It is always there: a monolithic presence, like some giant blue and gray Lego piece, or a Mayan ruin turned upside down, the right angles of all those steps, blown out of a concrete mold, fanning out to make the structure broader as you go higher, until you hit the very top - and widest part - of this inverted temple of Grand Slam Tennis. The very top, the rim of which which is decorated with tall, slender blue poles, like evenly spaced birthday candles, silver-tipped.
This is Arthur Ashe stadium, looming over the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center; not only can you see it from any portion of the grounds here, you are dominated by it, it is always there, looming, reminding all the fans and players and workers - everyone on the ant farm at ground level - of the reason they are here. Great things have happened inside that stadium, but - don't tell anyone I told you this - none of them really matter. Not now, not here.
The US Open begins tomorrow; it's Day One of tennis history all over again. On Monday, Sept. 10th, history will be all of a piece again, re-made into a cogent whole and narrative, albeit a halting one. But today, only tomorrow matters, And so it will be for the next 14 days.
My wife, Lisa, dropped me off at the main gate (she was on her way to play golf, but p-l-e-a-s-e don't tell anyone!) and as I walked up to the President's Gate, I heard a wave of hysterical cheers, followed by a lull, then another cheer. It sounded like the amusement park, when you stand under the roller coaster and listen to the people react to the ride. As I got close, I made out the words: "Rafael!" "Rafa!" "Nadal!".
Jet Boy had just finished hitting on one of the "show" practice courts, No. 5 , where there's actually a small aluminum bleachers so fans can sit and look down the row of 5 courts. Catch it on a good day, and you can see, on adjacent courts stretching into the distance, Andy Roddick, Justine Henin, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova and Jamila Gajdosova (love her now, she opens the tournament on Ashe tomorrow against Jelena Jankovic). Note to USTA - put the taller players on the furthest practice courts, to diminish the foreshortening. I was looking for Olivier Rochus the other day on P-5 and I couldn't see the litltle dude.
Rafa lingered for a bit, signing autographs and whipping all the kids in the crowd (along with a fair number of the ladies) into a frenzy. Then he moved on, the spring in his step (he walks like he's doing some sort of stretching exercise for his Achilles tendon) as conspicuous as ever.
I took a little walk around the grounds and sampled the $9 chicken tenders (they come with waffle fries and a container of honey mustard, and I must say they seem like a pretty good deal - in relative terms, of course). Nearby, an Italian coach was demonstrating proper serving technique to a baffled looking protege wearing more ribbons and badges around his neck than a prize Holstein; a Russian family, all of them looking newly kitted out by Old Navy (they must have stopped at a mall on the way over to the USTABJKNTC) was sharing a BYO lunch, a couple of leggy teen-aged girls were scrolling through the pictures they had taken of players, and about 15 ball kids were chasing each other around.
Being at the NTC today is a little like being allowed to hang around Madison Square Garden on the day before a huge concert, when the band is doing sound check. It's extraordinary that the facility is open to all, free of charge, and in a semi-operational state. I'll bet you can't walk right into the Garden on that theoretical day before a show and watch Billie Joe Armstrong pound on his guitar for a while, get an autograph from Alanis Morrisette, buy a t-shirt to prove you were there to people who couldn't care less, eat a hot dog, quaff an overpriced beer, hit the ATM machine, and then wander out. But that's just what it's like today at the NTC, and I think it's fantastic.
But there's always that stadium, looming. A monument stripped of all associations for a two-week period during which it will create a flood of new ones. A towering, soaring Tabula Rasa - until tomorrow.
So they held a few press conferences today, and in preparation for tomorrow's festivities, I'm just going to cherry pick the interviews for our very own version of sound bites:
You Wanna Drink the Milk, You Gotta Buy the Cow:
Q (to Jelena Jankovic). Are you playing mixed?
A: No. Actually I'm not. I'm quite disappointed that this year I will not play US Open with Jamie Murray because we won Wimbledon together. He was looking forward to play with me, but I had to disappoint him and I had to say no because this is my last Grand Slam of the year. I would like to concentrate on singles and save energy because I played so much this year. I'm running out of gas. If it was in Australian Open, I would play. But this is the last one. I would love to do well.
You'd Better Not Let Roger See You Doing That! The subject is Novak Djokovic's emerging talent as a comic impersonator of his fellow pros:
Q. Did you do a good impression of him (Roger Federer)?
A: They're accepting it positively. Nobody's getting angry or upset. I'm really not trying to make fun of anybody. I'm just trying to bring up something new and just have fun.
