Tennis Fans Hit Flushing Meadows For Day 1 Of US Open

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Anxious tennis fans were pushing through the turnstiles Monday well before the first match on the US Open's first day.

Perhaps nobody was more enthusiastic than Eileen Feldman, of Manhattan, who was attending the tournament in Flushing Meadows for the first time.

"I am so excited!" she told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell. "I have wanted to come to the US Open forever, and I really don't know why I never got myself here."

The event gives hardcore and casual fans alike the opportunity to see the top players in the world up close.

"Pretty exciting," said one man from Syosset, Long Island. "It's the first time bringing the kids to the US Open. So we're really excited. I haven't been here in about 13 years."

Fans this year have a chance to witness history, as Serena Williams is trying to become the first Grand Slam winner since Steffi Graf in 1988.

"It's almost a generational activity for folks, and we're seeing it," said Chris Widmaier, spokesman for the United States Tennis Association.

Widmaier compared the possibility of a Grand Slam to American Pharoah winning horse racing's Triple Crown this year.

"The Belmont, it was just so exciting," Widmaier said. "As Serena advances through this tournament as a great, great, American champion, I think it will be incredibly exciting for folks."

In:
• Peter Haskell
• U.S. Open