By Bill Simons
STAN STUNNED: Stan Wawrinka won his first Grand Slam in Australia, and his first Masters Series tourney in Monte Carlo. He became No. 1 in Switzerland, and No. 3 in the world, and was an appealing long shot to win the French. But thanks to an error-strewn Court Centrale performance, he lost to world No. 41 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain. Rising No. 9 seed Kei Nishikori also suffered a shock upset, to the little-known Slovakian Martin Klizan.
DAZZLING DEBUTS: After beating France’s Julien Benneteau 6-1, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6, 18-16 in his first Grand Slam match, Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis fell to the ground, wept at length into his shirt, then beamed as he spoke on his cell phone … The appealing young American Taylor Townsend won her first Grand Slam match, overcoming a rugged start to hit 52 winners and score a 7-5, 6-1 win over the veteran American Vania King. Townsend, who is now working with Zina Garrison, said, “It was awesome. I mean, I had so much fun. I was really nervous at first, but I tried to fight every single point.”
YET ANOTHER CAT FROM SLOVAKIA: Young Miloslav Mecir Jr. not only has the same name as his Dad, he looks just like his graceful pop, who reached the US and Aussie Open finals, won the Olympic Gold in ’88, all the while known as “the Cat.” The young Mecir’s nickname is “Gatto,” Italian for cat. BTW: when Mecir went to the French Open accreditation center, he was first given his Dad’s pass.
DON’T THINK SO: When reports emerged in soggy Paris that it was sunny in London, some wondered whether the French Open could move its matches to Wimbledon.
WHAT’S GOOD FOR TODAY IS GOOD FOR TOMORROW: Jon Wertheim noted that it is “possible that Nadal and Djokovic will be playing simultaneously today. One suspects they’ll be playing at the same time in 13 days as well.”
IT’S NICE TO HAVE FRIENDS: After going out to dinner with Serena, Caroline Wozniacki tweeted, “It’s nice to have friends like Serena when you are going through tough times. “
DJOKOVIC—STORIES WE NEED TO LISTEN TO: IT had the following upbeat exchange with Novak Djokovic:
Inside Tennis: Now that the floods are over in the Balkans, could you reflect on a few things? Do you think the flood could bring the different peoples of the Balkans together? Is there a story or two you could share with us? And did the floods have any effect on the markings of the minefields?
Novak Djokovic: Well, it’s devastating times for three countries that have been suffering these terrible floods. It’s a natural disaster, and there is not much you can do except pray that it can be over quickly.
Considering your question about the people of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, and the Slavic countries coming together, I think they already did. They showed [a] solidarity and support to each other [that] hasn’t been for 20 years, since the last conflict and the war we had that didn’t bring any good to any of the people.
Maybe Yugoslavia cannot be the same, or cannot be an official country again like it was three decades ago, but at least we can use the situation, and in the future show respect to each other.
Because we are all in the region, we [all were] one country 30 years ago, and we all worked together, and at least we can try to help each other and become prosperous countries and become a better people.
In these “unwinning” and undesirable circumstances for all of the countries, this is something that is very positive that we can take out from this catastrophe—people being together.
IT: So when a catastrophe hits, people look at the basics and go beyond—
ND: Sure … I haven’t seen any negative connotations, any negative stories about what was going on in terms of relationships between the countries. We all know that only 20, 25 years ago there was a huge war, and that the wounds of these wars are still fresh for the peoples of these countries.
But for 10 days, everything was forgotten, and it still was very calm, very positive … People are reacting in a very nice way towards each other and helping each other.
One of the first countries that helped us … when Serbia got hit, was Croatia, and their volunteers … saved kids. I have seen one news [story] that one kid was very close to being drowned, and a Croatian volunteer came and saved her.
These are the kind of stories that we need to listen to, and [that] need to be out there more often, because [at] the end of the day we are probably going to still be the same independent countries we were two weeks ago. But I think there [is] going to be a significant change in terms of the relationship between the countries, and this is a very positive thing.
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS: The good news for American Robby Ginepri was that he prevailed in the USTA’s playoff system to get a wild card into the French Open. The bad news was that he drew Nadal as his first match. But at least the Georgian—the last American to get to the fourth round at Roland Garros, in 2008 and 2010—would get to play one of the all-time greats on one of the great courts in the world.
So, early one morning, Ginepri went out to practice on Court Centrale. in order to get used to the vast arena. Then the match was assigned to the much smaller Suzanne Lenglen. When Ginepri was asked what he thought when he saw that Rafa would be his first-round foe, he quipped, “Bit of a downer.”
He added, “Coming from [playing] the Tallahassee challenger, no one [there] is hitting like that. I wasn’t able get on the ball like I wanted to. In the beginning it was super heavy out there, and it got really thick and slow. Obviously I wasn’t able to dictate the way I normally do … He makes you play a different style … I had to adapt a little bit.”
Asked whether Nadal or Federer was the greatest of all time, Ginepri said, “That’s a toss-up, really. It’s all matchup styles. I would prefer to play someone like Roger over Rafa just because my game matches up a little bit better maybe against Fed.”
As for how to upgrade American tennis, Ginepri said, “[The more] Americans we have, the more options we have. That’s where we’re lacking. A lot of other countries have a little bit deeper selection of the crop … I always said I liked the way Argentina trains, and Spain, and even over here in Paris, you know, there are about 10, 15 guys all in one hub that train [with] each other.
In America we’re so spread out: Florida, California, Texas. You know, it makes it a lot easier when you’re seeing four or five different styles every single day that you can matchup [against].
The camaraderie—they get together and push each other. I think that’s what American tennis is lacking.”
THE CONFESSION OF STAN WAWRINKA: After his loss, Stan Wawrinka confided, “I am not at the level of Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, because they have been around for many years, and they win everything. I know I’ll have the level. I could defeat them, but it’s different. I need to put the puzzle back together [and] find solutions, because the pressure is different.”
MACAROON-OBSESSED MINDS WANT TO KNOW: Maria Sharapova was asked, “Each time you are in Paris, you enjoy eating macaroons. When you win, how many of them do you allow yourself to eat? And when you lose, do you get to eat more as a consolation prize, or is it the other way—do you punish yourself and have a bit less?”
DIRE PREDICTION: Contemplating the possibility that John Isner and Nicolas Mahut—who, of course, played that famous three-day Wimbledon marathon—might face off again in the second round, Eurosport predicted their match would last a week. (Mahut lost his opening match.)
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Reflecting on Chrissie (“the mother of all power-baseliners”) Evert, Julie Anthony said that playing her “was like having someone stiff-arming you in the chest, just holding you back. She didn’t topple you over, but you couldn’t move forward.”
HABITUAL COMMENTARY: Eurosport said that Nadal and Sharapova are far and away No. 1 when it comes to on-court habits.
NO KIDDING: When asked about the Sunday start of the French Open, John Isner said that it’s fine, but “if you lose on Sunday, you feel like you were never in the tournament.”
