Mardy Fish comments on Chiefs TE Travis Kelce's appearance at the 2024 U.S. Open

USA Today

2 days ago

This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke to retired tennis star Mardy Fish about defending his tournament title in this weekend's American Century Championship, which will take place July 11-13 at Edgewood Tahoe. He also shared his thoughts on today's American tennis stars and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce's viral visit to the U.S. Open last year.
"I mean, the vibes are always high, right? This is such a cool week," said Fish, "American Century does such a good job of treating us so well, including the family and everything. So we kind of treat it as a little mini vacation as well. I want to play the golf course well, but the kiddos come, and we have such a blast. So, the vibes are always high. So yeah, if you're not having fun, something's wrong."
The two-time American Century champion discussed today's American tennis stars and expressed optimism for the future of the sport.
"I mean, our women are awesome. Our women have won both majors this year, the Australian Open and the French Open. In the men's, we had two American men in the quarters of Wimbledon, and Taylor Fritz is in the semis, playing Carlos Alcaraz," said Fish, "I don't even know what their scheduling is over there. I haven't watched much of it. I'm sort of removed from it now. I certainly keep an eye on the guys I had the privilege of being their Davis Cup captain, and players like Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Ben Shelton, a phenomenal player too, often show up in the big tournaments. So American tennis is a good spot."
The former American No. 1 in the ATP rankings understands the popularity of tennis, especially during major championship tournaments. He commented on Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, and Brittany Mahomes' visit to the 2024 U.S. Open in New York City.
"I mean, that U.S. Open final is an interesting one; you get a lot of people from all walks of life, in terms of entertainment, sports, world, and stuff, sort of, who's going to show up, Travis (Kelce) and Taylor (Swift) coming out. That was cool to have them out there," said Fish, "so they can see how athletic some of the tennis players are. And, getting someone like Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz out there, two contrasting styles of play, one with a huge serve and one with just unbelievable groundstrokes and movement. So, yeah, it's just awesome for other sports to go and see if you're an athlete from another sport, going and checking out a different sport. It's always fascinating to see how they prepare and how focused they are during the process. Therefore, there is a great deal of mutual respect on both sides. When you watch someone in their craft, someone else watches another sport."
The annual golf tournament awards $750,000 in prize money, much of which the celebrity players donate to local and national charities. Over the years, nearly $8 million has been donated to non-profit causes. Network television exposure on NBC and a first-place prize of $150,000 make the celebrity tournament one of the most prestigious in the golf world.
Check out the website for more information about the American Century Championship.