain delay. I asked her for the selfie and when she saw me at first she said “oh hey” like she already remembered me from that brief encounter the night before at her practice. Hmm. The selfie was pretty much identical to the first which I had no doubts it would be but it was fun.

The next day she won another match against Sam Stosur this time and it was even a better court to be on than grandstand, court 7. It was small but if you got a seat you were guaranteed to be nice and close it’s awesome. However, I’m gonna skip to the next day and continue my story from earlier about the picture I took at the first practice.  This day in a surprising development, Bara and Simo were scheduled to practice together in the morning before their matches. So of course I knew I’d be there. Ok, before I talk about the practice you need the background of what happened even before I arrived to the grounds that day. I woke up and found out that Bara first liked the post on the fan account where my photo was used without her even being tagged in it. (Again, this is a regular thing she’s too good) Then she took the photo and posted it on her own IG account and that was only the third time a player has used one of my photos for social media. Andreea and Simo were the others.  Anyway that would’ve been enough for me as I was pretty excited about it, but turns out that was only the beginning…

I got to their practice court early (court 16) and waited and once the time came Bara was the first to arrive. There were very few people there again, at least until Simo showed up after. But the brief time before that when it was just Bara it was empty. I was just sitting on the bleachers and there’s a walkway in front of the bleachers where the players go through to enter the court; she came through and looked my way and said “Hi! You made a really nice picture yesterday!” I mean… how do you respond to that when it comes out of nowhere? I could barely say thank you because of how speechless I was. My heart was racing and so many questions ran through my head. How did she know it was me that took it? I mean I was tagged on the fan account picture, did she go onto my profile to see? She had to of. That’s the only way she could’ve put it together so quickly. Then Simo came through and it gave me no time to recover from what just happened. However she only hit for 15 minutes and then bailed out. As did the rest of the crowd. Like literally every single other person but me was there for solely Simo. So it was just Bara again for a little while longer. Then after she was done she came through one more time and I was like, a selfie won’t do me any good here I have to get a nice regular picture. I can’t lie, I was so tempted to ask her more about how she knew about me, and the fan account and everything, but I don’t want to be someone who takes up too much of her time, I mean she’s got a match to play soon. Knowing Bara she probably wouldn’t have minded since no one else was there, but I’m not the bravest person sorry! Another quick funny thing, I wanted her coach to take the picture but he was walking away. So Bara points to a little girl closer to us who couldn’t have been much older than 3-4 and says “oh she can take it” In my head I’m like no let’s not try that lol. The coach ended up turning around and he took it. Of course the picture did not disappoint either like the person I was standing next to.

Later in the day, she ended up losing her singles match to Kerber in straight sets but she played as well as she could have. Angie was just on a mission for that number one spot she was chasing. I made an IG post about my experience with her earlier in the day and she liked the photo. The last thing I want to talk about from this story is the last practice I got to see her during the week. It was a nice practice. I was on the other side of where she sat, behind a short fence on court 13, the same one where her very first practice was. As she was walking off she looked over and waved at me. I swear I’m not making these things up. I don’t blame you if you think this but it all happened! That’s why I’m writing this because I have never experienced anything like it. I have no reason to ever doubt this woman.

And to cap it all off, she won the doubles title in Cincy with her brand new partner Sania Mirza. I saw a few matches and this team is great. They passed every challenge with flying colors, especially in the final coming back from 1-5 down in the first set to win it 7-5. It was such an incredible week! Now, if you ever wonder why I’m a fan of Bara and why she is in my bio, you can read this. It’s not just this experience either; I have a list saved on why she is cemented into my bio forever.

Thanks to all who read this and I hope you enjoyed it! Have a nice day.

Five Reasons Why Simo Will and Won’t Win Roland Garros

Since I made one for Petra of course I had to do one for Super Simo! There are always plenty of questions for her entering every slam it seems like and each one the anticipation grows and grows of when that elusive first slam title will come. The following points will show why she will finally get that first slam here in beautiful Paris, and why she will have to wait another month to try again.

Five Reasons Why Simo Will Win Roland Garros

1. She is as confident as she has been in a long time

This year has been a rocky one with not many positives and nearly was cut short after an announced surgery that ended up never happening. We often have to question her confidence and yes a lot of it is bad luck with injuries, but there have been losses this year that are hard to explain. However, she is fresh off of her biggest win of the season and the past 14 months with her title in Madrid that seemingly came out of nowhere. (Or it was a long time coming if you’re like us and know how hard she constantly works) It came at the perfect time as Simo has to feel like her game is right where it needs to be and she can fully believe that she can lift this trophy. Everything came together and she proved that the good times were far from over. Any title is special but when she got one this big and right before a slam, her confidence will never get higher. Forget about the early loss in Rome right after that. It’s very hard to get focused that quickly and switch court speeds like that. I would not put any stock on that result. As long as she didn’t get injured it’s fine. That should not change her belief.

