Well, yesterday marked the first matches and official opening ceremonies for the 2011 US Open Tennis Tournament in Flushing Meadows, NY. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave a short introductory address, very smoothly indeed, considering that he had just passed an incredibly harrowing weekend weatherwise.
His speech was followed by another given by the President of the United States Tennis Association (USTA). Then there was an original musical number presented by a talented 14-year-old named Greyson Chance, a YouTube video of which can be seen here. Is it just me, or are entertainers really getting a LOT younger? He looks like he's just barely out of diapers! Of course, that may be the influence of my weekend with toddlers and babes in diapers taking its toll.
Young Chance then sang the "Star-Spangled Banner" while US Marines unfurled the colors. Finally, the evening matches began. Venus Williams started things off by defeating a young Russian player who had only arrived in NYC hours earlier, a combination of visa problems and airline delays caused by Hurricane Irene. Then my hero, the truly Great Roger Federer, won his own match handily, although it certainly wasn't pretty at times. Federer admitted to being a bit flummoxed by all the havoc caused by the hurricane, including the near-total shut-down of the Big Apple. Will he make it to the final and win again for a sixth US Open championship? At least he's managed to tie Andre Agassi's second-best record of matches won during Grand Slams, no matter what else he does here.
Even though I'm hoping for it, only the Fates know for sure. As the commentators noted, there are a lot of excellent and "hungry" younger male singles players, among them Novak Djokovic, who would just LOVE to win the title, currently being defended by Rafael Nadal, who seems to be as bamboozled by Djokovic this year as Federer seems generally to be by him.
Anyway, they're currently the top three players in men's tennis and I have every expectation that one or more of them will be in the final match.
On the other hand, the women's side is a real toss-up. Defending champion Kim Clijsters is not there. Current World No 1, Caroline Wozniacki, has yet to win ANY Grand Slam. Serena Williams, if she stays healthy, is always a good bet, and it's never a good idea to rule sister Venus out, although the odds are longer for her this year. Maria Sharapova has been winning titles this year and I like her generally, even though I wish that she would get the excessive sound effects under control. I can understand some grunting, but all the noise all the time is a bit much. Anyway, there are lots of other women players who could make it into the final match. It'll be fun to see who they are.
So, right now, I'm enjoying the moment. After all the turmoil of the past week, it's fun to think about tennis rather than natural - or unnatural - disasters!
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