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A pair of historic achievements loom on the horizon after today’s play at the 2018 Western and Southern Open. Simona Halep aims to become the first woman since Evonne Goolagong in 1973 to win the Canadian Open and Cincinnati in the same summer. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic gets another crack at completing his career haul at Masters 1000 events; he has been unsuccessful in five prior Cincinnati finals, and needs to win tomorrow to own all nine Masters crowns. Semifinals day in Cincinnati began with Kiki Bertens taking out Petra Kvitova in three sets in sweltering humidity. Kvitova managed to grab the first set, but appeared to struggle with fatigue as the match wore on. Bertens’ serving was key: she finished the match with 10 aces, winning 77% of her first serve points. Afterward, in press, Bertens credited her improved tactics for her success on hardcourt, in particular imposing herself in the first two to three shots of every point. While she excels in the heavier, slower conditions on clay, her more aggressive play has earned her key wins on grass (Pliskova, Venus) and hardcourt (Pliskova, Kvitova, Wozniacki, Svitolina) this season. When asked if she was surprised by any of these non-clay results, Bertens said: “Raemon [Sluiter] when we flew to the States, was like, ‘Yeah, maybe you can just play a final in one of these weeks.’ I was, like, ‘Yeah, sure.’ But I was not really believing it.” She added that although she’s playing well, she doesn’t believe that she’s playing her best tennis. If this isn’t her best tennis, it certainly is her best season: she moves into her first hardcourt final with huge momentum and a stunning nine victories over top 10 opponents this year. Her opponent in the final will be world number one, Simona Halep. Last week’s winner in Montreal aims to grab back-to-back Premier 5 titles. Halep has made the final in Cincinnati three out of the past four seasons, and with the win today, joins two-time champion Serena Williams as the only women in the Open Era to make the final three times. After a tough, rain-delayed, three-set opener against Ajla Tomljanovic, Halep has since dispatched Ash Barty, Lesia Tsurenko, and now Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets.
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With no rain interruptions on Friday, the Cincinnati tennis draws were caught up to speed and the men’s and women’s semifinals set for championship weekend. Good thing the rain stayed away too, as Halep, Wawrinka, Federer, Del Potro, Goffin, Cilic, Djokovic, and Svitolina all had to play two matches to get rid of the backlog. Earlier in the day we recapped the remaining Round of 16 matches. Here we will take a look at how those quarterfinal matches panned out.
Aryna Sabalenka stunned Madison Keys and the Cincinnati spectators with her display of all-out power tennis. Sabalenka earned an early break and never once took her foot off the gas. She saved break points with aces, hit a 99 mph second serve ace, and smacked winners at will throughout the match. Keys strikes the ball so beautifully, and hit her fair share of gorgeous groundstrokes, but she struggled to put two or more points together at a time. The word that comes to mind watching Sabalenka play is audacity: the audacity to attempt such a high and consistent level of baseline power tennis, hitting winners from tough positions, knowing when to pull the trigger, and taking it to an American player so thoroughly on Center Court. And to finally, finally win a match in straight sets. Last night, she told reporters that she would “feel calm and fight, like always, and try to show people my best tennis.” That she certainly did. Tomorrow, she will have to do the same to get past the world number one, Simona Halep, who beat Lesia Tsurenko in straight sets. Petra Kvitova didn’t exactly steamroll her way into the semifinals, slogging her way through a 2 hour, 42 minute match against Belgian Elise Mertens. This is the same Elise Mertens who caused Sloane Stephens to explode with frustration over relentless defense. Kvitova diagnosed her performance thusly: “I was the second player on the court, which I didn't want. I didn’t really serve well, but luckily, I did have a good second serve.” Kvitova managed to strike her forehand well as the third set wore on, and it earns her a spot in the semis against Kiki Bertens, who took out the fifth seeded Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-3 on the Grandstand. Milos Raonic put up a fight against Novak Djokovic, snatching the second set on the strength of 10 aces. It feels like Raonic is close to putting it together again after this week, having played a calm, confident match Thursday against Canadian usurper Denis Shapovalov. Raonic strung together good wins at both Indian Wells and Stuttgart, and he’s showing again this week that he is well positioned to beat the best players in the world, even if he blinked against Djokovic in the first and third sets.
The Western and Southern Open owes a debt to the weather gods today as the start of play was delayed only briefly, allowing for the completion of all the round of 16 matches during the day session. Yesterday, we wrote how the rain wreaked havoc on the proceedings, leaving the majority of the field needing to win two singles matches today in order to proceed to the semifinals. The quarterfinal matchups should have been decided after yesterday’s play, but the consistent rain delays resulted in 9 of the 16 would-be quarterfinalists needing to win two matches today to advance to the semifinals. Del Potro and Kyrgios started the day on the Grandstand. In a match full of blazing serves and unreachable forehands, the two men split tiebreak sets before Del Potro ran away with the third set and the match. Although Kyrgios was defending runner-up points here, a tight loss to Del Potro is nothing be ashamed of. The Aussie seemed more engaged and willing to scramble compared to his first two matches here. It’s remarkable just how much the crowd gives to Kyrgios. On such an intimate court, you can hear and feel the Cincinnati fans pulling hard for Nick to recover from mental lapses. It’s a collective therapy session. It’s obvious that something sets Nick apart from nearly every other player in tennis, and I think it has something to do with his vulnerability and openness, which he often veils with anger and indifference. It’s clear that the crowd is fascinated by him. While Kyrgios and del Potro got things started on the Grandstand, Simona Halep opened Center Court play against Ash Barty. After being on the losing end of a tight first set, one where she was able to trouble the world number one, Barty broke for 2-0 lead in the 2nd set. But, just like the first set when she broke for an early 3-1 lead, Barty gave the break right back to Halep, and never recovered. Halep, not so fresh off her win in Montreal last week, advanced 7-5 6-4 to the quarterfinals, where she will play Lesia Tsurenko later today. Stan Wawrinka followed Kyrgios and del Potro on the Grandstand, taking on and taking out Marton Fucsovics in straight sets. Wawrinka, vanquisher of Schwartzman in the first round and Nishikori easily in the second, looks well on his way back to top form after struggling in his return from knee surgery. Fucsovics displayed a variety of crisp, aesthetically pleasing shots in the match, but never really threatened to push Wawrinka outside his comfort zone. With Federer’s 6-1 7-6 win over Leonardo Mayer, the Mason, Ohio faithful will be treated to a 24th all-Swiss meeting between Federer and Wawrinka. The fact that both men will be playing their second match of the day might mitigate the lopsided 20-3 head-to-head in Federer’s favour.
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. In the The Body Serve Diary, Jonathan and James write conversationally about the various happenings in the wild world of tennis.
