[envenonearo]

Got into the Open late last night. A few observations:

*The most fun I had last night was at Palmolive vs. Chipola. FIRST- let me suggest something, for those so inclined- give up on them Dolgopolov sexual fantasies you know that you all have been having. 'Cause all I can say is- EWWWWWWWWWWWW! One of the downsides of live tennis and getting close to players is discovering how so many players have really, really bad skin. (More than understandable- nelslus is certainly not at his most ravishing when he has not gotten enough beauty sleep either- and with the insane schedules players must keep, bad skin is very understandble.) (Still, EWWWWWWWWWWWWW! That bad-boy ponytailed vibe Dolgopolov can pull off on TV sure as hell doesn't work when you're feet away from his scawny icky-faced self.) When I waltzed over after seeing Little Miss America and Sock squeak out the third set tiebreaker (Melanie tried to suck as much as she possibly could- talk about a loss of confidence- but, fortunately for them, Polasek sucked even worse than Melaine- and Melanie also had the good sense now and then to duck and let Sock take over), Dolgopolov blew a 4th set break-up lead, only then to immediately go down a break in the fifth. The 2 feet tall Cipolla has a fun, old-school-kinda game- slices, dices, constant changes of pace, decent volley- your basic pain in the ass opponent, especially when you're not playing at your best. It truly looked like Dolgopolov was gonna blow it all- especially with me there tryin' to lend my GET SOME PEOPLE OUT OF THE DAMNED MEN'S TAT POOL ALREADY mojo- he was too often looking impatient, rushing, and falling into Cipolla's web- until, close to the end, it seemed like Cipolla just ran out of gas (at one point late in the match, Cipolla talked with the umpire- not sure if that was ouchy-related or not, as a trainer did not come out)- and fortunately for him, Dolgopolov had remained JUST barely interested enough in the match up to that point to be able to take advantage, and finally do what he should have been doing all along- hit through Cipolla, instead of just trying to beat Cipolla at his game. As most of us know- Dolgopolov also has a very fun game, and every shot in the book. Just the usual headcase. STILL- he moves on.....

*Got to see the end of Sloane's win. MAN!, was Shahar sucking by the end. Still, all credit to Sloane- who couldn't get a first serve in to save her life in the second set tiebreaker, but otherwise played like SHE was the veteran.

*SO sad to see Tammy/Erakovic go out. Still, the dainty and willowy wallflower Amanmuradova and Panova deserved the win. Panova kept tracking down shots, and Akgul appears to be playing with a hell of a lot of confidence. Excellent tennis.

*ALSO caught the last game of Bob/Liezel vs. Kas/Rodionova. If I had been the opponent- Bob's cutesy-poo playing to the crowd would have worked my last nerves. Still- Kas and Rodionova took it all well, and kindly obliged Bob's antics by losing. (As you might be able to guess, I had to run around a lot back and forth to catch up with these matches. )

*Another observation- it always throws me when real-world mundane stuff intrudes during these matches- a worker slowly and loudly dragging a garabe bin nearby, phones going on, casual conversations. It always makes me want to scream, THIS IS A SLAM, AND ABOUT THESE PLAYERS' HISTORIES, NUMB-NUTS, SHOW SOME RESPECT TO THE OCCASION!!!!

*Seeing the Novak match live was even more embarrassing than it was on TV.

*I best run now- gotta go see today's tennis now. John arrives tonight.

[finasteridonline]

Awesome report, nelslus.

Anyone have any observations on the fan "feel" of Court 17? It looks like a place where things could easily get rockin'...

[clapsoewmred]

Awesome thread! Thanks, nelslus

[avavavava]

Love your reports, nelslus! Hope you and John are having a great time .

(BTW, I am convinced the two of you are Sabine's lucky charms. Please stay in New York as long as possible!)

[envenonearo]

Love your reports, nelslus! Hope you and John are having a great time .

(BTW, I am convinced the two of you are Sabine's lucky charms. Please stay in New York as long as possible!)

