Bill Simons
Wimbledon
NAOMI OSAKA AND THE END OF INNOCENCE: One’s heart goes out to young Naomi Osaka, who lost in the first round. In her four last Slams she’s won twice and cried three times. She seems adrift and overwhelmed by the tide of fame that seems to have drowned her once-so-sweet spirit.
Her former coach Sascha Bajin said one time that the world could learn a lot from her innocence. But that seems like eons ago. BTW: John McEnroe said, “I am still trying to figure why Osaka got rid of her coach. Maybe he hammed it up [too much.] We are all guilty of that. To do that doesn’t make any sense to me.”
What also wouldn’t make sense is if the charming Osaka gets buried by the hype machine that lifted her so high, but now seems like such a burden to the once whimsical 21-year-old.
QUOTEBOOK
“I feel like I’m about to cry.” – Two-time Slam winner Naomi Osaka to her press handler, who promptly ended the press conference of the world No. 2, who’d lost in the first round
“It’s a dream debut for the 15-year-old.” – Sue Barker on Coco Gauff
“You can take the man out of the competition, but you can’t take the competition out of the man.” – Mary Rhodes
“How hard is it if singles is your meat and drink?” – Radio Wimbledon on Andy Murray switching to doubles
“If Novak keeps this up, his new coach Goran Ivanisivec is going to have to cancel a lot of appointments next week.” – BBC
“It’s wonderful tradition. The players walk on together, they walk off together – it’s class.” – BBC on the entry and exit protocol at Wimbledon
“There’s room for three. We have Roger and Rafa and there’s room for Novak.” – Boris Becker on Djokovic’s lack of worldwide popularity in comparison with Roger and Rafa
“They are in bathrooms all over the world” – The BBC, on all the towels that have been stolen from Wimbledon
“It’s a sacred court. It is the cradle of our sport.” – Radio Wimbledon on Centre Court
“It was the little niggles that went against them. The Americans were fitter, they were ruthless. The [English] lionesses need to be hard on themselves. America has that little extra something. We’re proud of the English, we are proud of the Americans…We touched the heart of the nation. They played their hearts out.” – The BBC on America’s World Cup soccer win over England
NICK KYRGIOS’ SPECIAL AND NOT-SO-SPECIAL MOMENTS: You can criticize Krygios in myriad ways. But bless him, he’s never dull. Today, after his first round win over his fellow Aussie Jordan Thompson, he said, “I’m never going to change. I used to be like this when I played under 12s, 14s. I just go out there, have fun, play the game how I want it to be played….I know people are going to watch. They can say the way I play isn’t right or, ‘He’s classless.’…[Still] they’re probably still going to be there watching. Doesn’t really make sense.”
Now, in a fabulous second round popcorn match, he’ll face his bitter foe Rafa Nadal. Don’t invite these two to the same party. Nick said there is a “mutual respect between the two of them, but that’s about it.” In 2014, when Nick was just 19, he famously beat Rafa. Do you remember that, he was asked. “I’ve looked back on that moment,” said Kyrgios. “That’s never going to leave my tennis career. It was one of the most special moments I’ve ever had.” What wasn’t special to him was when Rafa’s Uncle Toni earlier this year said Nick wasn’t good for the game.
HEADLINES:
It’s Break Point for Wallets
No Balls, Please – Wimbo Streaker Fear
Wimbledon’s Nice Psychopaths Continue to Scare Off the Next Generation
Djokovic in ATP Blast as Quartet Resigns
Fearless Djokovic in the Mood for Defense of ‘Sacred’ Crown
Smashed and Volley
Williams: “I’m thinking, if I’m in the final, try to win one for once.”
Mixed Doubles: The Art of Finding the Perfect Tennis Love Match
Loneliness of Life on Treadmill Pushes Players to the Edge
If Andy Plays Jamie…I’m Going to the Pub!
Fed Cup Revamp’s Big Bucks
Extinction Rebellion to Target Tennis Championship Over Single-Use Plastics
You Can Count on Konta
WIMBLEDON IS SPARED ANOTHER SHOCK: Yesterday a nothing-to-lose kid took on an icon in the twilight. Coco Gauff battled Venus Williams on Court One. Today, on Centre Court, another kid took on an icon. The long-haired longshot Lloyd Harris challenged Mr. Roger Federer. Harris hasn’t won a Slam. Newsflash: Roger has 20.