Q: Have you done an impression for Roger?
A: Yes.
Q: What does he think of it?
A: I don't think he saw it. He has to come for one of my practices. Maybe if we practice together, I do a joke.
Defensive, Much? You just had to know Maria Sharapova would be asked about the top-heavy draw (she's in the "Get the Hook!" lower half). !Maria
Q. There was a lot of talk that the top half of the draw was heavy with Justine, Serena, Ivanovic, maybe your half of the draw was not as difficult. What do you think about that?
A: : You know, I honestly have to take it a match at a time. I really can't get worried about how the draw played out. You have Serena, who I think is seeded 8, and Venus who is seeded 12. They could have easily been on my side, as well.
That's just the way things go. I've had some pretty tough draws this year as well, particularly in Miami where I could have played Venus second round and Serena third round. If I would have won, then another tough opponent.
That's just the way draws play out sometimes. If some of the girls are seeded higher, it would have played out a little differently.
Q. Did you breathe a sigh of relief or were you pleased when you saw the draw, all those other players on the other half?
A: Like I said, I have to take it one match at a time. I can't worry about who's on my side and who's not. If I'm scared of playing someone, I should just pack my bags and leave.
As a Matter of Fact, I Am in Therapy. While talking about the psychological challenges he faced coming back from a severe wrist injury, Andy Murray got to talking about how therapy helped him overcome his fear of hitting the big forehand.
Q: In what way was the psychologist helpful?
A: It's just more I watch videos of what my forehand looked like before, just having sort of positive thoughts, someone that's listening to everything, pretty much everything that you say, and you can just get stuff off your chest, let them know exactly how you're feeling. It was a really good idea and it's helped me a lot.
Q. Do you feel like you've got faith in your body now; you're not worried about it?
A: Yeah, I think, you know, before like Miami I'd been pretty much injury free for two and a half years. I'd never had anything that kept me out for more than a week, two weeks, which is pretty good. And then all of a sudden, you know, I hurt my back. Obviously then it was my wrist. My groin was hurting, as well. You know, it was obviously quite a tough time for me.
Now I've had some time off. My body has had enough rest time. It's time for me to go back out on the court and start giving it a hundred percent again. I feel confident that I can do that.
Q. Had you been to a sports psychologist before or was this the first time?
A: I'd seen one before, when I had my knee injury when I was 16, 17. I found it really helpful then, too. Obviously it was three months longer, the knee problem. Maybe slightly harder time for me. But, yeah, I mean, I've seen a sports psychologist before. I think they're really good. I don't think it's a good thing if you're having to use them every single day for six, seven months. But, you know, on and off for a few days at a time, I think it's very beneficial.
Faith Vs. Works. Serena Williams, talking about her lack of match-play before the tournament:
Q. Do you think too much is made of being "match ready" for a Grand Slam?
A:Totally. I totally think so. I think it's definitely important to have matches and to play matches. But I also think it's important to have faith in your game and have faith. I've been playing for I don't know how long. I should be match ready. I've played a lot of matches in my career.
That's how I like to think about it. That way I can just be like, okay, Serena, you've played a lot of matches, you are match ready so just go out there and do what you need to do, as opposed to, I'm not match ready. I think for me it's almost an excuse.
Gramps Sure is Grumpy These Days. Lleyton Hewitt, was discussing whether or not his new coach, and Roger Federer's ex-coach, Tony Roche would show up at the US Open.
Q. Was there any thought to having him here?
A: No. He wasn't coming here no matter who he was with. He's got another grandchild being born in the next few days. That was always a plan, months and months ago, whether it was with Roger or anyone else.
Take This Town and Shove It. Maria Sharapova rhapsodized about how New York is the greatest city in the world (But she's Russian through-and-through, honest! She just can't stand the idea of living too far from The Viper Room) in response to that most boring of softball questions: "How do you like New York?" (That question really is a request: Tell us how much you love New York so we New Yorkers can revel further in our self-infatuation). Justine Henin was in no mood to play along.
Q: What have you been doing to keep busy in New York, to relax?
A: I just got here on Thursday night, so I was in Toronto. It was important to me to stay a few days over there because, like I said, New York is crazy.
Didn't That Guy At Woodstock Warn You About the Brown Acid???? Roger Federer took a stroll down memory lane, back to the bad old days when somebody with a spare tire and a gorgeous backhand could occasionally beat him.
