G4G's comment in the Hot Jocks thread about almost bumping into Tipsarevic at the US Open made me think about meetings or near-meetings other board members have had with tennis greatness. Have you ever met a player or players up close and personal? Did they look like they did on TV? Taller, shorter, thinner, fatter, buffer? Were they nice, or aloof? Did they say/do anything interesting? And uh, if you actually knocked Nikes with a top pro, please provide a DNA sample for verification

Of course, I'm interested in hearing all about others' brushes with greatness because I have none of my own to offer. The closest I've ever come to seeing one of my fave players is the US Open practice courts. For those of you who haven't been, by the way, there almost seems to be an unwritten rule that men must practice shirtless at the US Open - DEFINITELY worth checking out. The one player whom I remember most vividly was Steffi Graf, who was hitting with Heinz Gunthardt. Even though Heinz had been retired for quite some time, he still looked fantastically fit (yuppers, no shirt). What struck me the most about Steffi's hitting session was her topspin backhand. Remember? the one she almost steadfastly refused to hit in a match? But in practice, her topspin backhand was picture-perfect: great depth, tons of pace, and heavy topspin that hooked the ball down into the court. I'm convinced you could round up a dozen of the most astute tennis instructors in the country and not one could find a single flaw with that backhand, except that she never hit it.

So, what's your brush with greatness?

I stood next to Robby Ginepri in a lunch line in Indy once. Extremely uneventful, except for the part where I asked him to marry me.

The first time I stayed at La Quinta in Palm Springs, Hingis was shooting some commercial and hitting with her hitting partner. Up close, her foot speed and accuracy on her groundstrokes were pretty amazing...

I got an autograph from max mirnyl (sp?) in San Jose just a year or two ago...he wasn't as tall as I thought up close but quite gorgeous...

I walked past Sjeng Schalken on the grounds of the USTA during the US Open 2003. No one seemed to be paying any attention to him. He looked pretty much how he looked on TV, which is why I recognized him.

I saw Paul Anacone at a gym in Westwood in late January of 2000. This was just after the epic Agassi-Sampras Semi-Final in Australia. I walked up to him and asked him what happened to Sampras in the 5th Set that night since he lost it 6-1. Anacone said during the match Sampras tore a muscle in his groin - even if he'd won that Semi, he would not have been able to play the Final.

Not surprisingly, I've met Gabriela Sabatini a couple of times. As pretty as she seems in any picture, she's far more stunning in person. Her skin is flawless (even before the botox). And she is as nice as everyone says that she is.

Both times I've met her have been at autograph signings. I have a huge scrapbook full of articles and pictures from her career that I took with me to that meeting. I believe it was the summer after she retired, around the time of the US Open, so she was in New York for that. That would have made me 22 at the time and I was nervous as hell. But she actually sat there and read through my entire scrapbook, commenting on things and actually saying she didn't have anything quite so nice. I, of course, offered it to her but she decined. And then she thanked me very much for my support and autographed the book. Sadly, I went alone and without my camera, so I didn't get a picture of us together. As I was leaving, I told her that tennis was not the same without her and she smiled so graciously at me. She really is a wonderful human being.

Funny enough, a German television station was filming the signing and called me over after I walked away from her. They too looked at my book and then they asked me why I preferred Gaby over Steffi. I didn't want to offend the Germans, obviously, so I said that Steffi was an amazing player who brought out the best in Gabriela; however, there was something intangible about watching Sabatini play - like she was dancing and boxing at the same time - that I had fallen in love with at the age of 10. This prompted the next question, "Did you ask her to marry you?" I laughed and said that I didn't think I was her type.

The second time I met her, I purposely took a camera and got that elusive photo of the two of us, which later became the cover of my scrapbook. I used to have it scanned on my computer ... not sure if I still do or not. I'll try to go back and edit this post if I can find it. Anyway, I asked her if she was going to come back and beat Serena in the final of the US Open and she let out the biggest belly laugh before telling me, no, she'd lose very easily to the modern players.

