American Irina Falconi, a competitor in the 2014 US Open Women's Doubles draw, writes to us from bustling New York City this week. Today, she talks about her football fever and shifts gears to being a doubles specialist. Follow her adventures here and on Twitter at @IrinaFalconi!

Saturday, August 23, 2014

According to my fellow American and friend Coco Vandeweghe, the idea of having two rival football teams share ONE stadium is one of the most ingenious ideas ever.

Now, for those of you that know me, you probably know the fact that when it comes to football, I’m not a die hard fan of any team, but I will definitely enjoy it on any given Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.

Anyway, long story short, when life gives you a loss [Falconi lost in the second round of singles qualifying], make it better with a win by the New York Giants. Oh goodness, did that just happen? Did I just become a Giants fan? Yes, I did. #cowboyswho?

So back to Coco, my fellow ASICS comrade, who just happens to have the coolest hookups to the coolest things ever. We got SUITE tickets that gave us a $1.6 billion view of MetLife stadium in New Jersey last night. It was a close game, but the fans ‘Jett-ed’ outta there quick near the end of the 4th quarter.

ANYWAY! Back to reality! Today is Arthur Ashe Kids day here in Flushing Meadows, with tennis stars Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka, along with musical stars MKTO, Hollywood Ending, Karina Rae, and a bunch of others! A lot of the other slams have tried to imitate this awesome event, but believe it or not, Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day presented by Hess is the largest single-day, grassroots tennis and entertainment event in the world!

For those of you wondering what my next act is going to be—it’s going to be doubles! The fantastic board has awarded Anna Tatishvili and I a bid into the main draw of Women’s Doubles. So we plan to be doubles specialist for the remainder of the tournament. Oh! And I’m also waiting for a Mixed Doubles wildcard as well… Fingers crossed!

Alright friends, have a fantastic weekend, and get ready to get your tennis on for the most fabulous two weeks of tennis in New York Citaaaaaaaay!

Irina

(Photo: Irina Falconi)