FIVE GUYS
Cycling, baseball, ice hockey, horse riding, basketball and even the senior Olympics; Miami-based photographer Alexander Aguiar, 31, has shot pretty much all the sports, but tennis holds a special place in his heart. In a tale all too familiar [take note, kids], he played tons in his youth, then went cold turkey on the game when he went to college and started work. It’s something he regrets, but in 2019, a new freelance work schedule freed up time, so he picked it up again and now plays tennis several times a week and is “starting to obsess over it again.”
Aguiar’s photojournalism has appeared in The New York Times, L’Équipe and Sports Illustrated and he’s created campaigns for Oakley, Under Armor and adidas. He’s shot wrestler/actor/meathead The Rock, boxer Anthony Joshua, basketball player Stephen Curry and tennis player Sloane Stephens, right after her 2017 US Open win. We caught up with him after he spent a glorious day at the Louis Armstrong Stadium, Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City. And here he shares his unique-take photos of Ben Shelton, Jannik Sinner, Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dmitrov.
TELL US YOUR TENNIS STORY…
I started at around 10-years-old at a summer camp with a friend, then began enjoying it and took it a little more seriously. For a few years I was training at an academy with Tarik Benhabiles [French former pro-player who was 22 in the world in 1987 and later coached Andy Roddick into the world’s top 10]. There were always higher-level pro players that would come through. I gave semi-pro tennis a shot by playing a couple of qualifications for futures tournaments and got my ass beat pretty thoroughly, so I realised quickly that I didn't have much of a future in it. There wasn't as much of a culture to play college tennis in the circles that I was in, and that's a bit of a bummer because I sometimes wish it was a goal that I would have had.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR ULTIMATE TENNIS ERA AND WHY?
As I get older, I’ve developed more of an appreciation for older eras of tennis and think a lot of players from the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s would still be current-day stars if they grew up in modern day tennis. I'm a little biased towards the mid 2000s game, mostly because I really enjoyed watching players like Federer, Safin, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Santoro, Davydenko, Baghdatis, and Tsonga as a kid. If I could go back in time, I’d love to watch the Nadal/Mathieu epic in 2006 at Roland Garros.
Ben Shelton
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE CURRENT CROP OF PLAYERS?
There are a lot of fun players in the current era and the future of tennis is looking like it’s in a lot better shape than it did five years ago—especially on the American side with guys like Fritz, Shelton, Tommy Paul, and Tiafoe all having success. Some of my favourite styles to watch at the moment are Mannarino, Alcaraz, Sinner, Brooksby, Korda, Popyrin, Coric, and Ruusuvuori.
Tommy Paul
FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE STILL DYING TO GO THERE, HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP THE VIBE OF THE US OPEN?
I really enjoyed camping out at Louis Armstrong Stadium, and I prefer it over Ashe or any other courts on the grounds. It's just got the best feel to me— I really like it there. I also love the practice courts.
Jannik Sinner
ARE NEW YORK FANS TOO CRAZY OR PERFECTLY CRAZY?
Call me old-fashioned, but I think tennis crowds are trending in a bit of the wrong direction. I’m all for an electric atmosphere, but cheering between first and second serves is a bit much. Depending on where you were sitting in Armstrong, there was constant background chatter, which was pretty distracting at times. I know some players are pushing for more raucous crowds, but there’s something about the order and all-whites at Wimbledon that I think should be preserved in the sport. But with that said, the US Open is the US Open and will continue to be the US Open.
Photography: ALEXANDER AGUIAR