JONATHAN: Today was a frustrating day of rain delays. The first major weather problem started yesterday, but it bled into Thursday, with the tournament desperate to finish second and third round matches. The day began shortly after 3pm with Halep up 4-3 in the third set against Tomljanovic, a match suspended the night before owing to rain. Halep, scheduled second on in the night session, wasted no time in taking the third 6-3. Good thing too, as shortly after she completed the win, the rain returned to interrupt play again. We were on Court 10 for Shapovalov and Raonic, the battle of the old and new guard of Canadian tennis. Once match started for the day, Shapovalov managed to play only three points on serve before they were ushered off the court again. It was a bit of revenge for the oft-injured Raonic, who lost in straight sets to Shapovalov in Madrid earlier this year. Raonic saved set point on Shapovalov’s serve in the first set tiebreak before going on to win 7-6 6-4. Raonic regains the top Canadian ranking on Monday after Shapovalov was only able to reach the last 16 while trying to defend his semifinal points in Toronto last week. With Raonic having zero points to defend at the U.S. Open, this match could ensure that he will keep Shapovalov at bay in the battle for Canadian supremacy for some time. JR: That first set was extremely tight. Raonic couldn’t get a backhand over the net. I don’t know how many he missed, but only the slice was working. As usual, the serve got him through; he hit 9 aces in the first set to Denis’ one. Raonic also received medical treatment twice during the first set. But it only came down to two key errors from Shapovalov in the tiebreak, and Milos snatched that set and, with less fanfare, the match. Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. In the The Body Serve Diary, Jonathan and James write conversationally about the various happenings in the wild world of tennis.  Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova should be -- or perhaps, could be -- the premier rivalry of women’s tennis in the 2010s. Serena is, well, Serena, owner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles and the most feared first serve in women’s tennis history. Petra’s game can peak at such a deliriously high level that competitors have called her “unplayable,” especially at Wimbledon. A sustained rivalry between the two could be the platonic ideal of women’s power tennis, but they have met only seven times, with Williams winning five. JAMES: We’ve been uncommonly lucky with these night sessions at Cincinnati so far: Djokovic and Serena on Monday, and Federer and Serena-Petra on Tuesday. My thoughts are still somewhat scattered from the excellent Serena-Petra match last night, partly because it’s a shame one of these women had to go out so early in the draw. But, the fact remains that this rivalry is more about what could have been than what has been. Serena and Petra have met only seven times, with Serena winning five. We’ve seen classics between Venus and Petra, especially at 2014 Wimbledon, but it’s rare that Serena and Petra’s paths have crossed when both are peaking. Everything about this matchup excites me: the righty vs. lefty serves, each woman’s fierce return game, the depth and pace of their groundstrokes, and the basic fact that their peak tennis is nearly unplayable for the rest of the field. Their rivalry could have been the apotheosis of women’s power tennis. What do you think, Jonathan, too dramatic? JONATHAN: Serena and Petra are arguably the two premier power players of the last ten years, and their individual command performances tower over the rest of the WTA’s. There’s a sense that when each is at the absolute peak of her powers, nobody can stop her. So, it’s surprising that last night’s match was only their seventh meeting, and disappointing that when they have met, they’ve rarely been able to summon their best against each other at the same time. Last night’s performance wasn’t a course correction for that, but it was at least the second time in their would-be rivalry that they played three sets. None of the three sets went beyond nine games, with each woman taking control of a set and not ceding ground; most of the tension within each set happened early, and once the winner of that set was able to withstand the other’s charge, it was smoother sailing. JR: There were moments in last night’s match when they shone at the same time, especially the third game of the second set. With Petra serving, Serena reached three break points. Petra's response? Ace, ace, ace, and then another ace just for fun on a non-break point. But Serena kept digging in, finally realizing that Petra was serving out wide almost every time, on both the deuce and ad sides. Serena smacked a crosscourt forehand for a blazing winner to set up a fourth break point. On her fifth, she punished the exact same serve with the exact same crosscourt forehand to break Kvitova’s serve and announce her presence in this match. From there, the second set was entertaining and the Cincinnati crowd became fully invested. Serena continued to crush returns throughout the set, securing a second break to go up 5-2. JN: I find it amusing when folks imply that Serena was missing a trick by “allowing” Petra those aces out wide and not anticipating it as her go-to move. With that angle on a perfectly struck Petra serve out wide to the backhand, there really isn’t much room to get to it without leaving yourself absurdly exposed to the serve down the tee. It is a convenient part of that narrative, though, that it was a short-angled backhand return winner on a wide serve to Serena’s backhand that broke Petra for a second time, allowing Serena to close out the second set 6-2. Where these two are most interesting against each other is when they find themselves embroiled in long rallies. Towards the back end of the match, it looked like Serena was thriving more in those situations. In press, she said: “I feel like I did better in the longer points, but I feel like she kept it short more than me.” In fact, Serena said that she was looking forward to the longer rallies, something that isn’t necessarily always the case.
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. In the The Body Serve Diary, Jonathan and James write conversationally about the various happenings in the wild world of tennis.
JAMES: Monday at the Western & Southern Open has been packed with tennis and player press appearances. Organizers pulled off a rather surprising night session: Serena-Gavrilova followed by Djokovic-Johnson, an early-week billing made possible by the two legends’ currently depressed rankings. No less than Stan Wawrinka was relegated to the Grandstand, getting a 3-set win over 12-seed Diego Schwartzman. It seems like the real Stan is starting to show. Serena was back to business with a straightforward win over Aussie Daria Gavrilova. Jonathan, what did you think Serena did well tonight? JONATHAN: What didn’t she do well tonight? We saw her on the practice court looking assured and in good spirits before the match, and it translated to a comprehensive win over Gavrilova. Her serve was impeccable, with good mix of speed and placement. For me, it was her movement that was most impressive: Gavrilova was unable to disrupt her as Serena changed direction, running laterally and towards the net in ways we haven’t seen since her comeback. JR: It’s funny that her first serve percentage was only 44 percent, because it didn’t feel that way watching the match. Serena wasn’t broken, and she protected her second serve well; in fact, Gavrilova created only one break chance the entire match. A lot of the technical things were just working well for Serena tonight. As you said, the movement was encouraging, but even more impressive was her anticipation, sensing where Gavrilova would hit. This allowed her to get to balls with plenty of time to create her signature angles. JN: This was a totally different Serena from the one we saw in San Jose two weeks ago, when she suffered the worst loss of her career against Johanna Konta. Whatever concerns onlookers may have had for Serena’s US Open Series should be put to rest after a performance like tonight’s. Serena posted to social media shortly after that loss that she was struggling with “post-partum emotions” and other personal issues, struggling to balance motherhood and tennis. Perhaps that loss is now put into proper perspective? JR: Yeah, I think it’s impossible for us to understand what any new mother is going through, especially one whose life has undergone so much change. A new marriage, a new baby, the immense pressure to stop breastfeeding and return to dominating tennis -- it’s a lot, and to me, the only surprising thing about it so far is that Serena has been open and vulnerable about her feelings. We’ll see what happens against Petra Kvitova tomorrow, but for tonight, Serena has silenced some doubters. Elsewhere on the grounds, Frances Tiafoe served for the match against Denis Shapovalov, having broken him to go up 5-4 in the third set. Denis broke Tiafoe easily, and then reeled off the next 2 games to take the match. Tiafoe reached the round of 16 last year after taking out Sascha Zverev in the previous round. JN: After Tiafoe’s heroics here last year against Zverev, he was unable to replicate, and capitalize on the crowd support to close out the match. When he broke Shapovalov to lead 5-4 in the final set, Tiafoe roared on his way to the changeover, beckoning the crowd to get on their feet and up the ante. Unfortunately for him, Shapovalov didn’t wallow and came right back like the burgeoning professional he is. A tough tough loss for Frances, but a mettle-building one for Denis. The crowd thoroughly enjoyed that one; it seemed like they appreciated the hype surrounding Shapovalov and weren’t too mad about their own player losing. 
Episodes 128, 129, and 130 of The Body Serve Podcast: Wimbledon preview, Week 1 wrap, and Recap.