......AND I am also the bad-luck crypt-keeper for Maria ....and my own damned chances at the Pools . Reliving my/our Patty nightmares- YEP- I got to watch Stan blow his match against Donald. Pretty much Donald's strategy against Stan ended up being "hit to his forehand or backhand"- Stan was a disaster. Talk about a crowd influencing the outcome- anywhere else, Stan wins this. Still, diva crap and all- was happy that Donald won.

And, Dry, the Stan/Donald match was at Court 17- albeit I didn't get to take a seat inside- too crowded. However, it's quite cool- and there are probably some scrubs there for our viewing pleasure we'll check out today.

More later- 'cause if there's any shot at John and me getting to this silly Tailgate thing, I'd best get moving.

[envenonearo]

DAMN IT ALL STRAIGHT TO HADES, I was just typing the following report, when this stupid cheap hotel internet ate what I was writing. I HATE!!!!! having to re-write stuff. WELL, here goes, best that I can….

You see, it’s time for me to out myself with my dirty little secret……you see, as a treat for myself, with work being so rough for me as of late, I’ve gone back to NYC and the US Open on my own. And, yes……..I was there, Center Court, second row, to see Little Miss America take the mixed title. And, yes……..I loved it.

It truly was an electric and fun atmosphere- albeit, I could have lived without so many “Go USA”’s and “Go America”’s- BUT, at least folks weren’t being a**holes when shouts of “Go Argentina” went out. AND the following I am sure will be a bitter pill for some of you all to swallow- but, at least from the perspective of one who was there- I’d give the Finals MVP to Melanie. Jack has some excellent skills and good hands- but, he truly needs to learn to play much better percentage tennis- go for the regular winner vs. always trying to go for the flash- even though of course the flash IS fun to see when it works. All four at times played some horrendous shots- but, over-all, the quality of this match was quite high. (Albeit, I HATED having to leave the very fun King/Shvedova vs. Kirilenko/Petrova match after one set to see this final.)

Other observations:

*Please let me add that, actually, Schwank is really quite Schwing. Nice ass.

*As I already had tickets prior to coming to this second US Open trip for the women’s and men’s Semifinals and men’s final, today’s tennis came courtesy of my first experience with a scalper. WELL- OK, the situation was that, while I did raise my hand for awhile there, I had been talking with this couple who were also looking to purchase tickets for today, they ended up getting a ticket they didn’t need, and so I was able to go thanks to paying pretty much the equivalent of face value for this ticket. AND I didn’t spend one second going to either of the men’s singles matches today- today was my Doubles Orgasm Special- almost the entire day at Grandstand. (WONDERFUL hosts that the USTA poo-bahs are, there were no grounds passes available for today- thus, I had to try to buy a scalped ticket, as I did hear from some staff that there was a chance that someone would let me slip into the doubles matches if I had my women’s SF ticket with me- but of course all my tickets had been left at the hotel, as I SURELY thought they’d offer grounds passes- there was PLENTY of room for grounds passes, trust me.) As for the other doubles matches seen, the first was much fun until the Italians ran out of steam in the third, Aggie sucked the worst in the second match- VERY lethargic, and Leizel and Lisa were very solid, the Polish team were superb (especially and predictably Matkowski) and Bopanna really sucked in the first set, AND the first set of the Vania/Yaroslava match truly could have gone either way (they blew some opportunities to put the first set away earlier- Shvedova had served for it up 5-4, and Vania/Shvedova had to “save” a set point in that first set tiebreaker- albeit of course “saving” the set point, meant Nadia and Maria hitting three easy errors to close the first set.

*After somehow managing to sneak into a flight that had been scheduled two flight ahead of my scheduled flight (United usually ain’t all that cooperative I’ve found), I did manage to get into NYC early enough on Thursday to go see “Follies.” I’m not sure that the cast has fully coalesced yet- understandable, since it’s in previews. Of all things, for me, the one troublesome casting is Bernadette. She’s very interesting to watch in anything of course- but, she just feels mis-cast for me. She pulls off crazy of course (go figure)- but, she just plays this too wan for me- and wan she just ain’t. Jan (an incendiary “Could I Leave You?” Maxwell, Elaine “I’m Still Here” Paige and Jayne “Broadway Baby” Houdyshell are all outstanding, there’s a lovely operatic number with Rosalind Elias (older Heidi) and Leah Horowitz (younger Heidi), all male and younger cast members are fine, and it’s very lavish with amazing scenery and costumes. Not the best Sondheim show in the first place (too theatrically arch at times)- but I can already confirm that this is very much worth seeing.

