If you love tennis, there is nothing more fun than attending an ATP or a WTA event live. You get to see top-level tennis and get a closer look at some of the players whom you have only watched on the tube. My wife and I, along with my brother and his wife, decided to take a trip to Amsterdam for a short, five-day vacation.

Our vacation was "conveniently" scheduled during the week of ATP Energis Open, an International Series ATP event held in the small, yet elegant town of Amersfoort, thirty minutes train ride away from the vibrant atmosphere of Amsterdam.

Since I decided ahead of time to dedicate this article to a day in the life of a tennis fan who attends a world-class tour event, I kept a diary throughout the day. Here is the account of that Friday for this tennis fan:

8:30 AM - I wake up in my room in the Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel. This wonderful hotel is located minutes away from Central Train Station. I can feel the cool breeze outside as we left our window open, forgetting for one night that we were now in a city where 50s and 60s are considered common temperatures in July.

9:15 AM - We have breakfast in the Patio Room of the hotel. Full breakfast is 18 Euros and worth every penny. I have not had breakfast this tasty and with this kind of variety in a long time. So I splurge...

10:10 AM - Today is the quarterfinals of Energis Open and the matches are scheduled to begin at 11:30 AM. We leisurely begin our walk from the hotel, along the canal, towards Amsterdam Centraal Station.

10:39 AM - The train takes off to Amersfoort. It is not an "Intercity" train so we stop at a few stations and enjoy the plethora of views of that smaller Dutch towns have to offer, each with its unique character.

11:25 AM - At the Amersfoort train station, we notice a shuttle labeled "Energis Open." The driver politely informs us there is no room in this one, but that he will be back in 15 minutes for another round. We decide to browse the magazine store in the train station while we wait for the shuttle.

11:40 AM - The shuttle is back. However, we pay the price of not waiting right by the shuttle stop. Before we can get to the shuttle from the magazine store, a crowd of teenagers approaches the shuttle in warp speed and enters it before we have a chance. We are left out again. The driver again smiles at us and shrugs his shoulders as if to say "You live and you learn!" We "furiously" walked towards the bus stops and "calmly" chose to take the appropriate bus to get the tournament site.

12:07 PM - We are at the tournament site. We get in the ticket line. We have reserved tickets through phone, yet we are nervous that somehow, something went wrong and our tickets are not ready. But I feel pretty confident about this issue because the person that I contacted about the tickets seemed very "organized." This "organized" man, his name is Bastiaan Helingman, by the way, does not let us down as I get our tickets for the full three days as soon as I mention my name and flash my drivers' license. The seats are great. I make a mental note to find this "organized" man by the name of Bastiaan to thank him later in the day.

12:26 PM - We rush to the Center Court to watch the first quarterfinal match. We enter the court and get to our seats as Juan Ignacio Chela, the second-seeded player from Argentina, is up 6-5 against Juan Balcells of Spain (one of the very few players that I know who consistently serves and volleys on clay, a la Yannick Noah).

12:36 PM - Chela, the 22nd-ranked player in the ATP Champions Race, wins the first set in a tiebreaker after saving 2 set points, following some lucky let courts and nervous mistakes by Balcells. One player is diligently attacking; the other player is consistently counterpunching. Standard of play is high; center court is nicely set up. We are already happy to be there.

01:02 PM - Although tennis quality remains respectable, second set is not as close as contested as the first one. Chela defeats Balcells 7-6, 6-3. I try to put my newly-acquired digital camera to use to get a close shot of Chela, but he is surrounded by the ball kids and their giant tennis balls to be signed.

01:08 PM - Now that we have gotten our initial taste of tennis, we casually explore the tournament site, checking the sponsors' booths out and looking at the menus of the different food stands, temporarily set up for the spectators.

01:17 PM - I figure this is as good a time as any to meet Bastiaan, the "organized" man who reserved our tickets. As I ask around the tournament staff, I keep getting directed towards the tournament paraphernalia booth and "that tall man with glasses." I finally get to meet Bastiaan, "the organized, tall man with glasses," and thank him for the tickets. He is a good man, extremely polite, and seems happy with our mention of thanks. Did he seem even happier when my brother bought two Energis Open t-shirts?

02:52 PM - The sole Dutch player still alive, Jon van Lottum, displays his aggressive style and ferocious forehands to down Cristophe Rochus 6-4, 6-4. Everyone is happy, except Rochus who stunned Alex Corretja the round before.

03:01 PM - It is announced that in 10 minutes, Alex Corretja will be signing autographs in one of the sportswear booths. We need to stop by the bathrooms. There is a line, it takes us 15 minutes to get through that ordeal, and we had to pay 0.35 euros each for it!

03:25 PM - We finally get to Corretja's autograph session. I take a few pictures; get him to sign my ticket. I decide to miss the first few games of the second quarterfinal match in hopes of getting a picture taken with Corretja.

03:32 PM - I get my wish as the man known as "one of the nicest guys on the tour" by his peers graciously smiles for a picture with me and says "thanks" to me! Shouldn't I be the one thanking?

03:52 PM - My brother and I talk about how people are well-behaved, that although it is not forbidden, people will still only smoke when walking around the premises and not in the stands. We take our seats in the Center Court again to watch Albert Costa against Andre Sa.

04:17 PM - Two bleached blonde ladies in front of us begin smoking like chimneys, while talking on their cell phones during play. We retract dutifully our recent statements of about 25 minutes ago. Luckily, the behavior of these two women is an exception and not the norm.

04:48 PM - French Open champion Albert Costa takes out Wimbledon quarterfinalist Andre Sa in straight sets. Now that I have seen it live, I am even more impressed with Costa's forehand.

05:08 PM - There is a band of two guys singing to the '80s dance tunes under the temporary tent in the middle of the sponsor booths. They are jamming, the crowd is watching and clapping, I sip my cafe au lait while I watch and soak in the atmosphere.

05:21 PM - Third-seed Gaston Gaudio arrives to the Center Court to take on fifth-seed Jarkko Nieminen. Both of these young guys are having their best years on the tour. This is the last quarterfinal of the day.

06:35 PM - Gaudio defeats Nieminen 6-1, 6-2. Gaudio's one-handed backhand is the prettiest shot to watch today other than Costa's forehand. But I am beginning to think Gaudio will beat Costa tomorrow in the semis. This guy is impressive, ranked No. 15 in the ATP Champions Race, and the holder of two titles on clay courts this year already. I would not be surprised if he ends up top 10 on the tour very soon. I feel like, despite the score, lefty Nieminen would have beaten many other players today, but not Gaudio who had all the answers.

07:03 PM - We take the bus back from the tournament site to the Amersfoort train station. Bus drivers, including this one, are all very polite.

07:19 PM - We change some dollars into euros at the train station as the exchange lady grins and informs us that "the dollar is going down everyday!"

07:27 PM - Our train leaves to go back to Amsterdam.

During the ride, I look back at a great day I have had at Energis Open. I am looking forward to tomorrow's semifinals. The tournament is well run, the town of Amersfoort is elegant, and the Dutch people are wonderful.

Tennis is the cake and everything else is the icing. Life is good.

July 19, 2002 was a good day for this tennis fan, indeed!

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