2. She finally seems to be getting toward 100% health wise

Before Madrid started this was a major concern as we saw because she got absolutely crushed by Laura Siegemund in Stuttgart and her injury from Fed Cup the previous weekend was a big factor. She couldn’t do anything she wanted to do and was very limited in her shots and movement. I still think it was an event she should not have entered as she said her ankle was still very painful after the weekend and basically tried to run on adrenaline alone. That wasn’t going to cut it and it showed. In Madrid she basically made all of our worries disappear as there were no signs of trouble with it during her title run. Even in Rome it didn’t seem to be that bad, it was just a tough recovery match right after a long week in Madrid. Me personally I don’t have concerns about it unless she says something bad about it. Simo moved beautifully all week in Madrid and if she is 100% percent healthy or close to it unlike in Melbourne this year during the first slam… then watch out she can win it all; especially because of how often injuries have held her back in the past and what kind of player she is when fully healthy.

3. She is a very good clay court player

There is no doubt about it she has the game on this surface to win it. There are so many ways that clay suites her game. She slides so well and it enhances her world class defending skills to a point where it can drive her opponents crazy. The SF and Finals matches in Madrid proved every bit of that. She will never be able to outhit the big power guns but what she can do is make them earn every point they play and players like them are more vulnerable to breaking down because of that. Simo likes the long points and if she can make them work harder than they have to she will have them right where she wants them. It’s not like she has no power at all either; she is very capable of turning her brilliant defense into offense quickly and that will be a crucial step to win this title.

4. The WTA has not been in a consistent state this year

This was a positive reason in my Petra article and I believe it can easily be used again because of how important it is. You never know what you’re going to get at a WTA event this year because of all of the inconsistent players and this is something Simo can take advantage of. I mean she kind of did it in Madrid because she was the only seeded player in the QFs. It doesn’t matter how she did it though because she hasn’t taken advantage that often in the previous 14 months without a title. This draw is also capable of breaking down and if Simo has a favorable enough draw we could see her playing opponents that are very manageable which would mean a deeper result and perhaps her being fresher for the really tough opponents down the road. That being said, the slam draws haven’t mattered to her much the past year or so as she’s lost to players like Zhang, Cepelova, Lucic Baroni, etc. She can’t take advantage of draws without beating those kind of players.

5. Her only grand slam final was at this very event

Yes it’s time to bring back one of the best Simo moments of all time when she made a memorable run to the 2014 Roland Garros final and nearly captured her first grand slam title against Maria Sharapova. That is a match if you have to watch one Simo match that she didn’t win, that’s the one. It demonstrates all of the reasons Simo has a great chance to win this slam every year and why many people think her first one will be here. Everyone already knows she can challenge any player on the tour but this just showed that in the biggest moments she is ready to fight her hardest until the very end. The strengths that I described about Simo on clay earlier were in full force against Maria who is one of the toughest competitors of the game during this era. She did everything but win the match and I fully believe that when she has the chance, she will show her best again and this time it will be good enough to win.

Five Reasons Why Simo Won’t Win Roland Garros

1. She puts too much pressure on herself by saying there is no pressure

Every slam it seems we hear the same thing from her ‘I have no expectations, I’m just going to play my game and see what happens’ Well I know she means well but it’s like she is trying so hard to avoid pressure to make it seem like she doesn’t have to worry about it, and next thing you know she is out. You can’t say things that are unrealistic and I know some will say this is a good frame of mind but to me it makes it seem she is making it harder on herself by avoiding any pressure talks. I’m not saying she should just admit the pressure is on and she’s nervous, but in reality it will always be there and she has to deal with it. If she plays it too safe again she won’t last long.

2. Grand Slams have ended in horrific fashion for her many times recently

Recent history shows that this is the main concern for why Simo will not win Roland Garros this year although it’s my second reason. When Simo loses at a slam, she doesn’t just lose, she collapses in a terrifying way. There is no warning of when it is coming, it just happens and we have to sit there stunned and depressed. This isn’t a reason that can be explained other than she just faces the wrong opponents at the wrong time. Think of her slam losses since 2014 Wimbledon. Lucic Baroni badly twice, basically giving up against Makarova in 2015 AO, no answer for Cepelova in the first round of 2015 Wimbledon, and then again a complete no show in USO SF against Flavia Pennetta after one of her greatest matches in her career against Vika. And of course we can’t forget this year’s first round defeat in Melbourne where Zhang blew her off the court. That leads to my next point. There isn’t a legit loss for Simo at a slam since that RG final I just discussed. It happens way too often for a player of her stature and don’t think it can’t happen again.

