crepes and courts

I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the US Open yesterday. If I have not already, I'm quickly turning into a sports fanatic. I like to play and to watch and it almost doesn't matter which sport it is, if I'm watching it in person, I'm into it. Yesterday was a great day to be at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Long Island. It was a little overcast, not too hot, and there were lots of juicy matches. Granted, I'm not completely familiar with many of the entrants, but the competition, endurance and determination is contagious. The highlight match of my day was watching first time US Open entrant, France's Alize Cornet (96) give Serbia's Jelena Jankovic (3) a run for her money. Of course, with a number 3 ranked athlete playing a number 96 ranked athlete, I thought this match was going to be a no brainer. Maybe Jelena did too. Alize quickly won the fans over with her smile and sheer determination. At one point, she looked to be feeling burned out and the crowd exploded into an uplifting cheer. Alize pumped her fists, gave a quick smile and looked to say to herself "yes, I can do this." However determined Alize was, it wasn't enough to get past the number 3 seed. After 3 sets of trading wins, Jelena pulled out the win.

Even though I ate before I went, it was a long day (we were there from 11 until 7!). I definitely got hungry sometime around the middle of the afternoon. We walked through the food court and I must say there were a TON of options. Many more than I would have imagined. They had the traditional ball park fare like hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken fingers. They had Italian specialties like pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, and pasta primavera. They had Japanese fare like soba noodles and sushi. They had sweet and savory crepes wrapped smartly in a carrying container for toting around the park. This list goes on. I opted for an 8-piece California roll and a giant bottle of water - the total came to $14.25. Sure, it's expensive but it's on par with NYC stadium food prices. In the food court, if you're smart about picking your seat, you can get a great view of any one of several giant screen TVs airing the matches from Louis Armstrong Stadium or Arthur Ashe stadium on the parks grounds.

We had a great day, and we'll be back on Sunday for a center court match - that should be fun!

*k*