Tennis Match

For our big Christmas present from Grammie and Abuelo this year we were given tickets to John Isner's charity challenge right here in the boro! 

With Finley starting to learn how to play tennis from David, we thought this would be a great way to get him excited about tennis. 

We were all super pumped about seeing some awesome tennis players up close and personal. 

The charity match was emceed by Wayne Bryan who is the Bryan brother's father and former coach. First up was a little doubles match!

James Blake, with 10 career single titles and whose career high ATP ranking was 4, was paired up with John Isner in the doubles match against. . . 

the world famous duo the Bryan brothers! Even though I don't normally pay attention to double matches, these guys are at the top of their game! They have 103 career doubles titles, 16 grand slam titles at the US Open, they were 2012 Olympic Gold Medalists, and are currently ranked number 1 in doubles. 

And of course John Isner, the local boy, was the main attraction. John has had 9 career single titles, his highest ATP ranking is 9th, he is currently ranked number 1 for the American ATP tour, and he is known for winning the longest match in tennis history, oh and also beating Roger Federer (sorry Nicolle :)). 

I still can't get over how tall John is! It is crazy. 

The Bryan brothers were at a slight disadvantage as one of them was recovering from the flu. 

But to be honest that didn't stop them from taking it to James and John! 

Don't they look so cute in their matching outfits? 

Here is my attempt at getting Finley in the same picture as John and James. But as you can see, I couldn't figure out how to get everyone in focus. 

It was a really fun and laid back atmosphere. 

They players were constantly joking with each other and giving each other a hard time. 

Here are a few shots of the big man's serve. Last year John served over 900 aces for the third year in a row. 

Here is one of the Bryan brothers get a little friendly with the crowd. 

So the doubles match wasn't even close. 

The Bryan brothers demolished James and John. I guess playing together forever has its advantages. 

Before the singles match got under way the Bryan brothers played against a local set of twins who participated in the morning clinic to see if they could win a point off of them. 

This was Finley's favorite part of the game. 

They eventually had to link arms with the entire group of ball kids to make it a little more even. 

Next up was the singles match: Blake vs. Isner. 

James Blake retired several years ago, but he is still playing pretty well! He gave John a run for his money, but eventually the local boy prevailed. 

We had such a fun time watching the matches and cheering on some of our favorite tennis players! 

Isner hosts this event every year to raise money for the UNC Lineberger Cancer Center where his mom has been treated for cancer twice. It was so very touching to hear their story and how grateful they are to still have his mom with him today. I hope we can make going to this event a yearly activity! It was so much fun and this might be the closest we can ever get to the pro circuit.