Bill Simons
In a packed soccer stadium in Seville in 2004, with 27,000 breathless fans offering full-throated cheers and chants, a young swashbuckling 18-year-old with a forehand and swagger burst onto the scene. The kid (Raphael Nadal was his name) took down America’s tennis king Andy Roddick en route to his nation’s Davis Cup win.
Friday, in a rocking Arthur Ashe Stadium, it was “deja vu all over again.” A fearless Spanish 18-year-old burst out. Carlos Alcaraz captivated enthralled New Yorkers, who promptly made him their own. Like Rafa before him, Carlos seemed to shout loud, “Hey, world! Here I am!”
With a dazzling display of power winners, delicate, devilish dropshots, and astonishing nerves of steel all in place, he called on his live arm, his 134 mph serves and his laser groundies to take down tennis’ villain du jour, the No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas, who’d been pegged as a top candidate to possibly derail Novak Djokovic’s quest for history.
But, as Brad Gilbert noted, “This is the beauty of tennis. You don’t see something coming – and then you see it unfold. That’s why you lace ‘em up.”
For years tennis had heard not-so-quiet Spanish whispers that Spain had another Rafa in the works – a boy from El Palmar de Vejer who was working with the former star and celebrated coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who fell to Roddick in the 2003 US Open final.
Today we heard the whispers shout. Alcaraz came out of the gate as if he were the captain of the Spanish Armada. Playing mind-boggling, error-free tennis, he raced to a 4-0 lead and went on to capture the first set 6-3 and break ahead in the second.
As in his first-round Wimbledon loss to Frances Tiafoe, Tsitsipas seemed flat. The Greek had never advanced past the third round at the US Open. His epic, late-night 2020 US Open loss to Croatian Borna Coric felt like the gorilla in the room. Plus, in his head, the 23-year-old Tsitsipas had to navigate an imposing gauntlet of his own making.
His bathroom breaks in Cincinnati and New York had become the odd, sad story of the Open. It didn’t help that in today’s match, as often before, he got a code violation for coaching and had earlier offered anti-vaccine comments that bothered many. Today he not only had to deal with Alcaraz, a fearless kid who was zoning, but a howling crowd that didn’t give him a break.
Just three weeks ago the French Open finalist was seen as a vastly appealing, highly creative flowing athlete worthy of hearty cheers. But rarely has a tennis player so mindlessly squandered his reputation.
Now the no-nonsense, unsparing New York throng let him have it. They cheered his errors and booed when he approached the chair and when he called for the trainer. And, they booed, of course, when, after winning the fourth set, Stefanos left the court, for the fourth match in a row.
But the Greek’s backers were confident, and Stefanos had made it clear that he didn’t care what his foes – or the crowd – thought. He reasserted himself mightily. He won the fourth set 6-0. Now, certainly, the No. 3 player would breeze past the No. 55 wannabe and escape Alcaraz, who’d never beaten a top 10 player and was certainly ahead of his skis.
Still, the giddy throng cheered, “Carlos! Carlos!” Ashe Stadium seemed like the Roman Coliseum – “Thumbs up, Carlos,” “Thumbs down, Stefanos.” Amidst the havoc, Alcaraz, whose game was inspired by Roger Federer, blasted 134 mph serves, unleashed uncanny drop shot and lob combinations, commanded the court from sensible court positions and ultimately forced a climatic fifth-set tiebreak.
There he pounced on a timid second serve by Tsitsipas and unleashed a blazing backhand. After he stroked another convincing forehand, the 6-3, 4-6, 7-6, 0-6, 7-6 shock upset that lasted just over four hours was his. At 18, Carlos became the youngest man to beat a top 3 player at the Open since 1973, the youngest player to reach the fourth round at a major since 1992 and the youngest to reach the fourth round at the US Open since 1989.
At his moment of victory, Carlos fell to the court, his chest heaving. He recalled, “I thought of my family and my friends, other people who were supporting me in Murcia, all my team…from the academy.”
When Inside Tennis asked the academy’s founder and Carlos’ coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, what was the key quality that gave his man the victory, he offered one word: “Character.”
Sadly, this echoed what Andy Murray and Tsitsipas’ critics claimed: that character was what the Greek hero had been lacking this week.
What Ashe Stadium was clearly not lacking was drama. Before New York could catch its breath, another 18-year-old, lefty Leylah Fernandez, scored yet another shock upset. The Canadian lost the first set to Naomi Osaka and was down a break in the second set. But Naomi, a four-time Slam champion, serving for the match, couldn’t close it out. Her focus wavered. Her intent wasn’t clear. She seemed to race through points. Goodness she smashed rackets.
