Tennis' favorite lost-in-translation bromance now comes with an extra bonus: frequent flyer miles.
English radio journalist and avid tennis fan Jonathan Pinfield became an instant viral sensation last summer, when his distinctive accent caught the attention of Germany's Alexander Zverev in a press conference.
And while Pinfield, from Bradford in Yorkshire in the north of England, was not originally planning to attend the 2019 US Open, he made an impulsive, last-minute decision to book flights, accommodation and tickets at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday morning to ensure he could cheer on Zverev in person for his second-round encounter with American Frances Tiafoe.
"If I'd have said to any of my close friends on Tuesday that I'd be jumping on a plane and watching Sascha Zverev in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday, they would have said that I was crazy," the 48-year-old Pinfield said.
"I'm usually reasonably considered. I think when I've had the opportunity working as a radio reporter, I've sometimes plucked up a bit of courage to ask a slightly left-field question of a player which has been a bit of a gamble, but this is the first time I've ever just thought, 'I'll jump on a plane to the other side of the world to watch one of my favorite tennis players.'"
Pinfield attended the 2017 US Open for two weeks and said he didn't think it was practical to return again so soon. Still, he followed the action in Flushing Meadows this week closely from across the pond, tweeting his congratulations to Zverev after his first-round win over Radu Albot.
"I’ve just got to resist the temptation now to book a flight on Wednesday morning from Manchester to JFK... one look at my bank balance should sort it," Pinfield posted to his social media account late Tuesday night.
As it turned out, his heart would soon overrule his mind; his enthusiasm would get the better of pragmatism.
"I was watching Sascha's match, which was a real rollercoaster. He was up, he was down," Pinfield said. "I wasn't sure if he was going to pull through. I half said to myself, 'If he wins, I could be tempted to go see him in the next round,' but I still didn't think it was practical.
"But when I tweeted my congratulations to him when he won and I got the tweet back from Sascha, the mysterious emojis to the effect of, 'I wonder if he will be in New York,' I just thought why not live for the moment and just do it."
Pinfield, encouraged by friend Alexandra, another member of the "Team Zverev" fan club from Germany, skipped going to sleep that night in order to pack four days worth of clothes and hunt for last-minute accommodation in New York City. He was out of his house shortly after the sun rose Wednesday, took off from Manchester airport at 10:35 a.m. UK time and landed at New York's JFK airport almost seven-and-a-half hours later at 1:10 p.m. local time.
The Yorkshireman had no firm accommodation plans when he left home in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and it wasn't until he landed in a rainy Big Apple that he learned that his Airbnb request had been confirmed.
"I might be homeless," he had joked before setting out for the airport.
Safely stateside but running on virtually no sleep—he couldn't fall asleep on the trans-Atlantic flight—Pinfield grabbed a power nap at his Queens-based rental before catching Wednesday's evening session inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Today he'll be back in the Promenade-level seats inside Ashe this afternoon to cheer on the 22-year-old Hamburg native.
The friendship between Pinfield and Zverev dates back to May 2018, when Pinfield was covering the French Open for Live Sports FM. The Yorkshireman asked Zverev if he thought a deep run at Roland Garros could be a turning point in his career, to which Zverev famously responded, "Where you from, buddy?"
Upon hearing Pinfield was from Yorkshire, Zverev joked that if they ever hold a tournament there, he'd attend because of the accent alone. "I didn't understand a word you're saying, but it's not important," Zverev added with a smile, saying he "loved" the distinctive, but sometimes indecipherable accent.
Zverev ensured Pinfield asked the first question in his post-match press conference two days later, and Pinfield welcomed Zverev in heavily accented German.
Twelve months later, Pinfield charmed Zverev with his accent once again, with Zverev saying he would make a special visit to Yorkshire if he won Roland Garros. And while a victory lap through northern England was not eventually needed, it didn't stop Pinfield from keeping tabs on Zverev, seeded sixth in Flushing Meadows.
"I think Sascha's match finished about midnight last night UK time," Pinfield said, "then I put out a tongue-in-cheek Tweet saying, 'Should I be jumping on a plane?' Then, quite quickly I got a reply to my tweet from Sascha's new Twitter account with a few emojis, which sort of twisted my arm.
"I didn't think too much about it, but it's all been a bit of a whirlwind. But I'm here, and it's all good. Who's to say he can't go on a great run and cause me a massive problem? What will I do if he goes deep into the draw? I better not think too long or hard about it."