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PART ONE: Previewing the Nature Valley WimbleBowl We're back to regularly scheduled programming with our Wimbledon preview. First, we go over the grass court news: the seeding question that dominated the news cycle, Kyrgios' water bottle explosion, Petra's excellence, and Boris Becker's heretofore unknown career in diplomacy. Then we break down the gentlemen's and ladies' draws. 3:15 Nick Kyrgios pleasures a water bottle, owes 15,000 Euro; or: why we should stop criminalizing Nick 10:20 Odds and ends - Andy is back, Fed and Rafa trade no. 1, Petra Kvitova wins title no. 5 17:00 The Serena Williams seeding drama: here's how the Wimbledon seeding policy works 25:45 Draw preview - does Federer have any obstacles? 29:15 Nadal's fortunate draw avoids many of his bugaboos 36:50 Women's draw - Simona Halep's very tough quarter w/ Petra, Penko, Pova 45:55 Sloane is #4! A year after being #957 48:45 For some reason we really care about the #25 seed's draw
PART TWO: Wimbledon Week 1: Opportunities Earned
Maybe you've heard that Wimbledon 2018 has been full of shocking upsets, but just how shocking are they? Most of the early-round vanquishers have backed up their results with trips to the second week. In the words of tennis' poet laureate, Venus Williams, their places in the draw are not accidental, but "an opportunity earned." We comb through the draw, look at Federer's decision to leave Nike for Uniqlo, and take a look at Marion Bartoli and Nick Kyrgios' tiff. 0:30 Week 1 summary: Everybody lost 5:10 Wozniacki's unkind words for Makarova are belied by Makarova's actual results 10:25 Many of the early-round giant-killers are still slaying! 16:00 Other women's draw stuff - Serena, Venus, Kerber, Simona, Hsieh 24:20 Our women's draw predictions 25:55 Men's draw: Mackenzie McDonald is giving US fans a different look 31:45 Gulbis is rebuilding his career the hard way, knocks out #4 Sascha Zverev in round 3 37:00 Other men's draw stuff and predictions 41:30 Federer with Uniqlo in massive 10-year contract 47:30 Marion Bartoli goes all the way in on Kyrgios & Monfils
PART THREE: Postcards from Wimbledon: Pleading the Fifth
Wimbledon is (mercifully) over, and we've got two players making their returns to the winner's circle after rather tumultuous 2017 campaigns. Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in a much-talked-about semifinal before taking out Kevin Anderson in the final. Meanwhile, Angelique Kerber became the second ever player (Venus) to beat Serena Williams twice in a Grand Slam final. We then parse through the major stories of week two at the All England Club, including Dominika Cibulkova's appearance in this episode's #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas. 01:52 Kerber reasserts her class with third Grand Slam title 06:46 Serena has a ways to go yet, but what a ride! 14:26 Nadalovic, Rafole, Djokodal? Whichever you prefer, it was a hell of a match 32:17 AELTC relying on tradition, honour and empire to explain away bad organization 38:23 Women's final (non)scheduling: the issue is about R-E-S-P-E-C-T 45:06 Dedicated to Jana: doubles rundown 48:07 #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas: Cibulkova gives ALL the bad looks 54:08 Rankings Watch: who's up and who's down after Wimbledon? 56:53 Chrissie Evert has had IT: she will name and shame 61:44 What will it take for the WTA to acknowledge its rich gay history and present? 64:44 #SaveHopmanCup
Episode 127 - Pride is Political: A Partial History of LGBTQ People in Tennis
We are proud to bring you our Pride Special, a partial and selective history of the LGBTQ people across tennis history who changed our sport forever. Some of the stories you'll know, others were news to us, but all of them challenged our view of history and opened our eyes to so many forms of resistance. Listen for stories about Baron Gottfried von Cramm, Helen Jacobs, Billie and Martina, Renee Richards, and many more. Happy Pride! 03:45 The early modern era: Big Bill Tilden 8:00 Helen Jacobs, shorts pioneer and one-half of a fascinating gay relationship in the 1930s 14:20 When queer love is criminal: Baron Gottfried von Cramm 22:00 Ted Tinling, the designer of women's tennis 27:00 Renee Richards changes everything 40:00 The summer of 1981: Billie Jean King & Martina's outings pose an existential threat to women's tennis 45:55 "In Defense of Billie Jean," by ally Chrissie Evert Lloyd 51:00 Martina: a perfect storm of Cold War hysteria, citizenship fears, and the "butch" female body 54:55 Amelie Mauresmo, who was never "in" 1:03:45 Gender trouble: the confounding clash of sex, sexuality, gender, and gender expression 1:11:30 Things we learned and closing thoughts Reading List: Big Bill Tilden - Frank Deford Second Serve - Renee Richards The Rivals - Johnette Howard "Amelie Mauresmo's Muscles: The Lesbian Heroic in Women's Professional Tennis" - Pamela J. Forman and Darcy C. Plymire "Renee Richards Wants to be Left Alone," Michael Weinreb (Grantland) "Renee Richards' 'Second Serve' is a Book About Two Remarkable People," Jeremiah Tax (Sports Illustrated) "Life, Death, Tennis and the Nazis: Gottfried von Cramm, The Man That Wimbledon Forgot," Will Mage (Vice Sports UK) Subscribe and review The Body Serve on iTunes, and follow James and Jonathan on Twitter. Episodes 124, 125, and 126 of The Body Serve Tennis PodcastSubscribe and review The Body Serve on iTunes, and follow James and Jonathan on Twitter. PART ONE: Songs in Clay Major: Roland Garros Preview The denouement of the clay season is upon us with the dawning of the French Open. We're back to preview the year's second major with the help of some of our listeners. We solicited questions specific to Roland Garros, and you all came through big time; we structure our draw analysis through your thoughtful offerings. After parsing through the draws, we finish with a few thoughts on the protected seeding drama that erupted again this week. 02:26 Women's draw dark horses 09:34 Muguruza or Ostapenko: who will fare better? 13:57 Players who'll benefit/suffer most from lack of on-court coaching 16:40 Is this the beginning of the end for Aga? 20:00 Other women's draw observations 30:18 Men's dark horses 34:45 Who will be Nadal's fiercest competition? 37:10 The Big 4 as super coaches 42:18 FMK Frenchies edition: Pouille, Chardy, and PHH 44:26 Other men's draw observations 52:06 Wading into the protected seeding WTA issue again
PART TWO: Much Ado About Mother: The Catsuit's Out of the Bag
The quarterfinals of the 2018 French Open are set, and we are back with episode 125 to recap how we got here. Serena Williams dominated week one discussion with her catsuit, and her play, before having to withdraw ahead of a fourth round meeting with Maria Sharapova. Some folks had stuff to say about her attire, and we've got something to say about that. We cover the usual mid-slam topics: upsets, genuine surprises, feel-good stories, amusements, and various atrocities. 02:02 Mother is back, causing ALL the conversation 05:30 The catsuit's out of the bag 15:34 Serena has to withdraw ahead of the Sharapova match 21:15 Girl, BYE: Bill Simons and Karolina Pliskova edition 29:08 WTA upsets, surprises, and upcoming quarterfinals 39:56 So, let's talk about Sloane 46:55 Marco Trungelliti's road race with destiny 48:12 Cecchinato's surprise and Jack Sock's abominable display 51:08 ATP upsets, disappointments, and other etceteras 53:54 The folly of John Isner 55:34 Grigor and Goffin disappoint, Nole holds court, and QF previews 64:55 Serena's moment of levity/immense pettiness
PART THREE: La Primera y La Undecima: 1s Across the Board at French Open
Simona Halep and Rafael Nadal are your French Open champions. For Simona, it was her first time as last woman standing at a Slam, while Nadal hoisted the Coupe des Mousquetaires for an 11th time. After recapping both finals and notable matches since the quarterfinals, we tackle some of the outside-the-lines etceteras that popped up since our last episode. On tap: Nadal's alleged equal pay remarks, the ubiquity of flossing, the laughable punishment meted out in the James Blake case, and using Margaret Court to raise the stakes for our current greats. 01:41 Simona turns the Titanic back around 11:05 Putting the many facets of Simona into context 15:55 Muguruza defollicles Maria & Madison has no answers for Sloane 20:02 Complicating Sloane's relationship with the media 24:46 Sloane gives a pitch perfect performance as runner-up 27:00 Nadal's third "La Undécima" & the anxiety of greatness 34:54 How did Dominic acquit himself in his first Slam final? 39:48 The massive elephant in the room: Nadal & equal pay in tennis 53:28 Assessing Novak's performance and loss to Cecchinato 58:11 Speaking of Cecchinato...thinking out loud about sports reporting 63:50 Doubles, juniors & flossing?!?! How do the kids all know how to do it? 70:53 ENOUGH of using Margaret Court to move the goalpost Entry #10
