The Magic Ball and the US Open

I was so happy simply to be in NY with my 9 year old middle son to share our 3rd day at the US Open that the fact the we had only day “grounds passes” was more than enough and, more importantly, I thought, an appropriate way for a 9 year old to first experience the US Open. I set his expectations appropriately before leaving the hotel… outside courts, no MAJOR superstars and perhaps, if the lines permitted – a trip back into Armstrong or Grandstand like previous days. The key was – “NO Arthur Ashe” – “NO headliners” and there were plenty of headliners on the schedule that day. At $300+/ticket, I want him to appreciate the art of tennis more before he has that experience. He wasn’t thrilled about it (especially since our traveling companions had full access) but was still thrilled at the prospect of going and getting more autographs etc… Perfect!

Over the previous two days, my son had developed a real interest in the young players participating in the Junior Open Qualifier matches taking place just outside the US Open gates and I LOVED that. He even asked some of these fine young players for autographs (which thrilled them too) on that ridiculous, but fun, giant tennis ball that went everywhere with us. So, on Saturday, that’s where we started our adventure– watching a nicely mannered young American named Nate. Again, couldn’t be happier. Next we headed inside with the hopes of getting into Armstrong but “OUCH” the line was painfully long. No worries, off to the side courts, practice courts and Italian Ice carts. It was HIS day, HIS order of events… even if that meant a backwards lunch starting with Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. J As a mom of three boys, I was genuinely enjoying this unique one on one time with my middle child that most who know him believe was meant to be an only child but Whomever plans these things screwed up and placed him in between two competitive and insanely irritating (his words) brothers. So, when Matt said he wanted to stand in the painfully long line for Armstrong stadium, I winced and went to the line. We were in for a long wait but hey, if a nine year old boy can do it, so can I right? Ugg. We were SO close to getting into the stadium when all the magic started…. (I’m now convinced the magic was in that ridiculous ball I mentioned earlier).

A New York style voice came from over my shoulder that asked if we had “Armstrong tix” (that’s a reserved seat inside Armstrong that gives you a special line-less entrance). The question panicked me for a brief second (was I in the wrong line?) but before I knew it, I was holding two tix (each worth $160) for box seats inside Armstrong stadium. Very generous. How good were they? I had no idea. Quickly I texted our friends who were watching their own magic inside Ashe Stadium, the biggest and best stage for tennis in the world – Melanie (the young American) beating Sharapova. Once inside, and seated, I texted again…. “OMG – 5th row – awesome seats – watching Hass – super cute”. We exchanged texts between us – her with her son happily in nose bleed seats watching their magic and me and my son in awe of our close up view. Perfect end to a looong, perfect day. Not quite.

As we left Armstrong Stadium, my son relentlessly scoured the long line to find just the right kid to re-gift the tickets to – preferably at the back of the line. It gave me huge goosebumps to watch him pay forward the joy to a young girl and her dad who were in the back of the line desperate to watch Serina and Venis play doubles. We met our friends minutes later, exhausted and ready to head back to the city via the train. While on our way out of the tennis center, with our sons proudly holding their autographed balls (tennis balls), we heard another gentle voice in the VERY packed crowd ask us if we had tix to Ashe? A bit of info is needed here to fill out the picture… My “friend” is the head tennis coach at the University of Michigan and has not only watched these tournaments for years but actually played in them, knows an extraordinary amount of people who have played in them and attended more matches than she could ever count. She was READY to go home. The other 3 of us haven’t had all these experiences (I’m much more like the 9 and 11 year old here) so Ronni generously agreed, after this woman stated several times that these tickets were “pretty good seats”, to head inside for just a few games of Roddick vs Isner. This was a rare match between two Americans on the best tennis stadium in the world at the US Open. That’s gold to someone like me. Almost too tired to appreciate the generosity, we headed into the stadium with 4 tickets worth almost $1500. Crazy generous. It gets better.

Section 7, Row H, Seats 1, 2, 3 and 4. Didn’t mean much to me at the moment but in some way sounded pretty good. Definitely better than row Y or even P right? Eleven year old Max (Ronni’s son) quickly identified section 7 and we were given the green light to go down and started the journey to our seats. We continued to walk down and down some more. We hit the railing and stopped. Honestly, there was some real confusion for us. Seriously? No, Seriously? There they are. We are sitting in the front row. Last time I was in that stadium I sat in EXACTLY the opposite row. Is this karma? That time it was for Agassi’s final match and it was wonderful but this was wonderful in a completely different way. Unexpected, modest generosity from a complete stranger. A day that started with expectation management, and a focus on “attitude of gratitude” ended with a 5 set, tiebreaker match – between two extraordinary American athletes. Ronni even suggested we pretend that we were returning the players insane serves based on where we sat and how close we were to the base line.

Did I mention we were sitting next to the player box? My son Matt watched John Isner’s coach with great intensity and watched Roddick and Isner with genuine awe. A few games turned into a set, into a couple sets and then into a 5 set, full throttle tiebreaker with Isner pulling out a triumphant win. No dinner, no bathroom breaks, none of us moved. Difficult to watch either player lose. To watch a match from that perspective… such close proximity to the family, coach and players gave us all insight into the joy, heartache and commitment shared by all who dedicate themselves to the players success. More magic.

Thank you New York for hosting such a world class tournament… from the players, the genuinely helpful US Open workers and of course the generous and passionate attendees who brought magic to our day.