Family Circle Cup--the final day

World number one doubles player "Slammin' Sam" Stosur is always a crowd favorite

It was another almost unbearably hot day on Daniel Island, made worse by tension building up over the singles final. We arrived early and watched Sam Stosur and Lisa Raymond practice. Stosur signed a photograph I had taken of her, and also scooped up several practice balls and gave them to fans, who had her sign them.

Having been on the stadium grounds for over a week, it felt strange to know it was my last day there. And it was strange that my camera's memory card ran out at exactly the end of the tournament.

I will be doing an in-depth review of the tournament soon, but for now, I can say that--with a few exceptions--the Family Circle Cup was again run in a smooth, fan-friendly way by a very helpful staff. I learned this evening that most of the players have been staying in Mt. Pleasant, where we are staying, so I'm a bit surprised I haven't run into any of them here. The Charleston press has done a very good job of covering the tournament, although the Post and Courier didn't publish the supplements that it published last year. The newspaper gave us some nice tote bags, but I would rather have had the supplements.