Fernando Verdasco, the jaunty 26-year-old tennis star from Madrid, calls what's going on in his home country these days “la Época de Oroâ€â€”the Golden Age. (In sports, anyway. Economically it's in the baño.) “In football, we are the World Cup and Eurocopa champions,†he says, “Gasol has the second ring, Rafa wins Wimbledon, and there's Contador in the Tour de France.†And while he's certainly not shrugging off the pair of Davis Cup titles he's helped claim for Spain, Verdasco's hoping to make an even more impressive personal contribution to the Golden Age this month at the U.S. Open.
“That tournament is just unbelievable, the
biggest—like everything in
America,†he says. “Arthur Ashe
Stadium is the biggest in the world; the hamburger is the biggest
one. I just love it there.†Despite running in
some pretty glamorous circles back home—he
mentions dinner at Ronaldo's house, nights out with
Beckham—he's found himself spending more time in
the States, working on his game in Vegas with Andre Agassi's former
trainer, Gil Reyes. Verdasco now calls the United States his
“second home,†and in regard to
women, he sounds open-minded about splitting his time.
“In Spain? Whew. So many beautiful
women,†he says. “But then, well,
Miami, New York, L.A.& How can you pick just one of these
cities? So many unbelievable women, so tough to
choose.â€
—DANIEL RILEY
MADRID'S AIRPORT REACHES FOR THE HEAVENS—AND ALMOST GETS THERE
Madrid-barajas airport's terminal 4 does more than make air
travel glamorous again; it makes it humane. Instead of forcing you
through a labyrinth, it guides you across a line. Traversing it
feels sensible, less frenetic, because the path is always clear.
The four-year-old terminal, which was designed by British architect
Richard Rogers, has nothing to hide. Ventilation systems are left
visible. Brash, unapologetic concrete buttresses support the
rippled bamboo-clad roof. Terminal 4's best
amenities—abundant light, a sense of
expansiveness—are intangible. Like a cathedral, it
directs your spirit upward, toward where you're headed, reminding
us that flight is more than a tedium to be endured; it's a
miraculous, human endeavor.
—MICHAEL HSU
