I extended my stay in Indiana for 2 days so I could see some of the city. I also found the Indy Open tennis Championships were occurring during the same week and I purchased a ticket for the Friday afternoon games. I've never been to a proper tennis match and was looking forward to it. I headed over there early, walking, so I could stop at the Indianapolis downtown Monument Circle, and have some coffee. I arrived early at the tennis center, but luckily gates were open and in I went. Maybe it had to do with being the Indy Open, (as opposed to a less popular spectator sport in our country) but I was shocked at the items being given away for free! A woman came up to me with samples of a new iced Starbucks beverage - which was delicious. Thorle sock company were giving away free socks. The programs for the matches were free. There were free rubbery bracelets supporting the Andy Roddick Foundation for Children. Kashi had loads of free samples to be taken away in a free cloth Kashi bag perfect for reuse at the grocery store. Wow. This never happens at Fenway!
I found my seat and awaited the games. It was noon and the first match was to begin at 12:30. I did manage to take a lot of photos, before my camera batteries died, so I will provide pictures.I checked out the order of play and was thrilled. Andy Roddick was scheduled to play in the second match against Lee of Korea! Roddick is currently ranked number 5 in the World. He held the number 1 spot in 2003 briefly and won the US Open in that year as well. In the Indy Open, he is ranked number 1. There were three matches scheduled for the afternoon and three in the evening, after 7pm. The match at 7pm was between James Blake (USA) and Sam Querrey (USA). Blake was ranked number 2 in the Indy Open.
The first match was between Kunitsyn of Russia and Dancevic of Canada. (To the left is a shot of this match.) The clouds looked gloomy and 30 minutes into play it began to rain. The courts were cleared. The players collected their gear and went inside. The fans who were not seated under cover, opened their umbrellas or sought out cover. I was seated under cover, luckily, because I didn't have an umbrella. During the rain break I ate a hot dog for lunch and wished I had brought a book. After almost an hour the players took the court again. They did not play for long, however, in the second set, it began raining again and the courts were cleared.
There were times when the sky looked promising. It looked as though the rain would let up and the match would continue. During these times, the crew would come out and dry the courts. It took about 45 minutes to completely dry the courts.Each time the crew came out to dry the courts, I got hopeful. A few times they would get so close, after 35 minutes of drying the courts, the rain would pick up and all their efforts had been in vain. It took a lot of people a lot of time to dry the courts. As the afternoon went on, I began to wonder if I would get to see Roddick play. It got colder and I ended up buying a long sleeved shirt. Since I didn't have anything else pertinent to do I stuck around. The hotel I was staying at was awful and it was too late to do a museum visit. Since I walked there, it seemed silly to leave since I would have to walk back. I might as well sit, enjoy my surroundings, and stay dry. Plus, I wanted to see some tennis, dammit!
It got later and later, and was still raining. I no longer wondered if I would get to see Roddick, I now wondered if I would get to
see the completion of the Kunitsyn vs Dancevic match. These poor kids (to the left) - they really worked hard all afternoon and evening. The afternoon ticket holders were allowed to stay for the evening if they wanted; in the general admission section. I stayed in my current seat where it was dry figuring I'd move if I had to. I had some dinner.After a 7.5 hour rain delay, Kunitsyn and Dancevic took the court again and finished their second set. Dancevic won both sets. He really played well after the rain delay. Kunitsyn seemed tired.
I forget what time Roddick and Lee took the court, well after 7pm. Maybe 8. It went to three sets, and Roddick won. Lee gave him a run for his money though and played very well. In the end, Roddick did play better and deserved to win. Lee had a hard time successfully returning Roddick's serve (Fastest of the night: 138 mph). Lee did play hard and had some really nice shots against Roddick. Roddick seemed to play as though he didn't want to get hurt. Had he hustled more he might have won in 2 sets. But if a player only wins a game when he serves first, he doesn't deserve to win the match. 
It was a very good match though and I was glad I stayed. I ended up being at the tennis center for 12 hours and saw two matches, haha. It was worth it. Roddick lost on Saturday to Dancevic (I bet that had been a really good game!) and Blake also was upset by Querrey on Saturday morning, who later lost to Tursunov.
The Championship is tonight, Sunday at 4pm and will be shown on NBC. Dancevic vs Tursunov. And, of course, there is also the US Open coming up at the end of August. Yay!
It was a very good match though and I was glad I stayed. I ended up being at the tennis center for 12 hours and saw two matches, haha. It was worth it. Roddick lost on Saturday to Dancevic (I bet that had been a really good game!) and Blake also was upset by Querrey on Saturday morning, who later lost to Tursunov.
