Funny Stories

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Netbudda

Rookie
For the last 5 years I have been going to the US OPEN, it's a trip I take together with 5 of my tennis buddies, 3 crazy days that start at 9:00 am with breakfast and usually end up at midnight on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Here are some of my highlights.

1.- Best match I ever saw GUGA - MIRNY 5 setter in 2001, match ended around 1:00 am the scoreline was incredible. MIRNY kept on coming to the net and GUGAS backhand was like a BAZOOKA

2.- Best shot I ever saw...FERRERO between the legs passing shot to CHELA, 2003, I was on the third row, baseline on Chela's side, my GOD I still can see Chela's face and the 30 second standing ovation.

3.- Craziest thing by a player.....GORAN IVANISEVIC...he is coming out of the players lounge, he is tall, this kid comes to him and screams GORAN !!!!!, GORAN turns around puts two fingers on the kids forehead and says..." GO AWAY "

4.- Funny moment....I'm tired, I get out of the tennis center, get a stamp on my hand and found a bench to sit and relax, suddenly I realize I'm sitting in front of the players drop and pick up spot, nobody tells me to leave so I'm chilling. I'm like a kid on a candy store I bother nobody, suddenly ARAZI sits by my side, I ask him, "when are you playing" ? He says "tomorrow" ?....I ask, " against who ?"...He says ... "Safin"...out of the blue I said " Sh_t !!"...he just laughed like understanding my lack of confidence in Him. His car came, inside the car he still looked at me with a grin while shaking his head.....I went to the match and he got killed but he saved one match point, he hit the best backhand passing shot I have seen in MY LIFE.

5.- Most energized crowd.....Hewitt - Blake famous racial remark match. Blake is putting on an incredible fight and puking all over the court.

6.- The worst and the nicest. Marcelo Rios from Chile the biggest puphead I ever saw in MY LIFE. The nicest player, Fernando Gonzalez from Chile, we have one friend in common that couldn't make the trip but told me to look for Fernando and send his regards, I approached him on a practice court we talked for a while and then he came out with MASSU and took a bunch of group pictures....here we were with the GOLD MEDAL CHAMPS.

7.- Another nice guy...Luke Jensen. I'm with my wife chilling outside Arthur Ahse, it's like 8:30 pm, I'm waiting for the Roddick - Lubijic match. Here comes Luke, I say..."Where is Murphy..??? " He comes over and we talked for 5 minutes and took some pictures, he offered us tickets to see Roddick....shame we already had them. I sent him a couple of pictures on an email I found on his web site and he sent me a nice reply.

8.- Heart stopper....Side by side with Agassi on a practice court, one ball is at my feet over the short fence, Agassy is serving and says " can you get me that ball ", I bent over the fence and couldn't reach the ball, he makes fun of me, I kick the ball under the slot on the fence right to his feet and said, " I'm old like you and I have to be creative "....GIL REYES came over and I had my picture taken with him. BIG Guy, Nice Guy.

9.- Outside the tennis center chilling again with the wife, keeping a low profile I get pictures with Nalbandian, Phillipoussis, Dementieva, Capriati, here comes FEDERER, is 2003 he just won WIMBLEDON , the camera JAMS, he is there an waits for like an eternity until I can get the pictures taken. How can someone be so nice.


Can wait to go back. Post some of your stuff and sorry if it was too long.

Budda
 
Great post. Random, less coherent recollections of my own...

- Watching a night match of Goran versus Todd Martin. Somebody in the crowd starts chanting/taunting "Gooooo-ran... Goooooo-ran..." the way they did for Daryl Strawberry. Later a guy yells out "Let's go, McEnroe!" The crowd laughs.

- Warming up for their final match, Todd Martin warming up with Jose Higueras for over an hour or so, comprehensively practicing every shot. Jose hits a super heavy ball and all with a continental grip, I think. Agassi comes out to practice about 40 minutes after Todd started. Agassi's warmup is completely different. He comes out, takes off his shirt, and starts just cranking the ball. Brad just blocks the ball back. Agassi pounds shots harder than I've ever seen him hit in a match, occasionally blazing a corner for a sick winner. Then he hits like 4 overheads, and maybe 10 serves and he's done. 20 minutes max. Later that day he wins the US Open.

