A GREAT PROFESSIONAL TENNIS TOURNAMENT
By Billy E. Crawford August 22, 2011
The Cincinnati Western and Southern Open is an excellent tournament to watch the world’s greatest women and men professional tennis players.
Ideally scheduled two weeks before the U.S. Open, the greatest players are fine- tuning their hard court game for the final Grand Slam of the year in the New York City borough of Queens.
My tennis traveling friend, Steve Carter, and I recently attended the first three days of the tournament.
After reflecting on the experience, I wanted to share with you these insights and recommendations:
Attend the first several days. Why? You get to see all the players, both men and women. There is a 64 draw, which insures that the top players compete against each other starting in the first round.
The very-well designed tennis facility is conveniently located adjacent to Interstate 75 in the northern suburb of Mason, Ohio.
Go to the practice courts! The smaller courts are used for the one -hour practice period for the players. You can literally stand within a few feet of the players, and it is often the best time to get autographs since the players are in a more relaxed state of mind.
Most of the players also enter in the doubles competition. For example I watched Isner and Blake, McHale and Glatch, Nadal and Lopez, Raymond and Huber.
Steve and I tried to watch the up-and-coming American players. I caught the first round match between Ryan Harrison and Juan Chela. Ryan won the match 6-3,6-3. As many of you know, Ryan is a 19 year old from Shreveport. His grandfather Pat is in the Louisiana Tennis Hall of Fame and his father played on the tour. Ryan was defeated in the second round by #1 seed Novak Djokovic.
Also, I saw two of the future stars on the WTA: Sloane Stephens from Florida and Christina Mc Hale from New Jersey. Both players are rising-stars!
I spoke briefly with Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena. Richard was born in Shreveport and the girls lived there until they moved to California. Mackie Shilstone of New Orleans has was been working in the Williams camp.
The electronic Information screens are strategically located throughout the complex and are very helpful in keeping up with the matches, times, and court assignments.
Ground pass tickets will allow you to see all matches, including the Grandstand area and the Center Court.
A plus for baseball fans: if the Cincinnati Reds are scheduled for a home game, their stadium, The Great American Ball Park, is located downtown on the banks of the Ohio River about 20 minutes from the tournament.
A special threat on our trip was dinner with star Tommy Haas and Cincinnati ABC anchor Julie O’Neil, who is a Baton Rouge native.
From left to right: Dr. Richard, Julie O'Neil, Tommy Haas, Steve Carter and Billy Crawford
