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Tuesday August 22nd, 2023 – One of the most pleasant days, weather-wise, I have ever spent at the US Open. In recent years, my enjoyment of the matches has been compromised by extreme heat; the sun beats down on the courts, and there’s no escaping it. I sometimes wonder why more people – and especially the players and ball-boys – don’t faint. But today, clouds allowed the sun to make only passing appearances, and there was a lovely breeze.

I watched two matches: Taro Daniel of Japan (seeded 4th in the qualifying tournament) facing India’s Samit Nagal, and then the 18-year-old Chinese “rising star” (according to Wei) Shang Juncheng dueled the Argentine Genaro Alberto Olivieri.

Tall and lean, Taro Daniel dominated the first set of his match against Samit Nagal. Nagal is a talented and energetic player, but despite some fine moments, he had few answers for Taro, who took the set 6-1. But Nagal fared much better in the second set, winning the crowd’s acclaim for some brilliant shots. Nagal pulled ahead at one point, and it seemed that we might be headed to a third set, but then Taro’s years of experience took hold and he swept to victory.

Above and below: Taro after the match.

I had expected to go directly from the Daniel/Nagal match to watch the Shang/Olivieri contest, but the women’s match on court 15 was running late. I took a long walkabout, checking out several matches in progress; very few of the players were familiar to me. They all seemed terribly young.

Shang Juncheng (above) opened his match with a perfectly placed ace. His Argentine opponent fought ardently but most of the first set was all about China. Olivieri stepped up his game in set 2, and the momentum shifted somewhat. Shang Juncheng’s serve could be erratic – there were a couple of double faults – but in the end he prevailed.

Each year, I think: “This will be my last Open!” In fact, I almost didn’t go today. But in the end, I was glad that I did.

~ Oberon