DA’PRESSING

Written by: Staff on 28th July 2012

DA’PRESSING |

Just behind the Grandstand court, twelve writers sit in quiet contemplation, their eyes rolling off into a thousand-yard stare, their hands shaping something invisible, the imprecise scent of brilliance lingering just outside their olfactory nerve’s reach. Half-eaten donuts, empty coffee cups, and warm Corona bottles lie scattered around crossed wires and humming laptops. Heartbeats like close thunder boom inside sagging chests, as journalists attempt to meet deadlines. This is the LA OPEN media room.

From dawn ‘til darkness, media hounds strike glowing keys in hopes of circumventing cliché. You average tennis fan can recognize them – they hover courtside with awkward hats and Twinkie-supplemented physiques and spend more time with fingers fumbling around the topside of a pen rather than watching actual points. They say things like “Mmm hmm,” and “Can you repeat that?” as they scribble illegibly upon elfin notepads. For some, the enigma of tennis scores is too difficult a mental labyrinth and they spend long minutes rifling through fact sheets and rulebooks in hopes of navigating the terrain. Oftentimes they travel with a photographer who hovers behind their shoulder like a curious parent and then takes center stage for three seconds of hyper-intense candidness. Frankly, the photo guys are exceedingly adept at capturing a subject’s good side, as evidenced by your correspondent’s photo, which has a Princess and the Frog thing about it.

As evening approaches, the media room heats up. Reporters slap on headphones and enter that indescribable zone of literary imagination. They construct articles point by point, the way tennis players play matches. A vaguely digestive scent appears, along with forehead sweat and some seriously frenetic foot tapping. As clock hands reach due North, cell phones ring out late night editors’ demanding tones and soaked-shirt reporters bang the send key, sigh weightily, and fall into their chairs the way drunk people slide down walls.

Before retiring, there is hand-pressing, perhaps a clink of a bottle, and the knowing nods by a troupe of colleagues who recognize a job well done.

Tomorrow, the tournament semi-finals begin. At present, Sam Querrey appears to be the frontrunner, but his opponent Rajeev Ram is on fire this week and he’s looking to take Sam’s hometown title. Even though the London Olympics are going on, if you can find the energy to get off the couch and away from that glowing screen, you’ll witness some of America’s best players battling it out live right here in the City of Angels.