3. She can get blown off the court when you least expect it

Like I said before and it’s something that is widely known so you don’t need me to tell you, Simo is not the most powerful player so she is vulnerable to this against the big hitters. She has run into opponents like Lucic Baroni and Zhang who had their way with her in every possible way imagined and there is nothing Simo can do. She just sits back and takes the abuse and in the blink of an eye it’s over. It’s almost like early on she knows she is getting painfully outhit and just goes through the motions the rest of the way until the bleeding is over. This is something that fans can realize early on too that she is in big trouble when her opponents are on fire and painting lines where even her strong defending can’t save her. When players take away her defending ability and being able to turn that into offense, it hurts her chances much more. I am afraid of this reason happening the most because there isn’t a worse feeling than watching her being helpless out there.

4. Injuries that linger turn into painful consequences

Simo can tell us all she wants that she is feeling great and all of that fine and dandy stuff. However, it always seems her injuries never really go away and get worse and worse during a specific match during a slam or any event for that matter and all of a sudden it is affecting every part of her game and that’s how losses can happen. I’m not saying she is losing at slams because of her injuries, but she has a very fragile body and this is a reason you cannot avoid because we have seen it too many times before. She needs to be able to win matches as quickly as possible early on so she doesn’t put so much wear and tear on her ankle/foot which is usually the main part of her body that has trouble holding up. Clay especially more than any surface in my opinion is where you need healthy feet because of how much running and sliding needs to be done. Plus when movement and defense are her biggest strengths on this surface, it’s not something that would be good at all if that is taken away. I can tell you this much, if she has any troubles with it during this event, you can forget about her winning. Although playing every other day is a plus.

5. Her mind and emotions are as fragile as her body

This does tie into the other points a bit but still there is more to be said. I feel the emotions part especially is noteworthy because Simo is extremely hard on herself and a perfectionist. This leads to her emotions getting the best of her because she loses control when it isn’t necessary. We saw a great example of this in Madrid when she faced Irina Begu and let a simple tactic or what she thought was bad when Begu was getting coaching during the match play. Those are things she has to put away and not worry about. In slams there are gonna be a lot of tense moments and she has to focus on herself and nothing else. Yes she can’t change the fact that she will get angry on bad shots and want to win every point badly and throw her racquet, etc. She can change when she does it and how often because the less upset she gets, the more energy she saves during the match. Every ounce of energy will be needed for her because of her style. If she doesn’t have enough, of course she won’t win it.

I hope you liked this article and again thank you for reading! You can give more reasons if you please and feel free to agree or disagree with these reasons! Let’s hope for a huge run here once again!

Hai Simo!!

 

Five Reasons Why Petra Will and Won’t Win Roland Garros

Just under one week from today another grand slam is upon us and the excitement is in the air. But her fans want to know how will Petra do? Does she have a legit threat to win this title or is there something blocking her path that is too much to overcome? I felt like writing this article because I wanted to offer my thoughts on how she can lift this trophy, but also how she will come up short. Nobody knows how she’ll do of course and I know the draw isn’t out yet but this way I can give realistic thoughts early on both sides so nobody is too hopeful or pessimistic. I’m trying to balance my usual optimism with some harsh truths and trying to balance it for #TeamPetra too! Feel free to counter your thoughts as this is an interesting topic to discuss!

Five Reasons Why Kvitty Will Win in Paris

1. The uncanny ability to blow anyone off the court on any given day/week(s).

As a Petra fan this is the reason you have faith in her to win anywhere anytime even when her form isn’t the greatest at the moment. Sure, she can be wild but also very deadly and we never know when Petra could get hot and start destroying all of her competition. It could be coming soon and if she’s on, it won’t matter who she is playing because she’ll run right through them. Although Madrid is a different court speed, when she won that title last year that’s the potential you are looking at in any event. I don’t care what surface it’s on or what form she’s in, I would take Petra over a lot of other players to have the best chance to get hot and dominate anyone. Not many have the potential to do it like she does. We’ve seen it before and it’s truly mesmerizing to watch.

2. She is due for a big event

We all know Petra is the type of player who will flop randomly to people she shouldn’t, but then out of nowhere wins a huge title because she’s just that good. It’s no secret that this year has been nothing short of disastrous, but you have to feel that Petra is getting closer and closer to that big surprise that she is known to deliver. Last year the season was going kind of similar to this until she stormed through Madrid and won her second title there while beating in Serena in the process. That was on clay too of course and basically out of nowhere so you never know. Even when Petra’s form isn’t the greatest this is still something that we can pretty much bank on getting at least a few big surprises. This could be it. If you’re doubting it, just think of the titles Petra has won where you doubted her coming in. The only problem with this reason is if we think she is due it’s kind of like expecting something big. I don’t mean it that way; just that we haven’t gotten to a final yet. It has to happen eventually.

