This year was the 15th anniversary of the Bermuda Open or rather the XL Bermuda Open, a challenger level ATP tournament. For those non-tennis fans, this means tennis professionals came to Bermuda for a clay court tournament. Challenger level means that it’s a tournament for those ranked outside the top 50 in the world. In other words, it’s the minor leagues. Players who normally only play a round or two or have to qualify for tier 1 ATP tourneys get to play longer and have a better chance of winning. What you may not realize, unless you follow tennis closely, players ranked 50-100 in the world are damned good. Tennis is so competitive that players can slip in the rankings easily. Challengers are fun because you have young kids trying to establish themselves and older (25-30 year olds) veterans trying to claw their way back up the rankings. Kei Nishikori, an 18 year-old from Japan that I guarantee you’ll hear more from, won the tournament in a third set tie-breaker over a 22 year-old Serbian with a big serve and bad attitude. Robby Ginepri, who just a couple years ago was ranked in the top 15, came to Bermuda only to be pummeled in the first round. Nicholas Massu, a double Olympic champion, lost to another up-and-coming kid from Latvia named Gulbis, who has a big serve and forehand. Gulbis lost in the quarters in three sets to the eventual champion Nishikori. His game doesn’t seem like it’s made for clay. I saw him play a lot of serve-and-volley – but I was impressed. It’s hard to say which of these kids will make it and which will suffer interminably in the minors. It’s such a small sliver of talent and desire that separate these guys. Donald Young, the 19 year old, who’s America’s only hope on the horizon, was also here, but lost early. Time will tell.
In any case, it was a big thrill, getting to watch tennis of this caliber so close up. The event is held at our tennis club, The Coral Beach and Tennis Club. One night I was recruited as a volunteer usher. It was a Tuesday night and a quiet one. Unfortunately, Bermudians stayed home until the weekend. During change-overs, I undid the chain of the bleachers, just in case anyone wanted to leave or come in. But mostly my job entailed watching the sliding, grunting and sweating from just a few feet away. Pretty awesome for a girl from Seattle, where professional tennis only visits for an occasional exhibition.
Serbian Finalist
Losing Semifinalist
