US Open 2015

Rafael Nadal is winning.

I made my way to the US Open ... qualifying round and practice.  Because it's free.  You don't think I can afford that, do you?  I had been absent for the past three years.

Sara Errani US Open 2012

David Ferrer US Open 2012

Maria Sharapova US Open 2012

Victoria Azarenka US Open 2012

Nicolas Almagro US Open 2012

Francesca Shiavone US Open 2012

She is the only player that plays practice as if it's a real match, and every point is a championship point.

Janko Tipsarevic US Open 2012

Christian Harrison US Open 2012

Note:  I am not 100% sure if he is indeed Ryan Harrison.  If he's not, let me know and my apology to this fine young man and Mr. Harrison as well.
UPDATE:  Maybe Christian Harrison.

Novak Djokovic US Open 2012

Andy Roddick - US Open 2012

US Open - Jersey Shore Edition

When on court action isn't much, looks off court.



Novak Djokovic and Philipp Petzschner should have done some soul searching.  Should they have played a little bit harder, to make the match a bit more mesmerizing, maybe the fans don't have to resort to fight each other to get entertained. Djokovic and Petzschner are somewhat responsible for this melee--should be fined or even suspended in my opinion.

The New York Times also reported that it says "two men tumbled down a few rows of $45 seats."  Next time forget about the $450 seats, get the $45 seats if you want to be close to where the real action is.

US Open - Venus Williams

Picture added 9/4/2010 Chang W. Lee/New York Times, copyright belong to its rightful owners.

Picasso once said good taste is the enemy of creativity.  The Williams sisters got to be the most awesome creative tennis players in the history of tennis.

With Serena not playing this US Open, and mind you, all the line judges are breathing a collective sigh of relief, knowing nobody would shove down tennis balls down their throats, Roddick is such a pussy so he doesn't count, Venus single-handedly shoulders the responsibility of wearing the most woefully designed outfits to shock and awe tennis fans world wide.  And I have to say she has succeeded spectacularly.  As if her play is not firework enough on the court, she literally put firework on her little tiny bitsy black dress which is sequined with firework motif.  And of course she won the match against French woman Mandy Manella.  She is such a tennis royalty and whatever, everybody, of course including that Pam Shriver, is complimenting her outfit. I feel like it's some kind of Emperor's new clothes moments whenever somebody complimenting their outfits.   Serena is not playing this tournament but she still will not leave us in peace, she has to come fully and spectacularly dressed to haunt us all ... Scary, isn't it?

US Open - Djokovic

Djokovic is The Man With the Dragon Tattoo ... tennis outfit.  Black on crimson red.  I am sure the dragon design is inspired by the now ubiquitous Millennium series.  With a touch of Chinese color scheme thrown in, it's tastefully done without the kitsch.  I wish the Williams sisters can take heart.  But seeing what I see here, I think they just have a very unique sense of style.  But hey, if you play that well in tennis, you can dress any way you want.

Update: picture added from Sergio Tacchini.  Copyright belongs to its rightful owners.

Roddick Fails

Roddick fails miserably.  Sure he lost to number 1,980 Janko Tipsarevic on the second round but what's worse is he couldn't disparage the line judge like Serena did--with unprecedented ferocity and gusto that mesmerized the stadium.  He did a terrible job; it was half hearted, protracted and lacked conviction and at no point did we feel the life of the line judge was threatened or in moral danger.  Serena was a thousand times more menacing.  He should have studied Serena's moves before he even thought about disparaging the line judge.  The only upside of this:  he didn't get any warning or fine from USTA or whatever tennis governing body.  Serena is still number one in that department, Roddick, at best, a very distant second, very sad.

US OPEN 2010 - Stanislas Wawrinka

UPDATE 9/5/10: I think it really should be Gilles Simon of France. Nadal is punishing the guy in Arthur Ashe right now.

I hope he is what I say he is.  Because I really have no idea.  I ran through the US Open site player by player and he looks like Wawrinka.  If he is not, sorry dude.

It was the second time, I got everything ready except one thing, my memory card.  I left my 4GB CF card home and I thought that would be it for the day.  For reason I couldn't explain, I did have an extra 64MB CF card I brought with me.  Wow, it can take about 16 images or so if I left my image at the usual setting, i.e. Large and Fine.  Would I be just shooting 16 images?  I guess not.  I have no choice but to dial the setting to Large and Basic, that allows me to shoot 88 images--I just counted.  Here are the best of the very best, or rather somewhat appear to be OKAY.

I also brought along my Nikon FE and 28mm 1:2 just for fun.  At some point I mounted my Nikkor 80-200 onto my FE, wow, the viewfinder looked so much better, it's like day and night.  More reason to get a full frame camera just for the viewfinder if not anything else.

Ethics check or otherwise known as delusion of grandeur:  If you think you can use these pictures for non commercial purpose, please cite attribution and link back here.  Thank you.

US OPEN 2010 - Andy Murray

Murray, so close yet so far away.

US OPEN 2010

Ralph Lauren:  I mean, I'm not gonna be ignored.

A Ballman Wannabe Story

US Open is probably the only Grand Slam event that allows a grown man or woman to pick up errand tennis balls on the court while in other majors this somewhat laborious job is decidedly reserved to the boys and girls in their teens.  Here is a seldom or never told story about a man who auditions to be a ball boy in the upcoming USOPEN 2010 in Flushing Meadows.

Australian Open Update

Andy Murray kind of lives up to the great expectation, but the true test is going to be on the final.  Can he beat the seemingly rejuvenated Roger Federer (assuming R Fed is going to beat the talented but sometimes erratic Tsonga)?  I saw Federer play and he moves extremely well.  I mean what else is new?  I haven't seen Murray play in this Open so I don't know.

On the men's side, it's a pity to see Nadal retire during the match.  I am afraid this may be it for him.  It could be the end of the road for him.  The guy is renowned for his quickness and now with his perennial troubling knees I don't think if he would ever play the level he ever played a year ago.  It's just bad.  Andy Roddick and Fernando Gonzalez both can hit big and do hit big all the time.  But it just goes to show hitting big is just not enough.  When they play you really feel like, man, they really work to earn their money.  The grunts, the poundings are just unbearable to watch, sometimes.

On the women side, it's always good to see a comeback.  In this Open, the come back kid or woman is Justin Henin.  The woman just retired, prematurely.  And now she is back with a vengeance or whatever.  She seems to have a even better forehand now.  The woman can explode massive power from her 5 foot 6 frame both from her forehand and backhand.  Super diva, on and off court, Serena Williams needs no introduction.  If she is not too busy threatening a line judge by shoving down a tennis ball down her throat, she can actually play impressive tennis.  Did she ever regret that ugly episode in her career, in tennis?  Probably not at all.  Less than a year from her "passionate" outburst on the court, she was ranting and complaining about the amount of fine $82,000 or $92,000 or $175,000 being excessive.  I mean, c'mon.  She should have been suspended but I guess the tennis world needs her, her level of play to draw in the crowd, the TV ratings, and that's the reality.