3. Nobody is giving her a chance to win it= no pressure

I don’t care what people say, this one is totally true and if you’re expecting her to win it judging on her year so far then I don’t know what to tell you. She is seeded 11^th here for Christ sake. I don’t remember the last time she didn’t have a top 10 seed for a slam so that should tell you everything you need to know. This is good for Petra. Not necessarily draw wise but pressure wise. Hopefully this will relax her a bit knowing that she won’t get as many of these type of questions during the week for a change. Of course she’ll still get it more than most just because of her recognition but it won’t be as much as the past I can tell you that. Even if she does, it’s only because reporters won’t have better questions to ask. She won’t have to feel like she is supposed to lead the pack and can focus on her own game and let everyone else take the heat. Maybe it’ll lead to her swooping in for the win.

4. The current WTA around her isn’t in a consistent state at the moment.

This one doesn’t have to do with her really but it gives her a better chance than most years because of how unreliable any of the top players have been this year for the most part. It’s not like Petra has been anything close to consistent either this year yet but I’m just saying the draw has bigger potential to crumble and if Kvitty finds a way to stay consistent, she could take advantage and go deep here. I’m also not saying that draws matter for her much but it still wouldn’t hurt if she didn’t have to play anyone that has caused her trouble like Aga, Angie, CSN, Simo, etc.

5. She has made a deep run here before.

Take this one with a grain of salt because it was way back in 2012 when she made the SFs and since then she hasn’t reached the QFs. Still, it’s not like she hasn’t proved herself here before and at this slam especially it’s nice to have any kind of successful experience. I wouldn’t put your hope on this reason being the one to have faith in her chances, I’m just pointing it out because she can get there.

Five Reasons why Kvitty won’t win in Paris

1. Her current form is not near a grand slam title level.

Petra has had a rough year we can’t avoid it. It all started with an early loss in the first slam of the year in Australia and kept going downhill from there. The only real positives to this year so far have been her QF run in Indian Wells and SF in Stuttgart. There have been hints of greatness during this clay season, notably Stuttgart but Madrid left us back to where we started with more questions after that seemed to be her best chance to succeed on clay again.  The best we can do is hope but like I said you can’t expect it. There are higher odds she won’t win than will and until she proves us her level is back near the top, she’s not quite ready to take the big leap towards this title.

2. She has injury concerns.

Coming into Madrid she had to deal with an abdominal injury and she said she couldn’t practice until Saturday before the tournament started. So the third round exit doesn’t look as bad but it still makes you wonder… after an early loss in Rome, how is it going to hold up in Paris? The best news out of that loss was it gives her more time to heal it however bad it is which nobody really knows but her and her team. I’m thinking it has been getting better over the past week and will keep improving this week. We won’t know anything about it unless it pops up during a match which I hope we won’t have to worry about. Severity doesn’t usually matter because if it’s there in any form, it could limit her enough to cause her trouble at any time. That’s a good enough reason to lose a match and this is the one way I don’t want to see her go out.

3. Recent appearances here have not been good.

Her good run was in the positives section but there have been more bad runs than good ones so that’s why it has to be addressed again. The last three years after that SF have been full of disappointments and it makes you scratch your head sometimes because we know she isn’t a terrible clay court player. Her game is suited for all surfaces. I give her credit in 2014 for an incredible fight against Kuznetsova in a tough loss in which she probably would’ve beat many others. However 2013 was very ugly and 2015 was ok but she had to work much harder than necessary to get where she ended up. And she basically was nowhere to be found after the first set in her loss to Timea Bacsinszky last year. You can’t know what to expect but based on the last few years, that alone is a concern to happen again.

4. She is just as much as of threat to lose very early as to win it all.

This goes along perfectly with the first reason in the last section. She can blow anyone away, but could just as easily put in a miserable performance against even the lowest opponents to send her home packing way earlier than expected. A good example in Paris would be her loss to Jamie Hampton in 2013 where she was the clear favorite, but got destroyed after losing a tight first set. She isn’t supposed to bend over to a player like that but it happened. Nobody knows when it’s coming but at the same time nobody is surprised when it happens either. So you can decide what you think we are going to get this year. It’s going to be one or the other, nothing in between most likely. Prepare yourself.

5. Last event before grass, how much motivation?

Before you question this one, deep down you’ll know the reasoning is pretty accurate. I am not saying at all that Petra won’t be motivated to win this title. I mean if she’s not then what is she doing there? I mean it’s a grand slam she’ll be focused. I am just saying we all know how much she loves the grass and does anything she can to compliment it and show her excitement for Wimbledon. Who could blame her with her amazing success there? That being said, I don’t think this will be the end of the world for her no matter what round she loses in. I think her biggest slams of the year honestly are in Melbourne and Wimbledon. The other two she goes to play and hopes for the best and that can be a good and bad thing. This reason just happens to be a bad one. As fans, this is a small positive to if she loses here, that grass is next and greatness has a much better chance to appear.