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. In the The Body Serve Diary, Jonathan and James write conversationally about the various happenings in the wild world of tennis. In this Diary entry, the boys are joined by former guest of the show and Twitter pal from Australia, Frith (@PluckyLoser), to discuss the myriad issues surrounding one of the hottest topics in the early going of the 2018 Australian Open. Jon: Renaming Margaret Court Arena has been a hot topic in tennis over much of the past year, owing in large part to Court’s bigoted views of queer people and her active role in disseminating those views to influence the “no vote” against marriage equality in Australia. And so, since marriage equality is now the law of the land in Australia, and Court’s name still adorns that show court at Melbourne Park, it comes as no surprise that players are being made to grapple with this at this year’s tournament. Still, the issue has been framed in a myopic way, and we’re hoping to make the discourse a bit more elastic. James: I’m glad you noted that the reason Court has upset people is not simply because she holds beliefs that many find repugnant. It’s her behavior: her direct attacks on fellow Aussie Casey Dellacqua and other LGBTQ tennis players, her political action, her church’s stance on ex-gay conversion therapy, and her repeated attempts to degrade queer people and their families in the public sphere. Of course she “has a right to an opinion,” as do all of us in free-ish societies. So let’s just get that out of the way. But I believe that speech has real consequences. Billie Jean King released a statement last week asking that Margaret Court’s name be removed from the arena due to Court’s outspoken attitudes toward lgbtq people. Obviously, this is a hot topic amongst journalists ahead of this year’s Australian Open. While I think it’s important not to avoid the topic altogether, I have a problem with how it’s being framed on social media and in the press. Players are being asked “would you play on Margaret Court Arena?” This assumes that: a) they have a choice; b) they understand the context of the question; and c) that this will elicit any worthwhile or thoughtful answers. I’m skeptical about all three. Frith: I might be starting this on a somewhat radical note, but I think it’s important to acknowledge that Australia does not have a Bill of Rights that guarantees a right to free speech, though the high courts have found that freedom of expression is implied. So legally it’s a different kind of issue here, to what people might be used to in other places. In terms of Billie Jean’s statement, while it definitely was the right thing for her to do, it won’t necessarily have much of a proactive impact on the naming. Aussies are awfully recalcitrant and don’t really take well to being told what to do in our own country, especially by an American. I’m sorry, but it’s true! I agree with you that putting the onus on the players seems like an unworkable approach. I mean, let’s say they want to boycott Margaret Court Arena - how exactly does that even play out? On a purely practical level, if I am 18-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov and I don’t want to play my match on Margaret Court Arena, what happens? Jon: I don't know. I'm not even sure the players know how that scenario would play out, or if it's something they had even considered. It also seems like some of the top players asked about this in their pre-tournament press availabilities were caught a bit off guard by the question. But now that it's out there, we know you've done some digging to get to the bottom of what the actual process is for changing the name of the court. Frith: I’m sorry if this is incredibly dry, but I’d like to go into a little bit about how the naming rights to Margaret Court Arena work, because I have been obsessing over this lately and I think it’s fascinating, or at least important. Melbourne Park, the larger facility in which Margaret Court Arena (MCA) is homed -- which includes Rod Laver and all the rest of the courts -- is owned and operated by the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust (MOPT). This is a statutory authority run by a Board of Trustees who report to the State Minister for Events, Tourism and Sport. It’s covered by an act of Parliament (Melbourne and Olympic Parks Act 1985) which combined the Olympic Park with the National Tennis Centre. I spent a couple of days reading the act, vision statements, and a bunch of reports so you don’t have to. The Australian Open is unquestionably the largest event that takes place at Melbourne Park, but it’s not the only one. Netball and basketball teams all call Melbourne Park and, more specifically, Margaret Court Arena, home. It’s also used as a venue for bands and entertainment throughout the year - there was even an ice-hockey game there once. Tennis Australia are a co-tenant. They’re definitely in the penthouse, but they don’t own the building. This is all super important to recognise, in my opinion, because if we just keep asking Craig Tiley to change it he can honestly keep playing the same straight bat he’s been playing this whole time: saying that there’s more to it than Tennis Australia, that it’s complex and multi-layered. I do think that he could do and say more, that if Tennis Australia brought their influence to bear it would make a huge difference. But when he says it’s out of his hands, he’s right. I’ve written to the State Premier, Daniel Andrews, asking for his help because he’s been a long time outspoken ally to the LGBTQIA community. It’s not remotely in his purview, but I figured it couldn’t hurt going to the big fella. I’ve also written to the State Minister for Sport, John Eren MP, whose bio states that he is “passionate about sport and recreation and giving all Victorians equal opportunity to get involved, stay active and play the sport they love.” (I told you, I’ve read a lot of vision statements.) I’m fully expecting them to get back to me saying that it’s the decision of the board of trustees, and they respect the independence of the MOPT. Especially because it’s an election year in Victoria and I don’t think they’ll be keen on creating an issue that might distract from whatever their primary campaign messages are. Colour me cynical, but it’s the way it is. So, the real target for any meaningful campaign will be the board themselves. I’m contacting the Director of Arenas, Steve Harper CFE, requesting information on the nature of the agreement to rename Show Court 1, Margaret Court Arena. If it’s an honorary arrangement, that’s definitely in our favour, but if there’s a bequest tied to naming rights in perpetuity, hoo boy we are in trouble! Everything gets more complicated when there’s money on the table. Is there a get outta jail free card, if the name negatively affects the commercial value of the building? There’s a lot that’s yet to become clear and I remain optimistic. Basically, my point is that nothing is going to change this Australian Open. I don’t even think it’ll change this year. My aim would be AO20, though obviously AO19 would be amazing. It’s going to take a lot of convincing arguments, probably a tonne of meetings and a million emails. It’s boring, practical, grassroots activism that will get this over the line. A bunch of concerned letter writers asking the right people the right questions. So while it’s good to know where players stand on LGBTQIA rights and messages of support are so important - read the tweet from my friend Mitch about Laura Robson if you need to understand why - Margaret Court Arena will be Margaret Court Arena for a while yet, whether or not Denis Shapovalov wants to play there or not. So stop yelling at the players please. (Sorry Denis for picking your name out of the blue! Must’ve been a tough loss today and now some random Australian talking about trustees won’t keep your name out of her mouth. I’m happy for you though James.) James: Wow, thanks Frith for bringing some much-needed context to this discussion. I’m glad you mentioned the tweets from your friend Mitch (@mitchgrow). His experience, and Laura Robson’s demonstration in 2012, remind me that this is the type of action that can make change: small, organic, and personal. I’d add to that list Casey Dellacqua’s personal essay in response to Court’s public attack, along with loving and public support from Ash Barty and Rennae Stubbs. I think these have more potential to be powerful than player press conferences. They remind us that this isn’t just a politically correct campaign led by angry “liberals.” We are real people whose lives are made more difficult and indeed more dangerous by people who seek to dehumanize us. That’s not to say that players can’t totally change the game, so to speak. If Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, for example, made an affirming statement to their legion of LGBTQ fans, that would be damn near earth-shattering in the world of tennis. But, if we expect to hear from them, we will definitely be disappointed. That said, it would be nice to see a single gesture toward acceptance from an ATP player not named Andy Murray or Roberto Bautista Agut. I’m just afraid that the context is totally lost on a lot of these players. The cultural gulf might be too much, they might feel they stand to risk too much by speaking out, or they simply don’t care (or the very real possibility that many actually agree with Court). Jon: We heap all the expectation to effect change onto the players. They will have to deal with the negative headlines, while the people who have the actual clout to influence the name change -- as Frith researched and pointed out -- stay quiet or drag their feet. This is not to say we shouldn’t expect tennis players to be allies in one way or another, but to judge them based on whether they would “boycott Margaret Court Arena” is, frankly, a bit absurd. If a player chooses to do so, more power to him or her, but hopefully we can put the onus on the bureaucrats and the politicians instead. As Frith says, “stop yelling at the players, please!” As for the question being posed to players about boycotting MCA, perhaps it’s part of larger reporting, and I hope that whatever comes of this includes more context than what’s been leveled at the players so far. Many thanks to Frith for joining us for this Diary entry. Your research and willingness to share it with us is very much appreciated. Entry #9
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. In the The Body Serve Diary, Jonathan and James write conversationally about the various happenings in the wild world of tennis. Jon: Holy cow, what an opening day of the Australian Open! Only ONE of the 10 ‘merican women (Nicole Gibbs) who played in Melbourne yesterday survived the carnage. Among the defeated: Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, CoCo Vandeweghe, CiCi Bellis, Taylor Townsend, and Alison Riske. Within the first four hours of play, Venus, Sloane, and CoCo -- three of the four semifinalists from the 2017 U.S. Open -- were out. The top two American men, John Isner and Jack Sock, also bowed out in the first round. I certainly can’t remember a day like this for American tennis at a Slam, can you? James: There were probably a few French Opens back in the day that saw this much American blood spilt. But to your point, it was a shocking display from the U.S. contingent. I was actually most surprised by Vandeweghe’s performance; going in, I felt that she had momentum and a tricky, but not impossible, first round. I heard reports that she had the flu, though. What about you -- any true shockers for you, or was it just jarring that this all happened on the same day? Jon: Not really. I think it’s not so much that these individual American players lost to these particular opponents, but that they all lost on the same day and in such a large volume. Bencic was always going to be a tough out for Venus; nobody has played and won more matches than her since Singapore. Sloane Stephens hasn’t won a match in a long time and she was