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Great Shot

Kathy Werner
Posted 9/16/22

My granddaughter Adeline and her parents are big tennis fans. They love the U.S. Open which is held in Flushing at the end of the summer and usually try to go there at least once during the …

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Lifelines

Great Shot

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My granddaughter Adeline and her parents are big tennis fans. They love the U.S. Open which is held in Flushing at the end of the summer and usually try to go there at least once during the tournament. 

They are also huge Serena Williams’ fans and Adeline even wore a Serena costume two Halloweens ago. 

So you can imagine their emotions when they heard that Serena was retiring and that the Open would most likely be her last tournament. While they were filled with appreciation for all that Serena had meant to them throughout her career (which is longer than my granddaughter has been alive!), they were sad that this would be the last time to see her playing on the huge stage that is the U.S. Open.  

Years ago, my daughter Liz and son-in-law Peter took my late husband John and me to the Open when we unexpectedly had to fly home early from Florida because of hurricanes.  

We definitely had seats in the nosebleed section, but it was a thrill to be in the same arena as Serena. I don’t think you can understand how steep those rows at the top of the stadium are, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a canister of oxygen while climbing up there. 

It is exciting to attend live sporting events, even if you do have seats away from the action. My son Mike and John were lucky enough to be guests of Uncle Bob at Madison Square Garden back in the days of the Knicks and Bulls rivalry. Patrick Ewing and company against Michael Jordan and the mighty Bulls. 

They would take the train into the Garden, and Mike said that you could hear the chants as soon as you got off the train. And when the National Anthem was played before the game, it was impossible to hear it. The crowd was on fire. 

But back to the Open this year. TV announcer John McEnroe said that during the Williams/Kontaveit match it was hard for him to hear what was going on because the crowd was yelling so loudly. 

So when Serena finally lost her next match, the crowd gave her a well-deserved ovation. This was on Friday evening. 

Then the wheels began turning for Liz and Adeline. They quickly assembled garments that looked like the flashy tennis outfit Serena had designed for this year’s Open. Then they found a few notions and got to work. 

On Sunday, the family went to the Open with ground passes and got to watch a few matches. Adeline was all decked out in her Serena outfit. 

And whom should they happen to meet but a wandering photographer for Vogue magazine who loved the outfit and took some snaps. 

Fast forward a few weeks and guess who popped up on Vogue’s Instagram page. Check out the QR code below with your phone’s camera and you will see. 

Editor’s note: readers can also view the photo via this URL: https://www.instagram.com/p/CiYQNeMsoZR

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