*Truly, yet again the USTA can go suck it with putting Sam/Kerber on the Grandstand Court tomorrow one hour before Serena/The Dull Blonde play on Center- albeit, nerd that I am, I’ll probably spend more time in the Grandstand (unless the Center Court score starts getting interesting?) Mind you, I’m sure that, weather permitting, at noon time I’ll be perseverating at somewhere like the Caroline Garcia match, to avoid the Roger/Novak inevitable result.

[Les Allen]

"The Dull Blonde"

LOL!

[envenonearo]

*CANNOT believe that I forgot to report on the following.........As John and I were riding the escalator to see Serena/Azarenka, when I looked behind me- WHO should I see but.................Richard Williams and WIFEY!!!!!!!! I shook both their hands, and mentioned to Richard that I expected this to be a short match- he said he hoped so. I also told him about how much I love his daughters, and that I'd been a fan of Serena's since I saw her beat Monica and Pierce in Chicago, and he told me (if I understood him correctly, as he does garble) that Serena played injured that tournament. (P.S. I get that, at least in this case, the IDEA of Richard and Wifey being on the escalotor is a hell of a lot funnier than the reality presented here. Nevertheless, I hope that you all understand the point to all of this- I GOT TO SHAKE WIFEY'S HAND!!!!!!!!!!!

I also btw got the chance to speak with doubles legend O.K. Davidson (frequent partner of BJK) at the US Open bookstore- as he said today's players are wimps for not playing all three disciplines.

*Today, as I had a late flight back to Chicago, I did something I've always wanted to do- go back to the US Open site the day after everything is over. Turns out you can't go wandering the grounds- BUT they had a section cordoned off (you actually had to walk through Armstrong) where you could purchase US Open items for 50% off (and some food was available)- AND the Ralph Lauren shop was still open with items 50% off- so, I got John and me a Ralph Lauren US Open shirt. I also could see some of the grounds this way and the being-shut-down food court. I also found out that the folks who run the hot dog stand right by the US Open front entrance were still there, and apparently are always there in the same spot, weather permitting. Anyways, I also had bought a lunch with me (found this deli in Queens called Butcher Block and had the best damned roast beef sandwich and bacon probably ever), and went and had my lunch by the Unisphere in the area where the Tailgate folks had met. Every now and then, being a trained loner at heart- I need to experience things fully (and even profoundly) alone- including to remind myself that I'm fine on my own- and this was just a lovely time for me.

[hapasaparaz]

Anyways, I also had bought a lunch with me (found this deli in Queens called Butcher Block and had the best damned roast beef sandwich and bacon probably ever), and went and had my lunch by the Unisphere in the area where the Tailgate folks had met. Every now and then, being a trained loner at heart- I need to experience things fully (and even profoundly) alone- including to remind myself that I'm fine on my own- and this was just a lovely time for me.

Translation - the tailgate folks ruined it for you before, so you had to come back and experience it properly this time.

You are too polite, Nelslus. I expect you are told that a lot

[Guaranano]

Nelslus, thanks for all of your reports. Loved them all!

[jagxj12]

Great reporting nelslus!!!

[finasteridonline]

That's awesome about the young Chippie, nelslus! I'm surprised she had a free hand to shake with as my sense is that she's probably always grabbing for something--jewelry, caviar, free hotel soap... Are you sure she didn't snatch your wallet?

[Soadiassy]

Loved this thread Nelslus. Thanks so much. And I'm thrilled you had such a good time.

