OSAKA LOVE: Naomi wanted the French Open to be real quiet. So sadly it became very loud, very fast. Naomi complained about the media. Few others in tennis history have been so beloved by fans and in thee media than the gracious, sensitive and delightful four time Slam winner. The outpouring of support of her reflects how much she has given and how much people care. Naomi has poignantly spoken of her vulnerability. She needs space, time and caring support. On court, she has repeatedly shown her uncanny strength at crunch time. Naomi is an incredible pioneer. There is so much further to go in this whole area of mental health and also how it interfaces with the media.
THE SCOURGE OF MENTAL ILLNESS: Commentator Mike Cation said, “I’ve suffered from depression at periods of my life for nearly 30 years. There’s not something that magically protects someone. Not money. Not success. Not relationships.”
SUAREZ NAVARRO WINS THE MOST IMPORTANT MATCH OF HER CAREER: There was always something quietly appealing about Carla Suarez Navarro. She just went about her business – lots of determination, much cheer and not much fuss.
Sure, her nation all but knelt at the altar of its tennis god, Rafa Nadal. And women’s tennis in Spain also had fine stars. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Conchita Martinez and Garbine Muguruza have claimed seven Slams between them. Carla did reach No. 6 in the world, and she made it to Slam quarterfinals seven times.
But often it was her initials, CSN, that are just like Crosby, Stills and Nash, that drew our attention. The retro rock group reassured us, “Carry on – love is coming to us all.” And Carla carried on bravely, and love came through for her. She says she just won the biggest match of her career. For nearly a year and a half she battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma. For six months she had chemotherapy. She lost her hair but not her love of the battle. She put off her planned 2020 retirement. She didn’t want to leave when she was down. She gathered her strength. Her friends rallied around, including Garbine Muguruza, who visited her in the hospital.
Carla’s battle is not the first time a tennis great has suffered a catastrophic setback. Grand Slam champion Maureen Connolly died at 35 due to ovarian cancer. Arthur Ashe suffered a brain aneurysm and then got AIDS. Vitas Gerulaitis died in a carbon monoxide accident. Pete Sampras’ coach Tim Gullikson succumbed to brain cancer. More recently Ross Hutchins and Nicole Gibbs have bounced back from cancer. Danielle Collins continues to battle with endometriosis.
Reflecting on her friend CSN, Vika Azarenaka noted, “What she’s been through just says everything about her character. She’s a fighter. She’s been an amazing person…I have sent messages to Carla every week to see how she was doing, because I felt really close to this emotion. I had an occasion in my family where somebody was battling cancer, and sometimes you feel helpless. But that one moment of encouragement hopefully sometimes makes a difference…I’m so happy that she again picked up her racket.”
Carla found herself in a battle with Sloane Stephens today. She was serving for the match in the second set, but Sloane rallied and prevailed over the exhausted Spaniard 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. Carla did lose the tennis match, but actually the courageous Spaniard and her fans were the real winners. Love came to us all.
OLD MAN RIVER IN THE FLOW: When Roger Federer first emerged by beating four-time reigning Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras, the question was simple: “Is this kid for real?” Twenty years and 20 Slam trophies later, the question for Federer is whether, at 39, Roger is still “the man who can bend time.”
In his two previous tournaments on Roger’s sparse 2021 schedule, we weren’t so sure. In Doha and Geneva he seemed rusty, tentative and diminished. He was swagger-free. He lost two of his three matches and looked like an icon on the edge of retirement.
Monday, the oldest man in the field seemed more fit, more confident. He missed just one serve in the first set. Never mind that he’s ranked No. 8, Old Man River was in the flow. His forehand flashed. We saw subtle backhand flicks and more slides than in your neighborhood park. He blasted returns on the rise, offered adept drop shots and the occasional serve and volley foray. Yes, his 89-mph tweener misfired. His foe, Denis Istomin, has had his moments of glory. He beat Novak Djokovic at the 2017 Australian Open. But he had lost his last five straight Grand Slam matches and his ranking had fallen to No. 204. On Monday he fell 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 in just over an hour.
Federer has dismissed the importance of the French Open. He says he can’t win. It’s just to get in rhythm for Wimbledon. Yesterday he showed us the rhythm that has captivated tennis for 23 glorious seasons. Next up for Federer is Marin Cilic. Incredibly these two fathers played the Australian Open final just three years ago, now they meet in the second round.
LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT: We know Rafa loves precision and order on court. But Federer revealed his Swiss love of routine and order when he explained why he felt so much better after his victory Monday than in his previous matches this year. “I just felt overall much clearer, much better,” he noted. “I think getting used to tournament and match rhythm again, the whole thing with the towels there, the shot clock there, everything that goes with it. I don’t know – [before] I really didn’t find the rhythm. The biggest difference for me looking back at Geneva, I felt I played a lot of points very quickly. That’s what got me…I rarely took the extra two, three, four, five seconds I usually take by getting the towel or waiting for the crowd – whatever the dynamics might be. Today…I sometimes had to tell myself, ‘Take a little bit of time, walk to the towel, do something different. You might think it’s silly, but it’s true. I do that naturally in a big match with a lot of crowd, I ask for the towel quickly because…you need maybe a quick break, a breather. You feel more private when you’re in that situation rather than going from one side of the court to the other for three hours. That’s where I think I felt much more comfortable today.”
TIP OF THE DAY: After Federer netted a makeable ball, Robbie Koenig joked, “When you go to the higher part of the net you have to give the ball more elevation, Mr. Federer.”
JUST WONDERING: Jimmy Connors’ run to the 1991 US Open semis was magical, and many, like Pancho Gonzales and Ken Rosewall, have excelled deep into their careers. But has any 39-year old man ever played as well as Federer?
HISTORY: Serena continues to be a trailblazer. She played the first night match at Roland Garros. No. 2 Daniil Medvedev had joked that he hoped to win a Roland Garros match before 2050. After his first round win Monday he tweeted “History made!! Finally a first-round win at Roland Garros.”
FATHER’S DAYS: At the NCAA tennis championship in May, Ben Shelton scored the clinching point to secure the University of Florida’s first men’s NCAA win. The team is coached by his dad Bryan, who also coached Georgia Tech to an NCAA title. Then American Seb Korda won in Parma, joining his dad Petr as an ATP tourney winner. Other father-son duos to win ATP tourneys include Ramanathan and Ramesh Krishnan and Phil and Taylor Dent. Upcoming Norwegian Casper Ruud has won on the ATP level. The best his dad Christian did was to reach a final. Speaking of fathers, Sofia Kenin is playing her first Slam without her dad as her coach. In a battle of Slam champs, the coachless 22-year-old downed Jelena Ostapenko in her opener.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA SIZZLE: Northern Californian CiCi Bellis made runs to the third round at the US and Australian Opens in 2016 and 2021 respectively. Mackie McDonald had sensational results that took him to the fourth round at Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2018 and 2021. But how long has it been since Northern California has had a day like last Friday? Sacramento’s Jenson Brooksby and Piedmont’s McDonald qualified for the French Open and Sacramento’s Sam Riffice won the NCAA men’s singles title. McDonald came back to win his first-round match. Brooksby fell to No. 24 seed Aslan Karatsev 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
TALL TALES: Rome semifinalist Reilly Opelka, 6’ 11”, sailed into the second round. John Isner, 6’ 10” who scored big wins at the Madrid Open, blasted his way past his fellow American, 6’ 6” Sam Querrey. Steve Johnson stormed back from two sets down to beat American Frances Tiafoe. The only American man still in the draw with a Roland Garros singles trophy, former junior champ Tommy Paul, beat Aussie Chris O’Connell 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 4-6 10-8.
EASY COME, EASY GO: Seb Korda was the last American left in the 2020 French Open. He was one of the first to lose this year.
VenCOCO: McCoco (that would be the doubles duo of Katy McNally and Coco Gauff) won the doubles title in Parma. But Katy was injured and couldn’t play the French. So Coco is playing with Venus, whom she famously beat at Wimbledon in her breakout victory in 2019. There is a 23-year age disparity between 40-year-old Venus and 17-year-old Coco. Venus quipped, “I’ll definitely be expecting her to do all the work.” The duo is one of the most appealing doubles combos since sister Serena played with Andy Murray at Wimbledon.
IMPACTFUL PRESSERS: Rarely have press conferences had such impact on a tournament. On Monday, Naomi Osaka withdrew in part because she didn’t want to do press interviews. Today No. 11 seed Petra Kvitova tweeted that she’s pulled out after falling and hurting her ankle “during my post-match press requirements.”
TOP HEAVY DRAW: Rarely has there been a more imbalanced tennis draw. Roger, Rafa and Novak, (plus longshot Marin Cilic) with their 59 Slams, are in the top half of the French Open draw. US Open champ Dominic Thiem, with his single Slam win, was the only player with a major title in the lower half, but he lost his opening match to Spaniard Pablo Andujar.
GO FIGURE: Serena is 77-1 in first-round matches at Slams…Venus, who lost 6-3, 6-1 to Ekaterina Alexandrova, has lost six of her last eight Slam matches…For once, a player whom Toni Nadal was coaching fell in the first round of the French. No. 20 seed, Felix Auger-Aliassime, fell to Andreas Seppi in four sets.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: When referring to the unsparing treatment of Naomi Osaka by French officials, Mary Carillo commented, “The general rule should be, ‘Don’t cut when you can untie.’”
