TIMELY QUESTIONS: While commentator Jason Goodall asked, “Are the stars aligning for Serena Williams?” we ask, what’s worse? That the 2019 Davis Cup Finals from Madrid were virtually impossible to watch on US TV, or that Roger Federer’s Saturday match was not televised live on American TV. Finally, was his match bumped off TV because of the ponies? NBC televised the Belmont Stakes Saturday and relegated Roger’s match to an obscure streaming channel.
NO FANS, NO TV, NO PROBLEM: Federer got through to the fourth round, but he said he would see how his knee was Sunday morning after his long match today and then see if he would continue playing. The grass court tournament in Halle is just around the corner and a good Wimbledon run is his goal.
SPANKING ROGER: Thanks to a Radio Roland Garros listener, we learned that there is a gin called Spanking Roger. In-depth research tell us that the drink is “an aromatic gin from the Gibraltar Distillery Company. It’s named after “Major General Roger Aytoun, known as Spanking Roger, due to his habit of challenging men in Manchester pubs to fights as a form of recruitment.”
SAY IT ISN’T SO: Deep into his match against Federer, German Dominik Koepfer crossed over to Roger’s side of the court and spat on a disputed mark and then rubbed it out. He got a point penalty.
A CIRCUS SHOT IN PARIS: After retrieving an underhand serve from Marco Cecchinato, Italian flash fave Lorenzo Mussetti hit a behind-the-back wraparound backhand volley winner from no man’s land. The swirling shot was in the tradition of Aga Radwanska, and one of the greatest circus shots in recent tennis history.
GETTING IN TOUCH WITH NOVAK DJOKOVIC’S INNER CHILD: Broadcaster Steve Weissman told Novak Djokovic, “We always want to win and we always want to be loved. What’s the most important to you?”
Novak emphatically answered, “Neither. The most important thing for me is to really love myself and my life and that’s the foundation from where you actually manifest anything else in your life. I’ve been very blessed to play this sport and to be surrounded by the right people…I have lots of people I share a lot in common with, and it makes the whole journey more pleasant…It’s considered to be a little bit arrogant, this aspect of loving yourself. It’s all about perspective. I’m not able to give myself fully to someone else if I’m not content with myself internally. So I try to be aware of that, and on a daily basis, connect myself with my inner child.”
THE WISDOM OF COCO GAUFF: The early story of the French Open was Naomi Osaka and the issues of mental health, the media, and the pressures felt by a vastly appealing, wealthy 23-year-old public figure who was struggling mightily within. Shy, vulnerable and sensitive, Naomi shared that she’s been struggling with depression. Virtually all of tennis has sympathized with her. Of course everyone is different. Serena put it succinctly: “I’m thick and she’s thin.” Another vastly talented Floridian player is Naomi’s 17-year-old friend and rival, Coco Gauff, who emerged two years ago in a dazzling flash. She’s had her moments of doubts too. Like Osaka, she’s spoken up boldly for racial justice, and today, after being asked about the pressure of being such a young star in tennis, Coco gave an extraordinary response: “When I came on tour, I felt like I had pressure to win. People came out with a lot of expectations, saying I was going to be the next this or the next that.
“After having conversations with different coaches and players, I realized I’ve just got to be myself and have fun on court…even in the pressure moments. Like I remember in my first round this week, even though I was down set points…I was really enjoying that competitiveness and being under pressure.
“I feel like maybe a year or two years ago, I would be super stressed and wouldn’t enjoy it. Now I’ve just been really appreciating these moments on tour because I remind myself, like, so many people are working hard to be where I’m at today. The least I can do is just enjoy it, because you never know when life is going to be taken from you, and I just want to really live it to the fullest.”
DANIIL’S NEW LOVE: Jason Goodall noted that Daniil Medvedev, who hadn’t won a French Open match before this year and is now into the fourth round, “suddenly is loving life on a clay court.” Daniil himself said, “Beliefs, they can change. When I was young I never ate fish, like I hated it. Now I love tuna. But raw tuna.”
FINANCIAL COMMENTARY OF THE DAY: Lindsay Davenport quipped, “Danielle Collins could find a nickel hitting a backhand up the line.”
MISCELLANEOUS MESSAGING: A sweatshirt in the Friends Box suggested, “Be curious, not judgmental.” Among much else on Serena’s tennis shoes, is the reminder, “Never stop fighting.”
GO FIGURE: The eight American women who reached the third round of the French Open were the most for the USA since 2003…In the last 25 years, no woman has won more clay court titles than Serena.
SO MUCH FOR THAT THEORY: There was some talk that Roger Federer might pack it in at his hometown tourney in Basel late this year. But now the event has been canceled for the second straight year.
WHEELED IN FOR WIMBLEDON? Match point down in round two, Taylor Fritz heard a pop in his knee and had to be taken off court in a wheelchair. A scary sight for any tennis player, but Fritz has said that he will have surgery to repair his torn meniscus and aims to be back in time for Wimbledon.
CZECH MARKS THE SPOT: Sloane Stephens had both a remarkable rise, winning the 2017 US Open, reaching 2018 Roland Garros final and getting to No. 3 – and a precipitous fall. She’s now ranked No. 59. But the Fresno native stayed positive. “I took the time to get myself together, find what makes me happy on court, and kind of find my groove back.” En route to her first-fourth round appearance in two years, she downed two Czechs – No. 9 seed and Rome finalist Karolina Pliskova, and No. 18 seed and Aussie Open semifinalist Karolina Muchova. Marking her return to the second week of a Slam is a third Czech in a row, No. 33 Barbora Krejcikova.
ITALIAN TEENS: The new wave of Italian talent is showing on France’s red clay. The eldest, 25-year-old Matteo Berrettini, downed South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo while 19-year-old Lorenzo Musetti beat countryman and former semifinalist Marco Cecchinato. Jannik Sinner, 19, downed Mikael Ymer. What good news! But in the next round Musetti next plays Djokovic, Sinner plays Nadal and Berrettini plays Federer if the Swiss wins today.
BASTA, BASTA: One of the problems Naomi Osaka pointed to was the repetitive questions players are asked. It’s not an easy problem to resolve. Any reporter cycling into covering US tennis will be tempted to ask someone like John Isner when there will be another American male Slam champion. And veteran Fabio Fognini is continually asked about Italy’s rising stars. When asked again about Jannick Sinner and Lorenzo Mussetti, Fognini blurted out, “Basta, basta! You give me always the same question, guys. You know already. I worry to answer you every time the same question. I tell you one million times in one month. Just copy and paste to Italian press.”
SERENA ON SERENA: Serena often provides some public self-analysis. Yesterday she told reporters, “Nobody else is Serena out here. It’s me. It’s pretty cool. Today in particular, this whole week I just needed…to win tough matches. I needed to win being down. I needed to find me – know who I am.” When Jon Wertheim noted that players lift their game when they face her, Serena replied, “That’s the joy of being Serena, I alway have to be at my A game or else I won’t be able to take it.”
