The Rest of September 11

So after spending the morning at Ground Zero, I headed back to the hostel to meet up with Kate. Talking to Kate on Friday night I had said to her that if Sam Stosur made the US Open final, then I would probably go out and watch! Kate said she wanted to come, so I grabbed us tickets and we headed out to watch the final.

Queen Latifah came out to sing the national anthem:

Then the match started!

Obviously, Sam was playing Serena Williams... And clearly the American crowd was pro-Serena!

So I cheered as loudly as I possibly could.

I didn't really think she could beat her... not because she can't beat her, but because she was playing Serena in the final of Serena's home town Grand Slam. The crowd was against her, and she'd only ever made one Grand Slam final before... Serena has won 13 or so Grand Slam titles... So the odds were definitely stacked against her...

BUT SHE DID IT, SHE WON THE US OPEN!

It is so exciting to be able to say that I was there to witness the first Australian woman in 31 years to win a Grand Slam title!!

I am so glad I went!!

As Kate and I were leaving, we noticed the lights on at the Mets Baseball Stadium. Basically, the train station is in the middle with the tennis centre on one side and the baseball stadium on the other. So Kate and I decided to head over and check it out! We had no idea if the game had started, was finished, or was still coming... (it was 7pm by this stage!)

So we headed over to the stadium

We were approaching the ticket windows when one of their guests services staff approached us and asked if she could help. We explained that we were at the tennis, saw the lights and thought we'd come and see if the game had started, if there were tickets available etc etc. She pulled two tickets out of the pocket and said - "this ones on me!"

Kate and I were gobsmacked! So we went in and not only had she given us free tickets, but they were awesome tickets!!

The game started just after 8, and it was all tied-up at the end of the 9th so they kept going... In the end the match finished at like 1am on the Monday morning!

It was an awesome experience!

So all in all, I had an absolute blast!

Staten Island Ferry - Ground Zero

On Saturday morning (10/9), I decided to go down and catch the Staten Island Ferry. I was planning to pay for a trip to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, when my friends Sian and Donna advised me that the Staten Island ferry goes straight past the Statue of Liberty, and it's free!!

So I caught the subway down, jumped on the ferry and enjoyed the ride over and back!

There had been whispers that another terror attack was possible. The police presence in the City, was incredible. There were police stopping and searching vehicles everywhere. There were helicopters flying over the city. At one point, I counted 5 choppers flying over Manhattan! And the Staten Island Ferry had police escorts...

On the way over, there was just a simple police boat floating along beside us...

On the way back, it was a Coast Guard boat with a machine gun attached to the front... There was even someone standing there manning the machine gun....

It certainly made the threat seem very real!

After that, I walked up to Ground Zero. I had planned to check it out on September 11, so I wanted to suss it out, find it and have a look before the actual day... That and Century 21 is literally RIGHT THERE!!

I walked around the closed off section, where all the construction is going on. And came across a little fire station... The Station wall bore this memorial:

Being there was very emotional. It is so hard to fathom what once stood there, the number of people who lost their lives there (and elsewhere that day). The idea to me, that a plane could fly into the buildings that once stood there and not come out... it just doesn't seem real.

After that, I ducked into Century 21. Didn't want to actually purchase anything, but thought I'd check it out and  see what the big deal is!

I did find one gorgeous Michael Kors skirt that I would have at least tried on, and possibly purchased, had I not seen the price tag... It was still $500... Hmm, maybe not my style after all!!

After that I headed up to the Australian Pub to watch Sam Stosur's semi-final and catch the replay of the Broncos win. However the college football was on, so I headed to the Irish Pub next door. In there I met a really lovely Australian guy. He is definitely someone who reminded me a lot of my male friends back home. And with my love of sport, the conversation flowed very easily!

I left the Irish pub about 8, headed back to the Australian, watched the first half of the Broncos game and then went home and crashed!

It was a big day, but a good one!!

Friday, 9/9

Today was a fairly cruise-y day! I went for a walk up to the Australian Pub on W 38th to enquire about their showing of the NRL/AFL finals series. I also wanted to find somewhere to watch the John Isner v Andy Murray quarter final.

