Bill Simons
Wimbledon
MORE SLAM DRAMA FOR TSITSIPAS: Stefanos Tsitsipas’s backhand is interesting, and so are many of his matches. Last year, his explosive encounter with Nick Kyrgios, which he lost, was the most compelling battle of the tournament.
In his first round at Wimbledon this year, he faced former US Open champion Dominic Thiem, whose ranking has fallen to No. 91. The Austrian hadn’t won a Wimbledon match in six years and his comeback from a devastating wrist injury had been brutally slow.
But so what? Dominic is always feared – and he fought bravely. It took Tsitsipas almost 3:56 and two match points before he prevailed 3-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (8).
The No. 5 seed Stefanos, who next plays Andy Murray, told the British crowd that he remembers watching the Scot win Wimbledon in 2013 and Andy’s triumph still gives him goosebumps. Stef conceded, “I’m not expecting anyone to support me. But it’s not my first rodeo. Centre Court is almost like Andy’s bedroom – and I’ve never played on Centre Court.”
It was also a good day for Tsitsipas’s relatively new girlfriend, Paula Badosa, who beat American Alison Riske-Amritraj today. Tennis’ new power couple will be playing mixed doubles together, and Tsitsipas is also playing men’s doubles with his brother, Petros Tsitsipas.
Stefanos quipped, “Never in a million years would I think I’d be playing singles, doubles and mixed. I think I’m a bit of a masochist.” Tsitsipas’s decision to play three events had insiders asking, “What the heck is this guy doing? Would Djokovic ever consider for a nanosecond playing more than just the singles in a Slam?”
BIG FOE’S BIG THREE: Frances Tiafoe said he spent a lot of his time waiting for his match by cracking jokes in the locker room. When Inside Tennis asked him, “When it comes to humor, who are your Big Three?” he replied himself, of course. Then he added Gael Monfils because “he’s unbelievable, it’s just who he is.” He warned us, “I’m just going to throw a curveball, you guys won’t really think of. I’m going to put in Andy Murray [with his] very dry humor. Very, very funny.”
TIMES CHANGE: Frances Tiafoe reflected on how he’s matured over the years. He recalled that, “The first time I won a main draw match it was in 2017, I was 19, I beat Robin Haase, on July 4th…I was just ecstatic and screaming ‘July 4th’ afterwards. I’ve come a long way. Now it’s kind of just another day. You just wash your hands of it and keep pushing…I’m blessed to be doing what I’m doing.”
WELCOME BACK MILOS: Former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic, has been out of tennis since the Australian Open in 2021 but returned today and beat Dennis Novak in five sets. When he came into a small interview room, the usually reserved Canadian couldn’t stop beaming. He explained he got so far away from tennis that he didn’t really miss it that much. He went at least a year and a half without speaking to his agents, he got married and he came to understand that life after tennis would be OK. He’ll next play Tommy Paul.
THE BRUTAL TRUTH ABOUT TURTLES: Raonic killed time during the rain delays by playing animal trivia with Denis Shapovalov. He revealed to the media what his big takeaway was: “Turtles actually breathe through their butts.”
FROM PRISON CELL TO ROYAL BOX: Roger Federer and the Princess of Wales weren’t the only two notables looking on during Andy Murray’s opening round win yesterday. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian charity worker who spent almost six years in an Iranian prison before being released in 2022 also looked on from the Royal Box.
Nazanin had told Murray that his 2016 Wimbledon win had given her hope and she’d shared her feelings with her fellow prisoners. She was determined to meet Murray some day.
Yesterday Andy noted that her experience was “the strangest, most incredible story that I’ve been told about someone watching me.”
IS THIS THE BEST NOVAK STAT IN THE BOOKS OR WHAT?: At the start of 2011, Djokovic had won one Slam. Roger had won 16 and Rafa had won nine. Now, it’s Novak 23, Rafa 22 and Roger 20.
HEADLINES
- Federer’s Wimbledon tribute snubbed by BBC as viewers left livid
- Palace row erupts as King Charles and Camilla accused of ‘kick in teeth’ to staff
DANIIL MEDVEDEV’S GOOD WIMBLEDON, BAD WIMBLEDON: “The first day you come to Wimbledon, it’s the same feeling…It was the same in juniors. You’re like, ‘Wow, that must be the best place in the world.’ Every flower seems to be in the right order, the right color. The locker rooms are unbelievable. The food and atmosphere are great. The first day you always say, ‘Wow, that’s the best tournament.’
“The only bad thing is, when you lose, you go crazy. You’re like, ‘I played so bad.’ That’s why I want to try to make it even a happier place for me.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This is the first press conference I’ve done this year without being asked about Russian players.” – Urkainian Marta Kostyuk
CHRIS’ CRAFT: American Chris Eubanks is drawing praise from his many fans who are thrilled to see that the 27-year old veteran has been in the zone. The Georgia Tech product won The Mallorca Championships last week and today he beat Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro to equal his best Grand Slam result. He will next play Cam Norrie.
AMERICA WATCH: It was a good day for the red, white and blue. Today’s American winners included Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Chris Eubanks, Marcos Giron, Bernarda Pera, Madison Brengle, Sloane Stephens, Danielle Collins and Madison Keys.
THE GOAT WHO EATS GRASS: The Guardian noted that after each of his past seven Wimbledon men’s singles wins, Novak Djokovic has dropped down to the Centre Court turf and tasted a blade of grass. They added: “Barring upset or injury, he’ll be eating grass in less than two weeks.”
Also reporting Vinay Venkatesh and Lucia Hoffaman