[envenonearo]

*Truly, seeing Roger lose the way he has at Wimbledon and the US Open live has been heartbreaking for me- I'm gonna get nightmares for years over these matches, seriously. BUT- this is what you have to accept I guess, if you insist on being a tennis fan. (.....AND, at least I'll have the memories of John and me seeing Roger win one of his US Open matches live.) I've seen this happen with almost all of the great players- even Chris and Martina- they just lose their nerve as they age. So profoundly sad. Cannot believe Roger has re-traumatized himself the very same way two years in a row with Novak. He most definitely should have won this year's US Open re-match- taking nothing away from Novak.

*The Sam/Kerber match was actually a lot of fun. Kerber was clearly very nervous in the first set (albeit she lost the set on only one break), then played great in the second set, and then the wheels just came completely off as she went down 5-0 in the third- only to rally for bit, with break points at least to get to 3-5 down. Albeit, good luck in the final, Sam.

*Even I feel sorry for The Blonde. Serena is just pure evil.

*Still being around at midnight to see the men's doubles final was EVEN a bit much for me today. FRONT row Center Court seat this time, baby. Indeed, Melzer and Petzschner played spectacular tennis. Truly, those of us there didn't really know for sure that the ball had hit Phillip- albeit I had assumed as such with the reactions from the Polish team. Still, thanks to those who clarified this. I'd probably have worked up more moral indignation, but I was/am SO damned exhausted from today- I just focused on how great they played. Of course, it's beyond unfair that they started this match almost at midnight. The Polish team went down 4-0 in the first within about 14 minutes, and the 2 and 2 score included a break of Phillip. Not copping to being hit by the ball is unforgivable- BUT, not knowing all the facts, I can truly understand why a player would not feel like doing an interview at that moment. They all had a right to be very pissed off at this treatment- AND it was damned late. (Thank GOD though it did go quickly.)

*This is my first time at any Slam that I am getting to see all three doubles finals (assuming that the women's doubles takes place either Sunday or Monday.) AND- I'll get to see Serena win (GO SAM THOUGH!!!!), and almost definitely could get a final for the men's final- NO thank you. Still, it will always be a thrill for me to see ANY Slam final. I'll always feel like a little kid at a Slam.

[gomosopions]

*Truly, seeing Roger lose the way he has at Wimbledon and the US Open live has been heartbreaking for me- ... I've seen this happen with almost all of the great players- even Chris and Martina- they just lose their nerve as they age...

Good that you wrote this. It is exactly the feeling I have after waking up. It is sad that he no longer owns other players' heads.

[finasteridonline]

Awesome report, nelslus! I genuinely feel badly for Roger's fans this time around.

[DavidQD]

Nelslus a lot of Roger's fans are very ticked off about Djokovic's behavior when Roger was serving for the match. What was the reaction in Ashe?

And did Djokovic really dance on court after the match was over?

[myspauyijbv]

Nelslus a lot of Roger's fans are very ticked off about Djokovic's behavior when Roger was serving for the match. What was the reaction in Ashe?

And did Djokovic really dance on court after the match was over?

Djokovic dancing was on CBS, it was fairly subdued, and he wanted everyone to dance with him.

I'm not the biggest Novak fan, far from it, but what was the complaint? Was it his reaction to the 1st MP return winner? If so, I thought he was clearly being facetious. He wasn't saying "see how great I am?" He was saying "I just missed elimination by 6 inches, and I'll I've got right now is low-probability gambles"

[hapasaparaz]

Djokovic dancing was on CBS, it was fairly subdued, and he wanted everyone to dance with him.

I'm not the biggest Novak fan, far from it, but what was the complaint? Was it his reaction to the 1st MP return winner? If so, I thought he was clearly being facetious. He wasn't saying "see how great I am?" He was saying "I just missed elimination by 6 inches, and I'll I've got right now is low-probability gambles"

Think it was more to do with his recognition that the crowd wanted Roger to win. He was asking, in a good natured way, for a little appreciation/support too.

[finasteridonline]

Patty Mac was a little critical of Roger for calling Novak's screaming winner a lucky shot. Which was funny because, had he read Novak's presser, he would have seen that even Novak called it lucky.