The last time that I went to the US Open in Flushing Meadow, things were very different. Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras met in the men's final that year, which was a match that I attended. It remains the biggest match that I ever saw or was any part of. Also, it marked the last chapter in that classic tennis rivalry, which defined that era in men's tennis.
In fact, there seemed to be a vacuum there for a few years. With Sampras retiring after winning the US Open title, and with Agassi shortly thereafter winning the Australian Open, and then falling into a period where his injuries seemed to catch up with him, there seemed to be an absence of any dominant figure. I know, it's hard to believe in retrospect. But in 2002, Lleyton Hewitt was the number one guy, having won the prior US Open, and then winning Wimbledon in 2002. He would finish out the year as the number one ranked player.
Then in 2003, he dropped his top ranking. Andy Roddick managed to end that year as the number one ranked man in the world.
And then, of course, came Roger Federer, and a whole new era of unprecedented dominance in men's tennis. Shortly after that, Nadal came along, and was the first to challenge Federer's dominance.
A few years later, Novak Djokovic came along, and he joined the ranks of these elite men, forming what has since come to be known as the "Big Three." Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic seemed to test and push one another, smashing old records and just completely dominating the men's game, in ways we never had seen before, or likely will again.
On the women's side, Serena Williams was only really beginning to emerge as the dominant force she would become on the women's side. When I saw the US Open in 2002, names like Amelie Mauresmo, Jennifer Capriati, and Lyndsey Davenport seemed to be dominant, followed by a few years when the Belgians, Kim Clisters and Justine Henin-Hardenne, dominated for a while.
So clearly, it had been a while. A long time, really. I had not seen any tennis events since then.
It's not that I didn't want to. It's just that going to New York City - to Queens! - is really kind of tough to do. It requires time and planning and money. And I guess I just never quite got around to actually getting serious about getting back there.
Until this year.
This time, I was determined to finally get back there, and at least see some of the tennis stars whom I had not yet seen.
Finally, I saw at least one of the Big Three: Novak Djokovic.
It was a thrill. And he was every bit as impressive as I had imagined he would be. Also, he conducted himself well, like a gentleman.
Nothing less than I expected.
And wouldn't you know it? The man I have seen in tennis more often than anyone else - Andre Agassi - happened to be part of this event, as well.
Go figure.
This event was not really competitive. The players were out in a lighthearted mood (for now), and simply trying to have a good time. But for little cost (the tickets were slightly more than $30 each), you get a chance to see some of the biggest stars, past and present, in tennis history. I already mentioned two: Novak Djokovic and Andre Agassi. But current world number one Carlos Alcaraz was there, as was John McEnroe. All four of them were ranked number one at some point in their career, and all of them also won the US Open at least once. Iga Świątek, the current number one on the women's side, and also a former US Open champion, was there for the first match, as was Sebastian Korda, Wimbledon finalists Matteo Berrettini (2021) and Jasmine Paolini (2024), for the first match last night. Argentinian stars Gabriela Sabatini and Juan Martin del Potro also both won US Open titles, and they beat former Australian Open champion, as well as former world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, who teamed up with the 2003 US Open champion, and also former number one, Andy Roddick, in the penultimate match last evening. Finally, 2022 US Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe and 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens teamed up to defeat 2024 Wimbledon doubles champion Taylor Townsend and actor Boris Kodjoe, who had they stressed was very good at tennis, having played at college.
Fun night. Again, maybe not quite the fierce competition it will soon become in a matter of days. But it was US Open tennis, and it was fun.
So I finally went to the US Open for the first time since 2002, when the world was very different. For one thing, September 11th had occurred just one year earlier (two days after the US Open ended, actually). We had not yet invaded Iraq. Nobody had yet really heard of Barack Obama. On a personal note, I had graduated college the year before. It would still be three years before I would become a father.
Yes, the world was a different place. So clearly, it had been too long.
It was fun. My son and I first ate at a special place called Merguez & Frites in Queens (just a few minutes away from Flushing Meadows, as it would turn out), which I will be posting about later on. We also spent some time on the grounds of two World's Fairs: Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
But what made it possible, or gave us the incentive, was to go see some tennis. Last time, during three different sessions (one of them was almost exclusively rained out), I had gone with three different people: my brother, my then wife, and my father.
This time, it was with my son, still newly graduated from high school.
Below are the pictures.
Enjoy.
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