September 12, 2021 - Field Notes from the US Open - “The Quiet Excitement of Tennis” - Karlton Miko Tyack
In between World War I and the 1918 pandemic, the US Open (then the US National Championship) carried on. It was the only Grand Slam tennis event that year. When my friends and I attended opening day at Flushing’s Billie Jean King Center on August 30th, it was the first time the US Open was actually open in two years. By the end of the day, I realized something. When you and your friends have been kept apart for so long, by way of furloughs and pandemics and politics, the best way to finally come together again, is as tennis spectators.
I’ve always believed that sports can bring people together. I decided that this is especially true with tennis during the contentious first round match between Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas. As Murray masterfully delivered the first serve, I sat in the audience with my group of five: two Britons, two Greeks, and me, the Yankee in the middle.
My friends Nicholas and Mykos were born and raised in Palaio Psychiko. “If Tsitsipas wins, drinks are on you guys,” Nicholas declared to James and George, the British faction. As for drinks, I’m happy to report that the comfortingly familiar Honey Deuce highball cocktail, with its tennis ball-like melon garnishes, was especially popular this comeback year.
During the early sets, Murray played like his old self, chasing down drop shots and attacking forehands. “Get your credit card out, Nicholas,” whispered James.
Tennis must be the only fast-moving sport in which spectators whisper to each other. To win, players need to sustain concentration for prolonged periods of time; and on this occasion, the Murray and Tsitsipas face-off lasted a whopping four hours and forty-nine minutes. Unlike football or soccer, we tennis fans have to give our energy to the players in a quiet way, to see the wins we’re wagering for. It’s as if politeness is built into the game’s DNA, even in the face of a bet.
Yet the silence doesn’t mean a lack of excitement and strength, or even a lack of drama. After losing the first and third sets, Tsitsipas came back hard and strong, to the pleasure of Mykos and Nicholas. After the excessively contentious and difficult year and a half we’ve had, my friends and I especially enjoyed this polite kind of excitement and competition.
After nearly five hours of play, Tsitsipas did win (6-2, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4), and James and George enjoyed buying Honey Deuces for our friends as much as Mykos and Nicholas enjoyed winning their gentleman’s bet. I bought my own, of course.
Apparently, Andy and Stefanos are still mad at each other. Murray didn’t appreciate Tsitsipas’ multiple and excessively long breaks, and Stefanos didn’t see a problem with abiding by the ATP rules, which allow for one bathroom break during a three-set match, and two breaks during a five-set match. As bad as their match got, the five of us are still friends. In tennis, the rage stays on the court, or between players, where they have an outlet for it.
As each set started, and the announcer asked fans to be quiet and seated, I remembered that tennis is the only sport that audience members are ever asked to do that, with a please and a thank you, no less.
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Karlton Miko Tyack was born and raised in West Los Angeles. He spent summers with family all over New England and studied art history in Massachusetts. Consequently, he’s a fan of the Patriots as well as the Dodgers and the Kings. He also loves the outdoors, dogs, riding horses, and Christmas time.
Karlton worked in the art gallery world for ten years, and moved to New York for an opportunity with one of the city’s auction houses. New York has quickly become his favorite city. He resides on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