playing Zhang, ranked #34 and the highest ranked first round opponent for a seeded player. I take your point about CoCo; she came in fresh off that ESPNW article aiming to debunk the perception of her being arrogant, and was viewed as a legit threat on these fast courts to build on her two Slam semis last year. Babos played top tennis, and if you’re not at your fighting best physically, then it becomes all the more difficult to perform at this level. While her loss may have been surprising, CoCo’s outbursts were not, just as they weren’t again from Ryan Harrison. These two continue to lower the bar for expectations of Americans overseas. James: There’s just no excuse for hurling obscenities at your opponent or your opponent’s fans. I’ll never understand the bloc that believes that this abusive and embarrassing behavior is “good for the sport.” It is amazing to me that Ryan Harrison, especially, has any fans left. At least Colleen, for her part, put on her gentle, reasonable voice when conversing with the chair last night after getting a point penalty. The universe is serving Jack Sock a bit of restorative justice lately; after his less-than-full-effort performance in Auckland, there’s talk of rescinding his $100k appearance fee, and now he’s out in the first round in Melbourne after ending the 2017 season on a high. Jon: Sock says it’s been very difficult to deal with the start of a new year after finishing on such a high at the end of 2017 (winning Paris to qualify for the year-end championships). Paraphrasing here, but it’s been a struggle for him to get motivated after having such a short turnaround between seasons, having never played that deep into a season before. All that makes perfect sense, but it’s not a good look when your performance is so bad that people are calling it tanking, and not for the first time in your career. Being in the top 10 also means added scrutiny, and having to answer for behaviour that would have flown under the radar when he was a less accomplished singles player. As for Harrison, it’s not just about the swearing on court, which some have suggested dismissively. It’s about, as you pointed out, swearing at your opponent (in the case of Hanfmann), and your opponent’s supporters. It’s certainly not behaviour that would be tolerated or excused if done by someone like Nick Kyrgios; there is absolutely a double standard there, one that I believe has to do with race. Context is very important when debunking the “oh, who hasn’t cursed before” argument. This is an American player, casually and aggressively saying "fuck THOSE people" directed at an obviously majority Jewish group of people, on foreign soil. It reinforces some really ugly stereotypes about Americans, ESPECIALLY in this day and age. James: Yet totally in keeping with the tenor of our national conversation. Can we talk about something more fun? Sloane Stephens’ press conference, for example. When Sloane feels like participating, she is such a hilarious presence in press. Take this, haters: “Relax, everybody. It will be okay. Don't worry. We will get back to having fun soon.” I’m not too worried about Sloane, because she took this attitude last summer right before she went on a tear through the American hard courts. Just as she did then, she ensured the assembled press, “I’m going to beat someone eventually. I’ll have the best Instagram picture when I snap this losing streak.” Obviously, Sloane was not in fighting shape to start this tournament. It’s really only her second tournament back after her knee injury, which she played on for much of the fall. Nike’s atrocious kit certainly didn’t help her mystique. Jon: Sloane’s mystique? We need to do a segment to delve into what you mean by that at another time. To expect Sloane Stephens to have continued that otherworldly form in New York through the rest of her career was just never on the table. She will never be Serena, nor Venus; she is Sloane, and that’s (BIG SHOCK) totally OK. I’m glad to hear she is comfortable enough in her skin to push back against the press for trying to pigeon hole her into that lane. She will come back and win again, and continue to do HER in the meantime. One of the most anticipated storylines of day one was Rafa’s return to sleeveless tops, a full decade after he last wore one on the ATP Tour. I am saddened to report that it was a big big miss. James: Perhaps “mystique” is not the word I was going for! As for Rafa’s kit, Nike is trash. They gave us a full line of unimaginative, bland, and just plain ugly kits for their top players this year. Fumbling Rafa’s return to the sleeveless look is something I cannot forgive. But, I was glad to see that Rafa got through his match without drama. Sadly, I was asleep during Rafa’s match, as it started at 3 am here. I just went to check the stats on ausopen.com, and wouldn’t you know, they don’t work! It’s actually impressive how the tournament has fumbled just about every aspect of their digital technology: the app and website went down simultaneously in the first minutes of play, and even when they are purportedly working, they are full of bugs. As a layperson when it comes to technology, all I can do is laugh. I don’t understand the need to completely rework the app each year; I don’t recall having any problems before. Between the tech problems, the “draw ceremony,” and having to reckon with the ever-irritating Margaret Court, there’s a dark cloud over the Happy Slam which hopefully moves away soon. Jon: If I know you, those last few sentences read like you’re about ready to put a wrap on this Diary entry! Let me just say about Rafa’s kit...the pink is the LEAST of the trouble with it. For whatever reason, the arm holes of the shirt are enormous and have Rafa’s still-very-ample musculature swimming, and the grey colour of the shirt just makes it look dirty. It looks like one of those patterns that designers first cut to put on a mannequin. It looks entirely unfinished and unwashed. A bright white shirt or even charcoal (although not hot weather friendly) would have done much better. James: Why not an homage to Rafa’s signature pre-2009 look? What a shambles. Anyway, you’re correct that I was wrapping up; we have to save something for the podcast! To look out for: who will take advantage of holes in the draw left by Venus, Sloane, and CoCo? CoCo’s section now looks like a cakewalk for Wozniacki to reach the semifinals. I’ll also be especially interested to see Novak and Stan tonight. ‘Til next time! This Week In Tennis
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ATP SINGLES DRAW
(1) Rafael Nadal
Nadal's resurgent 2017 has seen him reach the Australian Open final, win Roland Garros, and regain the world #1 ranking. For all the positives and success that Nadal has achieved this year, he enters the U.S. Open after back-to-back unimpressive losses in Montreal and Cincinnati. After a shock defeat to Shapovalov in Canada, Nadal was unable to trouble Kyrgios in a straight-sets loss at the Western & Southern Open. With Federer hot on his heels for the top ranking, Nadal will look to score his first quarterfinal in New York since winning the title in 2013.
Best Result: W - 2010, 2013
2016 Result: 4R - Pouille
(2) Andy Murray
Slated to be the second seed in New York, Murray withdrew from the event on Saturday after being unable to sufficiently rehab his ongoing hip injury Marin Cilic slides into Murray's place in the draw and will face Tennys Sandgren on Monday. The Brit hopes to return to the court as soon as possible, and does not plan (at this point) to take the rest of the season off.
Best Result: W - 2012
2016 Result: QF - Nishikori
(3) Roger Federer
Despite concerns about a back injury he sustained in the Montreal final, Federer remains the bookmaker's favourite in New York. He won his 18th and 19th Slam titles earlier this year in Australia and at Wimbledon, to go along with back-to-back Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Miami; simply put, Federer has had an awesome 2017 campaign. If he is healthy, and especially with a depleted field in New York, his status as front runner is well earned. A first ever meeting with Nadal in New York looms in the semifinals, as well as the prospect of regaining the #1 ranking for the first time since November, 2012.
Best Result: W - 2004-2008
2016 Result: DNP
(4) Alex Zverev
The ATP has been in search of it's "generation next" for years and, in Zverev, the tour seems to have found its heir to the "Big Four." At only 20-years-old, Zverev has already won six ATP titles, including two Masters 1000 titles this year in Rome and Montreal. Still, Zverev is in search of a breakthrough at a Grand Slam event, having never advances past the fourth round at any of his nine previous main draw appearances. He followed his Rome win on clay with a first round exit at the French Open. All eyes will be on him this time around to see if he can announce, in full, his arrival on one of tennis' biggest stages.
Best Result: 2R - 2016
2016 Result: 2R - Evans
This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol 22a
Welcome to the WTA U.S. Open preview edition of "This Week in Tennis." The world #1 ranking is again up for grabs this fortnight in New York: Karolina Pliskova is in current possession of the top spot, but as many as eight other women are mathematically in with a shot at supplanting her by tournament's end. Defending champion, Angelique Kerber, arrives in Flushing Meadows everything but the favourite; Wimbledon champion, Muguruza, is the odds-maker's top pick to win and score back-to-back Slam titles.
This preview will give a rundown of the top eight seeds, players to watch, intriguing first round matches, plus a collection of tennis writing and podcasts from the past week.
This preview will give a rundown of the top eight seeds, players to watch, intriguing first round matches, plus a collection of tennis writing and podcasts from the past week.
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WTA SINGLES DRAW
(1) Karolina Pliskova
Best Result: F - 2016
2016 Result: F - Kerber
Pliskova arrives at the U.S. Open as the top seed for the first time in her career, looking to build on a career-best Slam performance last year in New York when she finished runner-up to Angelique Kerber. She'll face the typical questions asked of someone in her position: can she handle the added pressure of being #1? Is she ready to take the next step in her career and hoist a maiden Slam trophy? Can she hold off a slew of challengers for her top ranking?
