The Changeover Invades D.C.

Hello Changeover readers!

I am in DC this week covering the Citi Open (at least for a few days), and I could not be more excited to be back around live tennis.

All live tennis is special, but for me, the DC tournament (formerly and still-sometimes-to-me-because-I-forget known as Legg Mason) has a particularly beloved place in my heart.

If you know me, then you know that I can find sentiment (and snark, of course) in everything. But seriously, I feel like DC is where things as a Tennis Blogger (a super professional job that only the Elite/Destitute can have) began.

Three years ago when I came down here for the first weekend, it was my first time coming to a tournament that wasn’t the U.S. Open. It was my first time meeting up with other tweeters, seeing players up-close, watching quallies, and really falling in love with the charms and oddities of a smaller tournament. It was also the first time I saw Xavier Malisse play live, but perhaps that’s a story for a different day.

The next year I was back as a credentialed videographer for my friend Rachel’s website OnTheGoTennis, and through that opportunity I got to sit in on press conferences, interview players one-on-one, and, eventually, even try my hand at a little bit of writing.

(You can read about my very first tennis interview here. It did not go very well.)

Isn’t it weird where life can take you? I know, I know, I’m getting a little bit off-track, but those of you who read me often must be used to that by now. There will be plenty of time to talk about tennis later (or, you know, you can just scroll down or wait for my other posts), but three years ago I could never have imagined that I’d be here, making my rent (barely) by writing–sometimes about tennis–and that this would all be such a big part of my life.

It’s pretty darn cool, you guys. Pretty darn cool indeed.

So anyways, I got a bit nostalgic when I walk around these grounds. If I hadn’t hopped on that chinatown bus and come down here to get drunk and gawk at players three years ago, who knows where my life would be right now? (Ohmygod, NOBODY ANSWER THAT QUESTION.)

Making things even more great? The fact that Amy is here with me and we are covering this tournament together for The Changeover! Hopefully it’s the first of many tournaments that will have a double (or triple!) dose of The Changeover.

.@The_Changeover team is on the ground. #citiopen pic.twitter.com/JnkN1d9kwX

— Amy Fetherolf (@AmyFetherolf) July 29, 2013

I’ll be chiming back in with a lot of other stuff throughout the week, and it will be more substantial and less meandering. (LOL if you believe either of those things.) But I just wanted to say hello, to remind you to shoot me (or Amy) an e-mail or comment or tweet if there’s something you want us to keep our eyes out for, and to make sure that you are SUPER EXCITED FOR OUR WEEK OF COVERAGE. CAPS.

Here are some Vines that I am attempting to figure out. They may or may not get better as the week goes on. (Don’t, like, hold your breath or anything.)

Christina McHale fails to serve out the match…

so defending champion Rybarikova wins!

Delpo practices his forehand:

And HEY TOMMY HAAS!

Okay, now I’m off to watch some tennis.

"I want to go check out Istomin/Giraldo. That could be a fun match." -me "I love your definition of a 'fun match'" –@amyfetherolf

— Lindsay Gibbs (@linzsports) July 29, 2013

More later.

-Linz

PS: Can every post I write be in letter form from now on? It’s fun.

PPS: If you’re in DC, come say hi!! You know what I look like.

Lindsay is an author, a filmmaker, a long-winded blogger, and a huge tennis fan.

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