Last night a friend and I rented a court outside at the National Tennis Center, site of the US Open as you all know. This was my first time playing outside there and not under the bubble over the practice courts, and it was heavenly. We played on court 7, a virtual mini-stadium in itself with seating for a few hundred fans and a front row "reserved for media", the court where two months ago I watched a few minutes of an early round Davedenkyo match at the USO. (For tennis junkies who want to see the exact layout, click on this link and then enlarge it. http://www.usopen.org/images/misc/uo_largevenuemap.jpg)
With the night temperature in the mild 50's and Ashe Stadium looming very large right over us, we battled it out under the floodlights. For some reason, attendence at our match was sparse -- well, non-existent -- but had the stands been filled, folks would have seen some exciting points played on a gorgeous blue court with ample sideline room and an endless expanse behind the baseline. They also would have seen my friend's Nastase-like fit in the second set, wherein he attacked one of the two chairs we each had available to us for changeovers, kicked a gatorade bottle around the court, and smacked a ball into the stands while his X-rated screams of disgust at his playing echoed over Flushing Meadows.
Yes, life was good out there as I eeked out a tough victory. But then, at exactly midnight like in Cinderella, the lights suddenly switched off in the middle of a post-match rally and we were plunged into an eerie darkness. The ball was over, and we had to make our way off the court in the pitch black night and wind our way back to the front desk area.
For anyone who lives in or near New York, or is coming through town, I highly recommend you rent one of the outside show courts here if it's anywhere above freezing. It ain't cheap, but nothing in New York is, and this was the best court I'd ever played on in my life.
With the night temperature in the mild 50's and Ashe Stadium looming very large right over us, we battled it out under the floodlights. For some reason, attendence at our match was sparse -- well, non-existent -- but had the stands been filled, folks would have seen some exciting points played on a gorgeous blue court with ample sideline room and an endless expanse behind the baseline. They also would have seen my friend's Nastase-like fit in the second set, wherein he attacked one of the two chairs we each had available to us for changeovers, kicked a gatorade bottle around the court, and smacked a ball into the stands while his X-rated screams of disgust at his playing echoed over Flushing Meadows.
Yes, life was good out there as I eeked out a tough victory. But then, at exactly midnight like in Cinderella, the lights suddenly switched off in the middle of a post-match rally and we were plunged into an eerie darkness. The ball was over, and we had to make our way off the court in the pitch black night and wind our way back to the front desk area.
For anyone who lives in or near New York, or is coming through town, I highly recommend you rent one of the outside show courts here if it's anywhere above freezing. It ain't cheap, but nothing in New York is, and this was the best court I'd ever played on in my life.
