Saturday, August 28, 2010

US Open Qualies Update Days 4 and 5

Well, Friday at the open was a perfect day not too warm, the sun was shining, and there was no rain in sight. I was out on court 5 yesterday, or as I like to call it the Heineken Court, it is located right next to the Heineken bar. I was also put back on serve so I was happy about that. We had 4 matches, two of which went three sets.

Today because of the rain the first two days we have to go back, instead of getting today off. We start at 3 and there are 2 matches on each court. Once we are done today we have off until Monday when Main Draw starts. When the Main Draw starts check out my new twitter feed www.twitter.com/gallensworth to see what court I am working that that day. I do know now that I am working night duty Monday night, which means I will be making my Arthur Ashe debut at the open Monday evening. So tune into ESPN 2 opening night and look for me.

This is my last post until the Main Draw starts, so until then enjoy the weekend. Don't forget www.twitter.com/gallensworth and ESPN 2.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

US Open Qualies Update Number 3

Today was a much better than the other days. It was about 80 and sunny all day. A perfect day for tennis. I was on court 16 with 5 matches that started at 11am. With the number of matches that we had today, I think we were lucky that I am done and writing this post at 9:30pm. It could have been a lot later. The highlight of the day was a match that finished 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 an amazing match that was very contentious.

With how well the day went, we did get some bad news. Because of all the rain, we will now be working Saturday to finish up the Qualies. Also, today the Main Draw was made, so if you want to see who is playing who, excluding the qualifying spots, go to usopen.org to check it out.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

US Open Qualies Update 2

Well today was day two of rain here at the open. We got on the court a little more than we did yesterday but not much. I was put on court 11 which is another show court, but it did not matter, because of the weather, not many people were there. We finally got rained out at 10pm, leaving a lot of matches left to be finished. The good news is tomorrow is a high of 86 and mostly sunny, however the bad news is with an 11am start there are 6 matches on each court...should be a great day of tennis.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

US Open Qualies Day 1

Well the first day of qualies is over, and the Open is off to a very wet start. We started the morning off with a meeting at 9am and then it was off to court, the first matches started at 11. I was assigned one of the service line people for my crew today, which was very exciting, since last year I was near side only. Also, I was on Court 10 which is one of the show courts.

Unfortunately, I only spent about one full rotation on the court because of the rain. We were on and off all day, and we did not finish all the matches, which will make the day tomorrow a lot longer. With that being said, tomorrow there is also a chance of the wet stuff so it will be very interesting to see what will happen. I do have another meeting at 9am tomorrow, with all the first and second year umpires. And again an 11 o-clcok start. Stay tuned for more updates from the open.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Summer Update

Here we go everyone just thought I would give an update on this summer before I start my daily updates from the Open next Tuesday. I have been all around, starting in Rochester, New York. Rochester went really well, and I actually got to chair my first professional semi-final. Also, in Rochester, we had a late start one day so another umpire and myself went to Niagra Falls, the first time I have ever been there. From there I went to Pittsburgh, a pro event that I have been fortunate enough to be going to since my first year of officiating. After Pittsburgh, I travelled to Lexington, Kentucky and Decatur, Illinois. From Decatur I went to Cincinnati for the WTA event as a linesperson. After Cinci, I went north to Kalamazoo, Michigan for another tournament I have been fortunate enough to go to since the beginning of my officiating career. This year however, I was fortunate enough to be selected to be the chair umpire for the Boys 18's National Championship Match, the winner gets a wild card to the US Open Main Draw! It was an honor to be selected to be in the chair for this match. The match was really a good way to end my "summer tour."

Also, during my adventures, I received notice that I will be attending the ITF Level 2 Chair School in Toronto, to hopefully become a white badge chair umpire.

Now I am home for a week, until Monday when I go to the US Open until September 9th. Hopefully I perform well enough to get extended to the end. Keep your eye on the OUSOA blog for daily updates from the Open.

Aworth