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Jamie Murray isnt easily excitable, but ask him about the best place to sit during a live tennis match and he responds quickly and enthusiastically.Behind the court, says Murray, the No. 4 doubles player in the world who is into the mens doubles quarterfinals at the US Open. He also happens to be the older brother of world No. 2 in singles, Andy Murray. Because then you see everything. Otherwise youre like this (moves head side to side), you dont really take in the angles of the balls and you cant really read the play so well. So Id always recommend people to go behind the court if they can.Scott Suloway, who puts the hard core in hard core tennis fan, gets that. The 65-year-old, who helps run tennis leagues for the Chicago Park District, has been at the US Open every year since 1987. Hes there morning to night for the two full weeks. On average he watches 10 matches a day and enjoys watching the tournament unfold. His favorite place to watch -- and the spot where he has his assigned Arthur Ashe Stadium ticket -- is behind the baseline.From the baseline you can see the players play, he said. You can see what they both do wrong, what they do right, what theyre going to do next. One thing I like about Djokovic and Murray is how quick they are and how quick they recover, and you can see that better from the baseline. You can see everything better.Lets step back for basics: The net splits the court in half lengthwise. The baseline is parallel to the net and marks the courts length boundary. The sideline is perpendicular to the net and marks the courts width boundary. There are two sidelines -- one for singles and, a few feet beyond that, another for doubles. In many sports, like football and basketball, seats near the center of the playing field are considered prime location.American Coco Vandeweghe, who comes from a noted basketball family, agrees the best place to sit for tennis is behind the baseline. She also has tips on where not to sit. Ranked No. 30 in singles and No. 19 in doubles, Vandeweghe is in the womens doubles quarterfinals and the mixed doubles semifinals.If you get stuck behind the umpire its, like, the worst seat ever because you miss half of it, says Vandeweghe, noting coaches seating is often there.Thats also where Rolf Thung watched some of a boys singles match Sunday. A tennis fan from the Netherlands, he watched a side court match while leaning against a pole a few rows behind the umpires chair. There was ample seating elsewhere, but he had a reason for watching where he did, and it was a big, round one.Every side has disadvantages and advantages, he said. With this ... the advantage is that youre with the sun, and the sun is a little bit low and sharp so its easier to see.Thungs ideal spot is behind the baseline (a little bit high but not too high). Many fans agree but have their reasons for sitting elsewhere.Inside the US Opens sprawling but intimate new Grandstand this weekend, tennis fan Tina Hang sat along the sidelines high up in the stadium watching a womens doubles match. It was a thrilling third-rounder won by Vandeweghe and her new doubles partner, Martina Hingis. Several benches in the area were empty, and Hang spread out on one of them. She prefers sitting near baseline corners, but right then all she cared about were the match (she was watching Martina Hingis!) and the roomy space.For American tennis player Christina McHale, who lost to quarterfinalist Roberta Vinci in the second round, baselines and sidelines arent the first consideration. Where does she like to sit?In the shade, McHale said with a smile.Back on Grandstand, Hang took in the action from the side of the court without the stadiums cool, modern shade protection and said, Im in the office too much, so I need sun.While players and fans agree behind the baseline is where its at, players mention preferences fans cant.Asked for her favorite spot to watch tennis, 17th-ranked Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova paused then came up with this: In the box.Hingis, a Hall of Famer, took it a step further.My favorite spot is Wimbledon -- the royal box, she said, laughing. Theres not many things that beat that.Hingis sometimes helps coach fellow Swiss player Belinda Bencic and agrees on the player box being a great spot for tennis watching.Said Hingis, If youre coaching a player or helping you can still have eye contact and feel the energy and momentum and encourage her.Then theres world No. 12 Gael Monfils, who was scheduled to play his quarterfinal Tuesday. He doesnt spend a lot of time scouting the best place to watch live tennis. His reason is simple, if surprising.To be honest I never watch a tennis match, Monfils says. I watch basketball a lot, soccer, never tennis.A few moments later Monfils, known for playing Cirque du Soleil-style tennis, adds that he does enjoy watching his countrymen play Davis Cup, that their matches entertain him.The rest of the time though hell leave those prime seats behind the baseline to the rest of us. Swell Bottle Liberty Of London . