Bill Simons
WIMBLEDON
DROP EVERYTHING: Federer was spotted in London.
FIRST THIS, THEN THAT: Andy Roddick once noted that, “First Novak Djokovic takes your legs, then he takes your soul.” Yesterday he said, “Aryna Sabalenka first beats the shit out of the ball, then she beats the shit out of you.”
SHE’S LOUDER THAN A CHOPPER, LOUDER THAN A CAR HORN – SHE’S ARYNA: While a motorcycle’s blast is 100 decibels and a car horn’s is 109, Aryna Sabalenka’s grunt is 113. Sabalenka’s famous for her tiger tattoo. And tigers, like lions, have a 114 decibel roar.
And here’s some free advice to Aryna – don’t “de-grunt” yourself. In 1992, the London tabloids came down hard on Monica Seles for her loud sounds. They even concocted something they called the grunt-o-meter. Monica was spooked. And in her final against Steffi Graf, she suppressed her grunts – and lost.
EMMA NAVARRO AND THE POWER OF CALM: Emma Navarro has a gift most of us would want: she’s contained and centered. She rarely loses her focus. She seems panic free.
In the first round she fell behind the two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova. Today she lost the first set of her match to the defending champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-2.
But, BBC noted, Emma is “an extremely calm and collected figure on court.” Navarro, a US Open semifinalist, stormed back. Soon Barbora couldn’t keep up. She was injured earlier this year and her conditioning is suspect. Medics checked her out. Then her chest was heaving and she wept on court.
Soon she lost 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. And now, with the defeat of Elena Rybakina, who fell to the Dane Clara Tauson, Wimbledon will have a ninth new woman champion in nine years.
Navarro and Amanda Anisimova are the last two American women left in the draw. And, with the loss of Emma Raducanu, Navarro is also the last player named Emma around these parts.
IGA NOW LIKES GRASS, BUT WE’RE NOT SURE ABOUT HER FAVE FOOD: Iga Swiatek, who dismissed Danielle Collins today, has long struggled on grass. At Wimbledon, she’s never gotten beyond the quarterfinals. But now she says, “Grass is more fun. The ball is listening to me. It’s a nice experience on grass.”
That’s great. But we question her favorite food – not strawberries and cream, but strawberries and pasta with a little yogurt? Sounds odd. Then again it’s big deal in Poland.
YOU KNOW YOU’RE AT WIMBLEDON: All of a sudden you hear a random voice on Wimbledon’s booming public address system: “This is a test: one, two, three, four, five.” And you say to yourself, “Goodness, those perfect English can even make counting sound elegant and grand.”
REMEMBERING ARTHUR: ON A GREAT ANNIVERSARY, STAN SMITH REFLECTS ON AN EXTRAORDINARY MAN OF CONSCIENCE: Today marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most consequential moments in tennis, when Arthur Ashe used incredibly inventive, counterintuitive tactics to beat Jimmy Connors. Jimbo was dominating tennis then, and Bud Collins said he was “terribly worried Arthur would be embarrassed.” But Ashe used softball tactics to gain the Wimbledon title. He remains the only Black man to win here.
Recently, in a superb LA Times article, Arthur’s close friend Stan Smith shared with writer Sam Farmer his poignant memories of traveling with Ashe and how Arthur would travel in Africa “wearing his Citizen of the World t-shirt, with his nose buried in a newspaper or magazine.”
In Africa, Smith was often a kind of afterthought as he traveled with Arthur, who was a hero throughout the continent. The quick-witted Ashe jokingly told his pal, “Stan, I’m sorry about that. If we do a tour of Alabama I will carry your racquets for you.”
Smith said Ashe “was in tune with everything …He was a quiet leader walking a tight rope within a traditional white sport and the Black community.”
Smith – who has been vastly successful since he stopped playing on the tour in his famous Adidas shoes, has written, with Gary Niebur, a superb how-to book on relationships, ”Winning Trust: How to Create Moments the Matter.” The well-reviewed book calls on people to strategize, engage, recreate, volley and elevate.
On this day in 1975, and throughout his career, Ashe did just that.
KYRGIOS DISSED: Former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, who lost his job as a BBC commentator, briefly got more grief at the gates to tennis’ holy land, so to speak. Reportedly he was denied entrance to Wimbledon after failing to show proper identification when he first went to pick up his credential. He explained that he’d just changed his phone. He felt that the security guard did recognize him, but said she had to follow protocol. Nick had to empty his pockets out and was body searched before being admitted to the grounds.
Then again, there’s a long history of tennis stars asking security, “Don’t you know who I am?” Just ask Roger about when he showed up at Wimbledon during the off-season, or the time Martina Navratilova forgot her credential.
WHAT IF? Britain would have gone nuts if Emma Raducanu had made a deep run at Wimbledon. In the second set of her riveting match against world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, Emma was a point from going up 5-1 in the second set, but…
TO EACH HIS OWN: After winning one French Open match, Jim Courier went for a run. Another time he jumped into an Australian river. After Emma Raducanu lost, the first thing she did was eat a Kit Kat.
MARK HIS WORDS – STICK WITH MARK: It seems that at every turn in her career, Emma Raducanu goes off with another coach. She’s just 22, but she’s had nine coaches. Andy Roddick suggested she stick with the savvy Mark Petchey.
AMERICAN DISAPPOINTMENT IN THE DUSK: As the Wimbledon light faded Lorenzo Sonego blasted an ace. And after over five hours Italian voices chanted in victory. Americans, and their man Brandon Nakashima, were gutted. The San Diegan fell in the fifth set tiebreak 10-3. Oh well, 15 minutes or so later and 100 yards away there was red, white and blue redemption. Ben Shelton powered his way past Hungarian Marton Fucsovics. And guess what, Shelton will next face Sonego. Already this year Ben has beaten Lorenzo in the Australian and French Opens. BTW: For the first time there are three Italian men in Wimbledon’s fourth round.
SINNER SOARS: World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has swept into the fourth round, and, through the third round, has only lost a record 16 games. The previous mark was owned by Federer, who lost 17 games in 2004. But the Italian shrugged it all off, saying, “Whatever…Every match has its own story.”
GO FIGURE: The last three women’s winners at Wimbledon were hardly top seeds. The 2022 winner, Elena Rybakina, was seeded No. 17. In 2023, Marketa Vondrousova was the first unseeded player to win Wimbledon, and last year’s winner, Barbora Krejcikova, was No. 31…In 2022, Florida’s Ben Shelton beat the University of San Diego’s August Holmgren in the men’s NCAA singles final. Now they’re both into the Wimbledon third round. It’s the first time former NCAA final opponents have reached the third round of the same Slam since 1983.
QUOTEBOOK:
“Phenomenal movement by Emma Raducanu – it’s like she’s flying through the air. And that’s magnificent in capital letters.” Wimbledon Radio
“This Sabalenka-Raducanu match is a ding dong of a battle!” – Wimbledon Radio
IS THE COAST CLEAR? For the first time since 2018, only one of the top five women’s seeds – No. 1 seed Sabablenka – remains. So, no problems for the Belarusian, right? Then again, there are often issues with Aryna, who has yet to win a Slam on a natural surface.
SONAY DAYS: Spunky Sonay Kartal, who last year at this time was No. 259 and now is No. 51, became the fourth unseeded Brit to reach Wimbledon’s fourth round this century. The others were Emma Raducanu, Heather Watson and Laura Robson.
AMERICA WATCH: Emma Navarro won. Danielle Collins and Hailey Baptiste lost.
Also reporting: Lucia Hoffman
