Alize CornetAndrea PetkovicBenoit PaireDaniela HantuchovaDonna VekicFabio FogniniJelena JankovicJohn IsnerJuan Martin del PotroJuan MonacoLi NaMarc LopezMarcel GranollersRafael NadalRichard GasquetRoger FedererSabine LisickiStan WawrinkaTomas Berdych

Cincy Tennis! All the Fun, Funny, and Sexy Reasons to Attend the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati

Fedal Federer Nadal quarterfinal match full view Center Court stadium Cincinnati Masters Western and Southern Open crowd photos pictures imagesEvery August, in a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, the Western and Southern Open draws thousands and thousands of fans to the enjoyable spectacle of professional tennis awesomeness. Each year the tournament has grown more popular, and we here at Tennis Inside Out like to take all the credit for the increasing love our “Midwest Slam” has been getting.

Okay, okay, maybe it’s not ALL our doing. But J.D. and I are continually happy to encourage tennis-loving peeps to check out the live tennis at Cincy, and we often point out that the tourney is a fan favorite because of how close you can get to the players:

Donna Vekic big forehand shot close up Cincinnati qualies 2013
Donna Vekic.

On smaller courts, you can get right up on the tennis action…enough to be a bit scared that the yellow fuzzy ball might not respect that invisible line that separates you from the confines of the court…

Roger Federer big backhand swing follow through Get Your Swoosh On brown tee shirt white shorts blue headband wristbands photos Cincinnati Masters 2013 practice
Roger Federer.

…and that a one-handed backhanded shank might hit you right between the eyes. Always be alert, my friends, be alert!

Stan Wawrinka Cincinnati close-up Robredo match fluffy hair black shirt
Stan Wawrinka.

Many of the courts are so intimate that you can almost get close enough to breathe on the back of a Slam champion’s neck.

Not that we condone that sort of thing. I mean, it’s alright for us, but you really shouldn’t do that.

Berdych fan selfie Cincinnati Open 2013What you can do is take an awesome selfie with a tennis hottie, as the lovely Ashley here is doing with Tomas Berdych.

Ashley Berdy inappropriate glances Cincy
Erm, Berdy, that’s not her phone you’re looking at. 

And when those tall, sexy tennis players are moving by too quickly, you can always just grab them by their towel…

Tomas Berdych grabbed by towel Western and Southern Open 2013
Best Berdy Moment Ever.

Okay, maybe we shouldn’t condone that, either. Well, as long as you’re gentle. And he’s still smiling and hasn’t called for security.

Jelena Jankovic meeting fans grinning smiling signing Cincinnati Open peach dress 2013 photos
Jelena Jankovic.

While the player’s entrance to the stadium is where many fans meet and greet the stars of the game, you can also run into your fave player after they leave a match. We recommend nabbing them after a win, if possible, as they’ll definitely be in a better mood for fandom interaction.

Benoit taking pics with fangirls Cincinnati 2013
Benoit Paire.

You might run into a player outside the practice courts as well…

Li Na leaving practice Cincinnati Open famous right knee tape towel photos images pictures
Li Na.
Richard Gasquet after practice 2014 Cincinnati signing autographs red Lacoste shirt
Richard Gasquet.
Sabine Lisicki with fans after practice smiling Cincinnati Western and Southern Open
Sabine Lisicki.

Keep a look out and you’ll also see players in attendance, usually checking out a friend’s match, but sometimes an upcoming opponent’s.

Marck Lopez and Marcel Granollers, watching Rafa Nadal and Tomas Berdych Cincinnati Open 2013
Frequent doubles partners, Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers, watching their countryman Rafa Nadal take on Tomas Berdych.

And sometimes they’re even a bit closer than you’d ever expect…

Benoit Paire watching Edouard Roger-Vasselin Cincinnati Masters Western and Southern Open bleachers photos images hand between legs thoughtful post chin on handThat’s Benoit Paire, who bounded up the bleachers on those long legs of his and slipped in a few rows behind us. He was there to see buddy Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who beat Ricardas Berankis quite devastatingly. Admittedly Ben was on his phone a lot. When he left, I noticed a women’s fashion magazine sitting on the bench near where he had been.

“He didn’t arrive with it,” J.D. said to me. “But that doesn’t mean he didn’t read it.”

John Isner coin toss happy fans Cincy tennis Masters Western and Southern Open photos pics images 2013Another way to inhale the scent of get close to the players is by winning a chance to do the coin toss. Above, a very happy fan has a moment with American John Isner (and that’s Juan Martin del Potro on the left). Below, some delirious Fed fans get the chance to be in the middle of a Fedal smoosh, and really, what BIGGER honor is there in the life of a mere mortal?

