The Terrible Twos

Back in the day, like in the biblical day, terrible meant something a little different than it does now. It meant frightening. 

And if you're Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, you are probably quite frightened right now. 

Let's start with Sabalenka and her No. 2, Coco Gauff. Having dispatched French Open's reigning queen Iga Swiatek, it's fair to assume that she may have figured the title was hers. Hell, she had a harder draw too, for the best player in the world, especially compared to Gauff. The problem is that you still have to play the match. Full disclosure: I was out playing tennis and only caught the tail end of the match at first. I saw Sabalenka's comments first before seeing the rest of the match and I thought, "How awful can she have played with a scoreline like that??" Then I saw the match and I was really confused. I mean I know she's not going to forget about that easy volley she netted deep in the first set, but she did win that set, so ... But otherwise, they obviously played a competitive match. So, the comments. Why, though.

Fun fact: I just went to Google Sabalenka's draw and as I typed in her name, the first thing that autopopulated was 'sabalenka sore loser.' Yikeys. Which brings me to the second level to these comments. It is one thing to be hard on yourself in the aftermath of a hard-fought match, but then Sabalenka said that if Iga had played the Coco, Iga would have won. Which is ... like, why?!?? That is petty af and not even based on reality because Coco beat her easily on clay, like, last month. (OK, their head-to-head is a little lopsided on Swiatek's end but still.) Also, bro, how are you going to say out loud that your opponent was framing balls and they were staying in? That is basically saying she got lucky. 

One could argue that when you say things like that, it might be because you're scared. 

Speaking of frightening, I couldn't watch the whole men's match right away on Sunday but was following it online. Not gonna lie, I thought it was going to be a Sinner wipeout. Talk about scary? His form for this whole tournament was absolutely terrifying. He actually had me feeling sorry for Novak Djokovic, which is no easy task. In fact, it would be the first time I've ever felt sorry for him. 

Anyway, Carlos Alcaraz was down two sets before he decided to play some of the best tennis I've ever seen from him. My thing with Alcaraz has been that he has gotten into heavy moments in matches and just lost focus a bit. Even in the deeps of this match, I thought it would happen again. But match point was the perfect example of how he played the whole match. You're trying to win a match in a fifth-set tiebreak, right? So you go to the high-percentage shot, into midcourt, right? No, you scream a winner down the line, which was low-percentage, ballsy and confident! I love the showman Alcaraz, but sometimes I think he gets a bit too much into his options. That final showed that he is capable of locking in and staying there. 

As for Sinner, it was hard to see where he went wrong. It's not like he gave the match away, but he did look a little tired there at the end which is sort of unacceptable after a five-and-a-half-hour match. I kid. It's good to see Sinner get a bit of a scare in him. He probably doesn't feel that way, but

Thoughts from the French Open (From My Back Patio)

                Ah, the French Open. The Slam that requires American fans to wake up at the crack of dawn just to see their comrades duke it out. Uh, I chose sleep, so I have no idea yet who won the Coco Gauff/Madison Keys matchup but if I had to guess, I’d say Gauff in a quick two sets. 

                  Right now, Mirra Andreeva and Lois Boisson are putting on a show out here. The teen Andreeva has traditionally managed stress pretty well in her young career but not today! It’s hard to imagine what it must be like to be used to being the belle of the ball and then going into a match where the crowd is actively rooting against you. A couple minutes ago, she smacked a ball way out of the court and got a ball abuse warning. (Such a stupid penalty. Especially when half the time, hitting an actual person yields almost no response. Coming up later.) 

A quick word about Boisson. Unfortunately, all anyone knew about her before was that another tennis player said she smelled, which did not happen in middle school – this was still the pro tour, so. But I’m curious to know if her will to win is happening in Paris because she’s French, or if she is always so brave in the face of break points and in tight moments. Right now, she’s receiving for the match, and Andreeva appears to already be thinking about where to have dinner – in England. Oops, it’s over. Boisson is through to the semis. What in the world.  Boisson is saying now in post-match that she is tired. Bet she is – it’s crazy that running around her backhand is working for her, but she’s obviously in great shape. 

