On the sidelines

FIREWORKS ROCK CEREMONY

Fireworks, strobe lights, thumping music and gyrating dancers on the court of Arthur As he Stadium. It can only mean one thing: the official start of the US Open.

John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova, singles champions from three decades ago, slammed tennis balls into the stands before Monday night's matches to ceremonially light the Empire State Building in US Open court blue.

And first-year New York City Mayor Bill deBlasio officially welcomed the 700,000 fans to the two-week tournament, saying "the US Open is where it's at!"

That was all a prelude to pounding rock tunes from the band Fitz and the Tantrums, accompanied by booming fireworks, flashing strobe lights and a team of dancers gyrating on the court over projected images of the game's biggest stars.

THINKING OF UKRAINE

For Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky, just keeping his mind on tennis these days is a challenge.

Stakhovsky, who lost his first-round US Open match to Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 on Monday, acknowledged the political unrest in Eastern Ukraine was a distraction.

"Two weeks ago I was there and not very far from what is happening, "Stakhovsky said, adding he preferred not to "disclose" exactly where he was.

STRICTLY NOT WATCHING

Andy Murray isn't one for reality TV - even if his mother is starring on it.

British Fed Cup captain Judy Murray is set to compete this season on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, the show that inspired Dancing with the Stars in the US.

"If it makes her happy, then I will support her. I'm not really into those shows, but she loves it," her two-time major champion son said. "I mean, she watches it all of the time, talks about it all the time," he said. Not that he plans to tune in.

"Probably not, no," Murray conceded.

His mother must be an avid dancer, right?

"I don't believe I have ever seen her dance, to be honest," Murray said. "It will be interesting."

However, Murray is a fan of the NBA and, with an off-season home in Miami, he has Heat season tickets. The Scot didn't appreciate the implication that he might give them up now that LeBron James has left town. "We don't do that," Murray shot back. "In the UK, you don't change teams when someone leaves."

BEATING THE SPREAD

Victoria Azarenka's greatest athletic accomplishments: Winning the Australian Open twice. Reaching the No 1 ranking. Spreading her toes?

Azarenka missed the French Open and most of the spring because of a left foot injury. The runner-up to Serena Williams the past two years at the US Open, she is seeded just 16 this time because of the layoff. Part of her rehab was seemingly the simplest of physical actions.

"The big thing that I had to learn (was) how to spread my toes," she said. "That's not a joke. It's for real. Because, you know, spending so much time in the shoes, some people cannot really spread their toes. I could not do it on my left foot. I had to learn that and it took me about two weeks because it was a constant, mental thing. It wouldn't move."

(China Daily 08/27/2014 page24)