How exciting to be watching a 17-year-old fellow step on the court to play his first U.S. Open match! It was easy to tell that Donald was a crowd favorite. His serves were excellent and consistently fast, with 100+ mph accuracy. The weather was tennis-perfect, relatively low humidity for late August, sunny, and barely a breeze to veer shots off target. Young and his opponent, Chris Guccione, made liberal use of water and toweling-off breaks between excellent vollies that sometimes went to five or more shots. We were impressed with the design of the courts themselves. These "hard courts" are made of a man-made surface that is a bit rubberized. It makes the colors pop, including the all-important white lines where officials can rule shots "in" or "out." The hard surface also provides extra traction for the ball (better bounce) and less slippery footing for the players.