I’m loving my time in New York so far! Day 1 was all about sightseeing, starting in Lower Manhattan with Brooklyn Bridge and the 9/11 Memorial (very moving) and ending with Times Square at night. Day 2 was starting to ramp up the tennis! I got my first taste of Flushing Meadows on Sunday afternoon ahead of main draw action starting. It’s great because you can get in for free and see many of the top players practising – many thanks to Jonni (who contributed for the blog about his US Open experiences last year) for the tip! Here are some of my best pics from exploring the grounds and watching player practises on Sunday…
This is my first ever time at the US Open – it’s safe to say excitement levels were high as we entered the grounds with Arthur Ashe looming in the distance. We also had a quick peek in Louis Armstrong Stadium where Ryan Harrison was on court.
Andrea Petkovic and Eugenie Bouchard were practising on court 6 in sweltering conditions. I’m a lightweight when it comes to heat and I could only last five minutes in the sun before we headed for the shade! The pair were still playing when we returned a bit later in the afternoon.
We meandered over to the new Grandstand court which is pretty awesome. I can’t wait to watch some live tennis on this court, particularly as there is one section that is in the shade! I am planning to start Monday with the first match up between Caroline Wozniacki and Taylor Townsend. On Sunday, Marin Cilic was practising with Ivan Dodig.
Other players spotted on the outside courts included Kirsten Flipkens, Monica Niculescu and Danka Kovinic. Barely anyone was watching Monica… shame on everyone!
Shame on me too for moving away from Monica’s practice as I wanted to catch the end of Daria Kasatkina practising with Jana Cepelova. Kasatkina had her coach, Vladimir Platenik on court. Daria looked very frustrated and didn’t seem to be having fun out there. I’ve loved watching her this year but recent results at Cincy and New Haven are a possible sign that her first full year on the WTA tour might be catching up with her. She opens against Wang Qiang on Tuesday who she defeated earlier this year in Doha. All in all, it’s a decent draw for Daria…
A quick peek into court 17 saw Ivo Karlovic and Fabio Fognini wrapping up their practice. We attempted to sit down but the seats were SO HOT. I really like this court and am hoping to catch a few matches on it during the week. Milos Raonic v Dustin Brown at night on Monday sounds like fun…
Finally we headed over to the designated practice courts, of which there are five in a row. I’m going to do a comprehensive wrap-up piece when I get back about the US Open experience but I already love the access for the fans and it’s something that is missing at both Wimbledon and the French Open. The viewing platform allowed us to sit and watch the Bryan Brothers, Camila Giorgi and Juan Martin del Potro (woo for the Delpo who had a big crowd!) all at once.
It was great to get a feel for the place ahead of Monday where we have a day ticket for Ashe. On early reflection, while the grounds may not have the same character of Wimbledon or Roland Garros, i’m loving how spacious they are and how many seats there are on some of the outside courts. I’m hoping to have a top 10 photos post for the next three days but we’ll have to see how that goes… it’s going to be a hectic few days :-).
Moo's Tennis Blog 
Wow what a choke by Puig. All the media calling her a fluke got to her head. I saw on her Twitter haters gona hate lol. Was leading 4-1 in the first losing 5 games in a row. What a choke
LikeLike