Bill Simons
MELBOURNE COVID SCARE: Due to thirteen positive COVID tests at Melbourne’s Airport Holiday Inn, fans will be banned for five days at the Australian Open. The case involved the UK strain of COVID and is difficult to trace. Only essential workers who can not work at home will be allowed at Aussie Open. Players are designated as essential workers and the tournament will be played. The state of Victoria has been put on a five-day lockdown. The status of in-person media is not clear.
SERENA SCARE: A struggling and frustrated Serena Williams seemed poised to lose the first set of her third round match against the zoning Anastasia Potapova. But nerves got to the 19-year-old and she imploded, double-faulting six times in the ninth game of the set. The Russian’s freefall was even worse than the fail of Benoit Paire, who double-faulted four straight times in an ATP Cup match against Fabio Fognini.
LIKE FINDING COINS IN A COUCH: After watching a video of Serena giving a whimsical tour of her chic trophy case, Chris Eubanks quipped, “It was as if she was finding Grand Slam trophies like they were change in the couch.” BTW: How many trophy cases feature cereal boxes? Serena always delights in her picture having been on a box of Wheaties.
QUOTEBOOK:
“The better Osaka’s opponent is, the better she is, because she comes in so dialed in.” – Rennae Stubbs
“It’s definitely on my mind and my shoulders and I think that is a good thing.” – Serena on her quest to equal Margaret Court’s mark of 24 Slams
“It’s not every day that you are on a Wheaties Box, so that is why it is my trophy room.” – Serena
“Young, wild and free.” – Stefanos Tsitsipas’ message on the lens of a courtside camera after his marathon win over Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis
“I fought like a lion. I felt like a warrior out there.” – Stefanos Tsitsipas after his win over Kokkinakis
“Osaka is playing like Serena was when she dominated.” – Mary Joe Fernandez
“He’s a walking infirmary. He’s had more injuries in a short period of time than any player I can think of.” John McEnroe on Thanasi Kokkinakis
WESTWOOD WONDERS: Two UCLA products, Jen Brady and Mackie McDonald, are bringing it in Melbourne. Brady, who won in Lexington last summer and drew attention when she sprinted to the US Open semis, has brought her big game big time to Melbourne’s lightning fast courts. Enroute to the third round she’s lost only seven games and is taking full advantage of a kind draw. She will face the Slovakian qualifier Kaja Juvan tomorrow. All the while, Mackie McDonald, who was sidelined after tearing his hamstring tendon off the bone and whose ranking dropped to No. 272, has downed Marco Cecchinato and No. 22 seed Borna Coric to reach the third round. There he has a decent chance against South African Lloyd Harris, ranked No. 91. If he wins he might face Russian Daniil Medvedev.
CANDID KENIN LETS US IN: Sometimes players hold their thoughts close to the chest. Other times, they open up and let us in. Famously, when John McEnroe returned from a long sabbatical from the game in 1986, he went on and on in front of the press in Stratton Mountain, Vermont to the point that his marathon press conference seemed more like a therapy session. Young Sofia Kenin, 22, was somewhat mute last summer about assorted topics, including her views on social justice. But after her second-round loss to Kaia Kanepi, she opened up about her failing to defend her Australian Open title and all the pressure she felt. “I couldn’t find my rhythm. I was obviously way too nervous,” Kenin confided. “I just couldn’t execute my shots…I guess it’s lithe outside pressure. It’s obviously tough…I feel like everyone is kind of expecting me to do that…Obviously I wasn’t there – my head wasn’t there…the nerves big-time got to me…Everyone was always asking me, ‘Do you see yourself winning again?’ I’m not there 100% physically, mentally – my game. Everything just feels real off…I’m not used to this, so right now I’ve just got to figure out how to play at that level…It’s weird.”
One of the game’s more caring elders, Martina Navratilova, offered Kenin some sage advice: “She needs to be nicer to herself. She takes it so hard. She needs to relax…I just want to put my arms around her: ‘It’s okay, it’s just a tennis match. It’ll be okay.’”
DON’T INVITE THESE TWO TO DINNER: After prevailing in a five-set marathon against Salvatore Caruso Fabio Fognini told his fallen foe that he was lucky. The comment didn’t go over well and the Italian duo had a heated courtside exchange.
THE AUSTRALIAN KAREN: Some called an over-the-top Melbourne fan “the Australian Karen” others linked the apparently drunk woman in Rod Laver Arena with other fans who have enlivened tennis matches. A streaker drew attention at the 1996 Wimbledon final, a Roland Garros fan rushed out on court to hug Roger Federer and protestors dumped motor oil on a Davis Cup court in Newport Beach. Last night a woman flipped off Rafa Nadal and called the good man a “OCD-f—k.” She was promptly removed. A rather gracious Nadal indicated it was just a matter of gin and tequila. Speaking of liquor, after Thanasi Kokkinakis hit a fabulous serve deep into his match against Stefanos Tsitspas, Pat McEnroe noted, “He‘s slightly punch drunk, and still comes up with the ace.”
HOW TO BEAT RAFA, SERENA AND NOVAK: Mary Carillo once said that the way to beat Rafa at the French Open was to hit all of your shots on the line. When Luke Jensen was asked what you have to do to beat Serena he said, “You’ve got to attack her forehand. It can give you a couple of errors, but it’s dangerous. She’s so powerful. And you don’t want to upset her. You have to buddy her up and ask her ‘How’re you doing?”
In terms of beating Djokovic, Darren Cahill said one of things you have to do is “drag him in on the backhand side [with slower shots] and get him lifting up. Then you can get something you can to hit.”
KYRGIOS CONFUSION: Few athletes are more confounding than the sometimes wretched, other times fantastic Nick Kyrgios. “We say, ‘Love him or hate him,’” noted Jon Wertheim. “How about love him and hate him?” Martina Navratilova asked, “Is he a good bad guy or a bad good guy?”
COCO’S SLUMP: The charismatic Coco Gauff stunned the world by beating Venus Williams in her first Grand Slam match. In her first three Slams she reached the third or fourth rounds. But in her most recent three Slams the still very young Floridian, who is now ranked No. 48, has won just two matches. Her second-round 6-4, 6-3 Aussie Open loss was to the formidable No. seed 5, Elina Svitolina. Gauff, who served well and played well, is still the youngest player in the top 400.
HIGH PRAISE: After Stefanos Tsitsipas’ marathon five-set win over Thanasi Kokkinakis, John McEnroe gushed: “You pretty much saw everything you can see on a tennis court, both from the standpoint of shotmaking skills, heart, and storytelling about what these guys have gone through (especially Kokkinakis) to get here, and the quality [Thanasi] brought to the occasion. The hope is that Kokkinakis can keep this up.”
A LESSON TO BE LEARNED? John McEnroe, “There are virtually no COVID cases in Australia and they are still wearing masks. There’s a lesson to be learned there.”
JESSIE’S WHIRL: In just two rounds the pride of Buffalo, 61st-ranked Jessie Pegula, has taken out two stars (Victoria Azarenka in the first round and Sam Stosur in the second) who’ve won four Grand Slams. Pegula was on fire against the beloved Aussie elder, Stosur. She won 6-0, 6-1 and will next face Kiki Mladenovic.
JUST WONDERING: The appealing South Carolinian Shelby Rogers took advantage of a good draw, but can she upset the second most famous Estonian in the draw, Anett Kontaveit? If she does, her fourth round match would likely be a Barty Party. She’d probably play Aussie Ashleigh.
