HE’S HAVIN’ A BALL!
Now that the U.S. Open is in full swing, keep your eyes peeled for Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick . . . and Anthony Falco Jr., better known as A.J.
He’s is a lot harder to spot. The 12-year-old Brooklyn kid is one of the tennis tournament’s ball boys, and this is his third Open.
A.J. started playing nine years ago, when he was 3 and saw his older cousins hitting the ball back and forth. He asked their tennis coach to let him join in – and A.J.’s hardly stopped swinging a racket since.
Most ball boys and girls are 14 or older, but A.J.’s coach asked him to try out anyway. He made the cut, but he works for free: The older kids get paid $7.75 an hour.
Truth is, A.J. says, he’d pay just to be there.
“One thing I like about the game is you don’t know what could happen,” he tells The Post. “A great player can have a bad day, and a good player could have a great day.”
A.J. also volunteers with the EPVA (the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association), helping people in wheelchairs play tennis.
Here’s what else he told us:
Q: How many ball kids work a game?
A: We have six on each court for every game: two on each side, two at the net, two at the back.
Q: How many balls do you retrieve during a typical match?
A: A lot!
Q: Do you get to take any home?
A: No.
Q: Who’s your favorite player?
A: Andre Agassi. He has great returns – when someone serves to him, he puts it away.
Q: Get any autographs?
A: Nope. You’re not allowed to.
Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: Maybe a tennis player. Or a lawyer.

