The day of the match, we were pleased to see Nadal, Sharapova, Williams – among others, on the list of people competing that morning. We got up bright and early, grabbed bagels along the way, and took the Long Island Railroad to the National Tennis Center. As we got off the subway, we were unexpectedly, pleasantly greeted by a throng of people, streamers, balloons, and frenzied tennis mania. It didn’t beat the crowd at Munich for the recently concluded World Cup, but it came a close second. I felt like a 6-year old kid, welcoming the sight of Disneyland for the very first time.

 After resisting temptation to get US Open freebies and souvenirs apart from a giant tennis ball we would later use for autograph signing, we entered the Arthur Ashe Stadium to witness Rafael Nadal – looking like a greek god, playing in full glory. My cousin and I couldn’t help not giving Filipinos a bad name, as we tried to sneak past security and get closer to the center court. I eventually succeeded at some point, thanked the skies for the great weather, and praised myself for not being too lazy to bring my SLR camera. Luckily, my mom did her research and had the insider secrets to optimizing one’s day at the US Open. She dragged me and Marc away from the stadium and off to the Practice Courts where she was convinced there would be tennis star-sighting. And right she was!

Once again, I used my Philippine-learned ability of pushing my way through the crowd and getting in front of the railings that separated the fans from the players. Mom and I practically swooned over the sight of Roger Federer (25-year-old Swiss who recently captured his ninth Grand Slam), Americans James Blake and Andy Roddick (who displayed a magnificent sense of camaraderie as hitting partners), Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt, out on the practice courts. Marc was at no disadvantage either, with Maria Sharapova (recent US Open Champion who was surprisingly extremely focused and intense during practice), Justine Henin, Mary Pierce, and Amelie Mauresmo, all present. We were living out every tennis fan’s fantasy. It definitely was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, to say the very least. All this for the price of $50 a ticket!

 Marc and I teamed up to form a system of getting signatures for our giant tennis ball, and partially succeeded – taking home autographs from players such as the Bryant twin and Mary Pierce. Federer’s presence riled the crowd up, and I was one among those shouting, "Ball, ball!" Eventually he did ask his trainer to throw some balls out to us. Marc caught one and my mom is thus the proud owner of one of Federer’s training balls. Sidetracking – no, I am never selling it on ebay.

To cap an already amazing day, we were able to meet and take photos with the legendary Jimmy Connors – recently hired as Andy Roddick’s coach, as well as Nick Bollettieri – founder of the Bollettieri Academy, credited with developing many world-class champions, including Andre Agassi, Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova. By then, I was already on the phone non-stop, raving to my two sisters Sofia and Samantha (tennis champs themselves) about how wonderfully organized the US Open was.

 We eventually succumbed and bought various shirts and caps as presents for family back home at the gift shops and trudged away from the Stadium, exhausted from a day spent running around in the sun trying to take in all there was to see. But the day was far from over. Though we would have loved staying longer to watch the evening tennis match, Marc and I had another event to go "crash." We were all set to wait in line that same night to see the limo-drop as some of the country’s finest musicians and artists arrived at the Radio City Music Hall for the MTV Video Music Awards 2006. But that, as they say, is another story.

Reminiscing about that day’s events is practically enough to bring a tear to my eye. If not, re-watching the farewell speech of Andre Agassi which I have downloaded onto my computer will surely do the trick.

For more pictures of the US OPEN, visit my other website - http://stenie.multiply.com.