Više od igre / More than just a game
da, i gde god da kročite, sve je okićeno bilbordima, a džinovski ekrani na Tajms skveru prikazuju rekla- me s teniskim legendama. Izlozi radnji su okićeni žu- tim lopticama, a vrhovi dva najpoznatija oblakodera – Svetskog trgovinskog centra i Empajer stejt bildin- ga – osvetljeni su zeleno-plavim bojama turnira. Ovo nije čudno kada se zna da je tenis sport koji Njujor- ku donosi najviše para od turista. Sve mi je posta- lo jasnije kada sam video cene. Da nisam imao novi- narsku akreditaciju, verovatno bih celog života Ju-Es
illuminated in the green and blue colours of the to- urnament. This is not surprising when you know that tennis is the sport that brings New York the most mo- ney from tourists. Everything became clearer to me when I saw the prices. If I had not had a press pass, I would probably have spent my entire life watching the US Open from another time zone. KIND PEOPLE, SPICY PRICES New Yorkers won me over with their openne- ss and willingness to help. It seemed to me that there was not a nation on this planet whose representatives did not walk the streets and they were
open posmatrao iz druge vremenske zone. LJUBAZNI LJUDI, PAPRENE CENE Njujorčani su me osvo-
jili otvorenošću i spre- mnošću da pomognu. Činilo mi se da nema nacije na ovoj planeti čiji predstavnici ne šetaju ulicama i svi su veoma tolerantni. Saobraćajne gužve su posebna priča,
all very tolerant. Traf- fic jams are a special story, inconceivable to us, but everything mo- ves. The Metro is a sepa- rate city that lives under the streets of New York. It is used by 90 per cent
nama nepojmljiva, ali se sve kreće. Metro je zaseban grad koji živi pod ulicama Njujorka. Koristi ga 90 odsto Njujorčana i sko- ro svi turisti, pa je ponekad nemogu- će ući u vagon. Ipak, brzo stiže slede-
of New Yorkers and almost all tourists, so it is sometimes impossible to enter the trains.
However, the next train arrives quic- kly and the time flies alongside the entertainers for whom the metro sta- tion is their workplace. I watched them every day, as I travelled for about 45 minutes to the tennis complex from Manhattan, the heart of New York. The courts are located in Queens, the largest of the five metropolitan districts. It consists of 17 playing courts, and my heart was pounding like crazy when I saw Ar- thur Ashe, the biggest tennis stadium in the world. This year it will also have a roof, so
ći voz, a vreme proleti uz zabavljače kojima su stanice metroa radno mesto. Svakodnevno sam ih gledao jer sam se do teniskog kompleksa iz Men- hetna, srca Njujorka, metroom vozio oko 45 mi- nuta. Tereni se nalaze u Kvinsu, najvećoj od pet gradskih oblasti. Kompleks se sastoji od 17 terena, a srce mi je lupalo kao ludo kada sam ugledao teniski
stadion „Artur Eš“, najveći na svetu. Ove godine imaće i krov, pa kiša neće zadava- ti glavobolju organizatorima. Kafići i re- storani, suvenirnice i prodavnice na Ju-Es openu su pune ljudi, a cene paprene. Mi- nijaturna flašica vode košta četiri dolara, najjeftiniji obrok 20, dok za ručak u resto- ranu treba izdvojiti nekoliko stotina dolara. Dnevni promet u ovom kompleksu veći je od tri miliona dolara. Kako su dani prolazili, postalo mi je normalno da pre mečeva oko mene sede sve teniske legende. Novak je posebna pri- ča, ali je ovde dovoljno reći da je, zahvalju- jući njegovoj igri, moj san o Ju-Es openu postao bajka. Finale sam gledao sa mesta za koje karta košta 3.000 dolara. Karta za ložu, na- domak mog mesta, koštala je 10.000 dola- ra, sa vrhunskom hranom i pićem. Bio sam razočaran što iz te lože niko nije pažljivo pratio meč niti navijao. Oprostio bih im i da su navijali za Federera, ali nisam mogao da shvatim da su stalno gledali u telefo- ne, jeli i pijuckali. Više mi je smetala njiho- va nezainteresovanost nego huk Federero- vih navijača...
the rain will not give the organisers a he- adache. Cafés and restaurants, souvenir shops and stores are packed with people at the US Open, and the prices are spicy. A tiny bottle of water costs four dollars, the cheapest meal costs 20, while you should set aside several hundred dollars for lunch in a restaurant. The daily turnover in this complex exceeds three million dollars. As the days passed, it became normal for all the legends of tennis to sit around me. Novak is a special story, but it is eno- ugh to say here that it was thanks to the way he played that my dream of the US Open became a fairy tale. I watched the final from a spot for which tickets cost $3,000. A ticket for the box, near my spot, cost $10,000! I was disappointed that no one there carefully followed the match or even cheered. I’d even have forgiven them if they’d been rooting for Federer, but I could not understand that they were con- stantly looking at their phones, eating and drinking. I was bothered more by the- ir lack of interest than the roar of Fede- rer’s fans...
NAJVEĆI ŠAMPIONI Džimi Konors 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983. Pit Sampras 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002. Rodžer Federer 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008. Kris Evert 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982. Serena Vilijams 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014. THE GREATEST CHAMPIONS Jimmy Connors 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983 Pete Sampras 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002 Roger Federer 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Chris Evert 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982 Serena Williams 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014
50 |
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator