By Bill Simons
GOING BIBLICAL: Jon Wertheim said, “[Kimiko] Date-Krumm is so old, if she mentions having played mixed doubles with Noah, she’s not talking about Yannick.”
IS IT ‘GRUNT THEN HIT,’ OR ‘HIT THEN GRUNT’? On Letterman, Marin Cilic offered a dandy Top 10 list of the thoughts which were going through his mind as he won the US Open final. They included:
• Is it “grunt then hit,” or “hit then grunt”?
• Why doesn’t it go 15, 30, 45?
• If I win this, do I have to play Serena?
• Only 16 more titles to catch Federer.
THINK OF THE CHILDREN: Novak Djokovic’s wife Jelena Ristic gave birth to a son, Stefan.
CLINGY DOGS, SWIRLING SHARKS AND ENDANGERED DOLPHINS
• When asked about dealing with her tough injuries, Vika Azarenka told a reporter, “You’re making it sound like I almost died and there were 10 sharks and I got attacked and survived. And I saved a dolphin as well. It’s not that complicated.”
• When IT asked Serena how things were going with her dog Chip, she confided, “We need a little time apart. He’s been annoying lately. He cries … He’s talking to me and I don’t quite understand him. It’s really stressful.”
SAY IT ISN’T SO: For the third year in a row, John Isner lost in the third round of the US Open to Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber … Rafa Nadal’s uncle and coach, Toni Nadal, was critical of the naming of a woman, Gala León, as Spain’s first female Davis Cup captain … Neil Harman, the renowned tennis writer who had been suspended on charges of extensive plagiarism in the Wimbledon yearbook, no longer works for the Times of London … Spain’s Guillermo Olaso was banned for five years for match-fixing … Alexander Dolgopolov made a string of negative remarks about gays on Instagram and Twitter.
OUT OF OBSCURITY (OR SEMI-OBSCURITY): No other recent tourney has spotlighted more obscure or semi-obscure players than the US Open: think teen CiCi Bellis, Russia’s semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova, China’s semifinalist Shuai Peng, Croat Mirjana Lucic Baroni and Serbian Aleksandra Krunic. Even the men’s finalists Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori weren’t exactly household names.
MUSINGS ON ‘ROGER TENNIS’
• If football folks can call Johnny Manziel “Johnny Football,” why can’t tennis call Federer “Roger Tennis”?
• Jon Wertheim said, “Roger Federer is the belt that is holding up this tournament.”
• Mary Carillo said, “Lately, Roger has been approaching incandescence.”
• After his pupil Marin Cilic dismissed Federer in straight sets in the US Open semis, Goran Ivanisevic said, “When you give tennis lessons to Federer, it means you are amazing.”
• Federer observed that one of his “big, big strengths” when he was young was his ability to “learn very quickly. You didn’t have to tell me things 10 or 50 times.”
• Roger said, “I can walk around screaming [that] ‘I have 17 Grand Slams. I have the record…’ [So] when you can play for history … that’s really cool. You can then be compared to other greats or you pass another great, even though it doesn‘t mean you’re better … It’s like that moment you’ve gone into the unknown where nobody else has been before.”
• Federer came back from being down five match-points in the second round in Shanghai then sprinted to his fourth title of the year.
SERENA CALLS RUSSIAN CZAR A RACIST AND BULLY: When, on a Russian talk show, former Olympic Gold Medal champion Elena Dementieva was asked what it’s like to play the Williams sisters, Shamil Tarpsichev—the head of the Russian Tennis Federation who has long coached Russia’s Davis and Fed Cup teams, and for 18 years has been the Chairman of the WTA’s Kremlin Cup tournament—interrupted and said “the Williams brothers” adding, “it’s scary when you really look at them.”
Russian Maria Sharapova said the comments were “disrespectful,” especially since Tarpsichev is a key member of Russia’s Olympic Committee. While the WTA fined Tarpischev $25,000, suspended him for a year, and will be asking him to stand down as the Chairman of the Kremlin Cup, the ITF merely issued a statement.
Serena said she thought the WTA did a good job in taking the initiative and added that she thought the Russian’s comments “were very insensitive and extremely sexist as well as racist … I thought they were, in a way, bullying.”
ANDY THE SCOT: On the eve of the vote for Scottish independence, Andy Murray, who had long been intensely noncommittal on the controversial issue, came out for independence. He tweeted, “Huge day for Scotland. Campaign negativity last few days totally swayed my view on it. Excited to see the outcome. Let’s do this!” But voters said no. Now it will be interesting how often-skeptical British fans react to Andy, who may well again face the US in Davis Cup play in Britain in February. Murray reportedly once said that he would be rooting for “anyone but Britain” in a big international soccer tourney. One caustic tweeter wrote, “News for you Andy: most people would now prefer to see you representing anywhere other than Britain.” Another suggested, “Expect boos at Wimbledon if you manage to get a visa!” Then again, once Murray starts winning big time again, he could be a force for reconciliation.
‘MR. TENNIS’ AND MS. SERENA: When asked about the difference between Federer and Serena, Sam Querrey said, “One is a man and one is a woman” … Federer said Serena “basically revolutionized the game,” adding that the biggest similarity between him and Serena is they “serve about the same speed” … Reflecting on her and Federer‘s differing efforts to win their 18th Grand Slam, Serena said, “At least one of us made it.” She added, “Roger and I both have such a passion for the game. We’ve been playing for a really long time. We both just love the sport.”
UNBREAKABLE RECORDS: The Bryans have now won 101 titles. It’s doubtful any other team will match that, or equal Jimmy Connors’ record of winning the US Open on three different surfaces, or Martina Navratilova’s 358 overall singles and doubles titles. BTW: Wimbledon was played with yellow balls for the first time in ‘86. So when ‘85 runner-up Kevin Curren lost in the first round in ‘86, he became the only player ever to lose successive Wimbledon rounds with different-colored balls.
RISKE FACTOR: American Alison Riske won the first title of her career in Tianjin, China in October.
LIFE IS ROUGH: Boris Becker confided that he lives and dies each point from the friends box while his pupil Novak Djokovic is playing. “I have to keep my poker face and have a very cool demeanor … [But] inside it’s a volcano, I’m burning. After matches he needs to take a quiet minute to relax—I need to take one too!”
A SUGARY ANSWER: When asked if her line of candy has sugar free products, Maria Sharapova replied, “Sugar free? With the name Sugarpova I don’t think I will be doing anything sugar free very soon.”
NEW GUY IN CHARGE: Doubles specialist Eric Butorac is replacing Federer as the head of the ATP Player Council.