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Swell Bottle Green Jasper . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. http://www.ukswellbottle.com/swell-marble-bottle-sale-uk.html . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. Swell Traveler Sale . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Swell Bottle Milky Way . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. NEW YORK -- Novak Djokovics opponent in the U.S. Open semifinals, Gael Monfils, might just want to hole up somewhere safe until its time to walk out on the court in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday afternoon.Dont practice too strenuously.Let someone else carry the racket bag.Be extra careful crossing busy streets in Manhattan.Its been hazardous to ones health to get drawn to face Djokovic during this tournament: The defending champion and No. 1 seed has enjoyed an unprecedentedly easy path to the final four at Flushing Meadows, needing to complete only two of five matches because of injuries to three foes.This Grand Slam is very unique for me, acknowledged Djokovic, who is in the U.S. Open semifinals for the 10th consecutive year. I never experienced something like this -- to have three retirements on the road to the semifinals.No one has. According to the ATP, its the first time in the Open era, which began in 1968, that a man only needed to win two match points to get this far at any of tennis four major tournaments.I can only wish all of my opponents a speedy recovery, Djokovic said. Thats all I can do on my end.True. Its not his fault. Still, there certainly could be an advantage to only having to play a total of 84 games across a tad less than 6+ hours so far.Djokovic won a four-setter in the first round. But the player Djokovic was supposed to face in the second round, Jiri Vesely, pulled out of the U.S. Open a couple of hours before the match, citing a bad left arm. The man Djokovic met in the third round, Mikhail Youzhny, stopped after six games that took 31 minutes because of a strained left hamstring.And after a three-set victory in the fourth round, Djokovic only needed to play two sets plus one point in the quarterfinals before Jo-Wilfried Tsonga called it a night because of a problem with his left knee.Fridays second semifinal will be between No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, a two-time major champion, and No. 6 Kei Nishikori, the 2014 runner-up in New York.It shouldnt be surprising that injuries would abound in the ninth month of a season that offers little chance for reespite.dddddddddddd. The U.S. Open is the years last Grand Slam tournament, after all.Even Djokovic has been dealing with health issues of his own. He developed a sore left wrist right before the start of the Rio Olympics in early August, losing in the first round there, then skipping the Cincinnati Masters.Plus, something -- he wont say exactly what -- has been going on with his right arm, which was massaged and manipulated by a trainer during the first and fourth rounds.So the fluky way his U.S. Open has gone is a benefit, he figures.Asked whether he had any concern about the lack of match competition over the past two weeks, Djokovic replied: Not really.Actually, in this stage of the season, considering some physical issues I have had in the last month, month and a half, this was the scenario that I needed and I wished for, he said.I got a lot of days off and recovered my body. Right now Im feeling very close to the peak. Thats the position where I want to be.That also sounds like bad news for the 10th-seeded Monfils, who has lost all 12 career matchups against Djokovic.The Frenchman, who turned 30 last week, will be playing in the second Grand Slam semifinal of his career; the other was a loss at the 2008 French Open.Djokovic, meanwhile, is seeking his 13th major championship, which would break a tie with Roy Emerson for fourth-most in tennis history among men, behind only Roger Federer with 17, and Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal with 14 apiece.When Djokovic completed his career Grand Slam at the French Open in June, it also gave him four major trophies in a row, something last accomplished nearly 50 years ago. His streak was stopped by a third-round loss at Wimbledon.What hes doing is amazing, said Monfils, who has won all 15 sets hes played at Flushing Meadows this year. Hes better player than me, definitely. I think I have no shame to say it. He is better than me.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ' ' '