Thanks for reading and look out for the Simo version of this article tomorrow! I’m open to discussion about your own reasons for either side if you have them!

Pojd Kvitty!

Brought back for 2016: Writing about Kvitty and Simo’s Matches

Hello all! I wanted to share with you the news if anyone cared that I am bringing back something I really missed last year. Recapping every match that Petra plays at least that I can see, and new for this year is doing the same for Simo. I have a feeling most of you never knew I did this in the past but I started doing this when I first became a fan of Petra in 2013 and I thought it turned out great. I still have both articles I wrote about every match she played in 2013 and 2014 before taking 2015 off. If anyone wants to see those I can gladly show you; 2013 was like 19 pages and 2014 was almost 40 so yeah there definitely was a lot of work put into it, but I really enjoyed doing it as I like to write.

This year I will try to do the same, and I’m not saying that you have to read any of the recaps, it’s just I have never shared it in a blog form match my match so I thought since some like how I write I would open it to you to see if you enjoy it or not. If it’s too long for you it’s quite alright because I will still do it anyway because I do a lot of this for myself because I love looking back at all of Petra’s matches and the reactions I felt years ago. I didn’t remember a lot of the stuff I wrote and felt until I read those again and it was neat to see. That’s what I hope to accomplish this year as well to try and remember the 2016 matches in 2017, 2018, etc. Also if you guys can’t remember a specific match maybe it will help you as well, if you like the written version to go along with the highlights which I know a lot prefer but that’s ok.

Some of the features that I hope to include in every recap are best/most clutch points, point of the match, photos, maybe twitter moments from fans and such; who knows exactly where this will take me. There can always be room for additional things with every passing match and hopefully if it goes well enough from your side there can be some nice feedback, but like I said even if it isn’t a huge hit with others I’d like to keep doing it to help me remember. This isn’t something I will bombard you with like ‘read this, read this’ it’s a one-time post and if you don’t read it fine, it will always be there if you change your mind.

So that’s basically it, I will try to get these out close to after the matches are over otherwise whenever I have free time. I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to watch and recap every single match but I try very hard to work around things to be able to see them play, or I record them for later if I can’t see them. So that being said I hope one way or the other I’ll have enough info to write about them.

I don’t know if anyone else is doing anything similar to this because I know there are a lot of tennis fans out there with blogs and that’s great because there are a lot of good writers out there. I just wanted to do something I love which is write about my two favorite players and their 2016 journeys so come along and follow it if you like! Can’t wait to get this season rolling!

Jake

#PojdPetra #HaiSimo

 

My 2015 Cincy Tennis Experience; Faves Galore

For the 2^nd time in 2015 I attended a tennis tournament, and for the third straight year I attended the Western and Southern Open here in Cincinnati and once again it failed to disappoint in a big way. This post mainly tries to show some of the best and unique experiences I had everywhere on the grounds, especially with all of my faves who I always have some fun stories to share whenever I see them. It may also include some comparisons of Miami and how things were better or worse than what I experienced there, and how this year here compares to last year in Cincy. Hope you enjoy it!

The easiest thing to notice over the course of the week was how crowded it was this year and it seems to grow every year. For example, on the first day Saturday you would think maybe it wouldn’t get too crowded since it’s only qualifying. I know a lot of big name players practice too but I just didn’t expect it to be how it was. They had a record crowd on the first day over 13,000 which I couldn’t believe when I first heard it. Then on Thursday which I knew would be the busiest day, they set an overall record crowd on a single day of over 26,000 which is amazing. I never had a problem with crowds and lines this time, but it’s nice to see how well this place continues to do in a country which tennis isn’t very popular compared to other sports.

Another note worth talking about that is always a concern whenever you go to an event is how the weather is going to be. Now let me say that for the most part, it was very nice and it never got so bad where they had to play multiple rounds in one day which was good.  However, unlike Miami, there were considerable delays on a couple of occasions. As long as they don’t drag out all day then it’s not the worst though which was the case here. On Tuesday I believe there was about one-two hour delay in the middle of the day, then the next day there was a bit of a delay at the beginning and more of it after the first wave of matches ended. Then a pretty big one like three hours at night due to thunder and lightning which was a bit rough. All in all though it just meant for some late night tennis which you can’t complain about!

I wanted to lay it out so you could hear about the experiences I had with each of my faves and the other players I really like In case you wanted to hear just about a particular one. It’s easier for me this way because these are the players I spent the most time watching so there is a lot to talk about. I could not have asked for a more perfect week with them and unlike Miami, I got to see all of them which I was so happy about it. It certainly makes for a better week.

