Bill Simons
THE KYRGIOS CIRCUS FOLDS ITS TENT IN MELBOURNE: Midway through the third set of Nick Kyrgios’ long-awaited battle against Daniil Medvedev, tennis’ great free spirit sprinted to the net to retrieve a nasty Daniil dropshot. He quickly regrouped to dash crosscourt and hit an amazing backhand reflex volley winner. It was a point that he had no right to win. Even Laver Arena’s resident seagulls were impressed.
Elated and pumped with adrenaline, the don’t-cage-me-in rebel skipped and sprinted across his half of the arena in a giddy and triumphant lap of honor.
One had visions of Connors’ New York fist pumps, Serena’s fierce “C’mon!”, McEnroe’s meltdowns, Nastase’s x-rated rants, Monfils’ stratospheric leaps, Bobby Riggs playing in a dress, comic trickster Mansour Bahrami and joyous Yannick Noah. As the crowd erupted, one asked, “Is this lean, well-tattooed, immensely athletic and perpetually surprising Aussie wizard the greatest showman of the Open Era?”
But of course, tennis isn’t based on showmanship. Grit, skill, work, drive, fitness and commitment all matter. And in two years Kyrgios has only played 11 tournaments. He proudly doesn’t have a coach and isn’t known for his on-court stamina. He concedes he won’t be playing on clay this year and has little desire to win a Slam. Once No. 13, he now lives in triple-digit land at No. 115. But, oh, he’s such a gifted athlete and shot-maker who loves to entertain himself and his legions of frenetic fans.
Not surprisingly, the Aussie hero’s meeting with tournament favorite and world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev was the early popcorn match of the Australian Open. And, right on script, the rollicking circus was filled with astonishing winners, underarm serves, fake underarm serves, wild gestures, ongoing dialogues with a courtside broadcaster, 139-mph aces, futile feuds with an exasperated ump, complaints about his own fans and Aussie “Oi! Oi! Oi!” chants that filled the rafters. Kyrgios’ pump-up-the-crowd game plan was clear: “When I know I have the crowd in the palm of my hand…that’s exciting.”
But it’s one thing for Nick to successfully pull off his deflect-and-prevail game plan against a lowly qualifier like Liam Broady on the intimate John Cain Arena, as he did in the first round. But it’s quite another thing to shake the cage and considerable defenses of a locked-in and fierce Russian on the much bigger Laver Arena.
After all, Medvedev, too, loves to be the odd man out. He’s tennis’ skinny villain, who offered his middle digit to a New York crowd and reminded hostile Spanish Davis Cup fans in Madrid that if they want him to win, they should boo him. In an age when we worry about super spreaders, Medvedev is the super absorber. Kyrgios’ flick forehand blasts were little bother to the Russian. “Out there,” noted AO Radio, “Medvedev looks like a calm accountant.” Daniil rebuffed Nick’s laser-like serves with surprising ease, and after his foe offered an array of underarm serves, the Russian may have snickered to himself, “You have to resort to your silly tricks to try and beat me?”
True, there were moments where Daniil was slightly rattled. Who wouldn’t have been? He muffed some volleys. His usually flawless groundies took occasional vacations.
After dropping the first two sets, Kyrgios came back to win the third set 6-4. But in the end it was Medvedev who was playing tricks, as he scored his first career win over Kyrgios. After Daniil’s 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory, Jim Courier asked him how he was able to focus in such a chaotic atmosphere. He replied that it was his “only choice, when you get booed between the first and second serve.” The unhappy crowd immediately intensified its booing. “Guys, I can’t hear him. Show some respect to Mr. Courier. He won here,” Daniil retorted.
Daniil told Eurosport, “I have a break point on [my] second serve and people are cheering like [I] already made a double fault…That’s just disappointing…It’s not everybody that’s doing it, but…probably those with a low IQ.”
But Kyrgios’ high-flying, razzmatazz, get-under-your-foes’-skin tactics had little chance of prevailing. His circus, while dazzling and unique, is not aging that well. His enchanting tricks (even an underarm between-the-legs serve) seem to be losing their effect. We appreciate Nick’s astounding flick and blast shotmaking and his charismatic appeal. But in the end, tennis is a merciless meritocracy. Most often, the best player prevails, and tonight the No. 2 player in the world prevailed with some ease.
