Bill Simons
Wimbledon
Okay, Serena gave us more wide ranging sports dramas than any other athlete since Mohammad Ali: teenage triumphs, over-the-top fashion statements, boycotts, near-death experiences, winning a Slam while pregnant, explosive meltdowns and a dazzling persona that stretched many a boundary.
But there’s never been a timeline in women’s sports quite like Elina Svitolina’s. Check this out:
July 2021 – Marries Gael Monfils, one of the most charismatic players in the game.
February 2022 – Her Ukrainian homeland is the victim of the worst European land war since Hitler and she soon becomes one of her nation’s leading spokespersons for peace.
October 15, 2022 – Gives birth to her daughter Skai.
April 3, 2023 – Returns to the WTA circuit in Charleston.
June 2023 – Reaches the French Open quarterfinals.
July 9, 2023 – Downs Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in a third-set tiebreaker and calls the day the second happiest in her life.
July 11, 2023 – Beats world No. 1 Iga Swiatek to reach her first Wimbledon semi.
Clearly Svitolina is on a mission for herself and her nation. She gets inundated by messages, and knows that Ukrainian children are watching on their phones. “It melts my heart,” she said.
Iga Swiatek, who is a huge backer of Ukraine, is on a mission, too. Yes, she’s won the French Open three times on clay, and the US Open on hard courts, but she’s always fallen short on grass.
At Wimbledon, she hadn’t gone beyond the fourth round. This year, she had to save two match points to get past Belinda Bencic. And today, in the second-set the steely Pole used her power to come back from a 4-1 deficit in the tiebreak to even the match at a set apiece.
Elina understood that time and circumstances were coming together for a grander purpose. She has said that the war put things in perspective for her and now had a certain unshakable calm.
And her game has vastly improved. Yes, she’s just ranked No. 76 and is a wildcard. But we saw a fire in her eye. Her intense walk had purpose. Her game was full of varied rhythms. She hit with ferocity and freedom off of both wings.
Elina, who has lived in London and now has a British coach, took full advantage of the adoring crowd.
She’s often noted that when she scores a win, it’s a win for her homeland. Today she dominated in the third set and sprinted to the finish line to score a 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2 win to reach her first Grand Slam semi.
She said, “[It] means a lot. People back in Ukraine watching…I’m happy I can bring a little happiness to their life…I have this motivation to come back to the top…Having a child, and war, made me a different person… I don’t know how many years I will be playing more.’ So I go for it.”
Then Inside Tennis asked her to reflect on the soldiers who are defending her homeland. Elina replied, “It’s unbelievable what they’re doing…I can’t thank them enough for their bravery… It takes a lot to go to fight for your country…All Ukrainians are here to help them to win this war.”
IT AIN’T HAPPENING: Is Novak Djokovic confident or what? When it was pointed out that he has a target on his back every single time, Djokovic responded, “I love it…They want a scalp, a win. But it ain’t happening.” With his four set win over Andrey Rublev today, Novak reached his 46th Slam semi to equal Roger Federer’s record.
NAOMI OSAKA DELIVERS: Naomi Osaka’s boyfriend, the rapper Cordae, announced that his partner gave birth to a baby girl two days ago. Osaka, who plans to make a comeback in 2024, said, “These few months away from the sport have really given me a new love and appreciation for the game I’ve dedicated my life to. I realize that life is so short and I don’t take any moments for granted. Every day is a new blessing and adventure.”
THE GRASS CEILING: Incredibly, Jessica Pegula is No. 4 in singles and No. 3 in doubles. She’s just so consistent. “You always put her regularly into the quarters and then see what happens,” said commentator Nick Monroe. But the 29-year-old has faced a hefty grass ceiling. Yes, she’d gotten to five Grand Slam quarterfinals, but had never reached the semis.
The daughter of the billionaire owners of the Buffalo Bills (who’ve fallen four times in the Super Bowl), Jessica has said she’d trade all her money for the Wimbledon title. And today, against the former French Open and Olympic finalist Marketa Vondrousova, the pride of Buffalo seemed to be en route to her first ever Wimbledon semis.
