Arthur Ashe Stadium isn't intimate, but it's a fun place to watch tennis. Wear sunscreen. Al Bello/Getty Images
	MAILBAG Jon Wertheim will answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag every Wednesday. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

After nearly a decade of watching tennis on TV, I'm finally going to see tennis live at the U.S. Open this year. Do you have any suggestions or advice for first-timers at the Open and first-timers, period?
-- Paul, Virginia

• Take either the much-maligned No. 7 train or -- better still -- the Long Island Railroad from Manhattan. If you insist on private transportation, take a cab over a car service, which drops you off somewhere near Canarsie. At the risk of sounding like a tourist bureau p.r. flack, you'll be surprised how civil and efficient the trains are.

• Be prepared for sticker shock when you visit the food court. For our rupees, the Indian cuisine is your best bet.

• Buy a daily program when you walk in.

• Watch at least one match on the Grandstand court.

• Complain at least once about the absence of intimacy in Arthur Ashe Stadium. And complain at least twice about the landed gentry in the luxury suites who have prime seats yet have their backs turned away from the court as they discuss their portfolios in air-conditioning.

• Part with $2 and try smacking the ball as hard as you can at the serving booth. The money, I believe, goes to charity, and this exercise will help you appreciate just how good these players are.

• Watch doubles -- mens, in particular. It's fun. And they could use the love these days.

• Arrive early and spend, say, half an hour watching players practice. It's weirdly mesmerizing.

• Wear sunscreen. (We dutifully footnote Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich.)

• Watch the top-seeded player in the boys' and girls' singles draw.

• Watch Fabrice Santoro, even if it means greasing the usher's palm.

• If you walk by a scoring console and see that any match is deep in the fifth set (or third set for women), watch the conclusion. It will give you a good sense of just how brutal a sport tennis can be.

• Yes, you're important. But switch your damn cell phone to vibrate.

• Catch Gael Monfils in action so you can tell your friends, "I saw him when ..."

• Drop the "l's" when pronouncing the aforementioned's name.

• Ignore the imperious attitude of the ushers. They're not representative of New Yorkers. And they're just doing their jobs.

• Bring a book/crossword puzzle/date to pass the time during changeovers.

• After the matches (or between sessions) check out some of the ethnic restaurants in Flushing. You can walk there.

• Avoid dressing like a player -- unless you have a match that day. Otherwise, it's comically tacky.

• I'm serious about the sunscreen.