- Roddick practicing with Ginepri on the court adjacent to the Grandstand. Courier is there watching, coaching. Roddick is strutting around like he's the king of earth. Ginepri is all mopey and I'm not so sure he's comfortable with people watching. Roddick shows no mercy to Robby. He's eating up the attention and wins like 20 points in a row against Ginepri. Robbie looks like he feels like the biggest dweeb in the world. He knows he's getting embarrassed. Courier and Tarik are sort of grinning. Courier goes over to Robbie to try to pep him up. They play more points and Andy hits the single hardest forehand I've probably ever seen. A running forehand, slapshot screamer that nicks the line. It must have been a good 115 mph.

- Night match between Roddick and Hewitt. We had nose bleed seats, my roommate and me. It's really late and the ushers come to our area and tell us to move down to wherever we want. We end up 3 or 4 rows right behind the players. The New York crowd is drunk and loud. My roommate is drunk off his ass and just to be a dork he beings yelling for Hewitt. Drunk guys all around are laughing at my roommate because they know he's just busting balls. This was the match with the infamous overrule of a Roddick shot that the ump could in no way have gotten a good look at. Roddick could have won that match. Hewitt, I think, went on to win the US Open. Great night.

- Guga warming up for a match against a guy I'm pretty sure is retired now. His strokes are about as sweet as I've ever seen. He's so freakin' loose. Anyway, he's done with the groundstrokes so he comes up to the net for some volleys, and as he does he hits one of the sickest forehands I've ever seen. I don't how the hell he hit it. He didn't even really swing any harder, but he flattens it out and nails a lazy inside out forehand that was just ridiculously speedy. To this day that shot is a mystery to me.
 
Netbudda said:
3.- Craziest thing by a player.....GORAN IVANISEVIC...he is coming out of the players lounge, he is tall, this kid comes to him and screams GORAN !!!!!, GORAN turns around puts two fingers on the kids forehead and says..." GO AWAY "


5.- Most energized crowd.....Hewitt - Blake famous racial remark match. Blake is putting on an incredible fight and puking all over the court.
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3. LOL!! Thats so awesome!

5. Puking on the court? EXPLAIN!!

P.S. I envy you, although I dont like the idea of hounding all those players, well i wouldnt anyway.
 
Puking on the court? EXPLAIN!!

Not only was Blake having to deal with Hewitts racial remarks with dignity and maturity he was also overcome with dehydration with dire consequences.

He won a lot of admiration and respect that night.
 
Hahaha, I'd love to run into Hitch at a bus stop. I got the chance to visit Arthur Ashe stadium just before the open last year. Because of my vacation time, there was no tennis being played - but just to walk on the grounds of where such legendary matches were played was just euphoric. And Arthur Ashe stadium is just intimidatingly large.

I don't have any fandom experience at the open, but one of the most memorable times was at an Anna Kournikova exhibition by my hometown. She played against Conchita Martinez, an old vet. Anyways, my friends and I are professional hecklers. At one point my buddy yelled out, "Hey Anna! What's your number?!" Anna starred at him and declined, but then Conchita shouted out a fictitious telephone number, which got Anna a bit irritated.
 
I was watching Nalbandian and Federer practice during the US Open in 2001. I didn't recognize Nalbandian and just figured he was a practice partner. But, he starts ripping winners left and right past Federer. I was telling my GF that he was pretty good for a practice partner but he was gonna get fired for making Federer look bad. Then, they finish their practice and both of them come out. Nalbandian comes out first, but why would I get in line to get a signiture from a freaking practice partner? So, I let him walk right by me. Federer then comes out, a few people get in line to get his autograph, I do the same. He signs them all except when he gets to me. Instead of signing my US Open ball, he just hands me the permanent marker he was using and walks away. I should have tagged him in the back of the head with my ball, but I was too chicken to do it...
 
US Open (I think) first year in the new Tennis Center next to Shea: I'm strolling along the grounds on my way to a Senior Doubles match with some of my heroes....

I became aware of some commotion over my right shoulder, and as I'm turning to see a mob of autograph hounds hurrying right toward ME(!) -- Chris Evert stiff-arms me like a running back and growls, "Move!" as she zooms away toward the practice courts.

The area I was in was not very crowded. (Maybe she had also been looking over her shoulder, and my "appearance" in her path surprized her.) But she nearly knocked me down and offered no apology at all.

Ever since then, I've not thought much of Chris....