Rafa Nadal Roger Federer happy fans coin toss Cincinnati Masters quarterfinal Fedal match 2013

Roger Federer Rafael Nadal Fedal smoosh coin toss Western and Southern Open Cincinnati quarterfinals 2013 pictures photos images pics screencaps

Another perk of the Cincinnati Masters tournament? Meeting kindred spirits…

Andy Roddick shoes twin Western and Southern Open Cincinnati Masters matching tennis fans photos by Valerie David
…in this case, fans of #Merica and Andy Roddick.

I really should have gotten this dude’s name. He complimented me on my shoes, and as I began my spiel about “Andy Roddick’s Olympic shoes” I glanced down–and saw his identical pair. And we lauuuuuughhhhhhhed.

Notice we are both wearing the low-rider ankle socks ARod preferred…hah.  #DetailsAreImportant. If you’re gonna wear ’em, you gotta wear ’em right.

Speaking of kindred spirits, you can also have a lot of giggles with your friends at the Western and Southern Open. Especially when you have heat stroke and are dizzy from watching 12 hours of matches while consuming only pretzels and ice cream at random intervals–because you don’t want to miss any of the action, of course. And especially when there are larger-than-life-size renditions of players available.

Tola and her Andy Murray impression Cincinnati Masters wall of champions

Meet Tola, who’s doing her best Andy Murray impression, late one night when the tournament was done for the day…

And below, she’s getting up close and personal with the Maestro…

Tola smooching Roger Federer Cincy wall of favorite tennis players

And Terry here hilariously got a little closer and a little more personal with Serena…

Terry feeling up Serena Williams fan experience wall at Cincinnati Western and Southern Open photos pictures

Thankfully that two-dimensional child next to him isn’t looking…

While the tennis player representations can be fun to fondle, there’s nothing better than the real deal, of course:

Fabio Fognini shirtless tan olive skin pecs muscles abs red bandana sexy naked chest photos
Fabio Fognini.
Alize Cornet practice with Venus Williams skimpy clothes abs naked stomach sexy short shorts sports bra Cincy 2013 photos
Alize Cornet.
Juan Monaco shirtless naked back tight red shorts sweaty muscles shoulders biceps stretch backhand practice with Stan Wawrinka Cincinnati Open 2013 photos
Juan Monaco.
Andrea Petkovic forehand  sexy backless Stella McCartney dress neon orange beige white muscles tennis ball ponytail visor Hantuchova match Cincy
Andrea Petkovic.

Not that we’re saying you can fondle them. We never said that, for legal purposes.

Yanina Wickmayer Grigor Dimitrov talking practice hot pink spandex pants nice ass sexy photos tennis players
Yanina Wickmayer chats with Grigor Dimitrov. And yes…she IS wearing hot pink spandex shorts. We did notice that. So did Grigor, we reckon.

Want more proof of the awesomeness of spending time at the Western and Southern Open? Check out some of our Cincy updates posts, filled with pics of your favorite men and women on both tennis tours:

Day 1 …… Day 2 …… Day 3 …… Days 4 & 5.

Also, shirtless Tommy Haas, a very hot Roger Federer,

and a future Slam winner playing doubles behind the loo

and all the amusingly stupid things people can say at tennis tournaments.

We’ll see you at Cincy!

*Special thanks to the non-pro-tennis peeps in this post, who were uber good sports about letting us use their photos.


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2 thoughts on “Cincy Tennis! All the Fun, Funny, and Sexy Reasons to Attend the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati

  • Andy Allen

    This was a great read as Cincy will be my first ever tournament I’m attending in just 11 Days!!! Do you know more about player meet & greet opportunities? Do the top seeded players participate in them as well and does the tournament release a schedule for those opportunities? I am so excited to finally see all my favorites play in person, but if I got the chance to actually meet Rafa, I could die happy.

    Thanks again for putting this piece together!

    Reply
    • Val and J.D.

      Thanks for reading! Yes, top players do fan events, but it varies from year to year who is available. Cincy has a good app and they’ve apparently revamped it for this year, so that’s a helpful resource for keeping up on all the scheduling for practice sessions (where you might be able to get an autograph) and any special fan events. There’s also an information desk when you enter the park, where you can pick up daily schedules and news.

      The Berdych and fan pics were taken at the player entrance, which offers another opportunity to meet players, but it’s more unpredictable. Be prepared, Rafa is extremely popular and not as easy to get close to as other players.

      If you haven’t already, you should check out this page for important info about the park if this is your first time ever: http://www.wsopen.com/news/the_vitals_a_guide_to_getting_ready_for_the_open/

      Enjoy Cincy! I hope it will be a great tourney experience for you. 🙂

      Reply

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