(2) Simona Halep
Best Result: SF - 2015
2016 Result: QF - S. Williams
More than any other player in both draws, Simona Halep has a lot of obstacles to overcome during the next fortnight. While she has the momentum of reaching the semifinals in Toronto and the finals in Cincinnati, both tournaments ended with lopsided and lackluster losses. She also carries the baggage of failing to win her first Slam title at the French Open this year, after being a set and a break up in the final against Ostapenko. Halep could also find herself with the top ranking on her racquet for a fourth time this year with a deep run in New York. First up, though, she has the not-so-small misfortune of drawing Sharapova in the first round.
(3) Garbiñe Muguruza
Best Result: 2R - 2015, 2016
2016 Result: 2R - Sevastova
Despite a 2-4 career record in New York, and having never gone past the second round, Muguruza enters this year's tournament as the big favourite. After an indifferent first half of the season, Muguruza has come on strong since winning Wimbledon and parlaying that success into a consistent hard court swing ahead of the U.S. Open. The Spaniard made the semis in Stanford, quarterfinals in Toronto, and capped her run with a Cincinnati title that saw her beat the top two seeds (Pliskova and Halep) as well as Kuznetsova and Keys.
(4) Elina Svitolina
Best Result: 3R - 2015, 2016
2016 Result: 3R - Kvitova
Svitolina is the most accomplished 22-year-old on the WTA Tour. For someone so young, she's already won often and at some of the bigger tournaments just below the Grand Slam level. She has shown the ability to compete and beat the best players in the game; three of her WTA-leading five titles in 2017 have been at Premier events (Dubai, Rome, and Toronto). That she has made only two career Slam quarterfinals is likely a function of still being so young: the talent is there, and her quality of results suggests it is only a matter of time before she has a big Slam breakthrough. The hard courts of Flushing Meadows seem as good a place as any.
Entry #5
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. In the The Body Serve Diary, Jonathan and James write conversationally about the various happenings in the wild world of tennis.
Check out the men's and women's singles draws.
Check out the men's and women's singles draws.
JN: In our last diary, we wrote a lot about Simona Halep and that disastrous Cincinnati final: another missed opportunity at becoming world #1, another let down in a big match, and how apologetic she was afterwards. Here we are, five days on, and she’s drawn Maria Sharapova in the first round of the U.S. Open. If you’re Simona, what are you thinking right now?
JR: I am, as they say, shooketh. I can’t pretend to ever know what Simona Halep is thinking, so I have no idea. Does she see it as an opportunity to show her stature in the game? Does she see it as terrible luck? Maybe both. I say she has a very good chance to win this match, and gain confidence from taking out Sharapova for the first time ever. Simona is in match shape and playing some of her best tennis ever, just not in finals. Maria, of course, has the x-factor and the fact that she has a lot to prove.
JN: The whole “popcorn match” thing is woefully overdone at this point, but this one fits the bill. I can only hope the organizers have the good sense to feature this at night under the Ashe lights, and not opt for some nonsense like “Sandgren making his main draw debut.” We still don’t know how healthy Sharapova is. She withdrew from Cincinnati (where she was slated to play a first round blockbuster too against Ostapenko) to be ready for this moment, so we shall see. I’m with you, this is a match Halep should win; she’s played enough quality tennis this summer to be able to pull it off without much fuss. Can we talk about Sasha Zverev, his overrated hair, and his overly friendly draw?
JR: That’s very much a child’s haircut, and he needs to usher it into 2017. The draw is cushy: he could have Isner, Sock, Khachanov, Cilic, or his own brother in the quarters. Murray is the other big seed in his half, and his health is questionable. I have to remind myself not to pick someone until they put in a great performance at a major. In a Masters or a 500 tournament, I would take Zverev over any of those players, but he needs to prove it in a major. I think this draw has given my perennial pick Jo Tsonga a good chance to go far; it’s the best chance he’s had in years.
JN: You really are a sucker for punishment, bless you. Tsonga, of course, is coming off a first round loss in Cincinnati to Karlovic, and a first round loss in Montreal to Querrey before that. It seems like forever ago, but he does have three titles thus far in 2017, and made the quarters in Australia. OK, maybe it’s not so far-fetched as I initially thought. Back to Zverev, he wants it so badly, and has the game and big stage moxy to back up that desire. I would be equally unsurprised if he wins or crashes out early like he did in the French Open first round. How many times do hard draws end up opening up, and easy draws become minefields? Seems like all the damn time.
JR: That’s the thing: often the exciting first-round match-ups are duds, or the projected tough matches never materialize later in the draw. Both men’s and women’s tennis is very deep. With the Big Four/Five’s dominance slipping a little, it’s easier to see the unexpected happening. That said, do you have any dark horses? I have Feliciano, Delpo, Kohlschreiber, and Donaldson for the men.
JN: You know what? I’m going with Kevin Anderson to maybe come through Zverev’s section if the German falters, old man Ferrer, and Kokkinakis. Isn’t it crazy how last year’s champions are pretty much all but forgotten? I doubt anybody would have picked Kerber to defend her title, and that was compounded by drawing Osaka in a brutal first round match. Stan, of course, is giving us updates from his hospital bed, and will be out for the rest of the year. This feels like the wide open Slam to cap a season of wide open Slams; anybody who tells you they know what’s going to happen is LYING! Even the two big favourites on the men’s side -- Federer and Nadal -- start the event with big, big questions surrounding their readiness to get the job done.
JR: I am, as they say, shooketh. I can’t pretend to ever know what Simona Halep is thinking, so I have no idea. Does she see it as an opportunity to show her stature in the game? Does she see it as terrible luck? Maybe both. I say she has a very good chance to win this match, and gain confidence from taking out Sharapova for the first time ever. Simona is in match shape and playing some of her best tennis ever, just not in finals. Maria, of course, has the x-factor and the fact that she has a lot to prove.
JN: The whole “popcorn match” thing is woefully overdone at this point, but this one fits the bill. I can only hope the organizers have the good sense to feature this at night under the Ashe lights, and not opt for some nonsense like “Sandgren making his main draw debut.” We still don’t know how healthy Sharapova is. She withdrew from Cincinnati (where she was slated to play a first round blockbuster too against Ostapenko) to be ready for this moment, so we shall see. I’m with you, this is a match Halep should win; she’s played enough quality tennis this summer to be able to pull it off without much fuss. Can we talk about Sasha Zverev, his overrated hair, and his overly friendly draw?
JR: That’s very much a child’s haircut, and he needs to usher it into 2017. The draw is cushy: he could have Isner, Sock, Khachanov, Cilic, or his own brother in the quarters. Murray is the other big seed in his half, and his health is questionable. I have to remind myself not to pick someone until they put in a great performance at a major. In a Masters or a 500 tournament, I would take Zverev over any of those players, but he needs to prove it in a major. I think this draw has given my perennial pick Jo Tsonga a good chance to go far; it’s the best chance he’s had in years.
JN: You really are a sucker for punishment, bless you. Tsonga, of course, is coming off a first round loss in Cincinnati to Karlovic, and a first round loss in Montreal to Querrey before that. It seems like forever ago, but he does have three titles thus far in 2017, and made the quarters in Australia. OK, maybe it’s not so far-fetched as I initially thought. Back to Zverev, he wants it so badly, and has the game and big stage moxy to back up that desire. I would be equally unsurprised if he wins or crashes out early like he did in the French Open first round. How many times do hard draws end up opening up, and easy draws become minefields? Seems like all the damn time.
JR: That’s the thing: often the exciting first-round match-ups are duds, or the projected tough matches never materialize later in the draw. Both men’s and women’s tennis is very deep. With the Big Four/Five’s dominance slipping a little, it’s easier to see the unexpected happening. That said, do you have any dark horses? I have Feliciano, Delpo, Kohlschreiber, and Donaldson for the men.
JN: You know what? I’m going with Kevin Anderson to maybe come through Zverev’s section if the German falters, old man Ferrer, and Kokkinakis. Isn’t it crazy how last year’s champions are pretty much all but forgotten? I doubt anybody would have picked Kerber to defend her title, and that was compounded by drawing Osaka in a brutal first round match. Stan, of course, is giving us updates from his hospital bed, and will be out for the rest of the year. This feels like the wide open Slam to cap a season of wide open Slams; anybody who tells you they know what’s going to happen is LYING! Even the two big favourites on the men’s side -- Federer and Nadal -- start the event with big, big questions surrounding their readiness to get the job done.
The Body Serve Tennis Podcast
Episode 93
Ash Barty in action against Venus Williams at the 2017 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (Photo credit: Jonathan Newman)
This is our final episode on the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. We're recording in the car again, chatting about the semis and finals, answering more listener questions, and talking through some issues around race, journalism, and access. The center of the episode, though, is our interview with Australian singles and doubles player Ash Barty, who took out Venus Williams in Cincinnati.
