The US Open

For anyone who doesn’t pay attention to tennis, the US Open starts today.  This is looking to be a great tournament.  Serena Williams is trying to win a Grand Slam (again, for anyone who doesn’t follow tennis, that is winning all four majors in a calendar year).  If she does it, it will be the first Grand Slam since Steffi Graf did it in 1988.  If Williams wins, she will also tie Steffi Graf with 22 major victories for the most in the open era.  Needless to say, all of the pressure is on Serena, but I really hope she does it.
On the men’s side, it is really Novak Djokovic’s tournament to lose.  Barring some kind of weather or injury craziness, Andy Murray is the only one with a realistic shot of beating him.  I like both of them, so I would be fine with either of them winning.  I’d also be happy to see all the cards land right for Roger Federer to win one more, but I’m not optimistic about that.  What I’m really hoping for, though, is to have some 20 year old that I’ve never heard of have a magical two weeks and win this thing.  Like I said, I like the favorites, but the past decade of men’s tennis has been so dominated by a handful of names that I’d just love to see someone new.
I look forward to the US Open every year because it is the only major that lands in my time zone, so I can actually watch the matches.  It is also a different kind of tennis, though.  It is louder.  The crowds play a major role.  And it’s just plain fun.  Even if you are not a tennis fan, this is a fun tournament to watch.