                  Anyway, couple rando thoughts before I go back to the tennis (I mean work!):

 

1.        What is with the Nike kits this Slam? They are giving Charlie Brown, well-known as the world’s biggest loser?? 

2.        OK, Lorenzo Musetti. He kicked a ball into the upper body of a linesperson yesterday. He got the same level of penalty that Andreeva just got for hitting an inanimate object out of the court. This is what I mean about umpire judgement making tennis rules impossible to consistently uphold. Novak Djokovic obviously didn’t mean to hit a ball at a linesperson’s throat, but he got defaulted. As well he should have, because if you can’t control your temper and it ends up hurting someone, the penalty should hit you where it hurts. Musetti says he obviously didn’t mean it and that was why he got to stay in the tournament and advance to the semifinals. In short, that is crazy. 

 

 

 

 

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French Open 2025: "Such a hottie."

Hey, sorry I'm late. Just finished chain-smoking my way through the Naomi Osaka/Paula Badosa first round at the French Open. But it's OK -- it was those little cute French cigarettes in the movies. I also ate a whole baguette.    

There should be some type of rule when you're putting draws together. Like, if you have two great players who are trying to re-establish their foothold on the game, and they get paired for a first or second round match, you gotta start the draw over. There is no world where it's fair that these two had to play each other right away. They deserved better but that stadium of spectators got their money's worth. 

The tennis was exciting to watch, but as a mere mortal who plays tennis, it is actually a little encouraging to see pros do things that you have also done. I can imagine that Osaka is going to see that game point Badosa had at 3-4 in her sleep for a while. She had Badosa outmaneuvered and pushes the backhand up the line just wide?! It was a game of margins, it seemed, for both players, except that the ball seemed to always be just out for Osaka. It's hard to say what, if anything, she did wrong at the end -- Badosa turned up the defense and set herself up better for closing shots. 

Tough loss for Osaka, but she'll be back. And it'd be nice to see Badosa stay healthy for the whole tournament, especially because her little corner of the draw looks really good for her!

Anyway, I also ended up stress eating another baguette and crying into my strong French roast yesterday watching the Rafael Nadal ceremony. I mean, you knew it was going to be an emotional rollercoaster. But the French went all the hell out. Matching shirts for the crowd? Bringing out the rest of the Big 4 on video, then in person?! The footprint on the court FOREVER?! Look, he deserved it and if I had any qualms, I'd say a bootyprint instead. Such a hottie. 

Speaking of the Big 4, it is hard to look at them and realize that one of these people were not like the others. I am not a person who likes shooing people into retirement. But I am just saying that Novak Djokovic might take something more from yesterday's ceremony. Like considering the idea that he had to get his 100th title at an ATP 250 tournament and beating Hubert Hurkacz in the final. Like losing to Matteo Arnaldi in Madrid. I am just saying.

P.S.: Yo, how is Yanina Wickmayer still playing Slams!? I ask this realizing her opponent is Victoria Azarenka, who is literally the same age. 

TWA Podcast: Episode 4 (as in 4.0!)

I know you were just thinking, "Man, when're we getting a new podcast episode?" Beloved, your prayers have been answered!

I mentioned some things in the episode, including Iga Swiatek choosing a weird time to work on her swing during the Aussie Open semifinal: 

OMG, the hand up at the end of those shenanigans gets me every damn time. Girl.

The other thing I talked about was confidence and Debbie Millman. I've talked about it before on the blog, but just in case ya missed it, click here to get a definition of confidence and some fuel for all you late bloomers out there.

And Jannik Sinner. I'll get back to that one. All I know is that if Nick Kyrgios and I are even remotely close to being on the same side of an issue, it warrants further investigation. Like, that makes me think I could be wrong!

Lastly, and pop-culturally-speaking, I should have mentioned Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show. Not because I am a huge fan -- although I am new to the bandwagon and have some catching up to do -- but because of the record time my butt was off the couch when I saw Ms. Serena Williams dancing during "Not Like Us." Really, I was more like

Anyway, don't forget to listen to Episode 4!

2025 Australian Open: Busted Draws, Drama-Queen Djokovic and the Svitolinas Make Money Moves

I'm writing this as Elina Svitolina just came back from 4-1 down in the first set against Veronika Kudermetova. It's the day after (here in the States) that Gael Monfils beat TayLOR FRITZ to advance to tHE FOURTH ROUND of the Australian Open?!?? I'd said for years that Monfils has the game to win a major. Full disclosure: The last year I said that was probably, like, 2018. 