Her Czech foe was only ranked No, 47 – and, until this year, Vondrousova had never gotten beyond the second round at Wimbledon. Pegula was on the brink of what she craved so much – a spot in a Slam semi. She was up 4-1 in the third set and had a breakpoint. But she missed a backhand volley – and soon would miss out on her quest was derailed.
Vondrousova charged back and won five straight games over the stunned American. Jessica bluntly observed, “Sucks to lose that way, having the lead in the third…That’s it.”
To make matters worse, she and her doubles partner Coco Gauff lost in the fourth round to Laura Seigemund and Vera Zvonareva.
QUOTEBOOK:
“There are a few spitters and spatters – and they are very cooling.” – A typical British weather report we heard this week.
“I love my speeches.” – Daniil Medvedev
IT’S AN OCTOPUS KIND OF THING: Britain has a thing with octopuses. The Beatles famously sang about an “octopus garden under the sea.” There was Ian Fleming’s James Bond classic Octopussy. And this morning a wise professor was on BBC talking about his pet octopus Heidi with her nine brains and desire to play. Of course, in tennis, Daniil Medvedev, with his elastic reach and curious twists, has been dubbed “The Octopus.” At times, the 6’ 6” Russian seems to be all arms and legs. Earlier in the tournament, the twittersphere noted that Daniil was “octopusing his way to the second week of Wimbledon and navigating his way through a tricky draw so far.” So, we wonder, if the Russian’s backers are advising Chris Eubanks fans to “fear the octopus.”
GO FIGURE: Andrey Rublev, who lost in four sets to Djokovic, has reached eight Slam quarterfinals and hasn’t won any…For the first time, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune all made it to the quarters of a Slam…Elina Svitolina is the last remaining mother in the draw (there were six to begin with).
THE KING AND JOE: President Biden met King Charles at Windsor Castle yesterday. We did see clusters of helicopters fly by but no other hint of the US president being here at Wimbledon. In fact, the only Commander in Chief we know of who’s visited Wimbledon is Bill Clinton, who also famously disrupted Andre Agassi at the French Open and chatted with John McEnroe (and Inside Tennis, as a matter of fact) at the US Open.
FOUR PRESIDENTS, TWO KINGS, TWO JOKERS, A QUEEN, A BISHOP, A BEATLE, A MAJOR, A MAGICIAN, SUGAR RAY AND THE SUNDANCE KID: Some of my favorite interviews have been with four US presidents – Clinton, Bush, Carter and Trump; two kings – Billie Jean and the king of clay, Rafa Nadal; two jokers – Novak Djokovic and actor Jack Nicholson; a queen – the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin; Bishop Tutu; Beatle Paul McCartney; a fictional interview with the 19th century inventor of modern tennis, Major Wingfield; the magical Roger Federer, boxer Sugar Ray Leonard and the Sundance Kid actor Robert Redford.
FRANCES TELLS ALL: Tennis is a mosaic of routines. For instance, what do players do after they finish a match? Frances Tiafoe offered this succinct timeline: “Come off the court, sign some autographs, try to get out of here. Go inside, get on the bike, talk to the team about the match, get a protein shake, crack some jokes, get a good stretch. Then I’m supposed to be hurrying up and going to press but I’m usually in the locker room talking bullshit. Then shower, then come here, talk to y’all. Try to leave. Then just get back, order some food. Do some treatment. Watch some TV, put some Netflix on. It’s not a real secret.”
STAT SHEET: Djokovic broke the record for most consecutive Grand Slam tiebreaks won in a single year – 13… He’s won 44 straight Centre Court matches, and became, with Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors, the third man to have won over 100 Wimbledon singles matches…Chris Eubanks hit 247 winners en route to the quarters, the second most ever after Wayne Ferreira in 1992…Holger Rune and Carlos Alcaraz will become the first ever players who are under 21 to face each other in a Slam quarterfinal.
