Sarasota News Leader

09/21/12

Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/83745

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 81 of 84

A TENNIS CLASSIC FOR TENNIS FANATICS Briton Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic to win the 2012 U.S. Open tennis tournament. Photo: Zairbek Mansurov | Dreamstime.com By Harriet Cuthbert Contributing Writer I recently participated in a five-hour tennis match at the U.S. Open. Actually, I was home watching it in the air-conditioned comfort of my bedroom, while Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic were doing all the work. They were com- peting in the men's final at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Queens, New York. The U.S. Open is one of the four major ten- nis tournaments played annually around the world. It is a grueling two-week contest and a challenge, both mentally and phys- ically, of such high caliber that I think it deserves its own place in tennis as the most difficult of them all. Just being able to play on hard courts, be- ing the best in three out of five sets and earning your way into the second week of the games, is a reward in itself. Then, at that point, when the top players are about to be tested, and the average match lasts well over three hours, if you're a tennis fan like me (a fanatic), you feel compelled to watch every shot, every bounce and every match that you can emotionally withstand. The men's semi-final matches are both played on a Friday, followed by the final match on a Sunday — unless it rains. Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic prevailed against wind, rain, cold and flying debris on the court and became the finalists this year

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Sarasota News Leader - 09/21/12