Making the party rounds. That’s what the pro players, celebrities, sponsors, PR flacks, Rachel Zoe-wannabe stylistas, members of the media and New York scenesters do in the days leading up to the U.S. Open’s first round. This year, TENNIS sent us to cover as many events as we could a) find out about, b) get into and c) tolerate before passing out from either boredom or exhaustion. We trekked the gritty streets of New York for three days, and spent ninety percent of our time just waiting for a potential interview subject to make an appearance. Before we open the gilded envelopes and hand out the awards, here’s a look at our itinerary:
DAY ONE – Wednesday, August 26
Nike Challenge NYC at 23rd and Broadway, or as emcee Brett Haber said, “in the shadow of the Flatiron Building.” This event was held to benefit three New York City charities: Mentoring USA, Athletes for Charity and New York City Parks & Recreation. Each charity received $10,000 from Nike, and a few lucky kids received hitting tips from Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal. The pros also modeled their new U.S. Open outfits. Plus, John McEnroe was on hand to contribute his crusty version of comic relief and to show off his new Nike line.
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“DirecTV ESPN US Open Experience”* at Bryant Park. Two courts were set up for exhibition doubles matches featuring former pros Mary Joe Fernandez, Brad Gilbert and the Jensen brothers, and current stars like Victoria Azarenka, James Blake, Venus and Serena Williams, and the Brothers Bryan.
K-Swiss “Play Nice” Runway Show at Skyline Gallery on 10th Avenue and 36th Street. The purpose of this shindig was to show the Spring/Summer 2010 collection and to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. A worthy cause, to be sure, but this event was particularly special because it marked the first time Vera Zvonareva walked the catwalk. A gum-chomping Anna Kournikova, an ambassador for the Boys & Girls Club, strutted with kids from a local B&G club.
DAY TWO – Thursday, August 27
Maria Sharapova by Cole Haan Collection “Unveiling” held in the Channel Gardens at Rockefeller Center and at the Cole Haan store, also located at Rockefeller Center.
Taste of Tennis at the W Hotel located at 49th Street and Lexington Avenue. We’d like to tell you what this event was like on the inside, but we don’t know because we were stuck on the red carpet with the photographers. (Thanks, DKC Public Relations Sr. V.P. Dave “I’ll Take Care of You” Donovan.) At this party—the biggest of all the soirees—celebrity chefs, including Bethenny Frankel from “The Real Housewives of New York City” and Carla Hill and Ariane Duarte of “Top Chef,” served up dishes they’d concocted with pro players. We saw Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, David Ferrer, Fernando Gonzalez and Lleyton Hewitt, and actually spoke to the lovely Dominika Cibulkova.
Thomas Reynolds Launch Party with James Blake on the rooftop of Lord & Taylor at 5th Avenue and 39th Street. It would’ve been a bad sign for our job security if we hadn’t made it into this party; it was co-sponsored by TENNIS. This was a celebration of Fila’s new apparel line, designed with Blake and named the Thomas Reynolds by Fila collection, after Blake’s late father.
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Kelly Bensimon, from "The Real Housewives of New York City," attended the U.S. Open kick-off at Skyline Gallery.DAY THREE – Friday, August 28
New York Racquet Sports Autograph signing with John McEnroe** at Broadway and 35th Street. This is the newest tennis racquet and accessories shop to open up in the city. Owners are Woody Schneider, a famous stringer and owner of Grand Central Racquet, and his partner Joan Dziena.
USTA and Heineken Kick-Off 2009 U.S. Open at Skyline Gallery. This is the same place where the K-Swiss fashion show was held. It’s also where we waited…and waited… for Serena Williams and Andy Roddick. While we were waiting (futilely, it turns out), we had some good banter with Tommy Robredo, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Agniezska Radwanska and…Penn Badgley of “Gossip Girl.” (No offense to Radwanska, but we’re willing to bet this is the first time Badgley has been mentioned after the Polish world No. 12 in a press item.) Press was sent away when it became clear that Serena and Andy weren’t going to show up.
Now, without further ado, the winners of our Pre-U.S. Open Party Wrap:
THE ARE-THEY-OR-AREN’T-THEY AWARD
Nicole Vaidisova and Radek Stepanek. We saw them holding hands at the USTA/Heineken party.
