Forehand forward by Al Bello

Forehand forward

Sports Action, third prize singles

September 3, 2013

Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a forehand during his men’s singles match against Marcel Granollers of Spain, during the fourth round of the 2013 US Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, on 3 September. First-seed Djokovic dispatched his unseeded opponent 6-3, 6-0, 6-0, but later had to cede the final to Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

Commissioned by: Getty Images

LOCATION: New York, USA

Photo Credit: Al Bello

Al Bello graduated with a liberal arts degree from the University of New York at Stony Brook in 1989. In March of 1990, he worked as darkroom manager for The Ring boxing magazine and soon found his way photographing boxing on a weekend basis, while processing and printing film during the week. In 1993, he landed a position as a junior photographer at Allsport, now part of Getty Images.

Since joining Getty, Bello has held a number of positions most recently becoming chief sports photographer in North America. He is assigned to cover sporting events, and people in sport, worldwide. His assignments have included several Super Bowls, World Series and Stanley Cups in the US, as well as four winter and four summer Olympic Games, and other multisport international events such as the Pan Am, Asian, Goodwill and Commonwealth Games. Bello has been to five FINA Aquatic Championships and has covered World Cup soccer. His tennis favorites include the US, French Open and Wimbledon championships. But Bello’s favorite sport by far is boxing. He has been to countless world-title fights and boxing gyms over the past 20 years.

Bello has won various awards from World Press Photo, the National Press Photographers Association, Pictures of the Year International, the China International Press Photographers Association,  the New York Press Photographers Association, the Boxing Writers Association, the Football Hall of Fame, Baseball Hall of Fame, FINA and the International Olympic Committee. He has taught and lectured at the Eddie Adams Workshop, a National Press Photographers Association Short Course, the Richard Clarkson Workshop and for World Press Photo, the Rochester Institute of Technology, the Poynter Institute and the Wisconsin News Photographers Association.

Bello lives in Merrick, New York.