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# Confessions of a U.S. Open Ball Boy

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/E4ZPwbPn.m3u8" -->
## Video: Confessions of a U.S. Open Ball Boy

[Watch (HLS stream): Confessions of a U.S. Open Ball Boy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/E4ZPwbPn.m3u8) (2:47)

![Confessions of a U.S. Open Ball Boy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/E4ZPwbPn/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2014-08-26. Veteran U.S. Open ballpersons tell TIME their best and worst moments on the court with players like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Kim Clijsters, and more._


---

Jul 27, 2023 5:10 PM UTC

---

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### Nishikori Makes History With U.S. Open Win Over Djokovic

---


## Transcript

You never really get to see players do a whole practice. You just get to see it on the matches. So to see what they put into hard work, and then to be on that court, is just the, probably the best seat in the house. Roger's great cuz I mean he was a, he was a ball boy himself. Every now and then I'll notice that he'll take a ball. He'll wail at one of the corner ball people and he'll gaze at them to see if they catch it. [ NOISE ] And I think it just goes back to his days of being a ball boy to test how their hands are. So, it's fun to know that sometimes he's aware of us and thinking about our performance out there.

[ MUSIC ] One thing that I thing the pubic doesn't understand is that, it's hard on your body. You start when you're fourteen but I'm twenty- eight. A lot of us up there in mid 20s and, it hurts. My name is Zack Broskla and this is gonna be my fifteenth US Open as a ball person. My name is Courteney Connors and this will be my second summer as a ball person. My name is Nathan Pallons and I've been a ball boy for eleven years. My name is Miguel Auston and this is going to be my seventh year. My name is Larae and I've been a US Open ball person for sixteen summers. My best moment when being a ball person was.

When Kim Clijsters won her first Grand Slam cuz she's my favorite player. I did all of her matches up until that point, and it was one of those moments where it was like we shared it together. She came into the locker room, and then, she looked at me, and then we hugged and then we started crying a little bit, and I told her that this was the best moment of my life and it's something I would never forget. Once I stepped on the court, and I saw Djokovic walking out, cause he's my favorite player. And just shivers went down my body. When he won I wanted to just jump up but then I was like, just stay calm, because you're a ball boy.

[ INAUDIBLE ] Sometimes I'd get a little stressed out that if I like flinched, the, the players would notice. But, once you get used to it, and everything. You start to feel more comfortable. Having done this for a long time I, I've gotten to do some great matches. And I did the 2007 final between Fed and Djokovic. At during the second set apparently the camera caught. A time when Novak said some words to me and after the match I saw that there were some messages from my friends saying what did you say to Novak? What did he say to you? Because right after that moment, I think he broke fed and, he kind of made some more traction in that set.

So I'd like to say that the great, you know, I gave him some great, words of encouragement or some new strategy. But all it was was he gave me some instructions on where he wanted me to bring the towel, so. [ MUSIC ]

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