REMEMBERING THE SAXAMO – INSIDE TENNIS’ DIALOG WITH McCOO: Inside Tennis had the following jolly exchange with McCoco – the delightful doubles pair of 15-year-old Coco Gauff and 17-year-old Caty McNally – after their impressive win on Armstrong, the US Open’s No. 2 stadium. The venue, of course, is named after Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, a Queens resident who gained fame through his trumpet playing and his singing.
INSIDE TENNIS: Here at the US Open they have this really nice tradition of honoring the greats: Arthur Ashe, Billie Jean, Althea Gibson. We’ve been mentioning [in this presser] Louis Armstrong a lot. He was a fantastic musician and personality from a long, long time ago…
McNALLY: He played the saxophone.
COCO: What was his name? Saxamo?
McNALLY: No, he played the saxophone!
COCO: No, but what was his nickname?
McNALLY: Oh.
IT: It was Satchmo
COCO: Saxamo, I was right! Exactly, see?
IT: No, wrong. [He played] trumpet.
COCO: No, but his nickname was Saxamo? Right?
IT: Satchmo, yes. Satchmo, but…
COCO [to Caty]: I was right! You said saxophone. I was right. Don’t listen to her (laughter). We had a history lesson today.
IT: Do you guys know a little bit about him or…
COCO: We actually talked about it today. Caty’s coach, Kevin, is how I know his name is Saxamo. But we talked about it and they said if this question comes up in press you say, ‘Oh ya, we know about the Saxamo, whatever.’ Yeah. Oh, my God. This is embarrassing. You said saxophone (to Caty).
McNALLY: I thought that’s what he played!
COCO: It was a trumpet. He told us that. You didn’t pay attention.
PATRICK WOULD DO IT AGAIN: When IT asked Serena’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou if he had any regrets about his on-court coaching last year, he noted that he’s been on tour 20 years, and that all coaches do on court coaching. “That’s exactly the reality…You’re not supposed to – when the firelight is red…you’re supposed to stop…On paper it’s not authorized…[but] everybody coaches…You see that every day…Everybody knows it…Umpires are very nice with that. They don’t care much. If it’s too obvious they would say, ‘Please be careful…I didn’t do anything bad. I just did what all the coaches do…[What ump Carlos Ramos did] was extremely unfair, because…I did it once. Nobody gives a warning for the first time. They….tell you to be careful usually after four or five times…I think it was completely unfair.
“Do I regret? No, I felt like she was lost…and I tried to help her [by] doing something that everybody does. I would do the same tomorrow, 100%….If I’m penalized, then everyone should be penalized…and nobody is. Nobody…I don’t think it’s fair.”
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Last year the Osaka-Williams final was marked by a flood of dysfunctional tears and plenty of turmoil. Last night we were treated to Osaka being compassionate towards the weepy Coco Gauff. Some asked, was this the sweetest post-match moment in US Open history? Others that come to mind:
1968: After Arthur Ashe won the first US Open, he shared an ecstatic moment of celebration with his dad.
1980: After Chris Evert scored the most important win of her career, a triumph over her ace rival Tracy Austin in the semis, she called her father to gush, “Dad, I won!”
1981: The freshly minted American citizen Martina Navratilova lost to Tracy Austin in the final. But she was given a huge round of applause from the appreciative American crowd and promptly broke down. Tears flowed and it proved to be a poignant moment that’s still remembered.
1984: At the end of the US Open’s first Super Saturday, Jimmy Connors’ little son Brett, who is now about 6’5”, came out on court and poignantly tugged at the leg of his dad, who’d just lost to his bitter rival John McEnroe.
2002: A triumphant Pete Sampras ran up into the stands to embrace his wife Bridget Wilson, who’d been supportive during a season of struggle. It was his final appearance.
2006: Andre Agassi lost early, but then delivered the greatest on-court speech in tennis history, his “I stood on your shoulders,” farewell address.
2009: Kim Clijsters’ toddler Jada came out on court, and stole the show as she stared in wonder when she spotted herself and her mom on the huge electronic scoreboard.
