Bill Simons
Paris
Naomi Osaka was incredible against Madison Keys at the US Open. She was down 5-1 in the second set, but won. Then she inspired the world as she offered a courageous oasis of calm during the explosive, helter-skelter final against Serena. In two very shaky matches at the Australian Open, she suffered from errant play. She swiped at the air, she wept, she lifted the trophy. Her first two matches here in Paris have been misadventures. She flirted with defeat, she tempted fate, but she prevailed. Over three straight Slams, Naomi Osaka has given us a quiet yet dazzling display of Houdini-like survival skills that no one – not even the incredibly mentally tough Serena – has given us. Does anything phase her?
It’s stunning that she’s won 16 Slam matches in a row. But what’s even more remarkable is the way she’s done it. Naomi calls on a bounty of strengths: belief, mental resilience, deep, powerful strokes off both wings, fearless court positioning, in-the-moment savvy, a jaguar-like ability to pounce, an almost meditative calm and a big-picture wisdom.
She relishes pressure. For her it’s fun. She has a subtle sense of whimsy. You never feel she’s taking this sport too seriously. She doesn’t waste energy, but she’s no robot. Her fist pumps are gentle, her shrieks are rare. She’s so young, but you feel she’s seen it’s all. Osaka admits she’s stubborn, but Catherine Whiticker claims, “Defiance is a quality of Grand Slam winners.”
Off court, she’s changed her coach and her gear. Nike gave her millions and she gave hope to millions when she visited Haiti, her Dad’s homeland. They say she’s en route to becoming the face of the Tokyo Olympics. She hardly ever misses a beat. She seems to handle it all with breathless ease.
But deep into the second set of her second-round match against Victoria Azarenka, all seemed lost. She was down a set and a break to the two-time Slam champion – Vika was in the zone. “She roars and she screams and she roars again,” said broadcaster Gigi Salmon, “but you cannot hear Osaka – she’s silent.” Salmon then added, “There’s something so tough about Osaka under pressure. She lasers.” Naomi promptly crushed a return. “Oh, that’s evil!” quipped the broadcaster.
No, that’s not evil, that’s Osaka – the No. 1 player in the world who, in yet another on-the-brink performance, came back to beat Azarenka 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Osaka has never gotten beyond the third round in Paris, and she might have to beat Keys and Serena just to make it to the semis. But here in the City of Lights she’s lighting it up. And how bright a moment would it be if she prevailed and won her third straight Slam?
WHAT’S WORSE? What’s more troublesome, the ITF gutting the tradition and passion of the Davis Cup, or the French Open’s longstanding plan to tear down arguably the greatest small court in the game, the fabled Bull Ring Stadium, in order to put up a plaza that critics say wouldn’t help all that much with the congestion of Roland Garros?
A FEDERER FASHION FAIL? Roger is perfect at everything, right? Among other things, his fashion sensibility is exquisite. Whether in jeans or a tuxedo, he nails it. On court, he’s always flawless too, whether he’s in his Wimbledon whites or looking like tennis’ answer to Darth Vader in all black at the US Open.
Sarah L. Kaufman asserted, “Perhaps the greatest manifestation of Federer’s grace is the way he carries it so easily. It is uninterrupted, on the court and off.” When he walked out to play the French Open for the first time in four years, fans were elated. Unsparing fashion critics were not. They shouted that his light brown outfit was a fashion fail. Catherine Whitaker sarcastically suggested he was “dressed as the most stylish turd in history…Is there anyone out there who thinks pale brown is a good look? Is there anything that pale brown tones in with?”
A fashion policeman on The Tennis Podcast was even more critical, contending that Roger “revealed something brown and unflushable…a lingering stench.”
Ouch! Is it legal to say such things about the beloved icon? For his next match, Roger changed to a predominantly white outfit that had brown accents. A Welsh reporter told Roger that people said his look was like “a uniform that delivery drivers use for the international courier services.” The reporter then asked, “Have you ever been a brand ambassador for an international courier, because when you are on the courts, you always deliver?”
Federer denied that UPS was his inspiration. He said he and UNIQLO liked the look. He said he could have been safe and gone with blue, which the French like. He said his choice was “more vintage looking” and he understood that these colors “always stir a debate.” He was right.
GO BIG OR GO HOME: Jelena Ostapenko has played in the last five French Opens and she’s won only seven matches. But she’s distributed those wins brilliantly. She lost in the opening round in four different years. In 2017, she won all seven of the matches she played and took the title. Venus Williams has won 48 matches here, Martina Hingis won 35 – yet neither claimed the title. Overall, Russian Elena Dementieva won 119 Slam matches – but no trophies.
A HUMANITARIAN ON A ROLE: A few weeks ago Stan Wawrinka wrote his incredibly brave “Silence is complicity” letter about the ATP not standing up to Justin Gimelstob. Here at the French Open, while signing autographs, he swooped up a boy who was being crushed by overly eager fans.
AMERICANS LEFT IN THE SINGLES DRAW: Madison Keys, Serena Williams, Sonya Kenin, Amanda Anisimova, Sloane Stephens.
RAFA THE BOTTLE WATCHER: Nadal told L’Équipe that he sorts his bottles on court in order to retain his focus.
QUOTEBOOK
“Del Potro sort of sleepwalks between points, but you underestimate him at your own peril.” – Radio Roland Garros
“I don’t know how [putting a time limit on comfort breaks] would work. I wouldn’t want to be timed going to the toilet…[But] people are now taking showers these days.” – Gigi Salmon on lengthy bathroom breaks
“Sunday starts at Slams are a bit of a damp squid.” – Radio Roland Garros
CARUSO’S KID: We used to love to joke with the Italian player Roberta Vinci. We’d asked her whether she was related to Leonardo da Vinci. Now we wonder whether Italy’s Salvatore Caruso, who won today, is related to the late great operatic tenor Enrico Caruso.
GO FIGURE: After her marathon win today over the singular Hsieh Su-wei, Andrea Petkovic was asked, “Is it ever fun being part of her crazy world?”…Victoria Azarenka, Serena and four other top-100 players are mothers…Alexander Bublik again served underhanded…Patrick Mouratoglou said that Simona Halep and Sloane Stephens were the only two natural clay court players on the tour.
NOT A ROUGH RIDE FOR THE ROMANIAN: Because of Amanda Anisimova’s upset of Aryna Sabalenka and No. 6 seed Kvitova withdrawing, Simona Halep won’t have to play a top 30 player until the semis, where she could face Osaka, Serena or Ash Barty.