Still, it was fun that the enchanting, three-ring Kyrgios circus came to town. But the popcorn was a tad oversalted and was soaked in a bit too much butter. Now the show will go on, and, soon enough, Australia’s beloved ringmaster will be returning to his fabled couch in Canberra and tennis will be watching to see whether its skinny villain will, in two Sundays, be holding high his second straight Grand Slam trophy.
A WRETCHED WAY TO PROMOTE TENNIS: Wednesday night, American tennis fans dearly wanted to see the much anticipated Kyrgios/Medvedev battle, as well as other matches that featured Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu. But on cable, all they got was an old Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Andy Murray rerun from the 2020 US Open. Something is really screwed up. Obviously this is a wretched way to promote tennis.
THINGS HAVEN’T CHANGED MUCH: Yesterday we noted there would be a Davis Cup tie in the Northern California/Nevada market March 5-6 in Reno. It will be the first Davis Cup tie in the regional market since 1979, when PBS-TV broadcast America’s victory over Italy in San Francisco.
Sadly, 42 years later, the coverage of the Davis Cup has gotten worse. Many fans had trouble accessing the 2021 finals on the obscure CBS Sport Network and the PPV streaming service, Peacock. BTW: It would be hard to imagine that tennis matches would ever again be broadcast on PBS.
WEATHER REPORT – FROM CLEAR TO CLOUDY ATP SKIES: Recently, when Roger and Rafa ruled the game, they set the table with a kind of gentlemanly good grace and a prevailing sportsmanship that left behind the good ol’ raucous days of McEnroe, Connors and Nastase. But dare we note that things are a little different in the ATP these days?
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you know that No. 1 Novak Djokovic has become the most divisive sports person in the world. No. 2 Daniil Medvedev has a penchant for going at crowds, whether it be in New York, Madrid or Melbourne. Whether anyone wants to reflect on it or not, allegations of domestic violence still hover over Olympic champion and No. 3 Alexander Zverev. And No. 4 Stefanos Tsitispas became entangled in a controversy due to his leaving the court to possibly change the momentum of matches or to be coached.
SABALENKA’S YIPS: When Jana Novotna poignantly lost to Steffi Graff in the 1993 Wimbledon final, Simon Barnes wrote one of the most telling sports observations we can recall: “Novotna played a game of tennis for everyone who has ever made an absolutely ghastly mistake. Or, to put it another way, for the entire human race.” His insight came to mind as Aryna Sabalenka was once again struggling mightily with her rebellious serve. In the second round she double faulted six times in her first service game, and 12 times in the first set.
Chris Bowers said, “We all have days like this…You wake up and knock a glass of water off your bedside table, your keys fall down at the bottom of your refrigerator…This has been a horrendous display. When your strokes aren’t working, that’s where you have to go back to what you know.”
Our heart went out to the Belarusian, who’d endured a similar struggle against Leylah Fernandez in the US Open semifinals. Yes, the other day Mark Philippoussis had contacted her to offer help. But again on Thursday she double faulted 19 times. Yet, amazingly, the No. 2 player composed herself, and when she finally came back to beat China’s Xinyu Wang, the world saw a curious expression of relief and anger. The Wimbledon and US Open semifinalist, who seems unstoppable when she’s in gear, candidly informed the crowd that she kept on telling herself she had the strokes to win, even if her serve wasn’t there. We wonder if a No. 2 player has ever had a liability as problematic as Sabalenka’s serve. It will be fascinating to see how she’ll do against tougher foes while playing with such a significant flaw. Pam Shriver sighed, “What a stressful, unenjoyable life as a competitor.” Then again, Aryna does have a decent shot at winning the title.
