Chapter 32New York City, the near future
“So, what does it feel like to be playing for history?” a reporter asked him at the US Open’s Media Day.
He was seated as if he were an emperor—which he supposed modern celebrities were—on a dais set high above the hard, rough blue-green court of Louis Armstrong Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow-Corona Park, Queens. Below him sat rows of journalists. Beyond them in the stands sat scores of “subjects”—fans, as Media Day coincided with the end of Fan Week, in which the tennis faithful watched the qualifying matches free of charge.
“I was a history major,” Alex recalled with a smile. “History may be the toughest opponent.”
“Just how great is the pressure?” another journalist asked.
“Is it anything like
