Chazz Palminteri may be from the Bronx, but the actor has spent plenty of time in Queens over the years watching the US Open. The film and theater star was on hand Saturday to watch the women's singles final, with Aryna Sabalenka defeating American Jessica Pegula, 7-5, 7-5, to win her first New York singles title.
Before the match, Palminteri and his wife, Gianna, spoke with USOpen.org about their love for tennis and the sports' similarity to theater. Palminteri created "A Bronx Tale," an autobiographical, one-man show in the late 1980s, with a film adaptation of the story being released in 1993. Today, Palminteri still performs the one-man play and also owns two Italian restaurants under his own name in New York, one in Manhattan and another in White Plains.
"I never say my restaurant is the best restaurant in New York," joked Palminteri, who also hosts a podcast. "Is it in the top five or three? Yes."
Read on for Palminteri's Q&A with USOpen.org.
USOpen.org: Welcome back to the US Open. You're a bit of a regular here.
Chazz Palminteri: Yeah, I've been here a lot. I always come. I switch it up. Sometimes I come for the women and then sometimes I come for the men. This year we're here for the women's final.
USOpen.org Do you play any tennis at all?
Chazz Palminteri: No, but I love watching it. Our kids do, and my wife plays a little bit more. I love watching it. I love one-on-one, any kind of sport.
USOpen.org: Gianna, I know you follow the tennis very closely year-round. What draws you to the sport?
Gianna Palminteri: We love it. It's a great sport that is all-inclusive. I love the technique and the grace of it. And we're in theater, so it's the closest sport to theater.
USOpen.org: On that topic, Chazz, you have your one-man show, which can be similar to tennis. In tennis you're also out there on your own. You have an opponent, but it's just you and the crowd. Do you see any similarities between the two?
Chazz Palminteri: Well, the show that I do is very physical, but not like this! But it is very physical.
Gianna Palminteri: It's also a mind game for him. He has to have the right mindset to transfer that energy. Same thing here. It's all in the mind.
Chazz Palminteri: It's all mind, it really is. You know, there's the top players in the world and then there's the top three players in the world. There's a difference. And the only difference is, the top three players in the world, when they get on center court, everything slows down for them. The other seven, it speeds up. And they could be in the top three if they develop that mindset. When they're all that good, it's all in the mind.
USOpen.org: Speaking of the greats, who have been some of your favorite players to watch over the years?
Chazz Palminteri: I loved watching Federer. Federer was my favorite to watch because the tougher the game got, the more he crunched and slowed down. And you could see it. He's one of the greatest.
USOpen.org: Do you have any particular memory that stands out from all the years coming here?
Gianna Palminteri: I think I think the best story for us is when we took our children when they were little.
Chazz Palminteri: Federer took my son and signed a hat and gave it to him. That was a pretty cool moment.
Gianna Palminteri: And our daughter was little, and she was a good tennis player. She was on my shoulders.
Chazz Palminteri: That's a great memory.