Yesterday the age disparity between Gauff and Venus was a vast 24 years, a curious stat that prompted some overzealous reformers to point out that the NBA has a 24-second rule and tennis should have a 24-year rule – no pro matches would be allowed if the age differential was 24 years or more.
In any case, the age differential between the rookie Harris and Federer was a mere 15 years. Yesterday Coco was the player who represented the marketing group Team 8. Today, Federer, the owner of the agency, was front and center.
Roger’s foe had his cap on backwards, but when he came out of the gate his game was fast forward. He blasted serves and dictated play over a sub-par Federer who said he felt “like a snail.” Fans called out, “Harris, you’re my hero!” Like Gauff yesterday, the wannabe claimed the first set, 6-3.
Wimbledon compulsively tests its fire alarm systems again and again. Now alarms sounded throughout the All-England Club. The Mighty Federer hadn’t been so mighty. The Swiss knew that French Open champ Rafa Nadal was just two Slams behind him. And Roger’s clock is ticking. This year’s Wimbledon has a certain urgency. A shock departure, like the one Venus suffered yesterday, was unthinkable – or was it? Commentator Andrew Castle claimed, “if Harris keeps on serving like that, this is going to be a match.”
It wasn’t.
Harris made a hash of a simple forehand to an open court, and before maidens from Devonshire could say “Greatest of All Time,” Federer was in full flight. Moving with ease, his forehand began to punish the kid. Time and again the South African was caught flat-footed. He had no answers.
But tennis did. Unlike yesterday, an icon wouldn’t be rudely dismissed by an upstart who refused to bow to tennis royalty. Roger sprinted to a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 win. Sighs of relief were heard around the tennis world. One monster upset plus the departures of Tsitsipas, Zverev, Thiem, Dimitrov and Muguruza were about all the upset Wimbledon could stomach this early.
SAM’S CLUB – AN AMERICAN REPORT: In 2016, Sam Querrey scored the shock upset of the tourney by storming through world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. The 6’ 6” SoCal native followed it up by taking out No. 1 seed Andy Murray in 2017. Today he beat the No. 5 seed Dominic Thiem. But he’s not alone. Also in Sam’s club into the second round are fellow American giants John Isner and Riley Opelka, as well as Eastbourne winner Taylor Fritz, Dennis Kudla, Steve Johnson, and Tennys Sandgren.
In the women’s draw, an impressive American showing saw eight women advance to the second round: Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens, and young guns Sonya Kenin and Amanda Anisimova. Cori Gauff also advanced, and luckily for 15-year-old Coco, who defeated Venus yesterday, she won’t have to play another Williams until the final.
GO FIGURE: On opening day Cori Gauff and Novak Djokovic had the same average speed on their second serves – 99 mph.
THE GREATEST UNDERSTATEMENT IN THE HISTORY OF TENNIS: Serena’s comment: “I know how to play tennis.”
A QUESTION FOR THE AGES: Who will Andy Murray play mixed doubles with? Serena broadly hinted that she would play mixed doubles with Andy Murray. She praised him for doing so well in the era or Roger, Rafa and Novak, and always has stood up as a feminist.
FEDERER ON THE BIG THREE: When asked about the incredible dominance of the big three – himself, Rafa and Novak – Federer said, “It’s great. I think these things come around only so often. It also shows that side by side we can have incredible careers. Funny enough, you always think we take away something from the other. Probably we have. At the same time, we also pushed each other to greater heights – to improve. Rafa on grass, Novak on hard courts, me on clay. We definitely became better because of one another. I don’t know if we’d all still be playing if we’d played in different eras. It’s been fun having us, from my side. I hope the fans have enjoyed it. Because I think we’re all very different characters. Fans could like either player. We play all the tournaments. People know us because of all the interviews we’ve given, [and] because they’ve seen us on the courts.”
Also Reporting – Lucia Hoffman
