Bill Simons
SWEET WORDS: Billie Jean King began opening night by saying, “Welcome home everyone! It’s so great to be back at the US Open on Arthur Ashe Stadium!…It’s been a tough 18 months, but look out, world – New York City is back!” No kidding. Opening night gave us a series of must-watch matches.
THE BIG APPLE’S BIG BOUNCE-BACK: A big worm took a big bite out of the Apple – the Big Apple. COVID-19 brought the proud city to its knees. As eight million or so New Yorkers isolated, often in tiny apartments, the mighty metropolis became a ghost town – streets emptied, spirits drained. Life retreated. There was a 2020 US Open, but there were no fans. It wasn’t the same – there was a vast void.
Now New York has bounced back – sort of. The town’s pinball chaos has curious hints of order. It’s still noisy – just not as noisy as before. Its usual cacophony retains a buzz, but its bark is subdued. Still, there’s ample frenzy. A crazed woman with a cello, a bag and a phone dashes to catch her train. New York is still an in-your-face kind of town. A guy with a big paunch, no hair and a ‘tude gets into it with the checkout clerk at the Second Avenue grocery store. “Hey, buster, my coupon for toilet paper is for an entire pack – not just an individual roll!”
Clearly the pandemic squashed the Apple. You don’t weave your way through masses as you walk the city’s sidewalks. Grand Central Station is no longer packed. Gridlock on the city’s old streets is more tolerable. But the wonderful deli restaurant on Lexington and 48th that I depended on for 2 AM meals is gone. So is the Marriott across the street, as is the once chic “W” hotel.
And what, you ask, of the US Open’s longstanding home away from home? For decades, the massive Grand Hyatt Hotel on 42nd hosted players from Slovenia, tennis dignitaries of every stripe, and volunteers from Dallas. It was the site of countless “Tennis is going to soar next week” conferences and deep-dive committee meetings seeking resolutions to every imaginable tennis challenge. Well, the Hyatt boarded up its glass facade and folded.
But New York still has plenty of sass. They booted out their powerful governor, and the place is full of passionate signs. One by the expressway reads, “No Pelosi, No Presidents, No Prisoners.”
“Okay,” you say to yourself, “I’ll think about that. But right now what’s bugging me is no Roger, no Rafa, no Serena, no Venus.” Across the road there’s another sign – a pricey US Open billboard that reads, “The Return of Amazing.” I think, “Good going, Madison Avenue. Nifty slogan.” Then I realize the billboard features Serena, who pulled out a week ago. Oh, well, Twitter still features feel-good pictures of teen Coco Gauff looking up at a massive picture of herself in Times Square. And when you visit the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center you see upbeat signs everywhere: “Tennis is all around you.” “Those who tennis together, stay together.” “If you can read this, you can tennis – Let’s start.”
Well that’s it – let’s start, folks. At long last, after two unimaginably long, odd, painful and revealing years, New York’s bold, brassy and impossible to ignore Open will return to what it once was and what it’s always supposed to be: a raw, raucous, thunderous, packed, unforgettable happening. Tennis anyone?
MURRAY MATTERS: Time and again Andy Murray gets it. On issues little and large – COVID protocols, violence, domestic abuse, gender, and even toilet breaks, the Brit gets it and speaks out in his quiet but authoritative voice. He’s up there with the great leaders tennis has produced.
QUOTEBOOK
“It hasn’t taken me this long to go to the bathroom, ever.” – Andy Murray complaining on another long Stefanos Tsitsipas bathroom break
“Can I say that I want Murray to win?” – Chris Evert
“It’s absurd there isn’t any limit on how long you take when you leave the court. You should never be allowed to leave for more than five minutes.” – Brad Gilbert
LOST RESPECT: Andy Murray said Tsitsipas’ long toilet break after the fourth set of their battle was nonsense and rubbish, and it influenced the match. “I think he’s a brilliant player. I think he’s great for the game. But I have zero time for that stuff at all, and I lost respect for him.”
LIBRARY VIBE IN THE PRESS ROOM: Opening day at the US Open press room is usually a curious cross of frenzied press activity, the first day of school and a giggly, “OMG, you look great!” class reunion. It’s wild, chatty and chaotic. The gossip is thick. But today the press room had the monastic vibe of a library. Due to COVID, there are row after row of empty or near-empty seats. The urgent, non-stop announcements have vanished. The media dining room has no food, and assorted corridors that used to take you to Ashe Stadium’s inner sanctums are closed off. Forget about access to the player’s lounge; get ready for a very different Open. And, of course, be grateful you are even in a press room, no matter how loud or silent.
LET’S GO, COCO: Things were not looking good for Coco Gauff. Seeded No. 17, she lost the first set and was down 0-2 to the rising Pole Magda Linette, but, she said later, “I just decided to stop worrying.” The Floridian channeled the energy of the adoring crowd that kept cheering, “Let’s go, Coco!” and won 10 of 11 games en route to a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory. She’ll face Sloane Stephens in the second round and could have to get through Kerber and Osaka after that.
FRIENDLY FIRE ON COURT: Let’s be frank – the 2017 all-American final between Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys promised to be great. It wasn’t. Stephens sprinted to a drama-free 6-3, 6-0 win over her best friend. But today’s opening round match was a thriller. “Talk about opening up the US Open on Arthur Ashe Stadium,” gushed an appreciative Rennae Stubbs. It took three match points and 2:12 for Fresno’s Stephens to prevail in a roller coaster match 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7).
Keys did come back and battled hard. She hit 36 winners. But Cliff Drysdale told his broadcast partner, “I think what you are saying is that Madison lacks patience.” After an ill-advised Keys dropshot, Mary Jo Fernandez observed, “That was a little bit of a brain freeze. A little bit of a panic.” Sloane, now No. 66, who has gone through some harrowing family losses over the past 18 months, said recently, “I made sure that I was happy. I took care of myself, my body, my mind, I just really tried to gather myself again and not really worry too much about results and what was happening around me…when you are happy with yourself inside it gives you opportunity to have that success…I know I’m not a bad tennis player. At some point…it will click.”
