I must confess that I'm not an avid tennis fan like most of the people who attended this event. The only force behind my hour-long drive was to see Kevin - and he certainly did not disappoint! When I first saw him play last year, I was pretty amazed at how great he was on the court with only 3 years of experience under his belt. This year he continued to amaze and to hold his own with all of the players, including and especially the pros, on the court. He was light on his feet and he had big serves/returns and point saving volleys. He and his partner,Rennae Stubbs ended up winning their match against Gavin Rossdale and Brenda Schultz-McCarthy with a score of 6-2 in the final set.
In addition to his talent on the tennis court, Kevin (along with the other participants) kept the crowd entertained with banter between one another and with the announcer. At one point, the announcer asked Kevin where his sunglasses were since it was sunny and Kevin was squinting his eyes, and Kevin responded that 'Scottish men don't need sunglasses'. The announcer also made a comment at one point after Kevin won a difficult point that 'some people are just born to be perfect'. I totally agree! :) It was a lot of fun to watch and listen to in spite of the fact that it was raining on and off for the entire event.
After Kevin's match, I went to the area near the rest house along with other fans to see if he would be able to sign my Grey's Anatomy Season 5 DVD. Kevin walked by the area and mentioned to all of us that he had hurt his leg in the last game (which we came to find out later was an injured right calf muscle) so he had to go have it looked at, but he would be back to do autographs and photos later. A short while later, he came back as promised. I did get my DVD signed and got photos of him as well. The first picture didn't turn out (oh no!) - so I slyly moved down the line and caught up to Kevin again and told him the picture was blurry and asked if I could please take another one. He smiled and said 'Sure!' :) And cue the picture retaking!
I have always been impressed at how considerate Kevin is of his fans and this encounter only made my admiration increase. He stuck around and made sure that every person who was waiting received autographs/photos - no matter how long it took. He was also very gracious to everyone. There were fans screaming his name left and right in an attempt to get his attention but he never once lost his cool. Kevin's acting talent was what initially pulled me in, but his kindess to and his appreciation of his fans has made me stay and want to support his work for all of these years.
In addition to being a great actor, musician, and sportsman and being so wonderful to his fans, Kevin also always seems to manage to take time out of his busy schedule to do charity work/events. It was great to have this experience to not only see Kevin in person doing something that he enjoys, but also to support this charity and Chris Evert's work. I hope his schedule works in our favor and he will be able to attend this event in 2014. I will make it my fangirl mission to be there. By @SweetOnOwen
Big thank you to @SweetOnOwen for sharing her experience
Photos are the property of @SweetOnOwen , KMKO has been granted permission to use.