old man goanna

On Thursday night Lani and I trotted off to the US Open. We had tickets to the Men's Quarterfinals, Nadal v Gonzalez. Walking along the forecourt, outside the stadium there was a small platform complete with official US Open backdrop - perfect for photo ops. So up we popped, not before we turned to an older gentleman - would you mind taking a photo of us please?

Sure ladies. 

And up he popped onto the platform, arm around Lani and smile at the ready. 

Oh, isn't he an old card!

Oh, but no. Not an old card. Would you like a photo too little girl?

A few people crowded around us. Can we have a photo too?

A Japanese couple walked away happy with their evidence. Lani ran after them - Hey, who is that?

Oh, that's Nick Bolletieri.

Sure, of course.

And then a black man who had overheard us came over, incredulous. You girls, you come all the way to the US Open and you don't know who Nick Bolletieri is? Wow. He's only the most famous tennis coach in the world.

Well, who did he coach then?

All of them. Martina Hingis. All of them. He has camps in Florida and everything.

And at the end of the day, really, we should have known. Old man goanna. Only the face of a farmer, or a tennis coach.