By Mike McIntyre

Sometimes bigger is not necessarily better.

Case in point, the Legg Mason Classic that was held last week at Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC. From a tennis fan's perspective, this tournament is a joy to attend. Sure the big names like Federer and Nadal were busy going for gold in Beijing, but even in non-Olympic years they are usually not to be seen at a tournament of this size. If you were looking for familiar names, then perhaps this was not the event for you, although Roddick, Safin and Haas were enough to keep the crowds coming.

Then there are the surprise stories and hidden gems that might be lost amongst the chaos of a larger event. Here are a few of the enjoyable players that I had a chance to see.

American Taylor Dent was making only his second ATP level appearance after a two year hiatus due to serious back surgery. Despite losing a competitive first round match, his attitude was extremely positive and his outlook for 2009 seems very hopeful. I had the pleasure of a 15 minute one on one interview with Dent and he struck me as one of the nicer guys on tour. It was also quite enjoyable to watch at least one true serve and volleyer while I was there.

Indian Somdev Devvarman was another treat to watch for the first time and to listen to in his post match press conferences. Devvarman is a former NCAA standout who just turned pro in June. He made it through three qualifying rounds before advancing all the way to the quarterfinals. Athletes like Devvarman show us that there is not just a single path to professional sports and that gaining an education along the way is something to be proud of. Keep an eye out for this youngster, as he has already won at the Futures and Challenger level in 2008.

Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro proved that he is a real force on hard courts. This 19 year old rising star has won four tournaments in a row, two on clay and two on the hard stuff. He is the first player in the history of the ATP to win this many tournaments in succession after attaining his first title. While he might not have faced the strongest of competition in these events, he has beaten Richard Gasquet and Andy Roddick in separate finals, and has as much confidence as anyone heading into the US Open.

Another aspect that made this tournament so enjoyable was the smaller size of the event. Everything was right where you needed it and all the courts were in the same vicinity. From the top of Center Court, I could swivel around and see the Grandstand Court along with courts 1 and 2. It made the reporting that much easier and made it seem like I was in several spots at once.

Partly because this was a smaller tournament and partly because many reporters were focused on the Olympics, I felt like I had more access to the players here in DC than I would have had otherwise. While there were several local media in attendance, it did not seem like many tennis reporters were on the scene. I was often the first one asking questions in the post match press conferences and was able to ask many more questions than last month at the Masters Series event in Toronto. After his first round match, there were about eight questions for Mardy Fish. Seven came from yours truly, and there was one other one asking how he liked playing in Washington. Having a one on one interview with ATP chair umpire Ali Nili was also a highlight for me. More on that in a future post.

Then of course there were the extremely friendly people on site that I had the pleasure of dealing with. All media requests were handled by an excellent group of people from Brotman-Winter-Fried. Anything we needed at all and their representatives Keri Bohen, Shaun May and Shannon Corrigan took care of quickly and with a smile. I have to thank Courtney Elise Schemenaur from EMG 3, who was kind enough to hook me up with an Olympus Camera for the week after mine had decided to break down the night before I left for Washington. Ball kid Samantha Varmer was also helpful with some interesting courtside reports. Finally a big thank you to Spencer Kerstein, a fellow member of the media, who drove me home in the wee hours of the morning after a long yet enjoyable day of tennis.

My experience in Washington was nothing short of amazing and I truly look forward to returning again next year. Maybe Roger and Rafa can take a vacation together or simply enjoy the week off because I liked this tournament exactly as it was. It definitely makes you realize that there are other personalities both on court and off that can be just as fun to be around and give you plenty to talk about even after you've left.