Bill Simons
WHO’S THAT TREE-HUGGING GOAT UP THERE IN THE BRANCHES? When he’s away from tourneys Novak Djokovic likes to climb small mountains or meditate on the edges of deep canyons. At Grand Slams he finds refuge in solitary walks in parks. Novak says he likes to go to places that bring him luck. “For example, the Botanical Gardens just nearby, it’s a wonderful park where I like to spend time and just be by myself in nature, just grounding, hugging trees, climbing trees and stuff. I love to do that. So I’ve done that for the last 15 years.
“Whether that’s the secret of success here in Australia or not, I don’t know, but it has definitely made me feel good…During the Grand Slams you have lots of challenges…[So] it’s good to have places where you can just rewind, relax, rejuvenate and kind of gather all the necessary energy…I like to isolate a bit more.” Novak added that his wrist “is good” and he’s practicing pain-free.
NAOMI’S WISH: While off to play the Australian circuit, Naomi Osaka has left her six-month-old baby girl Shai at home in Los Angeles. Naomi says her wish is that her daughter doesn’t learn to crawl before she comes home. BTW: Naomi, who’s known for her appealing shyness, named her daughter Shai, pronounced “shy.”
FAMILY MATTERS: Half of America’s top four WTA players, Jesse Pegula and Emma Navarro, are the daughters of billionaires – Terry Pegula and Ben Navarro…Everyone in Seb Korda’s sports-happy family has won a title in Australia.
JUST WONDERING: What’s more likely – that No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula wins the Aussie Open or her family’s team, the surging Buffalo Bills, wins the Super Bowl…Is the cheerful, increasingly confident US Open champ Coco Gauff, with her slightly altered serve, ready to take it to another level…What streaking longshot will do better, Aussie Alex De Minaur, who just beat Djokovic, or Jelena Ostapenko, who beat Daria Kasatkina to win in Adelaide and is back in the top 10?
PEACE BREAKS OUT IN THE WTA: After losing in the Adelaide final to Ostapenko, runner-up Kasatkina turned to the controversial, often turbulent Latvian and offered a surprisingly blunt compliment: “I must say that we have had our issues with you before. But now I’m really happy that we can be on the same stage in a peaceful environment.”
MOST CURIOUS ANALYSIS OF THE WEEK: Jon Wertheim reflected on Gauff’s game, saying, “There may be no fig leaf concealing her forehand.”
SERENA LOVE: When Caroline Wozniacki was asked to compare the top players from when she was in her prime to today’s players, she said, “You can’t really compare someone to Serena. When Serena…was playing her best tennis, I don’t think anyone here would be able to beat her.” Caroline then added that today’s players are very strong and are “pushing tennis in the right direction and there’s a lot more players that are playing on a very high level.”
NETFLIX’S NOT-SO-LITTLE LIE: There was good news. Netflix was streaming Season Two of its high-profile “Break Point” series that takes a deep-dive look at tennis. But there was troubling news, too. Let us explain.
Alexander Zverev’s 2022 quarterfinal with Rafa Nadal drew huge attention. The level of play was astounding, the match was tight, the tension high. Then disaster struck.
When the German reached for a Nadal groundie he suffered one of the most horrific on-court injuries in memory.
His right ankle buckled. His ligaments were shattered. The 6’ 6” giant fell and howled in excruciating pain.
Netflix’s “Break Point” tracks the dramatic story of all the pain, fear and depression Sascha soon suffered, and his long, agonizing recovery.
After the injury, Zverev’s self-confidence plummeted. The former No. 2 player in the world, who’d won Olympic gold and had just led Germany to the United Cup, thought he’d never reach the top again. For a long stretch he couldn’t even walk. There were lots of tears and agonizing frustration.
But gradually we see this big, talented, personable athlete return to the top. Eventually he scores a stirring triumph when he wins the title in Hamburg, where he was born.
The episode touched our hearts. The Netflix soundtrack soared. The German was portrayed as a feel-good hero. Daniil Medvedev took it on the chin: a nasty, cheating, win-at-all-costs villain. And that was it – all was good.
But it wasn’t. The story was based on a lie, a lie of omission. Netflix didn’t make a single reference to the gorilla in the room: Zverev had been accused in not one, but two extremely troubling cases of domestic abuse against two girlfriends, the Russian Olga Sharypova and more recently the German model, Brenda Patero, the mother of their daughter (who also isn’t mentioned).