00:30 Hello from the car, again
03:30 White Castle *is* as bad as everyone said
06:30 Women's semis and finals in Cincinnati
16:30 Kyrgios def. Ferrer - an entertaining match
21:00 Men's final: Dimitrov's moment
24:00 Our interview with 4-time Grand Slam doubles finalist Ash Barty!
38:15 More listener mailbag: why was Sloane on court 4? How did we get into tennis?
46:30 Which players were our favorite interviews/press conferences? Some brief audio clip from our favs
58:30 More questions
1:08:00 Some thoughts about access, journalism, and getting good content
Entry #4
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. This diary entry comes to you from the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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JR: Jonathan, this week is officially over, and it’s flown by. Today, we got two finals that should have been much better on paper than they actually were. Thoughts?
JN: Definitely. The men’s final was fine: Grigor won 6-3 7-5. It had its moments, and Grigor gets his big breakthrough at long last. In other news, the women’s final was an absolute shocker. Muguruza blasts away Halep 6-1 6-0, leaving Halep apologizing to the fans for the second time in a week.
JR: I was kind of hoping that Nick would get the title, if only because he had a tougher road to the final. He took out Nadal easily and put in a great performance against the surging David Ferrer. Dimitrov, though, was clearly the fitter player. He was quick, relentless, accurate - everything was working well for him today. Nick wasn’t terrible but it looked like the week wore on his fitness a bit.
JN: You’re just going to ignore the women’s final then and pretend it didn’t happen?
JR: Ha! I can only handle one topic at a time. I’m sure Simona Halep and all of Romania would prefer to forget it. Halep didn't give Muguruza anything surprising; she tried to rally from the baseline and win with her quickness. Surely, Muguruza was excellent in every facet today, but Simona could have mixed paces, ventured to the net … basically, try something or anything to frustrate Muguruza.
JN: Simona even said in her presser that she was unable to execute the advice Cahill gave her today, presumably some of the things that you just delineated. As for why she was unable to do it? Your guess is as good as mine. She did not dismiss out of hand the possibility that it had something to do with going for number one again. Man, it was just such a big letdown up in the press room and absolutely for the fans. Every credit to Muguruza, though. She built from match-to-match and did everything well in the final.
JR: Let me just say, when I saw Muguruza deal with Madison Keys late in the third set, I *knew* she was going to win this title. I just had a feeling. Her play since Roland Garros (save for that crappy match against Strycova) has been scary. As in, a great player entering a peak phase kind of scary. She didn't agree that her mentality has changed since the French, but it sure looks like that from my perspective.
JN: Let’s get through the U.S. Open before we make any of those proclamations. She did say that it was a goal of hers to play well this hard court swing, one that she has historically not done very well at, and she has done it: semis in Stanford, quarters in Toronto, and winning here in Cincinnati. So, maybe this is, as you say, a bit of a peak phase she’s entering. She certainly has the game for it, but I’d wait to see how she fares in New York first. Let me say though that you are the Muguruza oracle at this point, having predicted her Wimbledon win and now this first title on American soil.
JR: OK! I will now predict that Serena will beat her all over 2018! Back to Cincy, it’s a shame that the women’s semis and final flopped so hard, because overall the women’s tournament was very good: obviously Svetlana-Muguruza, Kerber-Makarova, CoCo-Madison, Sloane-Makarova, Sloane-everyone, etc. Plus, we saw 6 of the 8 top seeds in the quarters.
By Jonathan Newman
Photo: Jonathan Newman/The Body Serve
Simona Halep finds herself, once more, one match away from becoming the top ranked women's tennis player in the world. If she beats Garbiñe Muguruza tomorrow in the Cincinnati final, Halep will be the 24th
woman to hold the top ranking. She would have been the 23rd woman to climb the WTA summit, but that honour went to Karolina Pliskova, after Halep squandered two prior chances earlier this year.
The first, the French Open final against Jelena Ostapenko, is one that Halep jokes still gives her nightmares. In her All Access Hour this week in Cincinnati, Halep quipped, "I was very close, winning the Grand Slam and being number one in the same day, I still have bad dreams about that (laughs), I still suffer." Tomorrow, Halep gets another chance to exorcise those demons.
Today, Halep faced a resurgent Sloane Stephens in the Cincinnati semifinals. Stephens, off the tour for more than a year after having foot surgery, made the semifinals in Toronto last week and continued that rich run of form this week. Stephens, however, was not at her physical best after playing two matches yesterday due to the rain-affected schedule on Thursday night.
"I mean, three matches in 24 hours is never easy, so gonna go with that," said Stephens. "I actually didn't think I played that badly. I think she's just a little bit fresher and just wasn't a great day."
Halep, for her part, looked every bit as fresh as Stephens described in her press conference. From the onset, the Romanian moved with purpose and was the clear aggressor of the two, dictating points throughout. After surviving a nervy finish to her quarterfinal win over Johanna Konta, where she lost five match points, Halep was in complete control a day later. If the top ranking were on her mind, she did not show it.
Prior to today's match Halep knew she needed to win the title to become No. 1, but she wasn't aware of just how close the battle was until before her semifinal: "Before the match I talked to my brother by SMS, that, 'Is it true that I am five points away if I win the match?' He said, 'Yes.' I said, 'It's unbelievable. Five points, can you believe it?'"
Halep says she is more relaxed now than she was the two previous times she played for the top ranking. When asked what is different this time, Halep said "I'm more relaxed now. So I'm not thinking about that (No.1). I know that if I keep this level, is gonna come. If not tomorrow, maybe next weeks. But I'm much better now. Hopefully I can play better."
This time she will play the current Wimbledon champion, Garbiñe Muguruza. After battling through a pair of three-set matches against Madison Keys and Svetlana Kuznetsova, Muguruza made easy work of the current world No. 1, beating Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-2. Halep and Muguruza have played three previous times, and the Spaniard leads their head-to-head 2-1.
Halep acknowledges that winning a first Grand Slam title remains her primary goal, but also appreciates the unique opportunity she gets tomorrow: "I think it's something special to get No. 1 in the world. Only 23 players got that." Halep also knows that a handful of players are in the same position as her and is eager to grab her chance tomorrow, "everyone can get to No. 1 now. The ranking is close. So depends of anyone. But I am so close. I really want that. So we will see."
Entry #3
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. This diary entry comes to you from the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio.
JR: Hi Jonathan - we just witnessed two clunkers in the women’s semifinals, but a tight match between John Isner and Grigor Dimitrov. Let’s talk about scheduling, though, because I don’t want to slag the losing semifinalists for things that were out of their control.
JN: Just yesterday we were marveling at how well Stephens and Pliskova did in winning two matches on the same day. However, today was when the chickens came home to roost. Both women looked lethargic, especially Sloane, who even told her coach during the match that she had no legs today. What would you have done differently with scheduling?
JR: It’s hard to say, because we’re not fully aware of the TV obligations that restrict scheduling options. Ideally, you show more respect to the world no. 1 and get her on Center Court. There is no reason that she should play with barely two hours rest in between matches. Muguruza and Halep would have always had an advantage, just because they were lucky enough to get matches in before the rain Thursday. But it should have been handed better. Another option was to start earlier; they stuck to the 11 am start yesterday, and didn’t even start play on the outer courts until 1! Wimbledonian stubbornness, in my opinion.
JN: The 1pm start for Grandstand was the real head scratcher for me yesterday. Fine, Muguruza-Sveta is the marquee women’s match, so put that on Center. But surely you start Sloane or especially Karolina at the same time on Grandstand. Such a shame that both matches were affected by the obvious fatigue of both women, the matchups and the fans deserved better.
JR: No disrespect to Simona and Garbine, the two victors. Each came with a gameplan and executed beautifully. Simona was her athletic best, whacked her backhand with authority, and covered the court like she always does. Garbine has improved with each match here. She was stunning against an inspired Kuznetsova. Today, she served well, and put constant pressure on Pliskova’s service games. Pliskova won only 25% of her own second serve points.
JN: Seriously, both women came to play today. I was especially impressed by Halep, she was relentless from the start and Sloane didn't stand a chance. Still, what a couple of weeks for Sloane after losing in the first round in her first two tournaments back from that long injury layoff. She made back-to-back semifinals, last week in Toronto and then here again in Cincinnati. Surely, she must be pleased with that run ahead of the U.S. Open. She’s already back inside the top 100 as of Monday, landing somewhere in the early 80s. If I’m her, I’m not sure playing New Haven next week is a good idea.
