My SAP Open High School Writers Day Experience

By Ryan Eshoff

The highlights of life as a professional sportswriter are mind-blowing: terrific seats at the world’s greatest sporting events, access to and relationships with superstar athletes and a chance to get paid to essentially talk about sports. Of course, there is far more to the profession, but I got a taste of just how enjoyable the job can be when I attended the SAP Open tennis tournament at San Jose’s HP Pavilion on Feb. 14, as part of High School Writers Day. It was a thoroughly unforgettable experience.

After a tour of the Pavilion, we were seated in the tennis press box, located about 15 yards from the action on the court. The match featured Rainer Schuettler and Feliciano Lopez, a pair of athletes with vastly different backgrounds and style of play. From the first serve, I was thoroughly captivated by the entire atmosphere.

Silence is golden in tennis—excess noise is strongly discouraged during play—so much, in fact, that the only “rackets” in the building were those being manipulated by Schuettler and Lopez. Watching tennis on television, as I have done in the past, one can see the occasional perfect shot or hear the endless analysis from John McEnroe. Viewing a match in person while sitting courtside is a different sport altogether.

We watched in fascination as the exceptionally trained athletes moved in synch, reacted to every ball with fluidity, glided across the court with non-stop energy…and that was just the ball-boys. The match itself was a tale of two sets, as each of the players alternated games in the first set by holding serve and breaking their opponent’s serve one time apiece. Lopez took control late with a pair of service aces that reached 135 mph to send the set to a tiebreaker, which the Spaniard won handily. Momentum was quite obviously a factor in the second set, as Lopez continued to overpower Schuettler, who was on the defensive for most of the match. Seventy minutes from the opening serve, Lopez walked off the court with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 triumph.

As my neck swung to and fro, following the ball like a pendulum, I could not help but think that this was the epitome of sport: man versus man, one on one, with every last ounce of strength and stamina—both physical and mental—being exhausted, and it was an honor to be able to cover such an occurrence. 

Lopez, the amiable victor, appeared for a post-match interview with his calm demeanor and engaging smile. Joining him was a panel of experts including San Jose Mercury News sportswriter John Ryan, former tennis professional Murphy Jensen, ATP Senior Manager of Marketing Operations Pete Holtermann, professional photographer Ron Angle and tournament director Bill Rapp. As an aspiring sportswriter, I felt like a kid in a candy shop. After Lopez spoke about the specifics of the match, he commented how he is still looking to improve his mental game. Ryan, who specializes in stories with a flare for the unique, advised all of us to “go beyond merely scores and statistics. Look for the interesting angle, the strange character, the human-interest stories.” I let Ryan’s advice sink in; anyone can report the score, but what makes a sportswriter special is the ability to unearth enticing angles or write pieces that appeal to the hearts of the masses.

While sitting in my courtside seat during the match, I felt every flare of the triceps, heard every grunt of effort and outburst of choice German or Spanish, smelled every bead of sweat on the glistening foreheads, and saw every facial grimace of physical agony, infuriating frustration, and competitive intensity. All this I chronicled and mentally eliminated any uncertainty as to whether or not this was my dream job.

The affection was instantaneous; even as Rainer Schuettler shut out Feliciano Lopez in the first game. On Valentine’s Day, for me as well as Lopez, it was Love at first sight.

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