WORST PERFORMANCE BY A BALL MACHINE
The over-zealous automaton at the Nike event. We could forgive the kids for making errors when it was their turn to hit against the ball machine; after all, they had never played tennis before. But if Serena and Rafa are having trouble getting balls back, you know something’s up. The poor guy manning the machine kept his cool and finally got the thing to shoot out returnable balls instead of high floaters that landed beyond the baseline.
T-SHIRT MOST LIKELY TO BE WORN BY DAVID
The RRRAAAFFFAAA t-shirt sold by Nike.
EASIEST PLAYER TO SPOT FROM A DISTANCE
Maria Sharapova. In four-inch heels, the 2006 U.S. Open champion stands 6-foot-6, more than a foot taller than FOX 5 correspondent Anne Craig, who was interviewing Sharapova at the Cole Haan store when we arrived. We only got as far as the public because our names were left off the press list (hmmph!). But at least we could get a glimpse of Sharapova.
THE KIM CLIJSTERS GOOD SPORT AWARD
Kim Clijsters at Fila’s James Blake party. Kim was such a good sport, we’ve named this award for her! To fun it up, we thought it would be cool to type up some random questions that are typically asked at press conferences (like, “How were the conditions out there today?”) and some of our own creation (like, “Do you think men should wear shorter shorts?”) on slips of paper. Then, we’d have the players play Pick-a-Question.
THE KIM CLIJSTERS GOOD SPORT AWARD NO. 2
Dominika Cibulkova outside W Hotel for Taste of Tennis. When we realized we weren’t going to get anywhere with the players, we went around to the front of the hotel. There was Cibulkova waiting with a Dunlop rep. She let us ask some questions about the rib injury that forced her out of the U.S. Open.
BEST ONCE-OVER
Serena Williams to the wax Serena Williams at Madame Tussauds.
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BEST GIFT BAG
*The tote bag from K-Swiss. The only gift bag we received. It has a zipper.
BEST EAVESDROPPING MOMENT
Justin Gimelstob at Bryant Park. While we were interviewing James Blake, Gimel couldn’t help but get in on the moment.
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BEST PEACOCK MOMENT
*Vera Zvonareva at K-Swiss fashion show. She handled the catwalk like a pro…a pro runway model, that is! Anna Kournikova gets an honorable mention for letting the Boys and Girls Club kids upstage her.
FUTURE AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL WINNER
Boys and Girls Club girl in yellow t-shirt at the K-Swiss fashion show. The way this girl worked the runway, Tyra would be so proud.
MOST HUMILIATING TMZ MOMENT
Team TENNIS and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga at Taste of Tennis. Did we really shout out at him? And did he really ignore us?
GAME-EST CELEBRITY
Kelly Bensimon at USTA/Heineken party. Give this “Real Housewife of New York City” an oversized tennis ball and watch her play. As one reporter observed, she was like a cat with the ball. She bounced it, held it up like she holds the apple in the opening credits for “Real Housewives,” and laughed at herself. She was great.
ACHIEVEMENTS IN WINGING IT
Penn Badgley of “Gossip Girls.” He doesn’t play tennis, and follows it just a little bit, but we got more out of him than most. And he’s named after the tennis ball. Seriously.
MOST SUPPORTIVE FAMILY MEMBERS
Roger Federer’s mom, Lynette, at Nike; a Williams sister at every event attended by Venus or Serena; James Blake’s brother, Thomas, and mother, Betty, at the collection launch; possibly Lleyton Hewitt’s brother holding Lleyton’s baby daughter at W Hotel; Francesca Schiavone exiting a cab outside the W.
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Serena poses with wax Serena at Madame Tussauds.NOTABLE QUOTES
*“This woman is the number one player in the world. That’s a fact.”
—John McEnroe about No. 2 ranked player Serena Williams
“We should play doubles. You can do all the work.”
—Serena to Rafael Nadal at Nike Challenge*
“I feel fast when I wear black.”
—Serena Williams on why she went with black for her nighttime Nike outfit
McEnroe: “How many slams do you have?”
Serena: “Twenty. I count doubles.”
McEnroe: “I count doubles, too.”
“I think it’s awesome. I’ve always wanted to kiss myself.”
—Serena upon seeing her wax figure
“I’m happy to be single.”
—James Blake at DirecTV/ESPN event
David Rosenberg is the photo editor at TENNIS. Follow him on Twitter.
Sarah Thurmond is an associate editor at TENNIS. Follow her on Twitter.