By Bill Simons
The rumble continued, the cruel storms of Paris unrelenting.
Yes, it was dark in this town, an unhappy afternoon gray. But we are not talking about clouds. We are not noting rains, but rather the end of reigns, the fall of giants.
Last night, Stan Wawrinka, the man who ruled Australia and had the audacity to suggest that the game’s top four players might not be so invincible after all, went down in a humbling mess, losing to Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the No. 41 player in the world 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-0. Reeling, the Swiss No. 1 told the media that he would have to rethink this whole thing.
All the while, the tennis gods didn’t have to rethink their game plan. Long before many a proper Parisian got rolling, the upsets again began to roll.
In Australia, Li Na had escaped a brutal third-round loss when, on match point, Lucie Safarova missed the baseline by a couple of inches. But today in Paris, there was no missing the ferocity of Kristina Mladenovic, a young woman from the splendidly-named town of Saint Pol du Mer.
Fist-pumping and focused, the French woman seemed to have it all. Six-feet tall with broad brown shoulders, and golden hair woven into the tightest of pony tails, the 21-year-old wild card already has a Slam title—she won this year’s Aussie Open mixed doubles with Daniel Nestor—and she’s blessed with impeccable athletic genes. Her mom was a pro volleyball player. Her dad played pro handball. Never mind that Mladenovic is ranked No. 104, that she’d won just three matches in the eight tourneys she’d played this year, and that she went into the match with an underwhelming 1-5 record at the French Open. Today, she stepped into her returns, blasted forehands, ignited the home crowd with fist pumps, and swept to a convincing 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 win over Li, the No. 2 seed.
After Li’s loss, the media saw none of the delightfully flippant quipster who can light up a room with ease. There were no hilarious jokes about her snoring husband, or the agent who made her rich. Rather, the pride of China was glum. Stating the obvious, she noted, “Nobody say if you No. 2 in the world you have to win all the matches. I mean, this is tennis … everyone has a chance … [It] doesn’t matter who plays today against me, I always lose the match … today I gave away the match. Today is not about tennis game. It’s so many things [that] are wrong”.
Asked to elaborate, she said, “It can be anything … I really don’t want to find another reason to say because of that I lose the match … [It] doesn’t matter who plays today against me. I already lose the match … I think probably [it] is about myself … I don’t think I’m doing well on the court … I didn’t follow the game plan … I didn’t have any idea how to play the match … But, you know, first match always tough … I don’t know what happen, maybe I’m not organized, maybe I’m not prepared for myself to be the focus in this match … I think mostly important thing is in my mind. I I should find out …why I cannot put focus on this match. Yeah. “
So, came another question, did it matter that you were playing a French woman in France?
“No,” Li answered, “[it] doesn’t matter who I play today … because I threw myself away. “
For the first time in history, the two current Aussie Open champs failed to get out of the first round of the French Open. However, the shock defeats of the No. 3 men’s seed and No. 2 women’s seed—Wawrinka and Li—weren’t the only upsets in a stunning 18-hour stretch.
The Great Bulgarian Hope Grigor Dimitrov—the rising 23-year old whom Maria Sharapova loves—is said to be, along with Milos Raonic, the ATP’s star of the future.
But today, the future was put on hold by the tour’s tallest player. Just three days after competing in his first clay-court final in seven years, Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic, 35, blasted 22 aces to score a 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (4) victory, avenging a loss to No. 11 seed Dimitrov two weeks ago in Rome. Afterward, Dimitrov gave a murky explanation for his loss. He conceded that Karlovic served well and aggressively. He said, “Whatever I was trying to do was just not going my way … I had to face everything today.”
Then he added, “I must say I didn’t have the best couple of days … It was just things … You have to go through and fight through the days.”
Another player currently going through some tough days is Caroline Wozniacki, who has endured the very public and seemingly stormy collapse of her relationship with golfer Rory McIroy. The wedding invitations had already gone out, and now, and after losing to Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer, Caroline—a former No. 1, and the No. 13 seed in Paris—was out of the tourney. Still, she had to face the press—an unhappy chore.
