Frenchman at the US Open

One of my favorite things about this time of the year in New York is the US Open! I grew up in a family that loves tennis, my mom loved Bjorn Borg and Arthur Ashe and my older brother is a huge tennis fan and my dad took my sister and I out for our first lessons.  Let's see, two African American girls taught by their father to play - does it vaguely remind you of another sister tennis sensation - ha!  I have had the good fortune of watching a few times court-side Venus and Serena  win. Also, to see Maria Sharapova with my dearest friend Darin, who scored the most amazing tickets with seats that if I had a racket, I could have returned one of  her volleys - and granted be detested by all and get tossed out while creating quite a racket - thank God she won and didn't need me to do that.   Let me not get distracted by the women, I'm here to talk about a man!  

This weekend, I saw a young man who has become one of my favorite players to watch - Gael Monfils!  One of the top ranked players in France and in my opinion, he has brought excitement to the game - and I now understand why he is called the "Sliderman" - he not only slides on clay, but also on deco-turf!  He is quite an expansive player as he reaches return volleys that seem nearly impossible.  

Watching Monfils reminded me of one of my other favorite French players, Yannick Noah - admittedly, my friends and I loved him mainly because he was hot, I mean - his tennis was amazing!  We were ball girls at the Washington DC tournaments when we first watched him play, then we watched him eat, drink, change shirts - you get the picture:).  Although I'm not sure whether Monfils (ranked 17) will win the Open ( Noah won the French Open, not the US), he's definitely someone to watch and I am sure that his game will only improve over time.  I believe he's playing again today, perhaps my friend Darin will  - call me!