CICI RIDER – BELLIS RIDES INTO RETIREMENT: Long after Brad Gilbert and well before Coco Gauff, there was CiCi. Let us explain. For years after Brad Gilbert left the tour, Northern California suffered a severe drought. But then in 2014, 19 years after Gilbert retired and five years before Coco Gauff’s singular emergence, Atherton’s CiCi Bellis burst onto the Northern California and international tennis scene, becoming the youngest player to win a match at the US Open since 1996. Fans were enthralled, “She’s amazing, as tough as nails.”
Slim, fleet, focused, fearless and athletic, Bellis in full flight was “as free as the wind” and a treat for the eyes. Although just 5’ 7”, she would go on to record wins over Karolina Pliskova, Petra Kvitova, Aga Radwanska and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
USTA Player Development Coach Martin Blackman said of CiCi, “[She] is one of the best competitors I’ve ever seen. She loves to put it on the line and big matches. She’s constantly working to add more tools.”
But then devastating arm and wrist injuries struck Bellis, who’d relocated to Florida. Despite four incredibly complex and invasive surgeries, she was never quite the same. Some might note that CiCi is in the tradition of teen Americans who made high profile splashes at the US Open and then faced health crises and never really thrived on the WTA tour; think Melanie Oudin and Vicky Duval.
But CiCi is obviously retiring with peace of mind. In an upbeat statement, she said she was happy for her tennis career, that she’s finishing college and about to head off to be a financial planner. Inside Tennis wrote her: “CiCi, you were a sublime, graceful and powerful competitor who brought pride to the Bay. We’ll sure you will thrive.”
A GIRL NAMED SAM: With all due apologies to Sam Querrey, Sam Groth, Ludmilla Samsonova and Sam Riffice, tennis’ most notable player named Sam retired. Eight-time major winner Samantha Stosur, now ranked No. 487, retired from singles play on Thursday. She was known for her stunning upset over Serena at the 2011 US Open final, her doubles excellence, her wicked kick serve, fierce dedication to fitness and her “We’re all in this together” mindset that was so appealing in the locker room and on court.
Some viewed her as a tennis overachiever. She got everything out of her game. In Melbourne, players offered appreciative remembrances: “Sammy, you’re just an amazing person; you’re so humble, so normal; you set a great example of what a champion should be on and off court; you’ve made a difference to Australian tennis…Thanks for being Sam.”
Quotebook
“Nick Kyrgios is an accident waiting to happen on the court, no matter who’s there.” – Cliff Drysdale
“I hope the temperature is dropping in Osaka-land. I think she’s happy to be back.” – Stephanie Myles
“Making the second round of Slams is not something I find particularly motivating. I want to be doing better than that.” – Andy Murray
“UPSET THURSDAY” IN MELBOURNE: No. 3 seed Garbine Muguruza lost to Alize Cornet and No. 13 seed Diego Schwartzman fell to Aussie Chris O’Connell, No. 175, who won the Fairfield Challenger in 2019. No. 6 seed Anett Kontaviet, who won four late-season tourneys in 2021, fell to Dane Clara Tauson. Fan favorite and No. 113, 34-year-old Andy Murray lost to qualifier and No. 120 Taro Daniel. His fellow Brit, No. 17 seed Emma Raducanu was beaten by Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic. BTW: Last year, Kovinic came all the way to Australia only to lose to Ash Barty 6-0, 6-0, winning just 10 points. But that was $10,000 per point.
REMAINING AMERICANS: Of the 34 Americans who began the Aussie Open, 8 remain: Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Danielle Collins, Seb Korda, Reilly Opelka, Taylor Fritz and Maxime Cressy.
AS LONG AS THE BARTY PARTY: It took 43 minutes for Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe to play the first six games of their much anticipated match, or about how long it takes Ash Barty to finish a match.
A SERVE AND VOLLEY REVIVAL: It’s long been presumed that serve and volley play is a relic of the past. But French-American and UCLA product Maxime Cressy reached the final of an Aussie Open warm-up event before losing to Nadal, and is now into the third round in Melbourne. Pat McEnroe said, “Players are shocked with this guy coming in on everything. I love watching him play.” He next faces Aussie Chris O’Connell.
Also Reporting: Douglas Hochmuth
Editing: Frances Aubrey