In the early 1970s, for a couple of years, I worked a Women's Tournament called "The Western" in Cincinnati. One year, I was working the 'snack bar'. A woman came up to order a ham sandwich, which I sold to her. I was very new to tennis in those days. The other person working with me in the snack bar, said to me, "Do you know who that was?". I turned to her and said, "No. Who was it? "That was Billie Jean King!!!!", she enthusiastically intoned.

I do remember the other notable players at "The Western", Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova (she was still a Chech, and a bit rotund at the time, thanks to McDonalds), and Evonne Gooligong. Got friendly and familiar with Yvonne. She was nice, but....I was just a crazed and dazed fan.

Does anybody else reading this remember "The Western" in Cincinnati? In its day, it was a big attractor, for either Wimbledon or the US Open (sorry, I forget which).

TRL

I almost caught Moya's sweaty bandana when he threw it to fans after a tennis match here in Houston during the Masters Cup. I didn't catch it, but the guy who did catch it let me touch it. I couldn't even begin to think about what I would have done with that bandana if I would have been lucky enough to have caught it. I was fortunate enough to see other top or former top players play during the Master's Cup that year, including Federer, Ferrero, and Agassi. I have seen other players at other events at the same venue (Westside Tennis Club), including Roddick and Sampras at the US Men's Clay Court Tournament.

I am now a member of Westside Tennis Club and I recently met a few players or former players during a Team Tennis event, including Jan-Michael Gambill, Mashona Washingtion, and James Blake's brother, Thomas Blake. Gambill is as beautiful in person as he is on TV and in pictures. He has beautiful blue eyes. Mashona Washington lives in Houston.

Former top player and current Fed Cup coach, Zina Garrison is from and now lives in Houston. Lori McNeil, another former top player, also resides in Houston. I have seen Zina and Lori together on several occassions. Apparently there was some kind of big tennis tournament here in Houston a few years ago where many people from around the country came to play. I was at a local tennis facility to play a singles match and I looked over to see Zina and Lori hitting against one another on the court next to me and it is then that I met both of them.

John Wilkerson was Zina Garrison's coach. He was also there with Zina and Lori on that day. Apparently he was offering some coaching tips to some of the promising players that were playing in this tournament. A few days later, I saw him and Lori at this same facility coaching a young lady and a young boy.

Robin Givens has a son by Murphy Jensen. In addition to being seen all over the Tennis Channel, Murphy Jensen is known for winning the French Open with his brother and tennis commentator, Luke Jensen. Apparently they were once a very good doubles team. It turns out that the young boy that I saw being coached by Lori and John Wilkerson was the son of Robin Givens and Murphy Jensen. It is on that day that I spent a couple of hours talking to Robin Givens while she watched her son being coached. Robin Givens was very polite and we talked about many things, including Serena's loss to Sharapova in the final of Wimbledon in 2004 and her own tennis game.

Who knew Murphy and Robin had a child together. I guess I assumed he was gay. I mean, did you see the way he was plying Tursunov with all the alcohol on the TTC show. I just assumed he was doing what anyone of us on here would be doing.

Back in the late 80's or early 90's, we ran into Derek Rostagno on the grounds of the OTB, back when they had a tournament in Schenectedy. He had just lost his match and he was smoking on a picnic table. He tried to pick up one of my female friends. I was a little jealous, but alas, I was still "straight".

At that same tournament one year, another friend was cheering on Brenda Schultz (not yet McCarthy) from the stands. He was very adamant, which I couldn't understand. She finally turned to him from the court and yelled..."would you shut up please!". I, of course, wet my pants in laughter. He was pissed, and he didn't cheer for her again. It was hysterical.