Lucie Safarova- Lucie is always an enjoyable player for me to watch just because of how positive she always is and how much she enjoys being out there. I saw her practice once and watched a match and a set of her week that saw her reaching the QFs. I watched her practice in Miami and she had a good time practicing with genie, and this time she practiced with Petra which I knew would be pretty fun. She walked to her practice about 15 mins early so I got to experience a lot of extra free time with her that I enjoyed. I said it before but her and Rob get along so well, they were always laughing and joking with each other, you might not think they are two hard core professional tennis people. I didn’t even see that much but they still seemed the most happiest with each other based on that practice. It’s not that other teams aren’t happy it’s just they showed it the most.

Another experience with Lucie is with her fans during that time period. Before her practice, as she was walking from the players lounge to the courts there weren’t a ton of people recognizing her but whenever they did she happily signed or took photos and usually players don’t really want to do that before practices. Also at the end there was a big difference between the people who wanted her autograph and Petra’s. Everyone waited for Petra, and Lucie kind of just walked along the side and looked for people, obviously some were there but not that much. I was happy to get her signature and a selfie with her which I also did in Miami. She is so sweet and a great player to watch. The funniest thing I saw was in her match when she faced Coco and on double match point it started to pour so play was suspended. Then after the kind of lengthy delay was over, they had a decent rally and Coco netted it and it was already over. They both laughed about it at the net it was pretty funny

Stanislas Wawrinka- Stanimal is such an interesting guy it’s hard to figure him out sometimes but he seems like a cool guy. It’s amazing how big of crowds he draws these days, as everywhere he went it was always packed. The very first day he practiced with Roger which that wasn’t a surprise, but every doubles match he played it was always filled. It was dumb though that the first match was on the smallest court so not a lot of people could get good spots. I guess they didn’t realize how big of a draw he might be. Stan was one of the rare players that got to play on so many different courts in his stay. He played on stadium, grandstand, 3, 4, and 9 and every single one was full like I said. Having said that, it made it really hard to get any autographs which I never got. However, there were two great chances I had but I missed both. The first one was when I sat right on the rail of court 9 during the doubles match where the players leave the court, but I left early because I had to eat and get ready for Roger. I saw pics later of those people near me getting stuff signed. Oh well. Then he also had an autograph session but I had no chance because it was during the very end of the Lucie Petra practice and I didn’t know anyway since they don’t alert you unless you stop by and ask which was one of the few annoying things at Cincy. Overall, Stan is a great guy to watch as the fans are always cheering him on hard and his game is quite powerful and fun to experience up close.

Andreea Mitu- I only got to see her for one day but it turned out to be quite fun for me. It’s always fun to see a new fave for the first time in person just to see how they play, their personality, and what makes them unique. I originally wasn’t going to go the first day on Saturday but after I saw she was on the qualifying list I decided to go just in case she lost her first match that day. That’s what ended up happening so it turned out to be a great choice because I enjoyed getting to see her. I brought a picture of her to sign and she did, there weren’t many people watching her practice as expected, and I got a selfie, she’s a sweet girl too. I showed her the pic and she said “French Open” Then I said “good memories right?” And she smiled. One thing I kind of regret with her was that I actually thought of bringing a little stuffed minion thing to give her because I know she really likes them and she just posted a video about trying to get one. I think she would’ve liked it, but I’m always hesitant to try those things but maybe next time

About her match, she played ok. She made a lot of errors, blew some leads and bps that hurt but it is what it is and I’m glad I got to see it. On center was kind of cool although I figured I’d get to be more up close with her. It was funny whenever she hit a big winner only me and her team clapped since she was facing American Lauren Davis.  Also bonus fact for anyone that didn’t know, she used one of my camera pics on her IG post the day after her match which was the first time a player used one of my photos so I thought that was really cool.

Roger Federer- It was nice to see the king again after he skipped Miami to rest and spend time with family which was a bummer but understandable. No surprise every practice was as packed as possible and it was impossible to get in anywhere close, but I somehow did once as you’ll find out soon. He usually always practiced on 15 which is a bad practice court to get close because they don’t let you stand on the fence, at least until after the practice is over, and there’s only a little patio area where some can sit but it’s always full. The rest have to all cram together on the sides or watch from on top of grandstand which is kind of cool to see. His practices are fun but hard to take good pics because of how squished you get. The first time I got anywhere close on that court, he signed but I still wasn’t close enough and I got crunched badly that time. I couldn’t move for like five minutes after he left, and during his signing people were pushing and shoving as expected it was so wild. The second time I got close I was actually very close to the fence but he decided not to sign. I probably would’ve gotten something but oh well. I missed a few of his practices due to bad timing and the fact I knew I wasn’t getting anywhere near him, but the ones I saw were fun. The coolest thing I saw was when after one of his matches he went to the ESPN booth and talked, I was still standing up in the stadium and could see the monstrous mob that watched and waited for him to sign. A sight to behold for sure.