- KK
 
raftermania said:
Hahaha, I'd love to run into Hitch at a bus stop. I got the chance to visit Arthur Ashe stadium just before the open last year. Because of my vacation time, there was no tennis being played - but just to walk on the grounds of where such legendary matches were played was just euphoric. And Arthur Ashe stadium is just intimidatingly large.
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I mean, it's a nice stadium and all, but couldn't they have put a little more thought into its design? It has all the charm of a prison restroom.
 
- About 4 or 5 years ago, I was watching Federer and Malisse practice in the Grandstand court. You could see Federer was somebody special although I didn't imagine at the time that he could ever become as dominant as he is now. Anyway, Malisse was pretty sweet, too, but he just didn't seem into it. He reminded me of a lot of guys I knew growing up who played tennis because "they had to." He looked lazy and childish.

So a day or two later I see Malisse practicing on a smaller outer court with Pioline and some other guy I didn't recognize. Pioline is on one side of the court by himself and the three are taking turns playing points. Again, he's totally dogging. Malisse gets maybe three shots in on a good point. He's hitting fences and Cedric is pisssseeeed. He's giving him dirty looks and yelling. Malisse just didn't seem to give a crap. In fact, I swear he started dogging even more, moving even more slowly, hitting the ball with even less conviction afterwards. It was pretty interesting.
 
netbudda said:
5.- Most energized crowd.....Hewitt - Blake famous racial remark match. Blake is putting on an incredible fight and puking all over the court.
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haha i was at that match. it was a sight. great match though. damn i hate hewitt, but we share a birthday. :rolleyes:

another us open story, my dad's company gets nice seats, like at the players entrance so we go in the players entrance to the stadium. i get to the door and my moms having trouble finding tickets. up walks serena, in her peak. im just standing there in aw with my sister and then she goes in. second latrer my mom finds the tickets and we asked the guy at the door if it was really serena and he said yes and we were like how didnt we get autos.
 
The funny part is that you do not have to hound the players, they are just everywhere, they are normal people, specially the practice courts they are there just ripping balls and you are sitting practically 10 feet from them. If my memory doesn't fail me in 2003 Alberto Martin ( Spain ) played Albert Costa ( Spain ) on an outside court, I believe Costa played the 2002 French Open Final.........is an outside court, sitting for maybe 60 people, the match is over Alberto Martin wins. People start leaving as Alberto goes by I said..." Buen Juego Alberto ".....he comes back all excited and puts his arm around my shoulders, all sweating like a PIG !!!!...he says gracias like 100 times, I took a picture of him and my wife and away he went...no coaches, no family no nothing.

I wish I could post some of my pictures here.

Budda

P.S..... I was at the Federer - Malisse match...My God that was 2000

Another funny one....last year after Roddick killed Nadal, is 9:00 pm and Nadal and Verdazco are in the first practice court where the players just come out, they have a supermarket plastic bag full of balls and they are ripping services like hackers on a park....after a while they come out and start goofing around in spanish with us. I don't know if you remember but Roddick almost hit Nadal with the second service of their match to the point than Nadal had to duck. I asked him how does it feel to see a ball that fast...he just laughed and said..." I just wanted to get out of the way the SOB almost hit me..." funny.

You can be walking in Manhattan at 1;00 am and see a bunch of them just going around and having fun.
 
35ft6 said:
I mean, it's a nice stadium and all, but couldn't they have put a little more thought into its design? It has all the charm of a prison restroom.
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What would you do to make it better looking?
 
Another one, USOPEN 2000, remember a nobody Hung Tay Lee or something like that, came to the open by playing the Quallies, ended up playing Sampras in Arthur Ashe Stadium.......before that match, I'm at the Nike store buying a hat, suddenly I see a guy right on my left elbow to elbow, he is looking at shorts, shirts and socks, he carefully inserts every shirt inside the shorts and puts the socks over and checks how does it look. I turn around and looked at him he has massive CALFS. I get tapped on the shoulder and USA network is doing a segment.."Getting To Know You"...they wanted to ask me questions about this KOREAN player, I declined and 3 girls took my place.....next day I get on a plane come home and put the TV on, there it is Sampras vs Lee...he is wearing the outfit and the story is out that he didn't have a sponsor so he bought all that stuff to have something nice for the match. Two games latter the 3 girls come on the screen making fun trying to pronounce his name.......I was speechless !!!!!! :-)
 
