Pete Sampras
Murphy Jensen
Luke Jensen
Andre Agassi
At The Open With Marcia Frost...
Saturday, August 26th PM-Arthur Ashe Kids' Day
Today was the highly anticipated Arthur Ashe Kids' Day, featuring pop singing sensations 98º & Jessica Simpson; celebrities Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Chevy Chase; and a host of tennis stars. The show -- which had been sold out with the exception of partial view seeding -- was hosted by CBS' Mark McEwen.
Though there were various activities on the outer courts throughout the day (including an exhibition with Todd Martin), it was definitely the production at Arthur Ashe Stadium that had the crowds cheering as the fireworks began the event. VH1's Roshumba was on hand to introduce the musical talent. 98º performed two songs, as did Jessica Simpson. There was also a performance of the hit Where You Are by real-life couple Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey.
As for the tennis exhibitions, they were as exciting as the music. The first match featured Mark Philippoussis & Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario vs. Martina Hingis & Pete Sampras. With celebrity umpire and tennis fanatic Alec Baldwin looking on, Sampras/Hingis easily took the match. Sampras received loud cheers as he told the crowd he was "practicing and feeling healthy."
The second tennis exhibition was somewhat of a comedy show since it featured the Jensen brothers. Known as much for their antics as their tennis, Murphy and Luke played against Alexandra Stevenson and Jennifer Capriati while umpire Jennifer Love Hewitt called the brothers "hotties."
Although there was another (whimsical) exhibition between Andre Agassi and John McEnroe (McEnroe won 10/8), the most exciting tennis on the Arthur Ashe Stadium Court today was when Lindsay Davenport, Agassi, Todd Martin, Martina Hingas and 98º's Justin Jeffre & Nick Lachey hit forehands, backhands and serves for charities. They all earned substantial donations from American Express, with Martina Hingis winning the $35,000 jackpot for the World Health Organization.
Jessica Simpson summed up her feelings (which are shared by many) about tennis by saying, "When the underdog wins, that's the coolest thing in the world." Arthur Ashe himself would have appreciated the fact that the day named after him celebrated the underdogs -- kids just starting out and charities alike.
Friday, August 25th PM-Qualifying
My apologies to the ITA National Summer Championships winning doubles teams of Lauren Kalvaria/Gabriela Lastra and Ed Carter/Brian Vahaly. I missed the change putting them on the schedule yesterday and didn't get to see their matches. Both teams ended up drawing seeds and did not advance. Kalvaria/Lastra lost to Angelika Bachmann/Andrea Glass (No. 4 seeds), 6-1,6-4 and Carter/Vahaly lost to Tim Crichton/Ashley Fisher (No. 8 seeds), 6-3,6-4.
All photos are from the College And Junior Tennis archives and may not be reproduced in any way without permission.