I saw two of his matches (would’ve been three but Simo was playing during oneJ) and seeing his matches never gets old. The guy is a wizard on court and at his age I’m always in awe of how he does it. He pulls off all of the shots, moves majestically around the court, and can serve out some games in a minute or less it’s incredible. He just seems so calm and collected when he’s playing and this is someone you really should see at least once before he retires. I wished I could’ve been there for the SFs and Finals because he played two great opponents and won like it was no big deal. He’s now won all five of his matches when I’ve been there live so I feel lucky as you’ll see with another fave soon.

Simona Halep- The only fave I got to see twice this year and I couldn’t be happier. It’s funny how both events I was worried she wouldn’t attend because of making both finals in the previous event. However it was awesome to see her play so well and then decide to come along and also play well at the events I went to. She’s got some serious toughness and mental strength when it comes to hard courts this year. I happened to be at the players entrance when she walked through for the first time on Monday and I was so happy and relieved because at that point I still didn’t know if she was coming or not. A lot of this info you probably heard me tweet about but not all of it, and it’s here just in case you missed it the first time. I was literally just about to leave because my Wi-Fi was bad there and nothing happened in like 15 minutes so I figured it was probably time for a break. But then she showed up and it was awesome, she looked a little tired but happy too.

Then she practiced for the first time on Tuesday and it was another court that I don’t like because again you can’t get that close and there’s a giant fence in the way, but I always find ways to get it done. It was weird because she practiced in a turquoise outfit for about five minutes before leaving the court to change into a white one and nobody knows why but it was pretty funny. Every practice Simo is working so hard in it’s really nice to see. It was hard for me to tell that she had been really struggling only a couple days before this. She is very fit and works up a good sweat in every practice but also has a lot of fun in them too, especially with Darren.  Darren will usually yell something across the court to one of her other hitting partners and fitness guy and Simo will crack up about it. I have to think she’s one of the best players to watch practice. Now the chaotic part started while trying to get an autograph and a selfie. Remember I got three autographs and two selfies with her in Miami and it wasn’t that hard at all. This time it was very tough. One of the biggest differences was that she was way more popular in Cincy than Miami. Maybe it’s because the crowds were bigger but that’s not all of it. The first practice I got to the front and I showed you those very close-up pics but behind me it was crazy, there was very limited room and bottom-line is I’m just glad I was in the front.

For those that didn’t hear the selfie fail, it was a big bummer when it first happened, but every time I think back on it now I realize how hilarious it was. Being in the front was nice because I got the autograph right away and asked for the selfie, and she said yes but she was basically trying to sign other people and take the selfie at the same time. I had it all set up but for some reason couldn’t get us both in the same picture, and after many struggles, she kind of had a look at me like “did you take it yet or what?” then I think she thought I took it and stopped trying but nope, never got it. Oh well at least I got the pic I want signed. It was the only autograph I got from Simo that week but it completed my amazing pic of her and Petra in the same pic both signed it. That’ll be one of the coolest things I have. The only other chances I had at selfies or autographs was a practice which she didn’t sign. The rest of them were on stadium and grandstand which you’re not gonna get those usually.

One more quick thing about that crowded area where she signed and I got the autograph; there was a bit of a sad moment at the end because a little girl about four or five I’d say had a picture of Simo to be signed and I think she was Romanian. In the midst of all the chaos Simo couldn’t sign for everyone and missed her, and she was crying. Lots of people felt for her but it was impossible for Simo to see her I feel like since she was so small and everyone was pushing and shoving towards the front.

And of course, you knew it was gonna happen but it’s impossible to go to an event with Simo where she isn’t sneaky and hard to find. Miami was very brutal in terms of that, but there was only once here where she didn’t show up to the court she was supposed to and we looked around everywhere with no sight of her. She finally showed up on center of all places where they usually don’t let you in before the night session so they can clean up, so barely anyone could see it. Simo being Simo. I still got about 10 mins to enjoy and take pics before they kicked me out because it’s what I do.

As far as her matches go, the previous three I saw live before this event I never had the chance to be that close. However, her first two this time I was right there pretty much on the court and it was so amazing. I said it before, but she hits the ball so clean, is super-fast, and is so damn cute up close in matches. The whole time I couldn’t believe how close I was to super Simo. The fist pumps were intense, whenever she complained in Romanian was great, and her movement was fun to watch. I was so glad to have the chance to be where I was and I’m glad a lot of you saw me on TV for one of her matches; I loved that spot J Also, I thought it was stressful to watch them on TV, but being there is another story. You want to see her win so bad, every emotion comes out and it was amazing to watch sometimes, and other times I couldn’t look. The craziest thing I saw while watching her matches was when she really slammed her racquet down after losing the 2^nd set to Kiki, I never thought I’d see it like that damn.