So I sat there for a couple of hours watching the match, talking to a lovely girl who was there to watch the replay of the Rugby World Cup. While I was there, I was also talking to some of the staff, and while in conversation, I briefly looked outside to see paparazzi walking backwards down the street. They were following Venus Williams and her mum.

After the tennis finished, I decided to go for a walk. So I walked up 5th avenue, to Central Park and back down 6th. While I was walking up 5th, I saw Venus Williams again! She was taking her cute little fluff ball for a walk!! The puppy was so damn adorable!!

Then I walked back down to where I am staying on E 3rd.

I headed into the common room once I got back, where I met an English girl. We stayed up talking and watching The Proposal. (We've since done some other things together, but I will get to them in due course!!)

Thursday Tennis

On Thursday (8/9) I trekked out to the tennis again... It was still overcast when I woke up that morning, but the clouds quickly cleared and play resumed (finally!!).

I managed to grab myself a front row seat to the John Isner v Gilles Simon match on Crt 17! It was seriously a fantastic match!!

I was tweeting with another mad keen tennis fan friend of mine, and although he was in Australia, he was up watching the Fox Sports coverage... I posted the above photo on twitter and he replied saying "oh you finally get to watch - good commitment!" So I replied to him with this photo, showing him the awesome view from my awesome seat!!

To which he replied - "are you sitting right behind the baseline line person?" - Which I was, to which his response was "no, i'm pretty sure you've been on TV twice now!! :P" The first set went to a tie-break and as the players changed ends I was apparently in the background for quite a while! So yes, basically - I'm famous! Baha, OK not quite - but I have been on TV!! haha.

I had hoped to see Sam Stosur play as well - she was the second match on another court. Unfortunately, I was relying on Andy Murray and Donald Young to keep their match going for a long time... Which didn't happen...

Team that with the quality and length of the Isner/Simon match and Sam Stosur had taken to the court and finished her match (6-3, 6-3 over Zvonereva) before the Isner/Simon match had finished!

Either way, I am glad I was there to watch that match as it was fantastic... And as it turns out, I got to see Sam play a couple of days later... But I'll save that for another entry!!

US Open!

So as part of my new "tourist" mentality - I decided to do something I love - GO AND WATCH THE TENNIS!! So on Tuesday (6th Sept.) I braved the cloudy sky and lightly falling rain and headed out to Flushing Meadows to watch the US Open.

My favourite player was even playing, so despite the weather, I decided I couldn't possibly miss his match!!

So I caught a cab to Grand Central, jumped on the 7 train and headed out to Mets-Willet Point Station - aka home of the Billie Jean King Tennis Centre and the US Open.

I arrived just before 11, when play was expected to commence... Unfortunately the weather did not improve... at all!! And by 2pm play had been cancelled for the entire day and night - so I headed home...

Here is a photo of just how wet it was on Tuesday:

I decided to risk it again on the Wednesday, for the same reason, I couldn't possibly miss out on his match (because lets be honest, I wasn't sure if he'd win or not...). So this time, I navigated the subway to Grand Central, then caught the 7 train again. Got out there, bought a ticket went inside and was greeted by equally as mediocre weather:

So, on Wednesday, not only was my favourite player playing, but Sammy Stosur was also supposed to play her quarter-final against Vera Zvonereva. By 4pm, after countless times of almost having the courts dry, ready to play just for the rain to start again, they had cancelled all mens matches for the day.

The number of times the sucking-up-water-machines and blower machines (I don't know what they're really called - but they suck the water up and blow excess water away) came out, was ridiculous! So often they got to this point (below) just for the rain to tumble again!!

After cancelling the mens day matches, they were still hoping to play all four women's quarter-finals at the same time starting at 7.30pm... So having been there since 10.30, I stayed thinking at least I could see Sammy Stosur play... The courts were dry, and they were just about ready to go when - the rain started to fall again!! They finally cancelled it at 8.30pm, so I headed home - again without seeing any tennis action!!

It was definitely disappointing - but my trips to the tennis weren't over yet! More to come soon!