Tag: Tennis Center

US Open Qualifying Tournament 2014 #4

Above: Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka

Friday August 22nd, 2014 – Really nice day at the US Open Qualifying Tournament. Clouds kept the heat index at a comfortable level, and there was a breeze stirring. Around 3:00 PM, a ceiling of dark clouds settled over the Tennis Center, and just as Yoshihito Nishioka finished signing autographs after his win, the rains came down. I had really wanted to see the end of Hiroki Moriya’s match and to see Tatsuma Ito, a player I realy like and whose first two matches I missed this time around. But the rains were heavy enough to send the crowds scurrying, and it was obviously more than just a passing shower. I knew that even if play resumed within an hour, it would take an additional hour or more to dry the courts. So I left, though I didn’t really want to.

I started my day watching Japan’s Taro Daniel (above) in a hard-fought match against the experienced Canadian player Peter Polansky. Polansky took the first set convincingly, and Taro was showing visible frustration and fatigue in the second set when I had to walk away so as not to miss any of Steve Darcis’ match on Court 17. I was a bit surprised to find – after the truncated Darcis match – that Taro was still playing: he had apparently pulled himself together and taken the second set, and he was just a couple of games away from winning the third. He played really well, and the crowd was loving him. After the final point, he sank to his knees in disbelief. He had to sign a ton of autographs.

Above: Taro Daniel after his win

Over at Court 17 (above), I was totally psyched for the Darcis match. I found a nice seat very high up with no one in my immediate vicinity and a breeze to keep me cool. Tennis heaven! Steve played a stupendous first set. His opponent Emilio Gomez of Ecuador simply couldn’t get anything going against the Darcis Machine. Gomez managed to take one game in the first set but otherwise it was all-Darcis, all the time; Steve won the first set in 23 minutes, concluding with a superb passing shot.

Steve won the first game of the second set and then Emilio walked over to the chair umpire and asked for the trainer. After a long wait the trainer showed up, taped Emilio’s ankle, and play resumed. But as soon as Steve finished the second game, Emilio limped off the court and retired. So Steve’s victory, however assured, was a bit bittersweet. Nevertheless, it’s good he’s into the main draw and I hope he has a success.

Above: Steve Darcis of Belgium

After watching the end of the Taro Daniel/Peter Polansky I went over to Courts 4/5/6 where four Japanese players were to be playing their matches in succession. Yuichi Sugita was over-powered by Germany’s Matthias Bachinger today. Yuichi didn’t show the same energy as he had in his previous match. He had the trainer out during the second set for his ankle; though hobbled, he was still able to play out the match. Hiroki Moriya, following his thrilling match on Wednesday, seemed subdued today as he met the powerful Swiss Marco Chiudinelli. Marco thoroughly dominated the first set, but Hiroki came out swinging for the second set and fought hard to take it in a tie-breaker. However, he could not sustain the momentum and in the end Chiudinelli was the winner.

Yoshihito Nishioka (above) held the Japanese banner high with a stunning win over Turkey’s hard-hitting Marsel Ilham. Like Sugita and Moriya, Nishioka is small of stature. But he was able to answer Marsel’s blistering strokes with well-placed, authoritative hitting. Nishioka only had one patch of trouble: a long service game where he kept being stalled at deuce. But once past that it was smooth sailing for the Japanese boy. The lopsided score (6-3, 6-1) does not really reflect the threat posed by Marsel Ilhan. But the crowd was over-joyed to celebrate Nishioka’s win, and he was engulfed by fans at the end.

Above: Yoshihito Nishioka signing autographs after winning his match

The rain prevented me from seeing Tatsuma Ito; I’m following his match now on the website.

August 21, 2014
US Open Qualifying Tournament 2013 #1

Above: Robby Ginepri

Monday August 20th, 2013 – Robby Ginepri hit a career high in 2005 when he finished the season ranked #15 in the world. Thereafter he remained a force on the tour but never equalled his 2005 record. A biking accident in 2010 side-lined him for almost a year. To be honest, I’d sort of forgotten about him and I guess I assumed that he’d retired. He’ll turn 31 this year, and when I saw his name among the players listed for the US Open qualifying tournament this week, it was a bit like a blast from the past.

Last summer I’d almost given up on the Open; the constant use of cellphones during play is so distracing, as are the large of small children who have no clue as to what tennis is all about and invariably get cranky very quickly (“I’d rather go to the playground!” whined one tiny girl being dragged around by her mother today); food and beverages are absurdly expensive ($5 for a normal sized bottle of Coke), and off-duty linesmen and ball-kids love to congregate around the courts during matches and chatter away: “Did you see ELYSIUM yet? Awesome…blah blah blah”. But today it was not overly crowded and for the most part I was able to concentrate on the actual playing.

The seats at the outer courts of the Tennis Center can be exceptionally uncomfortable: hard, bare metal that heats up like a stovetop in the summer sun. Invariably people taking seats during a match find their butts getting baked: first contact can really be alarming. Thus I normally prefer to stand (it’s also easier for taking pictures). But this summer they’ve extended the 3-row metal seating bleachers almost the full length of the court so you can’t stand by the court-rail any more and get all into the match. Since hardly anyone watches a complete set these days, there’s a lot of coming and going, and clambering over other people.

The tall, lanky Israeli player Amir Weintraub is being hosted in NYC by the building manager of our apartment complex. Augie asked me to check out Amir’s match and since it was the first match of the day, I started there. Amir was playing the American Noah Rubin; Rubin was heavily favored by the large and fairly attentive crowd. Amir took the first set and seemed destined to win in two sets; but Noah fought back hard, delivering some great shots. After Noah won the second set, I needed to head over to Court 7; but I ran into Augie later and he told me that Amir – deservedly – had prevailed.

On Court 7, the Indian player Somdev Devvarman (above) was facing Brazil’s Fabiano De Paula. I’d seen Somdev at the US Open in 2009 and I was really impressed, but today was the first time I’ve seen him since. I went up high into the bleachers and found a solitary vantage point. I enjoyed the match tremendously because I could really concentrate; and up above court-level a gentle summer breeze and passing fluffy clouds made for a perfect tennis-watching experience.

Somdev for the most part dominated the action; his serve is breakable but when it’s on it’s really on. His shots go deep and his sense of placement is keen, and despite some frustration with questionabe line calls he moved steadily onward to a straight-set win. Mr. De Paula had some fine moments but Somdev’s victory seemed inevitable.

Somdev, after the match.

Then I ran over to Court 17, the new ‘stadium-style’ court, where Robby Ginepri and Giovanni Lapentti (of Ecuador) were already into the second set. Robby had taken the first set but Giovanni wasn’t about to give in. The crowd was lopsidedly pro-Robby, understandably, and the American clearly didn’t want to disappoint. A hoped-for win at 5-4 didn’t materialize, and the set went to a tie-breaker in which Robby eventually secured victory.

Robby Ginepri

Lapentti and Ginepri after the match.

August 19, 2013