All the while, the diminutive, 5’ 6” Canadian southpaw remained patient and roared back. She decoded Naomi’s serving patterns, absorbed her foe’s extraordinary power, stepped in, served brilliantly and hit her spots, and like Alcaraz, played fearlessly. Never mind that defending US Open champion Osaka is the best hard court player in the world, who’d won four of the last six hard court Slams. Ultimately it didn’t matter that Fernandez, ranked No. 73, was known more for her a win in Monterrey, Mexico and her play in the minor leagues. Tonight her joyous 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 win capped off a day that will forever long remembered, a day when two little-known 18-year-olds, fueled by loud, passionate fans, toppled two No. 3 seeds in back-to-back upsets that left fans, reporters and historians breathless. Then again, as Gilbert said, “This is the beauty of tennis.”
••••
OSAKA NOT SURE WHEN SHE WILL PLAY AGAIN
Here are key highlights of Naomi Osaka’s stunning, poignant and teary post-match press conference.
Q. Usually you’re very composed. Tonight there were racquets thrown, shows of emotion. What do you think that was coming from?
NAOMI OSAKA: Yeah, I’m really sorry about that. I’m not really sure why. Like, I felt like I was pretty – I was telling myself to be calm, but I feel like maybe there was a boiling point.
Like normally I feel like I like challenges. But recently I feel very anxious when things don’t go my way, and I feel like you can feel that. I’m not really sure why it happens the way it happens now. But, yeah, it’s basically why. You could kind of see that. I was kind of like a little kid.
Q. Did you feel maybe her serve you were having trouble reading, or the situation? Was it something completely internal and not based in that?
NAOMI OSAKA: I don’t think it was her serve because I’ve been able to return pretty well against people that served better. I don’t think it’s the occasion because I’ve been in this situation before. I know that — I guess we’re all dealing with some stuff, but I know that I’m dealing with some stuff, so…”
Then after Naomi was asked a question in Japanese, she said, “I feel like for me recently, like, when I win I don’t feel happy. I feel more like a relief. And then when I lose, I feel very sad. I don’t think that’s normal. I didn’t really want to cry, but basically I feel like… (Tearing up.)
THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, we’re done.
NAOMI OSAKA: I kind of want to finish this. I’m sorry.
THE MODERATOR: Up to you.
NAOMI OSAKA: Basically I feel like – okay. Hmm, this is very hard to articulate. Basically I feel like I’m kind of at this point where I’m trying to figure out what I want to do, and I honestly don’t know when I’m going to play my next tennis match (tearing up). Sorry.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, everyone.
NAOMI OSAKA: Okay, yeah. I think I’m going to take a break from playing for a while.
TSITSIPAS’ SELF DEFENSE – Fans Don’t Understand
After Tsitsipas’ devastating loss, Inside Tennis decided to get to the heart of the matter. We addressed the heartbroken Greek and said, “We’d like to ask you a tough but honest question. You’re a beautiful athlete and bring such creativity to the court. Today you not only lost a key match, but this has been a very tough time for your reputation. You got booed out there. Do you have any sense of what occurred? Have you reflected on it? Do you have any thoughts or regrets?”
Tsitsipas replied, “Look, I’m not pretending that everyone loves me…My intentions are not to be loved by everyone. Every person can choose their favorite …but I kind of have ignored it…
“When people are not really in the sport and don’t know what is happening, I mean, all these accusations have been completely false. The one in my match in Cincinnati was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my life…That really shows the level of the person [Alexander Zverev] that said it.
“Then the crowd here…I was surprised…[but] I don’t really let…[that] take me down…Fan support is important, but I just need to go out there and perform. It doesn’t matter at that point.
“I know all of these things have been against me for no reason. I took my toilet break as a normal athlete. [I] might have taken a bit longer than other athletes. But if there is a rule that says there’s a specific time that you are allowed, then I would probably try and follow that protocol…and stay within the guidelines…as much as possible.
“But I feel…people don’t understand. They’re here for the show. They want to watch tennis. They’re very impatient, especially the new generation. They just want to get it done quick.
“For me the only thing I did is change from wet to dry clothes. Apparently it’s a huge issue…
“No one discusses other things such as players taking more time than they’re allowed to, that has been an issue for me in the past playing against players, getting cold, not feeling my game, having to wait more than 30, 35 seconds in between serves that I had…I didn’t complain…
“Then you have these players that everyone knows they’re taking so much time but no one says anything. I don’t know why everyone suddenly is against me, especially when other players don’t follow rules and don’t stick within 25 seconds between play.”