JR: Well, you know me, I think playing New Haven is almost always a bad idea. :)
JN: Is that the one that Wozniacki always plays before the U.S. Open? You have something to say about that every year!
JR: Yeah, Caro and Petra play it often. Onto the men: we need to talk about the Nadal-Kyrgios match last night. It was a plain awful performance by Rafa, but I’m actually more interested in the live crowd’s reaction to Nick.
Entry #2
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. This diary entry comes to you from the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio.
JR: Hi Jonathan, did you know it’s your birthday tomorrow?
JN: Why are you louding up my business all over the place?!?!
JR: I thought you’d be happy to celebrate but I guess not. You’ll be watching tons of semifinal matches on your birthday. The men’s are allllllmost decided.
JN: As I type, Nadal has just been broken by Kyrgios to start the final men’s quarterfinal. Nadal and Kyrgios are both pulling double duty today, having both won their Round of 16 matches earlier today.
JR: Rafa took out Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6, 6-2; NK beat Karlovic in 3. If Nick is motivated, which he normally is against the top guys, this could be bad news for Rafael. He just held very easily to go up 2-0.
JN: Rafa hasn’t looked especially sharp in his two matches so far, so we shall see. Nick has been struggling with his hip injury for quite some time now, so conventional wisdom would dictate playing two matches in one day to be too much, but nothing with Nick is ever conventional.
JR: Earlier on Grandstand, David Ferrer upset Dominic Thiem pretty convincingly. Daveed served incredibly well, looked to finish at the net surprisingly often, and forced Dominic back on returns. He lost 9 - NINE! - points on his serve for the entire match. Thiem for his part was just so underwhelming. Lots of negative emotion out there, and a total lack of patience. Tried to crush way too many balls when it wasn’t the right time.
JN: Welp, double break 3-0 lead for Kyrgios. Back to Thiem, we talked earlier how he has quite a long way to go before he can take that next step like Zverev has, and it boils down to how much he goes for ALL the time. But, this is not news. I’m really surprised by how many players pulling double duty today got the job done.
JR: Pliskova went 3 against Giorgi, and then came back a few hours later to stun Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2. Sloane Stephens started slowly against Makarova but took her out in 3, and then got past streaking Julia Goerges to reach the semis. Oh, to be young. Sloane has now re-entered the top 100 off the strength of 4 events.
JN: Halep was the other quarterfinal on the women’s side; she beat Konta 6-4 7-6 after squandering a handful of match points before taking the tiebreak. Feels like that was a mightily important win for Halep...can you imagine if she wasn’t able to close that one out? Yikes. So, the two women’s semis are set: (1) Pliskova vs (4) Muguruza and (2) Halep vs Stephens. Not bad, right?!?! The women have been delivering the goods for a while now.
JR: I think Mugu-Pleesh will be great; both are feeling themselves lately, and Muguruza has had to fight in her last two matches. Based on those performances and her pressers, I think she feels she has something to prove at WTA events. I believe Halep will have her hands full with Sloane, especially if Simona gives her opponent chance after chance to get back into the match.
JN: I’ll leave you to the predictions game. All I’ll add is that Muguruza and Pliskova have both seemed really confident in press; I think that bodes well for them into the U.S. Open. As for the other men’s matches: Isner beat Donaldson 7-6 7-5 to set up a semi with Grigor who beat Sugita handily 6-2 6-1. The other semi will be Ferrer against either Nadal or Kyrgios, and Kyrgios just served out the first set 6-2.
JR: You know what, I was being unfair to Simona. She handled Konta, who is pounding the ball, even if it took her a few tries. Back to the men: are you saying that Isner broke serve? Omg. But you may be right in your prediction that we’ll have an American finalist; it’s even possible we’ll have an American winner. Oof. I hope that Grigor puts together a great performance, because Grigor has a beautiful game and well, you know.
JN: Isner’s been breaking serve all summer! Someone needed to call Bette Midler because this men’s draw needed some serious wind beneath its wings. I almost feel like we’re bound to have a real surprise winner, which would point to Ferrer or Isner. With all the injuries on the ATP and withdrawals, nothing should be considered a given. Nadal holds for 1-0 to start the second set.
JR: This is normally when I would predict Jo Tsonga to win, but alas, he lost long ago. With that, let’s say goodbye and get me a damn margarita.
JN: Shouldn’t you be getting ME a margarita since it’s MY birthday eve?!?!
JR: [silence]
JR: Hi Jonathan, did you know it’s your birthday tomorrow?
JN: Why are you louding up my business all over the place?!?!
JR: I thought you’d be happy to celebrate but I guess not. You’ll be watching tons of semifinal matches on your birthday. The men’s are allllllmost decided.
JN: As I type, Nadal has just been broken by Kyrgios to start the final men’s quarterfinal. Nadal and Kyrgios are both pulling double duty today, having both won their Round of 16 matches earlier today.
JR: Rafa took out Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6, 6-2; NK beat Karlovic in 3. If Nick is motivated, which he normally is against the top guys, this could be bad news for Rafael. He just held very easily to go up 2-0.
JN: Rafa hasn’t looked especially sharp in his two matches so far, so we shall see. Nick has been struggling with his hip injury for quite some time now, so conventional wisdom would dictate playing two matches in one day to be too much, but nothing with Nick is ever conventional.
JR: Earlier on Grandstand, David Ferrer upset Dominic Thiem pretty convincingly. Daveed served incredibly well, looked to finish at the net surprisingly often, and forced Dominic back on returns. He lost 9 - NINE! - points on his serve for the entire match. Thiem for his part was just so underwhelming. Lots of negative emotion out there, and a total lack of patience. Tried to crush way too many balls when it wasn’t the right time.
JN: Welp, double break 3-0 lead for Kyrgios. Back to Thiem, we talked earlier how he has quite a long way to go before he can take that next step like Zverev has, and it boils down to how much he goes for ALL the time. But, this is not news. I’m really surprised by how many players pulling double duty today got the job done.
JR: Pliskova went 3 against Giorgi, and then came back a few hours later to stun Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2. Sloane Stephens started slowly against Makarova but took her out in 3, and then got past streaking Julia Goerges to reach the semis. Oh, to be young. Sloane has now re-entered the top 100 off the strength of 4 events.
JN: Halep was the other quarterfinal on the women’s side; she beat Konta 6-4 7-6 after squandering a handful of match points before taking the tiebreak. Feels like that was a mightily important win for Halep...can you imagine if she wasn’t able to close that one out? Yikes. So, the two women’s semis are set: (1) Pliskova vs (4) Muguruza and (2) Halep vs Stephens. Not bad, right?!?! The women have been delivering the goods for a while now.
JR: I think Mugu-Pleesh will be great; both are feeling themselves lately, and Muguruza has had to fight in her last two matches. Based on those performances and her pressers, I think she feels she has something to prove at WTA events. I believe Halep will have her hands full with Sloane, especially if Simona gives her opponent chance after chance to get back into the match.
JN: I’ll leave you to the predictions game. All I’ll add is that Muguruza and Pliskova have both seemed really confident in press; I think that bodes well for them into the U.S. Open. As for the other men’s matches: Isner beat Donaldson 7-6 7-5 to set up a semi with Grigor who beat Sugita handily 6-2 6-1. The other semi will be Ferrer against either Nadal or Kyrgios, and Kyrgios just served out the first set 6-2.
JR: You know what, I was being unfair to Simona. She handled Konta, who is pounding the ball, even if it took her a few tries. Back to the men: are you saying that Isner broke serve? Omg. But you may be right in your prediction that we’ll have an American finalist; it’s even possible we’ll have an American winner. Oof. I hope that Grigor puts together a great performance, because Grigor has a beautiful game and well, you know.
JN: Isner’s been breaking serve all summer! Someone needed to call Bette Midler because this men’s draw needed some serious wind beneath its wings. I almost feel like we’re bound to have a real surprise winner, which would point to Ferrer or Isner. With all the injuries on the ATP and withdrawals, nothing should be considered a given. Nadal holds for 1-0 to start the second set.
JR: This is normally when I would predict Jo Tsonga to win, but alas, he lost long ago. With that, let’s say goodbye and get me a damn margarita.
JN: Shouldn’t you be getting ME a margarita since it’s MY birthday eve?!?!
JR: [silence]
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