Bill Simons
Douglas Hochmuth
New York
All things must pass. A 15-year-old who had been in the stratosphere descended to earth. The kid’s dream was put on pause. In the end, tears again flowed. After last year’s final, Serena comforted the weepy Naomi Osaka. Now the No. 1 player in the world consoled teen phenom Coco Gauff.
After the match, Naomi was so gentle. During the match she was so fierce. Last year’s Open hero (whose 2018 win almost seemed to have an asterisk by it) came out with an unblinking focus.
Established stars, even if they’re only 21, don’t fancy losing to highly hyped upstarts. From the outset, Oskaka was imposing. She broke early and often, while Coco would hold only once. Osaka repeatedly leaned in and pounded her groundies. Her returns punished. The veteran’s power delivered a message: “Not tonight – not in my house.”
The song “Empire State of Mind” blared. Osaka’s state of mind was clear. Okay, Naomi was broken twice. But each time she rebounded with authority. Now, for once, Gauff was playing like a teen. Her forehand wavered, her serves were an issue.
New York backed the kid: the Brooklyn woman in the second row in an orange dress cheered mightily. But Osaka snapped her serves and played great percentage ball in her best match since the Aussie Open. Naomi cruised through the last nine games as she scored a 6-3, 6-0 win in just 1:06.
Moments after the match, Gauff shared that Osaka “asked me if I could do the on-court interview with her, I said ‘No” – I knew I would cry. But she insisted.” Coco told the media, “I definitely was wanting to leave the court because I’m not the type of person who wants to cry in front of everyone. I didn’t want to take that moment away from her.
“She told me it’s better than crying in the shower…Finally, I said okay…I’m happy that she kind of convinced me.” Osaka said the match was “super fun…the energy was crazy,” and she noted that Gauff’s movement was “really insane.”
But what was really crazy was that two incredible kids, just 21 and 15, gave us a night that, as Chris Evert said, was “what the sport is all about.” This was Osaka’s night. Still, everyone knew that, as one hardened Bronx reporter noted, “Coco is a gem, she’s really a gem.”
TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY: The victory of Taylor Townsend brings to mind the book Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy. With that, here’s how the phrase relates to tennis. TINKER: Patrick Mouratoglou came on board Serena’s ship and she then won 8 of the next 13 Slams. TAILOR: Taylor Townsend, Taylor Fritz, Taylor Dent, Roger Taylor or that Italian tailor who fashioned Bud Collins’ pants. SOLDIER: Don Budge, Jack Kramer, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Shahar Pe’er and all members of Genie’s Army. SPY: Alice Marble.
HOW WE LOVE TO HATE OUR VILLAINS
“No one is ever the villain of their own story.” ― Cassandra Clare
As the night drifted late, the seemingly benign 23-year-old Daniil Medvedev morphed into a villainous fellow who drew the rage of a well-lubricated crowd. After the Russian, who had surged this summer, beat the Spanish hunk Feliciano Lopez, the Louis Armstrong throng let the victor have it. Kindness vanished, boos reigned.
Never mind that silly concept of giving the victor his due. The crowd’s mindset was clear: “Forget it, buddy.” Beating one of the most appealing players on the tour not named Roger, Rafa or Delpo clearly is a dastardly deed. The crowd barked loud. “How awful,” one thought.
But not so fast. After all, master movie maker Alfred Hitchcock once revealed a key trade secret: “A movie is only as good as its villain.” For sure, Hollywood has given us plenty of great stinkers, from Psycho’s Norman Bates, to Hannibal Lecter, Goldfinger and the Joker from Batman. The entire premise of the play Wicked, (which has had a wickedly long 16-year run) is that the Wizard of Oz’ Wicked Witch of the West is actually an inspiring hero.