DJOKOVIC RETIRES: For the seventh time in his career, Novak retired from a major. The Serb started his Open campaign in pain, struggling through a second-round match against Juan Londero. The world No. 1 recouped in time for his battle against Denis Kudla, but once again seemed to be ailing tonight against Wawrinka. The last time the two met in a fourth-round was at Wawrinka’s 2013 breakout Aussie Open, where the Swiss fell 10-12 in the fifth. Stan has won at least two sets in all of their best-of-five meetings, and many anticipated this could be the match of the tourney. Regardless of Novak’s woes, the Stan played quality tennis and was up 6-4, 7-5, 2-1 when the world No. 1 threw in the towel. A chorus of boos descended on the three-time US Open champ as he left the court. Wawrinka next plays Medvedev, who has become this tourney’s villain. Boos are in the forecast.
QUOTEBOOK
“Sometimes she sees me on TV and says ‘Mama,’ sometimes she sees Venus on TV and says ‘Mama.’ But that’s okay because Venus and I share everything.” – Serena on her daughter Olympia
“This was a one-shirt afternoon for Federer.” – Pat McEnroe, after Roger beat David Goffin
“I feel a little bit old.” – American junior Emma Navarro, 18, reflecting on how it felt to see Coco excel
“I call him ‘Rubik’s Cube.’ He’s always looking a shot ahead.” – Brad Gilbert on Federer
“I still feel 15. I have homework to do and I can’t drive. Getting my license would be my biggest accomplishment.” – Coco Gauff
“I can’t believe I’m saying this but I think Gael Monfils will be more consistent.” – Pat McEnroe on Gael’s match with Denis Shapovalov
SALTY ROGER: What’s up with the suddenly x-rated Roger? The other day when a reporter asked about his possibly controlling the scheduling of his tournaments, he bristled, “I have heard this shit too often now. I’m sick and tired of it.” Today, when talking about the joy of tennis, he said you need to enjoy the game, “but you have to have skills too. Just saying you love tennis but getting your ass kicked doesn’t work.”
DANIIL IN THE LION’S DEN: After his win today, tennis’ king of sarcasm Daniil Medvedev again gave a mocking appreciation to the critical New York crowd. “You gave me so much energy to win…Guys, continue to give me this energy – you are the best.”
PROTECT THE KIDS: The USTA reportedly paid $12 million in a lawsuit brought by Genie Bouchard after the Canadian fell on a wet locker room floor four years ago. Two days ago, Rafa rescued a small boy from a packed children’s zone. The idea of a kids-only area sounds great, but actually could lead to serious problems. Young kids just don’t have the judgment to deal with potentially dangerous situations and, first and foremost, they need to be protected. Something has to be done – now.
STILL A LITTLE MAD: After her loss to Osaka, Coco went back to her hotel. She confided, “I was still a little mad…I was crying. But the messages I got…were 100% positive.” Her friend McNally said Osaka “is such a great player but she’s an even better person.”
WAS COCO’S LOSS GOOD FOR HER? John McEnroe said that, in the big picture, it was good that Gauff lost. Now she may have a little time to breathe and put things in perspective. Others bristled, “No way. You always want to win if you can.”
GO FIGURE: The highest-ranked player Coco has beaten was No. 44 Venus…If Serena reaches the semis, the highest-ranked player she’ll have played is No. 18 Wang Qiang…Ash Barty lost today, but she’ll be No.1 unless Osaka wins the Open.
ROGER WAS A WRECK: When asked to give his advice to Coco, Federer said, “My girls are 10 so they are almost there…When I was 15 I was a wreck after I lost. But these are the defeats that Coco needs…to move forward.”
SAY IT ISN’T SO: An American man failed to reach the round of 16 for the first time since 2014…John Isner was 1 for 14 on break points against Marin Cilic…It’s been 64 Slams since an American man won.
NOT-SO-NICE NICK: Tennis broadcasts have long featured broadcasters who come from other sports like football announcers Howard Cosell and Pat Summerall. Yesterday Nick Kyrgios mocked ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi: “Who the hell is Tom Rinaldi and why is he commentating a tennis match when he has no idea what’s going on?” Afterwords Kyrgios said Rinaldi had an “amazing aura about him…he was awesome.” When asked if he thought he would be suspended, he quipped, “I’m a pretty boring player. I don’t bring much to the sport.”
McCOCO ROCKS: Caty McNally said she and Coco have “an undeniable chemistry.” They’ve only played two tourneys, US Open juniors and DC, but are undefeated.
