Jesse witten returns to Novak Djokovic of Serbia, during the third round of
the U.S. Open, Sept. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Of course it's an overstatement to say that 26 year-old, 5'10" Jesse Witten is the surprise player at this year's US Open just because of fitness.
Here are a few photos of his match with Djokovic
He's got talent, skill, knowledge, focus and all the other elements that go into making a tennis champion.
But really, fitness folks across the country are cheering today, having watched 26-year-old Witten play fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
The cheers are for the simple and selfish reasons (besides we all love a really nice guy underdog): Witten graduated from University of Kentucky in 2005 with a degree in kinesiology, the science of human movement.
(For those who aren't familiar with kinesiology, check out the Wikipedia page)
It is a discipline that focuses on physical activity and a study chosen by people who want to go into dance, coaching, athletics, physical therapy and the like.
According to the UK athletics website, at Kentucky, "Witten earned All-America honors five times and was named the 2005 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year. As a freshman in 2002, Witten advanced to the finals of the NCAA Singles Championships. The following season Witten reigned as the nation's top player for four months."
In a great underdog as hero story, Witten answered questions on September 3 about his year up until now:
Beginning of the year I was playing futures events where it's a total purse of 10,000. The winner gets $1,200 or something and it's a long week. You have no ball kids. You don't change balls, so the balls get this big. We're in some places that you probably have never heard of.
He casually joked about his fans and play until now, talked about his supportive family: mom who is an optometrist, dad owns a construction company, sister Sarah is a school teacher, and his younger brother Ben who "wanted to be a surfer dude" so he's in California working as a chemist.
If you are looking for more places to read about him, here's a link to Jesse Witten's Facebook page, which has a collection of the best information and articles. And, here's a 2002 interview that gives some perspective on his growth as a player.
Here's a recent NYT piece after his win against Maximo Gonzalez.
There's already a link to the September 3 press conference above, but here is a link to a September 1 interview.
Anyway, on behalf of fitness writers, and fitness folks, we just want to add our applause and recognition. Can't wait to see more of you.
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