Looking ashen and withdrawn, she bravely thanked her many supporters, spoke of her rustiness after dealing with wrist and knee injuries, and asked the press to give her privacy and only ask about her 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 loss.
Clearly, the press and all of tennis was supportive of their wounded Danish princess. Still, she was asked whether whether it was tough preparing for her match. Woz, such a trooper, soldiered on in the tense interview room. “Obviously,” she said, “You’re not prepared for something like this, and [it] came as a bit of a shock.”
And so, too, did the departure of two newly-minted Aussie Open champions—and the pride of Bulgaria.
GROUND CONTROL TO MAJOR PAUL: After her 6-4, 7-6(8) victory over Shuai Peng, Sloane Stephens was asked about technical difficulties she’s having with coach Paul Annacone. Not shotmaking technique—Wi-Fi issues. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing … it’s really weird,” Sloane said. “He had a BlackBerry, and said he could do everything on his BlackBerry. He switched to an iPhone. If you see the letters on his iPhone, one word is the whole screen. It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen in my life … In Australia he had like a $2000 phone bill because he was like on Twitter with his data roaming on instead of being on Wi-Fi. I’m like, ‘Dude … that is not ideal.'”
FLOWER POWER: It may be late spring in Paris, but the flowers have just started to bloom on court, where floral prints are in style. Agnieszka Radwanska‘s vibrantly colorful bouquet of a dress got people talking, while Tomas Berdych‘s bold H&M ensemble introduced some flower power to the men’s side.
TOPSY-TURVY: In the first round, Yuliya Beygelzeimer led 4-0 in both sets before losing 7-5, 7-5 to Carla Suarez Navarro … Vania King led 5-1 before Taylor Townsend won 12 of the next 13 games to score a 7-5, 6-1 victory.
MIRACULOUS RECOVERY: Roger Federer‘s first Roland Garros presser contained a moment that brought back the days of 2007 and 2008, when he was vocally dubious about Novak Djokovic‘s health and injury issues. “Three weeks ago, he couldn’t play tennis anymore,” Federer said, when asked about Djokovic’s chances at this year’s French. “When he was injured, ‘Oh, my God, you know—things are looking so terrible.’ Now everything is great.” Afterward, some argued that Federer’s remarks referred more to the media’s portrayal of Djokovic’s recent wrist problems than to Djokovic himself.
MADE IT, MA! TOP OF THE WORLD: The WTA announced that its year-end championships has been renamed the WTA Finals. The ATP-like name will be coupled with a new “On Top of the World” brand identity (i.e., catchphrase).
TALKING POINTS: Jim Courier has set off some debates with a pair of remarks as a commentator here in Paris: On Rafa: “One of Nadal’s strengths is that he’s so humble, that he’s surprised at what he has achieved, and that he has never bought into his greatness.” On Simona Halep, who reached a Slam quarter for the first time in Australia: “I expect her to be a finalist here.”
WAS SHAKESPEARE GLUTEN-FREE? After his first-round win, Novak Djokovic had this curious press room exchange with Italian journalist Gianni Clerici:
Question: I just bought your book, Serve to Win, and I read that you became the best of yourself, what you are now, when you stop with the gluten. So I wanted to ask, if I stop with the gluten, I become a better writer? (Laughter.)
Novak Djokovic: Oh, God. Thank you for your question. I’m sorry. (Laughter.) What was the question again? If you don’t eat gluten, would you be a better writer?
Q: I hope. It’s my last chance … for a Nobel Prize.
ND: For a Nobel Prize? That’s your goal? I will support—I will vote for you. I’m sure that gluten is a great obstacle for your writing. You should change your diet, definitely. Pizza with no gluten, it’s good, also.
Q: I know. I heard about that.
ND: But in the south of Italy to have pizza without gluten is not so recommended.
Q: I have to fire my cook at home, unfortunately, with your suggestion.
ND: I can assume who your cook at home is. But you don’t want to say that. Greetings to your wife.
