As our annual rite, we made it to the annual tennis tournament in Mason, Ohio and watched a variety of great matches, involving top players such as, David Nalbandian, Tommy Haas, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Jesse Levine, Sam Querry, Andy Roddick, Juan del Potro, etc.
The Cincinnati tennis facility has really been upgraded, and the quantity of fans that turn-out has certainly increased compared to earlier years. I can recall five years ago attending the Sunday qualifying rounds and having less than 1,000 people in attendance. This year, we went to the Saturday qualifiers and the parking lot was full.
Since the USTA bought the tournament a few years ago, they’ve greatly improved the facilities, merged-in a women’s tournament, and raised the visibility of the event. Unfortunately, they’ve raised the tickets prices fairly dramatically as well (e.g., $50 for Wednesday day session). Nevertheless, given the great attendance (and all the license plates in the parking lot from cars across America), it appears to be a response to supply and demand.
As you can see from some of the photos below, there’s nothing like the ability to sit in the front row of a side court and watch a player return a 120 mph serve… Cincy tennis is really a great venue for professional tennis.
