World Tennis Day at MSG

I held out as long as I could, but I finally bought tickets a few weeks ago for last night's event at Madison Square Garden celebrating World Tennis Day.  I don't know why I even bother to wait - we all knew I would be buying tickets since Roger Federer would be playing.  Especially since he was playing an up-and-comer people used to refer to as "Baby Fed."  I had decided awhile ago that if Roger ever retires (which I hope he doesn't, let's be honest), I would probably join the Grigor Dimitrov bandwagon.  He's an attractive kid with an attractive game.  I won't obsess about him or come thisclose to stalking him, as I have with Roger, but I'll at least have someone to root for week in and week out.  I do have other players I root for, even now, but it's not the same as my Roger fandom.  I don't think anything will be again.  Want a reminder of my Roger love?  Check out this post:  HERE.

I had to work late last night so I ran to the Garden at the last minute, hoping to at least be there for the pre-match match between Monica Seles and Gabriela Sabatini.  But when I got to the Garden, it was MOBBED.  They didn't plan their crowd control very well.  First, there was mayhem trying to get to the table where all bags were being checked.  Mayhem.  And then, once your bag was checked, you had to go get scanned by the wand-thing like they use at airports.  I'm telling you, it was crazy.  I don't remember it being so bad last time (I've gone to this event in 2008, 2009 and 2012.  You can find my musings on the 2012 event HERE.) 

Once I finally got inside, it took forever to get to my seat.  I'll have to remember next time not to buy tickets in the section I chose, it was clear on the other side of the entrance.  But at least it led me past a vendor selling soft pretzels and bottled water.  That set me back $10, which is crazy.  What is crazier is that the kid tried to charge me $19.  I said, uh, no, try again.  I mean, $10 is bad enough...

My seat was pretty good, though a little to the side and behind all the action when the photographers came out.  When the presentations and interviews were happening, I got pictures of people's backs, which was a drag.  Two of my very favorite former players were there, Todd Martin and James Blake, presenting pieces about the tennis hall of fame and one of the USTA's philanthropic organizations, but all I saw was their backs.  Except for when I glanced up at the Jumbotron.

Seles and Sabatini played a pretty good match, considering that neither has really played tennis seriously for at least five years.  Seles still has unerring ball control and placement, and her once-demonized grunt is nothing compared to the players of today.  Sabatini still had some power on her serve and really good forward movement.  It was a nice lively match, though once Sabatini broke, I figured that was all she wrote.  Monica seemed a little tired and not really up for fighting back, though she did get one of the two service breaks back.  I'd seen Monica play once before, years ago, but I'd never seen Sabatini play live, so it was nice to relive some old memories.  It was a thoroughly enjoyable opening match.

Then, the main event.  The lights went low, spotlights came on, smoke started flowing from the entryways.  Time for the stars to enter!  Roger came in first, from the top of the stadium, heading down the stairs, highfiving his fans on the way down.  Because his jacket was white, it was hard for me to get a good shot because of the glare.  Oh, again, who are we kidding?!  I rarely get good photos indoors.  I really need to either get a new camera or a new phone with a BETTER camera.  I wish I had gotten more good shots, though I guess a few are better than none.

Both gents were playing with spirit and good humor, though Dimitrov came out on fire.  All of his shots were flashy and landing inside the lines.  He quickly broke Roger a couple of times and took the first set in something like seventeen minutes.  I was worried for a moment.  Roger looked a step slow and his serve wasn't very effective.  I thought, yikes, we're finally seeing what it should look like when a 30-something plays a 20-something (which it rarely does in Roger's case, he's ageless during a match).  But, happily, in the second set, Roger's feet started moving better, his serve was better and Dimitrov started missing a bit.  Thankfully, the match went to three sets.

For an exhibition match, there was a lot of top-quality tennis.  They were both hitting shots that made the crowd gasp.  There were screaming winners, beautiful one-handed backhands, drop shots and aces.  There were the matching tweeners, the shots into the Jumbotron, the mock-anger at the lack of challenges.  Dimitrov even brought a little kid from the crowd onto the court and let him play a point with Roger.  And, delightfully, the kid won the point by lobbing over Roger's head.  It was adorable, both the joy of the kid and the bashful look on Roger's face when he saw the ball landed in.  Very fun stuff.

got this off the internet

Roger was up a break in the third set but couldn't hang onto it.  He ended up losing, 7-5 in the third.  I wanted him to win, of course, but I was happy to see him play well and enjoy himself.  And I enjoyed getting a better look at Dimitrov live - I've only ever watched him on tv before, except for a few moments of practice at the US Open last year before it started to rain.  I think my inclination to root for Dimitrov moving forward was a good one.

Audience report:  I was actually alone in my row for much of the evening, which was very nice.  Finally, a couple came over and sat to my right and they were very pleasant.  The kids behind me were very cute and not obnoxious at all (for once).  I'm pretty sure that someone took their shoes off in my section at one point - ew.  Please.  In a public place, leave your shoes on.  Moving on: the crowd was very pro-Roger, which pretend-ticked Dimitrov off at one point - he just stood there and started waving his arms as if to tell the crowd, hey, root for me too!  It was pretty cute.  And Roger egged on the crowd, too.  At one point, he would fist pump, put his hand on his ear for more cheers, then fist pump again.  It was also pretty cute.  As with the last time I was at the Garden, the crowd got really quiet at the end when it appeared Roger would lose, but I think Dimitrov won himself some new fans.  All in all, I had a great time, enjoyed some lovely tennis and got some terrible photos.  I'm glad I went.  Here's to more years of Roger at the Garden!  :)

also from the internet - adorableness!