This year in New Haven I had the pleasure of driving a lot of the players in the Mercedes Benz to and from the site of the event. My friend almost crashed the car with Mardy Fish and his entourage and they laughed at him. He did get to brush up against Mardy's leg though and said Fish really didn't make a bifg deal about it...Donald Young was very cool, and not at at all "beyond himself" after winning that first match. I got to drive him to his match against Davydenko and he was really excited and stated it out loud too! Dementieva = not that pretty up close. Ditto for Ashley Harkleroad...Alona Bondarenko and Janko Tipsarevic = VERY HOT up close in person!

I love the reports and this thread. It's a relief to hear that Donald Young is personable. Bizarre that Murphy Jensen and Robin Givens were a couple. And Shep, that Brenda Schultz story is hilarious.

When I was 7 or 8, my parents took me to a Virginia Slim's tournament in downtown Detroit. My favorite, Chris Evert, wasn't at the tournament. I remember seeing Martina and Rosie Casals play. Rosie was rocking a Ted Tinling dress and looked fab. Her game was sharp as a knife. I had started playing tennis by then, and was blown away by the speed and power of the players, which was much more evident than on TV. Today that era looks slo-mo -- but I have a feeling it would still be formidable in person.

As a junior I played in a lot of the same tournaments as Amy Frazier and Aaron Krickstein, both of whom always won. I had to play Krickstein once 14-and-under in a state tournament in something like the round of 16. He obliterated me quicker than a blink. He was big and mature for his age and I was still tiny, but that was a turning point -- I chose punk rock and writing over competitive tennis in high school, while he was playing Jimmy Connors at the US Open in less than 3 years. One other funny thing: at 8 or 9 I played at a camp led by Billie Jean King's old coach Frank Brennan, a great character. President Carter's daughter Amy was there surrounded by secret service agents, and I was terrified I'd have to play her at the unisex tournament, because she was terrible. Who knew she's be palling around with Abbie Hoffman soon?

I've watched some challenger events in SF the past few years. This isn't the first time I've said it, but the biggest impression I had was of Agnes Szavay in fall '06. Along with about 10 people, I sat courtside on a cold, misty morning as she lost to Ashley Harkleroad, and was struck by the fact that while Harkleroad just smacked the ball, Szavay had amazing elasticity to her shots and liked playing the net -- no other player I'd seen in challengers (Vania King; Angela Haynes; Lilia Osterloh etc.) had anything close to her game. She's definitely gotten taller and stronger since then, and it looks like it's all starting to click for her now.

Recently, I went to the Stanford WTA event. The first thing my boyfriend and I saw was his favorite player Patty Schnyder stretching next to the track. She's in amazing shape. Between matches, I saw Shahar Peer and a few other players practice, one with an amazingly hot guy. (Ditto whatever someone was saying above about shirtless male hitting partners for the women's players.) Daniela Hantuchova hit a post-match ball directly to a friend of mine. I'm hoping to go to Indian Wells this year -- and I'd love to read any stories about player cruising/flirtations!

When in hugh school I played against future pro Richard Matuszewski. He was a sophomore when I was a senior. I gave him a pretty good match but lost. It was funny watching the US Open a few years later and see this guy playing as he didn't seem like anything special when I played him. Either that or I was way better than I, or anyone else, thought. I realize Matuszewski is not really a brush with greatness per se, but he did wind up playing on the tour so...

My college coach was friends with Chris Evert (she was Lloyd at the time) and she and John stopped by one of our practices and my doubles partner and I hit a few balls with them. That was great fun.

And last year I saw Mary Carillo having breakfast at the same little Christopher Street cafe I was eating at.I said hello and she gave me a big smile.

My good friend Troy was once a driver for players here in Houston during the US Men's Clay Court Tournament and he was fortunate enough to drive Tommy Haas.

He said that Haas was very down to earth. Troy even had coffee with Haas at a coffee shop. Troy, who is straight, said that Haas was a very goodlooking guy who got many stares when they were having coffee.

I was so jealous...Haas was my first big tennis player crush.

Do lookalikes count? I used to see Kim Clijsters walking her dog in Edinburg, Texas. Maria Sharapova works at my bank, but she's only about 5'8" in real life. And I see Marcos' Baghdatis' smiling face in employment advertisements for Calgary transit all the time.

