Tennis Anyone?

So if you don't already know this about me, I love tennis.  Like a serious tennis junkie.  I DVR all the major tournaments and for two weeks in February, May, June, and August, my family is subjected to the sounds of players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Dinara Safina, and Serena Williams for hours on end.

Oh, I'm sorry.  Did you think I actually PLAYED tennis? 

You don't really know me at all, do you?

I've been watching tennis seriously since Jacob was born.  We were living with Mitch's mom in an apartment and Mitch was working third shift.  I kept the TV in my room on all the time, using it as a nightlight and one night, I was up with Jacob (because that baby was ALWAYS awake) and the French Open was on.  Replay or live coverage, I don't know which.  But ever since then, I've been hooked.  I don't what it is about it, but I really enjoy it.

I know the players grunt and yell inappropriately.  Mitch and the kids imitate the grunts to irritate me whenever I am watching.  But there's something about the game that speaks to me.  That a spectacular player can have an off day and lose to an unseeded player who is having the best match of his life.  That there are no coaches allowed and the players are basically on their own from the minute they step onto the court until the match is over, one way or another.  That sometimes the match comes down to one ball hit that catches a millimeter of the sideline for a win. 

Monday, Wimbledon starts.  My least favorite of the 4 majors, but the most classic.  Played on grass and by the final, the grass is yellowed and worn and torn up.  Much like the players by that time.  The tournament most often delayed due to rain.  The players only wear white. 

By the time the final major of the 2010 season, the US Open, starts on August 30, I'll be living in Utah.  The US Open is the complete opposite of Wimbledon, where the players wear whatever they want, the winners are interviewed immediately after the match and then hit balls into the crowd.  I can't imagine what the house I'll be living in to watch the US Open this year will look like, where I'll be working, or who my kids' teachers will be.  I can't look two months into the future and see anything with any clarity.  It's terrifying, but also a little exciting. 

And I know that I'll be watching the US Open.  No matter what else is going on.  And that's a little comforting.