Wimbledon '21: Off-Road Pre-Current View

I filled out most of my women's draw on a plane yesterday. Not to London, sadly, but on a well-deserved vacation nonetheless. I went through this practice knowing that it might have turned out the way my French Open draw turned out. 

I didn't get to finish the draws until Monday morning and in the spirit of full disclosure, I was already watching Wimbledon, rooting for Monica Niculescu to make it more of a match against Aryna Sabalenka (she kinda did). So it would have been easy to pretend that I had perfectly predicted the first-round winners, but I am an honest woman. And I'll own what I really thought was going to happen even though my version of reality had already been imploded.

But here we are. What can I say? I keep forgetting that Sloane Stephens likes to lure us into underestimation and then she shows up at Slams and beats a former Wimbledon champion. 

And then there was the men's draw.

What can I say? I'll always show my work, even if it's a little wonky.

Let's talk about what's left, then. Like Frances Tiafoe. Does he actually have a shot here? Or did Stefanos Tsitsipas have a bad day? It seems a little odd to me to that the French Open runner-up never bothered to change his game much when Tiafoe's obvious play was attacking the net. And Tsitsipas just ... let him. Will others do that? It's possible, because the high seed left in that draw is Roberto Bautista Agut. I'm just saying.

So what can Tiafoe get away with here?

Same applies to Sloane, I guess, but I'm even more curious about Sabalenka. The only reason I picked Maria Sakkari for an upset in the fourth round was because Sabalenka has these great run-ups to majors and then probably the nerves get her. She can totally beat Sakkari -- Sabalenka's game is pretty overpowering -- but the stage might get her. Heck, it almost got her in the second set of her first-round match. But if she's going to have a breakthrough, it feels as if the best place might be on a surface where shorter rallies are more the norm. 

So, now I'm all caught up, back to sneaking tennis scores while poolside with the kids. Things could be worse. 

French Open 2021: That Was a Ride!

As usual, that French Open went just the way I personally had telegraphed it. In fact, I'm going to live on the edge and just suggest (as many players do now anyway!) that there be no warmup clay-court tournaments. What's the point? These are the tournaments where players get practice and develop their form, hopefully in time for the big one. And they do! Aryna Sabalenka looked great coming in, as did Ash Barty and Iga Swiatek. Coco Gauff. And then what happened. Honestly, like the same thing that happens every year at the French Open with the women. With the men, either Rafa or Djokovic and with the women? I don't want to call it a crap shoot because what results isn't crap.

Anyway, some observations:

1. I didn't get too much into the Naomi Osaka dustup because mental health isn't really my subject of expertise. I can say that I think she mishandled the rollout of this policy to not participate in press conferences and that her team should have helped her out a bit more. I don't know what that looks like, but it shouldn't look like a 22-year-old standing by herself trying to change the bones of tennis without proper support. (I'm assuming the lack of support by the lack of preparedness for the blowback she received. I don't think Osaka's plan was to break this news, play one match and go home.) 

But if you believe that mental health is a part of the whole health of a person (most people do not even though your brain is super important to how you move through this world and definitely to how you play tennis), then the Slams should have thought about whether they could be doing something different instead of fining her $15,000. And to have the nerve post-tournament for officials to say they tried to work with her? Also, I think I missed Roger Federer's fine when he announced after a tough match: "Yeah, I actually feel OK, but I don't feel like playing *this* tournament any more. I'm going to pace myself for Wimbledon. So long!" It's the same thing! Two players looking out for their wellbeing. Only one launched a thousand think pieces. 

Osaka also announced this week she wouldn't play Wimbledon either -- along with Rafael Nadal this time. So I look forward to a dozen more think pieces about one of these withdrawals. 

2. The idea that Novak Djokovic could be closer to catching Serena Williams' Slam titles than Rafael Nadal or Federer actually bothers me. It makes me wonder what being a GOAT means. Years ago, when Rafa and Fed were running up their numbers, I was happy to let the final figures determine who was the best between them, but Djokovic's ascendance made me realize something. I don't really root for Djokovic. It literally takes him playing a MAGA player for me to get invested. The subject of his popularity came up during his French Open final, where I believe Jim Courier noted that he wasn't as well-loved as Nadal or Federer and Mary Carillo answered: "Not in Serbia." Well, congratulations. I would hope my own people would root for me. It's everyone else that would really be nice. 

I guess I'm saying all of this to say that it can't just be the numbers that determine the GOATs and I freely admit I'm moving the goal lines for Djokovic. 

3. So I hear Barbora Krejcikova won the singles and doubles for the first time since Mary Pierce in 2000. Looks like it's time to bring back one of my all-time favorite GIFs: 

(Believe she won that point.)