Bill Simons
New York
AMERICA ALIVE: The US Open could feature an All-American semifinal between Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe. And, for that matter, there could be an All-American final, too, if Tommy Paul wins three more matches. Also, Emma Navarro and Jessica Pegula could possibly meet in the women’s final.
PASTA ON PARADE: Monday’s action began with the Italian Jasmine Paolini being bounced out of the Open by the athletic Karolina Muchova, and ended with the silky smooth Italian, Jannik Sinner, on court on Ashe.
SUCH AN UNHAPPY NUMBER: There were two results that have shocked us. Both tournament favorite Carlos Alcaraz and GOAT Novak Djokovic suffered stunning upsets. And there’s been one stat that’s stuck in our craw. The mighty Coco Gauff double faulted 19 times as she lost to Emma Navarro.
HOW FAR WILL NAVARRO GO?: There are now a few big questions in tennis. Which American man will win a Slam? When will Rafa Nadal, Venus Williams or, for that matter, Djokovic, retire? Can Coco fix her serve? And just how far will this kid Emma Navarro go? She’s so gifted and still so young.
Everyone has an opinion, including Emma’s friend, Jessica Pegula, who said, “She’s a great athlete. She’s mentally stable, and she’s only going to get better.
“I feel like she’s going to be a threat for the next ten years…a Slam contender…[She’s] had an amazing year…but I’m not really surprised…She just improved so much…Mentally she’s shown that she’s super tough…She doesn’t let a lot of things bother her…She’s one of the hottest players on tour right now…The moment isn’t really fazing her too much…I’ve gotten to know her really well this year, and she’s a riot – don’t let her fool you.”
ONE-HIT WONDERS: Both Botic van de Zandschulp and Alexei Popyrin, who scored shock upsets over Alcaraz and Djokovic, lost their next matches.
REMATCHES GALORE: Rematches have been a big part of this year’s Open. Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev will face off in the quarters. Fritz downed the German in a dicey Wimbledon battle in July. As she had at the Olympics, Qinwen Zheng beat Donna Vekic to reach the US Open quarterfinal. Frances Tiafoe avenged his 2023 loss to Ben Shelton. And Emma Navarro eliminated defending champ Coco Gauff, just like she did at Wimbledon.
LATE NIGHT WOES: Andy Murray is not a fan of late night matches. He wrote, “The tennis scheduling situation is a total mess. It looks so amateurish having matches going on at 2, 3, 4am.”
QUARTERFINALS, QUANDARIES AND QUESTIONS: Some marks in tennis will never be broken. John Isner’s and Nicolas Mahut’s record 11:05 match will stand forever. And Jimmy Connors won the US Open on three different surfaces – grass, clay and hardcourts. Vitas Gerulaitis mused about his terrible record against Jimmy Connors, saying, “Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.”
Deep into previous Slams, Alexander Zverev has faltered time and again. And then there’s Jessica Pegula, who’ll be playing in her seventh Slam quarterfinal. She’s never advanced to a semi. Today she told the sympathetic Open crowd, “I just have to win a match and that will solve everything.” BTW: Andrey Rublev, who lost Sunday, has made a record 10 quarterfinals without reaching a single semi. Only two men have more quarterfinal losses – Federer (12) and David Ferrer (11). Venus has lost a record 16 Slam quarters. Chris Evert was 52-2 in quarters.
‘SABS’ STAT: Aryna Sabalenka is the first player to reach four consecutive US Open quarterfinals since Serena, 2013-2016.
THE ROLE OF WEALTH IN TENNIS: Tennis used to be an elite game. But, no shock here, money and class still play a big role in the game.
Wimbledon is wonderful, but it seems that many fans have just dropped by from their country estates. And no commoners (unless you’re a celeb or a well-scrubbed athlete) need take a seat in the Royal Box.
If you want to own a tennis tournament, it’s best to be a venture capitalist, a surrogate for a mighty Asian nation or have a hefty Middle Eastern bank account.
Big money undermined the buoyant Davis Cup competition. Years ago, local passion energized local sites around the world. Yes, there were flaws, but the spirit, the well-meaning patriotism and the chance for non-elite players to score huge wins for their countries was splendid. Now, much of that has been muted by a sterile format.
We could go on and on about any topic from expensive tickets to the sports-washing initiatives. In any case, here at the US Open, fans are delighting in the success of three vastly appealing Americans who come from wealthy families – Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro and Taylor Fritz.
Many observers say that money is a key component in tennis success. After all, tennis is an incredibly costly sport. Coaching and travel expenses alone pile up in a flash.
Then again, others, like coach Jose Higueras, claim that the wealth of America actually works against us. Wealthy kids from affluent neighborhoods just don’t have the fire in the belly, compared to kids stuck in Moscow apartments.
But many Americans, from Althea Gibson, Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe and the Williams sisters to Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul, have thrived, despite not coming from affluent families.
Just this week, the vastly appealing Pegula turned heads when reports emerged on her taking the subway out to Flushing Meadow. Most everyone in tennis knows how hard the daughter of the Buffalo Bills owner has worked for so many years, and appreciates her grounded attitude, which is widely celebrated.
But of course, Jessica has always been seen as a child of affluence. Today the popular veteran noted, “The most annoying thing…is that people think I have a butler, that I get chauffeured around, I have a private limo, that I fly private everywhere. I’m definitely not like that. People can think what they want…It’s kind of funny. A butler? Maybe I should…I don’t really even know anyone that lives like that. It’s outrageous.”
MIXED WONDERS: Taylor Townsend continued her incredible year. She has teamed with the former ATP player Donald Young and today the duo ousted the US Open’s defending champions Harri Heliövaara and Anna Danilina to reach the semis.
UNIQUE AND NOT-SO-UNIQUE MUCHOVA: The fluid, athletic game of former French Open finalist Karolina Muchova is again gaining attention. Her all-court game is unique. The Czech tells us, “I don’t like to be like anybody else. It’s the type of game I believe in.”
But when Muchova was asked who she would want to go to dinner with, she didn’t provide a very unique guest list. Her reply: “Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic.”