"OMG OMG!!! CAN I PLEASE HAVE YOUR AUTHOGRAPH!!!??? PLEASE PLEASE!!-- Hey! WHERE U GOING! GET BACK HERE!!!!!.... I hate that guy/girl!"
 
netbudda said:
I don't know if you remember but Roddick almost hit Nadal with the second service of their match to the point than Nadal had to duck.
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that was great, i was there way up in the stands watching all the guys who had been bowing down to serena and then roddick! then wabam, i hear it then look down and see nadal practicly get hit by a 145 mph serve! at that point i was screaming VAMOS NADAL!!!! i was so pumped when my friend called me 20 mins or so before the match and said he had an extra ticket cause he gets em for free cause his good family friend is a player(lost to mauresmo in 1st round). damn, good memorys and when federer walked right through my arm at the final when i was trying to get his autograph on the side of the overhang.
 
Netbudda, actually I was writing how to upload your pics on http://imageshack.us/ but something about the site has changed so I replaced what I was trying to explain with 'never mind' then I saw what you had written about Lee. He doesn't receive money from Nike for wearing their products so sometimes it seems like he rubbes out the Nike logos.

and LOL@his massive calves.
 
Eh, it's just normal after a quick while. You learn they are normal folk too, and actually want to have some bits fo a normal life. Many are cool, others, you could care less if you have to deal with them again. It is what it is. Though it does have to be said, many are rather nice folk, and are greatful when you help them out( in my case stringing )
 
gugafanatic said:
35ft6 thanks for sharing your experiences, It must be wonderful up and close with pro's.
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Yeah, like people have been saying, for the most part the pro's seem very normal. They're not as pampered as other professional athletes here in the states and I think that keeps them down to earth. Sure, the superstars lead relatively pampered lives, but as for the rest I think there's something about checking into a coach flight, pricing hotel rooms, and going completely unrecognized in America that keeps them humble. ;)
 
I was ball-boying at the Sydney International a few years ago, and another ball-boy (who was a really big kid) were running to get to our court so that we could see the end of the earlier match. As we came to a corner, he was about 5m in front of me, and little did we know, Lindsay Davenport was walking the other way. He ran around the corner, at full pace, and knocked her over. If it wasn't so terrible, it would have looked funny lol.
 
Netbudda said:
5.- Most energized crowd.....Hewitt - Blake famous racial remark match. Blake is putting on an incredible fight and puking all over the court.
7.- Another nice guy...Luke Jensen. I'm with my wife chilling outside Arthur Ahse, it's like 8:30 pm, I'm waiting for the Roddick - Lubijic match. Here comes Luke, I say..."Where is Murphy..??? " He comes over and we talked for 5 minutes and took some pictures, he offered us tickets to see Roddick....shame we already had them. I sent him a couple of pictures on an email I found on his web site and he sent me a nice reply.
Click to expand...

I was also at the Hewitt-Blake match in 2001, and it was crazy. Booing like mad at anything Hewitt did. Blake was up two sets and 2-3 in the fourth, and then he starts cramping and puking. He only won one game the rest of the way. Also, Hingis was almost getting upset on Arthur Ashe, and whenever he score was shown that she was down, the crowd would cheer like crazy. That was fun stuff. I also remember the match before, Sanchez-Vicario v. Dokic I think, and Donald Trump held up the match to take his front row seat. S-V was really mad that he was holding her up.

I also have played a few games against Luke and Murphy and then talked to them for awhile, and they are definitely great guys. They have come down to my small hometown the past two years for charity events and put on a great show. I have been to four events where they have played before, and they are entertaining everytime.
 
The most important thing to recognize is the fact that players assigned to the outside courts do not have all that entourage so they feel very good when you support them. I'm from Venezezuela and Maria Vento Kabchi ( Ven ) was still on the draw playing Mix doubles ( 2004 ), I told my wife " come on let's show some support "...we get to the court and this match is being played in fron of 30 people we were literally standing feets from the sidelines,we cheered for her team waving a little flag I had on my backpack, when the match was over she came to us to say thanks for taking the time to come see her play when she knows we can go find better matches than hers at the US OPEN. She was so polite that I understood that she felt like the privileged one. Our exchange was very pleasant like talking to a countryman/woman you find on foreign land while on vacation.

Budda
 
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