But I keep forgetting that this is the first Slam of the year, and I had told myself I was going to stop doing draws for this one, because it is always quite a surprise how it actually plays out. At least it's a surprise to me. Behold, these busted draws:

That red is bad. (Like it is on an election map in the U.S. I'm sorry. I couldn't resist.)

Also, you can see it's rare that I'm right and I hated to be right about Ons Jabeur losing to Emma Navarro. But a Navarro/Daria Kasatkina fourth round feels like a great time to multi-task. I'm sure I can finish doing all the laundry in my house. Also, painting my garage. Might even be able to throw in a bathroom redesign. Both of them.

Last thing, I swear: Why is Novak Djokovic such a drama queen. (That punctuation is correct. I do not expect an answer.) I just read this story about Djokovic basically hissy-fitting his way to an apology from an Australian tennis commentator who either made a bad joke or voiced a bad take. But because he called Djokovic overrated, my guy boycotted the network's post-match interview after his fourth-round win. Left poor Jim Courier hanging. Because a rando tennis commentator said a thing that wasn't terribly funny or made much sense. I assume the man was joking because no one would call Djokovic overrated. He is the major Slams record holder. He is the last of the Big Three standing, and currently being coached by the Fourth. He is not going to lose to Reilly Opelka in this tournament. And he needs the affirmations of this rando guy? Whatever happened to the days when commentators' ridiculous takes were met with a healthy public scoffing and ... that was it? 

(Even if this guy was serious, I've heard John McEnroe say far dumber things and people love him!) (But hey, when you think about who's about to be the president of the United States, that dynamic makes sense!)

I have said this before and I'ma have to say it again, I guess. Djokovic cares waaaaayyyyy too much about what people think about him. I don't know if he feels like the little sister when it comes to Roger and Rafa, but speaking of, those guys didn't seem to hunt down bad press about themselves and get butthurt over silly comments. I think it's because they let their games and their reputations speak for themselves. I don't want to say that he should do the same thing because he's gonna have his hands full in this draw from here on. 

2025 Australian Open: Who Needs an Offseason?

NOTE: Edited to add, well, words!

Before we go any further, I just want to say Madison Keys. She looks amazing right now and she's looked pretty good in the warmups. We gotta keep her encased in bubble wrap between matches. 

For the guys, I've never been a fan of Reilly Opelka but he better work that Brisbane magic. 

Men's Draw

I didn't see too many first-round matches that got me excited, but now that play has started, big props to Kei Nishikori. I've been rooting for him since back in the day and his career has been waylaid by injury. And also Thiago Montiero, it seemed for a second. Nishikori was down match point against an opponent who is kind of like Jelena Ostapenko -- lots of firepower, shots that make your mouth drop open, followed by errors that simply didn't need to be made. Heck of a treat for round one, that's for sure. 

And, yes, I picked Opelka against Djokovic. Now, I've watched too many true-crime documentaries to ever let Opelka into my car, but I do think he can beat Djokovic again -- that wasn't a fluke. But it's not just Opelka's game -- Djokovic does look a step slower. Did he ever, like, recover from his knee surgery?

Women's Draw

Now. Here are some good first-round matches. Note the starred matches. Minnen v. Aiava was a good one. I feel for Victoria Azarenka. Like, when did Lucia Bronzetti learn to serve like that? Did I miss something? Probably yes, but dang! I expect Emma Raducanu and Ekaterina Alexandrova to be another good one. I watched Laura Siegemund v. Hailey Baptiste, expecting exactly what I got -- the battle of the inconsistents. It was entertaining, as those matches tend to be. But yikeys. And Osaka/Garcia just finished about five minutes ago in my corner of the world. I think Osaka is right there, man. Right on the edge of another breakthrough. She's missing consistency and might need more match play for that. But she is riiiiight therrrrre.

And of course, if the seeds hold up, I am planning on putting everyone and everything on mute to watch Keys v. Danielle Collins. Keys just looks effortless right now. The power and accuracy is just flowing off the racquet. Danielle is just sheer willpower, so that should be fun!