In the Sharypova case, there were plenty of damning reports, but the ATP concluded there was insufficient evidence to do anything.
In the second case, a German court fined Zverev $480,000. But he’s denied any wrongdoing and is appealing.
So one would expect that an extensive hour-long report on a year in the life of a top athlete would at least address the issue.
Then again, critics have noted that men’s tennis is hardly known for its passionate desire to get to the truth, and journalism these days can be more interested in ratings and clicks than tell-it-like-it-is storytelling.
THE ATP’S CHILL, CREATIVE AND RATHER OBSCURE KING OF TRICK SHOTS: Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik comes from a distant country that’s hard to spell. He doesn’t make too many deep runs into Slams. We’ve never seen him in a cool ad. But the 26-year-old, ranked No. 31, is one of the more appealing, chill and creative players the ATP has given us in years. The other day, as if he were warming up for a casual pickleball hit, he started a point with an underhand serve, then hit a truly wicked dropshot, and won the point with a nonchalant crosscourt tweener. He then turned to the crowd and offered a grand, quite impeccable bow.
NOT SO EVEN STEPHENS: There are few WTA players who are more athletic, mercurial or fun to watch than the enigmatic veteran, Sloane Stephens.
Jon Wertheim put it this way: “We always say the same thing about Sloane and she never disproves us, and that is, ‘No one knows which Sloane is going to show up.’” Nick Kyrgios offered a more free-form take on the former US Open champ, now ranked No. 43, who lost to China’s Yuan Yue, No. 73, in the Hobart warm-up: “Sloane always amazes us. [She’s] someone who could always rock up to some event and win. Or [she] couldn’t be bothered. Sloane, wake up – Slams. She should win one, [but] she’s chilling.”
WESTERN AND SOUTHERN NO MORE: Ohio’s venerable 125-year-old tourney, that has long been known as the Western and Southern Open, will revert to its original name, the Cincinnati Open. Then again, geographers have long contended that Ohio, in the eastern quarter of the country, is not really a western state.
And writer Samaree Perkins was emphatic: “I say it loud and I say it proud: Ohio is not the Midwest. It may be hard for many of you to hear, but it is true.” Plus, Ohio is north of the Mason Dixon line, and the state that was a haven for runaway slaves is not southern, either.
TELLING IT LIKE IT IS: After playing doubles with her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas, Paula Badosa joked, “I suppose either this works or it’s a divorce.”
GO FIGURE: Petra Kvitova is pregnant…Alex De Minaur stopped Djokovic’s streak of 43 straight match wins in Australia…Ben Shelton went to an All-Blacks rugby match in New Zealand…Lisa Cradit is the USTA’s new Managing Director of Communications. She previously headed communications at Sea World Parks and Entertainment.
COACHING CAROUSEL: Frances Tiafoe and Wayne Ferreira have parted ways. Former USTA National Coach Diego Moyano, who worked with Gauff, is now Frances’s coach…Juan Carlos Ferrero chose not to go to the Australian Open to coach Carlos Alcaraz… Djokovic was not pleased that his coach Goran Ivanesvic was not named Coach of the Year. The award went to Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi for their work with Jannik Sinner.
MONEY GRAB? John McEnroe blasted the Australian Open for extending the event from 14 to 15 days. “It’s a money grab…They just found another way to make some money…I completely disagree with it, but that’s probably me being selfish [because] I have to be away from home an extra day or two.”
SOMEBODY DOESN’T LIKE IGA? Swiatek has only gotten past the fourth round of the Aussie Open once, and will play former Melbourne champ Sofia Kenin in the first round. Then she’ll face the winner of the popcorn match between Danielle Collins and Angie Kerber. All this prompted Jimmy Arias to suggest, “Someone in Australia doesn’t like Iga.” Then again, in the first rounds of Grand Slams, Swiatek’s record is 18-1.
ADELAIDE LADY: We don’t know too much about the Southern Australia city of Adelaide except that they host a lot of tournaments, they have a pretty court and Taylor Townsend really likes it. In two years the No. 10 doubles player in the world has won three doubles tournaments there with three different partners.
NIRVANA FOR NAVARRO: The rising 22-year-old University of Virginia product Emma Navarro downed Elise Mertens to capture her first title in Hobart. Keep your eye on her. She plays Xiyu Wang first at the AO.
