US OPEN 2015

A PHOTO ESSAY
By
@Alatenumo
http://www.scribd.com/Alatenumo/documents

I headed to New York in a confident mood. What could go wrong? Nothing at all. Queen Serena was to play Roberta Vinci in the semi final of the US Open
and when she wins, she will play the winner of Flavia Paneeta and Simona Halep in the final - as easy as ABC, I thought.
On Friday 11 September 2015, I took my seat at the Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch the men and ladies semi final matches. In the first match featuring Simona
Halep vs. Flavia Panetta, the latter defeated the former in two straight sets. Next up was the Queen. I looked forward to seeing the Queen complete another
step in her quest to achieve the Calendar Grand Slam. She was in devastating form as she took the first set 6-2, then in the second set after going 2-0 up,
everything turned upside down. I sat in disbelieve as the Queen lost the match to a player she had never lost to (more on this later).
In the third match, Novak Djokovic (Djoker) defeated defending champion Marin Cilic in three easy sets, while Federer avenged his French Open loss in the
hands of Stan Wawrinka by prevailing also in three straights set. Saturday 12 September 2015, was an all-Italian final featuring Pennetta and Vinci. It was
strange watching a ladies final not featuring the Queen. Panetta was crowned the ladies champion and announced her retirement from the game during the
trophy presentation. The men's final was the ultimate match featuring the top two players in the world i.e. Djoker vs. Federer. Djoker was not distracted by the
pro-Federer crowd as he clinched his tenth Grand Slam title winning by 3 sets to 1.
Sister Serena's defeat dampened my mood for a couple of hours or should I say days. However upon reflection I have come to the realisation that her loss is
a blessing in disguise. At the moment, the haters have been rejoicing at her defeat while the anti-Serena media have tried to frame her loss as the worst loss
in sports history. However, we are not bothered. We will go back to the drawing board and we have mapped out a number of goals for next year including but
not limited to - equalling Steffi Graf's record then breaking it; equalling Margareth Court's 24 Grand Slam haul and then breaking it and there is also the issue
of wining one or two Olympic gold medals in Rio. At the moment, Serena has taken a break from tennis and she will be well rested and motivated for the 2016
season.
The pictures that follow are what I took during my time at Flushing Meadow. Most of the pictures are in black and white, which is a reflection of my sorrow at
the Queen's loss. However winning three Grand Slam titles and reaching the semi final of the fourth ain't bad at all, so we are grateful to Jehovah for what he
has done in 2015.
Happy viewing.
Viva Serena.
@Alatenumo
October 2015.