You can really tell with every Simo watch you watch how badly she wants to win and how much a perfectionist she is so it’s fun to analyze her and see what she tries to do differently and how to react on certain moments. It’s also great to see how she always has a big Romanian fan base there and yelling so loud even if it isn’t that crowded. It feels like it’s packed with them and it’s a unique setting to be a part of. It’s all it’s cracked up to be on TV that’s for sure. All in all, I got to see her win three more matches while improving her record to 6-0 when I’m there. Another memorable experience with the Romanian sensation Simona Halep.

Petra Kvitova- The part of the trip I was looking forward to the most was being able to see Petra again. I was really sad when she skipped Miami because of being fatigued and recently finding out it was partly because of a battle with mono too. She still isn’t 100 percent you can tell but it was amazing to be able to see her up close again. She only played one match in a tough three set loss to Garcia, but to me it felt like she was in Cincy forever due to all of the practices I got to enjoy. She says she can’t go full steam ahead in her practices but I saw her working very hard at the best level she could and I was happy to see it. She is also another player who seems to have a good time in practice and always practices with good friends which helps of course. The best part of Petra practicing is she always picks the best time and court to practice so it’s always very easy to get access and enjoy everything about her. It’s also nice to get to see her work with David again and them having a good time and trying hard to keep getting better. I like when David shows Petra things on his phone, it makes for some interesting pictures. The first practice was the only time she practiced on a bad court but usually she always practices on court 8 at 10 am and I noticed that from the previous years I was here too. Court 8 is easily the best practice court in my opinion because of how close you can get and Petra always entered the court by the front gate and not the back gate so I could say hi to her, which I did once and she said hi back, I think that was cool.

The first day was funny because her 2^nd practice she was supposed to be on court 15, and Roger and Stan were supposed to be on 8 which was awesome. I was actually gonna miss some of Petra to watch them because I was in the front and this spot doesn’t come around that often for them. All of a sudden Petra walks on 8 and everyone was confused it was hilarious. One guy was like “Well that’s not Roger wtf.” Everyone quickly heard he was actually on 15 and filed off, poor Petra. So I decided to stay there of course and enjoy the practice and eventually got my Wimbledon pic signed which was sweet.

The 2^nd day was the most memorable of them all as I not only got to see two more practices, but both ended with selfies and I was waiting to get one of those for a long time. The first one didn’t turn out too well in my opinion because the sun was so bright and I was tough to see but the 2^nd one I really liked. Speaking of the 2^nd one, Petra is so sweet because she always signs for everybody if she can and that particular time went to both sides of the court to sign which I don’t see too often. Also took selfies and signed for every single person and it was great.

Her last practice that I saw with Lucie was probably one of the best that I went to because we know they are great pals and it always fun to share some stories on the changeovers, and I was really close to them this time. I say that because a lot of practices Petra would go kind of further away into a corner where it was shaded so it was tougher to hear the conversations from far away. At the end of the practice like I said before, Petra had way more people surrounding her for pics and autographs compared to Lucie. That was the day she signed my photo of her and Simo and she took my sharpie and signed for everybody with it, and then when she was done gave it back to me I thought it was sweet. This was the closest I was to her for a decent period of time and I could go on and fanboy but we know that story by now. I can say what we all know in that Petra is so beautiful up close, you stare right into those eyes and bye. She doesn’t even know. It’s mostly kids she’s signing for at this point so they don’t realize the beauty either. You’re looking at a one of a kind player right there, take it all in.

Match day was a bit strange for her as she was last on three and I knew that could be big trouble with all of the rain set for that day. The rain didn’t disappoint as the total delay was probably around almost 4 hours. Petra actually came out at a reasonable time probably around 6 or 630 but just as they finished warming up it started to rain with a mix of thunder and lightning so they had to shut it down. They didn’t start the match till around 930 or so either so it was a tough wait. I really wanted to see Petra win at least once after she really struggled last year in Cincy, and even though she couldn’t, it was a pleasure getting to watch her step on the court again. Sure she made some bad errors as usual, but there were also so many winners that left me speechless. I was right up close so to see those beauties struck so hard and perfect was incredible. She had lots of troubles but whenever it got close and tense it was also nice to hear those pojds loud and clear. There were no massive barks but still she was into it and I was hoping so bad she would turn it around and have enough to finish the job. The problem was that in the third set she was really tired, heavy breathing I could hear after several points, and it was harder for her to move as well. You could quickly tell where the third set was headed even if after a good 2^nd set. I know exactly what I get from Petra, I am never upset for too long of her results here. It’s so refreshing to see her live and while it’s nice to be lucky for my other faves, I wish I could transfer some of that luck to her because seeing her win would be awesome. I know however, that the wins will come again like they always do.

So that’s my post, tons of what I did here was what I just told you so hope you liked it. It went way too fast as expected and hopefully next year can be like this one because it was unforgettable. I said it before but this was better than Miami because seeing every fave at once is truly special. Thanks to everyone that read and commented on my tweets once again. It was a fun ride, and now we wait until 2016…