NEW YORK, NY, USA - Special opening night ceremonies have become tradition at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center come US Open time.
This year's Monday evening extravaganza was themed Reach And Dream. Four people who have done both in spades were honored: Tennis players Martina Navratilova and James Blake, five-times Paralympics tennis champion Esther Vergeer and Afghanistan-born Dori Samadzai-Bonner, who now resides in America and won an essay competition in which the USTA asked its members to write about how tennis had changed their life.
The festivities also featured a speech by internationally-renowned journalist Christiane Amanpour, and a performance by music legend Gloria Estefan - who sang Reach, her rousing theme song from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Afterwards, Navratilova, Amanpour and Estafan gave a joint press conference, at which they spoke about a shared love of the sport - and its place in the bigger scheme of things. Here is some of what they had to say:
Navratilova: "You have to have a positive attitude to be a champion, and you have to be in the moment. I think that's what life is about. It's the positive attitude that gets you through, and it is a choice. I've always been too much of an optimist where I sort of ignore bad stuff until it sits right here in front of me, whereas my sister always worried about everything that could go wrong. But that's how I've gotten through life. I think it's done me pretty well. I think we all share that optimism and eternal hope in human spirit. And I have to start with myself. I can't be hoping for that in others if I don't have it myself.
"So it all relates, whether it's tennis or real life. Whether it's your health issues or winning tennis matches or dealing with the death of your parents, you have to just keep going and make the most of what you have."
Amanpour: "I've loved tennis since I was a child growing up in Iran. I used to ball girl, all my sisters did. I tried to learn but my first coach told me I had feet like a camel and I didn't run fast enough. Sometimes I used to wish I was a sports reporter. It's a good thing I wasn't, because I don't have all the credentials you guys have!
"It's just so great to be here with Martina and all the other honorees. For us who watch tennis it is something inspirational, because certainly when you sit in the grandstand and watch two people matched against each other and giving everything, it is a real metaphor for everything in life. I think that's what is so engaging, and goes way beyond the normal tennis crowd. It's so appealing to people who don't play and just really get a kick out of watching. Because it says everything about the human spirit, I think."
Estefan: "Listening to Martina and Christiane speak, I was struck that the great thing about tennis is that if you want to play, there are a lot of opportunities. There are public courts so every kid can play. Then it depends just on you and how you train yourself. You don't have to depend on being chosen to be a part of a team. Tennis is a great sport for individuality and to give kids opportunity to shine in a sport.
"I love going to the Sony Ericsson Open at home in Miami. I wonder how those players can play in the heat. Even in the wintertime, it's like being on a baster, like it was coming in here today. It's wonderful. It's a very exciting sport."
