Bill Simons
WIMBLEDON
HOT TIMES IN LONDON: Today was the opening day ever for Wimbledon. The bright sun and 87° heat put to shame our favorite London travel tip. Writer Christopher Clarey once claimed, “What you lose in the cost of lodging and food, you make up in the cost of sunscreen.” But not today.
MONDAY BLUES: It just didn’t seem right that the British player Johannus Monday wasn’t playing on Monday.
A VAST SEA OF EMPTINESS: Wimbledon’s big grass courts were gleaming today. But they seemed rather empty without linespersons calling the lines.
SEEDS TOPPLE: Seeds Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jelena Ostapenko, Paula Badosa, Alexei Popyrin and McCartney Kessler and Francisco Cerundolo all fell.
THE MINISTER OF HAPPINESS IS NOT HAPPY: Ons Jabeur reached the final of three Slams and rose to No. 2. Recently the 30-year-old has been battling injuries and has fallen to No. 59. Today she withdrew in the second set of her opening match against Viktoriya Tomova.
MARATHON MAN ALCARAZ AGAIN SURVIVES: Thanks in large measure to Carlos Alcaraz’s recent Parisian magic, tennis got a huge treat – its best match in years. The Alcaraz-SInner French Open final was a scintillating classic the sport will long relish.
Now, as Carlos began his run to what many thought would be his third straight Wimbledon win, it was time for him to take a breath and relax. BBC dismissed the gravity of his first-round match against a once great but now fading Italian icon who seemed to be washed up. They said it was a mere formality.
Let’s forget about the fact that Fabio Fognini doesn’t have the best Grand Slam record in his family. His wife, Flavia Pennetta, won the 2015 US Open. Full of puff and bravado, Fognini has long had the best swagger in the game. He’s a sensational stylist and shotmaker. His winners astound.
A showman who likes the big stage, his 2015 US Open third-round win over Nadal remains one of the big upsets in Big Apple tennis history.
Fognini was once No. 7. Now he’s in the twilight. Ranked No. 138, the 38-year-old was winless this year and on a ten-match losing streak. In contrast, Carlos was on an 18-match winning streak. This would be one-way traffic.
But in the opening set, Carlos was nervous. His game was adrift, he had little rhythm. Fabio was fabulous as he gained five first-set break points. Still, Carlos managed to prevail, but not for long.
Hitting free, showing his usual flamboyance and an inventive mix of finesse and flash winners to the corners, the Italian took full advantage of his foe’s many errors, indifferent serving, inability to convert break points and, at times, faltering focus.
Fognini won the second and fourth sets. Now the No. 2 player in the world was in his second straight five-set Slam marathon match. Fans at the packed Centre Court were itching for an upset.
But Carlos, who’s never lost a first-round match at a Slam, is the game’s ultimate “bend-but-not-break” warrior. He’s never lost a five-set match at Wimbledon and has the best five-set record in all of tennis.
Time and again in the fifth set, Fognini had the upper hand, but squandered his advantages. He finally showed his age. His blistering groundies, flicked angled winners and his backwards overhead were now in the rear view mirror.
Even more than he’d done in the fifth-set tiebreak at Roland Garros against Sinner, Alcaraz pulled away, pouncing on the Italian’s short shots and overcame the 62 unforced errors as he scored a 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 win in 4:37, the longest first-round match in Wimbledon history.
Last year, Wimbledon staged a glorious farewell for Andy Murray. Fognini’s acclaim here is far from what adoration Sir Andy drew. Still, the crowd roared as the Italian, who’ll retire later this year, left Centre Court for the last time.
Tennis is quirky. Today Alcaraz downed Fognini, who was playing his 821st Grand Slam match. The Spaniard will next be playing a college kid from St. Albans, Britain, Oliver Tarvet, ranked 733. It will be the qualifier’s second Slam match. And it won’t go five sets – right?
AMERICA WATCH: American winners today included Frances Tiafoe, Madison Keys, Learner Tien, Jenson Brooksby, Amanda Anisimova, Ashlyn Krueger and Ann Li. Losers were McCartney Kessler, Mackie McDonald, Peyton Stearns, Brandon Holt, Bernarda Pera and Nishesh Basavareddy.
OLIVER’S TWIST: Oliver Tarvet is only No. 719 in the world. He’s just the 33rd best player in Britain. And, during COVID, after spending hours on the phone with the University of San Diego’s coaches Ryan Keckley and Alex Funkhouser, he found himself in central San Diego as a proud Torero. He loved USD’s culture, its loud passion and life in Southern California. He spread his wings and engaged, doing a fundraiser at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club.
Just two weeks ago he won the Week 4 title at the SoCal Pro Series and earlier, before a record home crowd of 656 raucous fans, he led USD past UC Irvine in the first round of the NCAA West regionals.
Tennis’ great bullfighter Rafa Nadal, is now enjoying the sea breezes in Mallorca. But incredibly, there are two young Toreros (bullfighters) in the Wimbledon draw – Tarvet and his former teammate, August Holmgrem, who’s Swedish.
Tarvet, who today beat his fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi, recalled his journey to San Diego: “I spent tens of hours on the phone with [the coaches] building the relationship…I really trusted what they stood for…I’d recommend any junior to go through the collegiate system, especially USD, because of how great the coaches are…Everything is so organized, so professional…The dedication my coaches put in…I couldn’t be more thankful.”
And he has something else to be grateful about. He’ll next play Carlos Alcaraz, almost certainly on Centre Court. And that’s quite the accomplishment for the Torero, who just weeks ago was playing in front of 656 fans at USD’s Hogan Tennis Center.
Also reporting: Lucia Hoffman