As for tennis, the modern game was built on vastly appealing bad guys. “Nasty,” that would be Romania’s Ilie Nastase, was a kind of Nick Kyrgios on steroids long before the Aussie emerged. With fabulous skills, a mean-spirited mindset, and an acidic tongue, Ilie made his predecessor Pancho Gonzalez seem almost saintly. After Nasty came a golden era of bad guys. John McEnroe turned his favorite taunt, “You can’t be serious!” into a lucrative brand. When fans started to treat the raunchy, crotch-grabbing Jimmy Connors with some respect, Jimbo insisted he hadn’t changed, fans had just found someone new.
Since then, tennis villains have come in every shade. Has there been a more grim champion than Ivan Lendl, who at times could make Darth Vader seem jolly? Former No. 1 Marcello Rios was an adept master of misery. The late Barry MacKay noted that the Chilean was “the epitome of what you don’t want…He doesn’t have the awareness of where the game came from. He’s always had millions of dollars and people looking after him. He does nothing to promote the game.”
Marat Safin was a sweet clown who would pull down his shorts – until he turned sour. Then there’s Novak. “The Djoker” is hardly a villain, but he draws limited love. And there was little love for Medvedev Friday night. The Russian flipped the crowd off while pretending to scratch his head. This guy is no saint. He’s been prone to outbursts and many a hefty racket smash. He tossed coins at a Wimbledon ump implying that the match had been rigged. But this summer in North America, he emerged as a likable, often light-hearted kid who muted some of his erratic tendencies, reached the DC and Toronto finals and won Cincy.
Translation: Daniil is a flawed villain. Still, he played the part Friday. After his win, amid a thunderous chorus of Bronx cheers, the playful Medvedev sarcastically raised his arms, inviting even more taunts. He proclaimed: “I want all of you to know, when you sleep tonight, I won because of you.” And with that, tennis had its villain du jour, who had fooled us good. We once thought he was a super guy, another swell Russian multi-millionaire with a killer forehand – silly us.
AHN-BELIEVABLE – KRISTIE AND TOWNSEND ARE TWO IMPROBABLE WINNERS: Coco Gauff hasn’t been the only fresh face making news at the Open. Two American women are through to the fourth round.
Eleven years ago, Kristie Ahn first played the Open and then went west to spend four years at Stanford. After navigating the WTA’s lower level circuit, Ahn has at last come back strong. Following her straight-set win over French Open champ Jelena Ostapenko, the New York native reminded us that her parents had urged her to get a corporate job over tennis. “I’ve heard from so many people that regret not going for their dreams.” And to that we say, “Dream Ahn.”
There’s no doubt Taylor Townsend took the path less traveled. The lefty plays the type of tennis we usually associate with short shorts, McEnroe tirades, and splendid Navrativilova volleys. She’s a rarity. In an era of bam-bam baseline tennis, Townsend chips her way in.
The Chicago native has long deployed her arsenal of sliding serves and superb volleys. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. After her win over Sorana Cirstea today, she told us that not long ago she was “grinding away at qualies…My ranking went from 90 to 400 literally over the course of a day…I only won four matches in a calendar year.” After her victory over Simona Halep, Taylor gushed, “It’s really a great confirmation that this style works…I wouldn’t change anything because I appreciate so much where I am, because I know where I came from.”
HERE’S JUAN WISH THAT’S COME TRUE: Juan Martin Del Potro announced plans to return to the tour at the Stockholm Open in October.
RAFA’S KINDNESS: The Open has a kids-only zone where children get autographs. When kind-hearted Rafa noticed a boy getting squished by the crowd he swiftly scooped the boy up and comforted the frightened fellow at length. Rafa then told IT, “When somebody who is famous do stuff like this, seems like it’s amazing, but for me is just a very normal thing. When you see a kid that suffering…he was not able to breathe well…I just tried to help him to relax and come back to the normal situation. He was crying…I was happy I saw him and was able to pull him out from the middle of all the people.” So once again Rafa proved that he is a man with a kind heart, although hundreds of his foes know all too well that his forehand is unkind.
