My 60 seconds with Todd Martin

CEBU - My first hours in New Jersey was nothing spectacular, I naturally went bicycling with my brother, JC, around the West Orange area. I found the streets a little bit scary because the cars were really fast compared back home. But there is a sense of respect coming from the car drivers because if you are in the right lane, they give you a wide berth.

The following day, me, my Dad and my sister, Flom, took an Amtrak train before boarding the subway at 42nd street to Queens for the US Open. We arrived at he Shea station just adjacent to the Shea Stadium, where the New York Nets play. To the left of the station is the Billie Jean National Tennis Center where a 500m wooden ramp connects the Center to the station.

Inside the Center, they had a huge food court where we had burrito’s and later ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s.

Our tickets were for the Arthur Ashe Stadium but the Dinara Safina- Flavia Pennetta match, the game we were planning to watch, was still waiting for a women’s double match that was taking 3 sets to finish. So we decided to explore every nook and cranny of the Center. We started with court 6 with junior matches. While the games there were free, you were not allowed in until there is a changeover.

Ten-foot high hedges divided some of the courts. On the top of the bleachers of court 13, Flom spied a few people looking down on the other side. We rushed to the top and looking on the practice court was who else but Olympic Champion Elena Dementieva is practicing!!! Her back was towards us for obvious reasons. I snapped like 25 shots mostly for her side and her back but we were happy just the same.

Flom and I split after we left Dad in one of the food court tables. After going around Court 4, I saw Flom gesturing to me to come over. She then pointed to a tall and fit looking tennis player with gray sideburns. When I looked, it was Todd Martin! I immediately stood beside Todd and asked Flom to take a shot. A professional photographer saw what we were and said, “Why don’t you ask Todd? He’s a nice guy.” As I hesitated, the lady interrupted Todd who was signing four tennis rackets to an older fan. She said, “Todd, these guys want to have a photo with you”. I then approached and said, “Mr. Martin, can I have a picture taken with you?” He said, “Sure” as Flom pressed “OFF” instead of the “shoot” button”! Talk about nerves! Anyway, Todd was patient enough for Flom’s fumble and she was able to shoot again. I then took the camera and shot a photo with Flom and Todd. Easy as that!

An elevator took us to our seats at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. I never imagined a tennis court with more seats than a basketball court back home. We were on the nosebleed section and I guess it was like we were on the top of a 10-story building. Safina and Pennetta look very small but the trademark gait of Safina was obvious. Of course, Safina whipped Pennetta in straight sets.

The final match in the day session was between Andy Murray and Argentinean Juan Martin del Potro. Del Potro was all power while Murray was all guile. In the end, guile prevailed over power. But what made the match interesting was the presence of 5 Argentinean fans 2 seats below us. They were screaming Del Potro’s name while sipping an undetermined powdery substance. Their rowdiness reminded me of these football fans I see on TV.

Match was over at 830pm. The stadium was first cleared before the fans for the evening session were allowed to enter.

Next stop: opening kickoff game between the NY Giants and the Washington Redskins. (THE FREEMAN)