FARMER’S CLASSIC FUN IN THE SUN

Written by: Staff on 27th July 2012

FARMER’S CLASSIC FUN IN THE SUN |

By Kristen Tracy

Well folks, I did it. I made it down to Los Angeles and am enjoying the beautiful sunshine as we speak. Though I hit an unspeakable amount of traffic for late Thursday morning and had a few bouts of lost girl syndrome, I can genuinely say I have never been happier to see that lovely green and blue surface that comprises a tennis court. Note to self: when travelling to an unfamiliar area, it’s probably best to figure out how to get there before you start driving. Once I was on the road and hit the “loveliness” that is the 101 freeway, I knew I was in for an adventure. But that’s part of the fun, right? I mean, who wants a seamless and uneventful trip? That just takes away all the excitement. But in all seriousness, I made it here in one piece – and just in time to see Xavier Malisse take out Australia’s Matthew Ebden in straight sets. Burt let me just say, for a girl who was born and raised in Southern California and loves the heat, even I found myself needing a bit of a break. The weather really is glorious though.

This tournament is a lot different than I remember it being. Not worse, just different. The tournament as a whole seems a little empty. Though the people who are here are enthusiastic, there aren’t a lot of them. Maybe it’s because it’s a Thursday and people have this little thing called work, but it’s never stopped a devout fan from being in the action of it all. Or maybe it’s the lack of big names. The Farmer’s Classic has never been a massive tournament, but it occasionally draws the attention of some well-known names. But this is an Olympic year – something that has caused many of the tournaments in the Emirates Airline US Open Series to suffer. A rather large chunk of the world’s top players are busy preparing in London, and will have to miss at least half of the series. It’s unfortunate really, because so many players love the summer tour. If you ask me, the tour schedule should be drastically altered every four year to fix this problem.

But back to Los Angeles. I’ve been sitting outside for the last couple hours just observing people. It’s absolutely fascinating to me the melting pot of the people that this tournament attracts. You wouldn’t believe some of the things I’ve hear people say. In fact, some things aren’t nearly appropriate enough for me to type. But there sure are a lot of different age groups and cultures here – and that’s what makes the Farmer’s Classic so cool.