Bill Simons
BOTIC GORES THE GOAT: When Novak Djokovic was introduced today, the announcer went on and on, reciting the Serb’s countless titles and accomplishments. Pretty intimidating, right?
Well, maybe not. After all, Botic van de Zandschulp is a savvy veteran who was not about to wither. His claim to fame (other than his semi-unpronounceable name) is slaying Goliaths.
At the US Open, he brought down its defending champion, Carlos Alcaraz. At the Davis Cup in November, he beat Rafa. It was the icon’s last match. Thursday night, he dismissed Nick Kyrgios. Plus, he has wins over a slew of other mighty men: Casper Ruud (three times), Grigor Dimitrov, Karen Khachanov, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Holger Rune and Andrey Rublev.
Today, as if on cue, Botic blasted his forehands. And Novak was very un-GOAT-like, he played like a 37-year-old. His serve was modest, his returns flew long. He suffered 14 unforced errors, and in just 31 minutes he dropped the first set 6-2.
But, hold on. Botic was merely a lucky loser. In his last 50 tourneys, the No. 85 in the world hadn’t gotten beyond the fourth round. Plus, the calling card of the Big Three – Federer, Nadal and Djokovic – is their consistency. Nole, who has won five times here at Indian Wells, was hoping to gain his 100th tour title and equal Nadal’s record of 410 matches won at Masters.
Soon, Novak began playing like the master he is. Last year, he’d lost in the third round to another lucky loser, the No. 123 Luca Nardi. Now that Nole was in gear, history surely wouldn’t repeat itself.
But Botic was fearless. He had nothing to lose, he played with freedom. He mixed power with clever drop shots and a stunning lob. In a flash, he stunned Novak and the 16,000 fans in the stands as he scored a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win. For just the second time in 17 years, Novak lost three matches in a row.
In January in Melbourne, after Djokovic failed to surpass the record of 25 Slams, we suggested that across Australia, in Perth, Margaret Court was surely sighing in relief. Similarly, with today’s loss, Novak would not win his 100th tourney. He’d remain well behind Jimmy Connors’ record of 109 career tourneys won. So we imagine that, 217 miles away, Jimmy was pleased.
Just after the match, Novak said he had no excuses, but he noted that the ball bounced much higher than on the practice courts and even higher than it does on clay courts.
Nole’s loss triggered some standard, “The sky is falling” perspectives. BNP Paribas Open Radio asked, “Is this the beginning of the end for Novak? Father time is undefeated. At a certain point, the body can’t do what it used to.”
Inside Tennis asked Nole to reflect on his many years in the game. “I am who I am because of this sport. It has consumed most of my life…I try to be the best I can be in different roles outside the court…I’ve dedicated everything to tennis…This sport brought me everything that I have experienced, and I’m eternally grateful.”
SEEDS TOPPLE: While Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev are still in the draw, four of the top eight men’s seeds have lost: No. 1 Alexander Zverev, No. 4 Casper Ruud, No. 7 Djokovic and No. 8 Andrey Rublev. Almost all of the very top seeds on the women’s side remain, but Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu have fallen.
PRETTY COCO WINS UGLY: Coco Gauff is young, appealing, charismatic and a tenacious fighter. She defends brilliantly and is the best athlete in the WTA.
But has a top player ever been so flawed?
Her forehand can go off. Her serve is a recurrent headache that continues to haunt her. Too often, her matches are completely baffling.
Today, her road to victory over the No. 52 player in the world, Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima, was bumpy. Coco tied her own personal worst of 21 double faults. She suffered an additional 53 unforced errors, including a tournament high of 28 on her forehand.
The 20-year-old squandered a 4-0 lead in the third set and couldn’t convert any of her first four match points. But she broke a three-match losing streak and prevailed, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4). She reasoned, “If I’m able to win matches playing D tennis, it gives me confidence.”
She told the Stadium 2 crowd, “I just play tennis. Sometimes I’m good and sometimes I’m not, which is something everyone in the stands can relate to.”
KARMA COMMENTARY: Brett Haber said it certainly would be “karmic justice” if Novak Djokovic unleashed a couple of rants against his coach Andy Murray, considering all the times the Scot had barked at his own team during matches.
SAY IT ISN’T SO: Frances Tiafoe forgot to bring his rackets to the court for his match against Damir Dzumhur.
THE END OF A FINANCIAL DREAM: Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien both work out of Irvine’s Tier 1 Academy. They practice together all the time, and when Learner made his run to the fourth round of the Australian Open, Michelsen joked that it would only be right for Tien to share 1% of his prize money. Yesterday, Michelsen revealed that Tien didn’t come through with it. If he had, it would have been $4,200.
JENSON’S JUNCTION: Some say that Jenson Brooksby got a raw deal when he was suspended for 18 months for missing three drug tests. Then, in the first round at the Australian Open, he was crushed by Taylor Fritz. But in Indian Wells he’s regaining his swagger. In the first round, the Northern California native beat Benjamin Bonzi , and today he dismissed No. 17 Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2.
MIGHTY MADDY: After her exhilarating Australian Open win, some thought Madison Keys might suffer a letdown. Or maybe she’d be rusty – she hadn’t played in six weeks. But, no way. Competing for the first time as a Grand Slam champ, she dominated Russian Anastasia Potapova in 63 minutes.
PASS THE LINGUINI, I ALMOST BEAT PAOLINI: Torrance’s Iva Jovic is so young – just 17. But she still draws attention. Today she gave the French Open and Wimbledon finalist, Jasmine Paolini, all she could handle, winning the second set, but losing 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-3. Last year at this time she was No. 659. Now she’s No. 157. Some say the sky’s the limit.
AMERICA REPORT: Aside from Gauff, Keys and Brooksby, American winners included Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Brandon Nakashima and Emma Navarro. Americans losing today included Jovic, Mackie McDonald, Amanda Anisimova, Caty McNally, Sofia Kenin, Iva Jovic, McCartney Kessler and Alycia Parks.
