On Saturday May 2, 15 of us packed into a deluxe U-Sav van, and ventured into Turning Stone Casino not to gamble, (which we did anyways) but to watch the much hyped exibition match featuring Jim Courier, John McEnroe, Tracy Austin & Anna Kournikova. Venturing first to the new Indoor Sports Complex for the Grand Opening, we attended the meet and greet where John & Jim, fielded questions on a wide range of subjects. followed by treating the kids to autographs and pictures.
Inside the Event Center, we found the setting intimate, with not a bad seat in the house. John McEnroe & Jim Courier were highly entertaining. Displaying charisma, intellect, showmanship and superb shotmaking skills, they battled to a 3rd set super tiebreak which Jim won 10-6.
A neat side attraction was Jim Courier texting or twittering to the web site. at every changeover. Billy Mendler (high tech Bill) received the full online report within seconds after Jim’s comments were post on his cell phone. Jim’s insights (Mac is gettign edgy. He might go over the top any second) added an additional sideline to the event.
The singles was followed by a mixed Doubles, match, Jim & Tracy Austin vs Mac & Anna Kournikova. Simply put, the match was great. Unbelievable net exchanges, classic doubles poaching, Tracy serve & volleying every point and McEnroe showing that is probably the most skilled doubles player ever.
Here are some pics we took of the Legendary Event at Turning Stone. You must get a password and userid for Snapfish, but it is free and worth doing to check out the pictures. There are some videos in here as well. There is a very funny one of an interaction between John, Jim & the umpire, Cam Bundy. I could not link it directly, but if you click on the above Legendary Event link and go to mpv 1831, that is the one. Enjoy
