Some final thoughts on Charleston

It was a long, tense week, filled with weather, excitement and great tennis; some things stand out for me and linger in my mind:

• The disappointment of having JJ and Petko withdraw from doubles. For some of us, JJ and Petko playing doubles is enough reason to attend a tournament

Shelby Rogers (photo by Daniel Ward)

• Watching Shelby Rogers shine at her hometown event

• Struggling to open a giant plastic bag and wear it as protection as we were evacuated from the media tent during a thunderstorm/hail storm

• The multiple thrills provided by Laura Siegemund, with her clever, physical, exciting, all-court game (her press conferences aren't too shabby, either)

Laura Siegemund (photo by Daniel Ward)

• (As always) The wonderful media tent volunteers, who anticipate our every need

• Socks! They're not just for Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Laura Siegemund and Anastasia Rodionova wore them, also

• Fans yelling "Come on Daria!" when Daria Kasatkina played Daria Gavrilova

• Listening to Elena Vesnina talk about the gift of having experience on the tour

• The endearing grace of Mirjana Lucic-Baroni

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (photo by Daniel Ward)

• The marvelously expressive and hilarious faces of Jelena Ostapenko and Daria Kasatkina, which turned out to be "the faces" of the tournament

Daria Kasatkina (photo by Daniel Ward)

Jelena Ostapenko (photo by Daniel Ward)