Up close and personal

Just got back from watching a few games of a men's doubles match between Rik De Voest-Ashley Fisher and Chris Haggard-Stephen Huss, none of whom I've ever heard in my life.

What's so interesting about the match, aside from the fact that both teams featured a South Aftican and an Australian?

The fact that it was on Court 5, one of the outer courts here that is so accessible you can literally lean over the four-foot high chain link fence and touch the hard, green court yourself.

Try doing that at Yankee Stadium or Madison Square Garden -- but don't blame me when a jacked-up security guard named Rocco cracks you in the jaw with a 25-pound walkie-talkie.

No such hostility here. And that's one of the things that make thing U.S. Open so great. Who cares if you don't know the players? It's still world-class tennis, better than anything you'll ever see at your local country club or public courts, and the players are standing no more than 20 feet away from you. I've covered a lot of different events, including U.S. Open golf, and nothing comes close to it for accessibility.

On a completely different point, what's up with singles opponents warming each other up before a match??? I know I've raised this question before, but every year I come out here and it amazes me.

Just think of the mental aspect that goes into it -- you crank a couple of extra-hard serves or groundstrokes, or drop down some sick volleys, and suddenly you've got your opponent thinking you're on top of your game.

To me it's almost like taking batting practice against the opposing pitcher or taking warmup shots on the other team's goalie in hockey. Maybe I'm just too much of a ruthless competitor for tennis. Or maybe I don't know what's I'm talking about.

You think about that one. Mark Dwyer is here to take you home. He'll be following some of the interesting night matches, including Lindsay Davenport's second-round match and Andy Roddick's first match of the tourney.

I'll see you tomorrow.