I didn't want to tell my Emilio Sanchez story because 1) I didn't actually meet him and 2) it would reveal what a big perv I am. But oh, what the hell!! I was sitting front row behind the baseline in the Grandstand for a match between Emilio (had such a crush on him at the time) and Doogie Howser (forget his name, you know, the South African player who looked like Doogie). It was your typical hot, muggy afternoon at the Open, and both men were dripping. Emilio was wearing white tennis shorts and a jockstrap -- Cardiac Alley! Since his shorts were soaked completely through, let's just say Emilio was leaving NOTHING to the imagination when he was crouched over to receive serve. I had my little point & shoot, with the telephoto zoom maxed out, snapping away. The woman sitting next to me gave me the biggest "you are such a pig" look of disgust EVAH! (not that it stopped me none)

My other brush with greatness is actually my brother's story. On his day off and after a late one at work the night before, he was woken up by a call from my mother, who was visiting NYC during the Open.
"You have to accompany me to Macy's! Pete Sampras is at Macy's!" my mother yelped.
"Mom, Macy's is super-easy to get to from your place. Just walk across on 26th ..."
"No! I will never find it! And Pete Sampras will be there in an hour!!"

Well, grumble, grumble, my brother walked from the West Village to East 25th, then back over to Macy's, all for my directionally clueless mom. When they got there, it was your typical assembly-line thing, where Pete was robotically signing 8x10's for the queue of fans. He would ask what the fan would like him to write, he'd sign the pic, next! My mom gets up there and suddenly decides she's some combination of Bud Collins and 60 Minutes' Mike Wallace.
Mom: "So, what do you think your chances are at the Open this year?"
Pete, totally wide-eyed, but answers anyway, probably out of reflex: "I'm feeling pretty confident ... blah blah blah (whatever stock response players give)"
Mom: "But Agassi is playing so well, and he beat you the last time you played"
Pete, even more wide-eyed (but apparently not half as much as the speechless Nike rep): "Yeah, Andre's a great player, but I still like my chances."
Mom: "But don't you think you have to change your strategy if you want to win this time?"
Once my brother recovered from his initial horrified paralysis, he thrust one of the 8x10's forward, "Uh, can you make this out to Rudy?" Pete signed it, bro grabbed mom by the arm to lead her away (even through she had a few probing interrogations left in her quiver), leaving behind a rather stunned and baffled Pete Sampras. OK, maybe you have to know my mom, but when I heard that story, I died laughing.

BoSoxRudy,

I enjoyed both stories, but yes the one about your mother and Sampras is very funny.

Your mother asked the questions that most of us would really like to ask, but are afraid to.

I think I would like your mother.

When I was young, my parents attended the same church as the Capriatis in Tampa, so I met Jennifer a few times that way. Then we moved to the Palm Beach area, and I started training at the club in the neighborhood where the Williams sisters live, so every so often they were there. Not to mention seeing them around town, like sitting through Bad Boys 2 with Venus, the loudest laugh EVER! I also strung racquets at a shop that strung for a few pros, through work, I met Shanay Perry, Lindsay Lee-Waters, the Gullickson sisters (Carly is in the mid 150s I think, and look out for Chelsea in the next few years), Brenda Shultz-McCarthy (a friend of mine got kicked out of her academy- she really is a little crazy...) and Kathy Rinaldi. On the men's side, they were much less common, but I have met a bunch of mid 200s ranked guys that would come in Challenger/ Futures events, came just before the USTA Elite training, and a couple of South African guys that came to train at the club.

Another way I've seen a bunch up close is just watching them practicing or running between courts at the Miami event. There are no tunnels or alternate routes to courts, so the players have to pass through the fan areas to get from the gym/locker area to the practice courts. For example, I was walking and saw a tall girl walk past in a warm up jacket, and realized as she got close that it was Nicole Vaidisova.