Saturday, June 7, 2025

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Coco takes Paris--21st Century version

It doesn't happen often that the two top seeds in a major compete in the final, but it did today. Top seed and world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka faced 2nd seed (and 2022 runner-up) Coco Gauff for the title. The wind was strong, with gusts up to 30 mph., and the roof was open. It also rained for a while, but not enough to pause the match.

Wind is probably the last thing that players want to deal with in a big match, and some handle it better than others. Today, it was Gauff who did a better job of managing the elements--and the emotions. It isn't my (or anyone's) place to judge who had what emotions and how intense they were, but Gauff had let it be known that her error-filled, straight-set loss to Iga Swiatek in 2022 (Swiatek also beat her in last year's semifinals) had stayed with her. Gauff was only 18 then, and the subsequent three years have made a difference. Not only is she a better player and more sure of herself--she also came to Paris as a player who had already won a major (the 2023 U.S. Open). 

The first set of today's final included eight breaks of serve as the players struggled to deal with the wind. Sabalenka went up 40, 40-love rather quickly, but Gauff maneuvered her way back. The tenth game contained six deuces, and Gauff won it on her fifth break point. Sabalenka served twice for the set but was unable to close. The set, not surprisingly, went to a tiebreak, which Gauff led--until she didn't. Sabalenka committed 32 unforced errors in the set, yet managed to win the tiebreak, 7-5.

Gauff began the second set with a break, and then held at love. She then went up a double break, while her opponent began to resemble the Aryna Sabalenka of former years. The world number 1 became flustered by both the wind and by Gauff's smooth running down of balls and steadier hitting. The 2nd seed won that set 6-2.

Gauff finessed her way through the third set without making a single unforced error. She served for it at 5-4, and Sabalenka saved that championship point. but a few moments later, the match was over, and Gauff walked away with a  6-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory. 

Sabalenka made 70 unforced errors in the match, and hit 37 winners; Gauff made 30 unforced errors and hit 30 winners. Gauff's expert footwork and mental strength were on full display throughout the match.

We have other champions, too. Top seed Yui Kamiji won the wheelchair title when she defeated 2nd seed Aniek Van Koot 6-2, 6-2 in the final, and Kamiji and Kgothatso Montjane defeated Li Xiaohui and Wang Ziying 4-6, 7-5, 10-7 to win the title.

In junior competition, Lilli Tagger, who is coached by 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone, became the first girl from Austria to win the championship, and she did so without dropping a set. She defeated Great Britain's Hannah Klugman 6-2, 6-0. In doubles, Eva Bennemann and Sonja  Zhenikhova upset 3rd seeds Alena Kovackova and Jana Kovackova 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 in the final.

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Thursday, June 5, 2025

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It wasn't meant to be--parts 1 and 2

She had a tough draw--Emma Raducanu, Jaqueline Cristian, 12th seed Elena Rybakina, 13th seed Elina Svitolina--and throughout the first several rounds, four-time champion and three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek looked good. Cristian was tricky, and Rybakina looked like she was going to run away with their round of 16 match. Yet the 5th seed managed to turn on a switch that allowed her to defeat the former Wimbledon champion in three sets. Then there was Svitolina, who was coming off an edge-of-the-cliff upset over 4th seed Jasmine Paolini, and was an obvious danger. But Swiatek got through that challenge, too. 

Then she hit the wall that is Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka, who had never before played Swiatek at Roland Garros, and who was 1-5 against her on clay, arrived on Court Philippe-Chatrier today without having dropped a set throughout the tournament. It was raining in Paris, so the roof was closed. Within ten minutes, Sabalenka was up a double break. It appeared that the world number 1 was hitting her forehand even harder than usual--and she was. Swiatek, having finally figured out that she had to stand back in order to deal with Rybakina's hard hitting, stood back for Sabalenka, got the breaks back, and maneuvered her way to a tiebreak. But the tiebreak resembled the beginning of the set, with Sabalenka overpowering her opponent 7-1.

In the second set, the world number 5 looked like--herself. Her expert movement was on display, and she made risky shots look like a day on the practice court. The rallies were fast, the hitting was flat, and Swiatek took the set 6-4.

I'm sure that I wasn't the only one who thought: This third set is going to be something else. It was, but not in the way I expected. Sabalenka made no unforced errors, and did what no one does to the bagel queen--she won the set 6-0. Swiatek struggled at this tournament, but she was also able to do some good problem-solving and win five straight matches against good opponents. But her Roland Garros 26-match win streak was broken, and in dramatic fashion.

In the second semifinal match, 2nd seed Coco Gauff faced off against the star of the 2025 French Open, wild card Lois Boisson. Boisson had delivered so many shock results that it no longer seemed prudent to assume that she would lose. All the same, competing against the Coco Gauff that we've been watching in Paris was nothing to be taken lightly. Commentators remarked that Boisson looked tired--and she did--but, to me, she looked even more fatigued in her quarterfinal match against Mirra Andreeva. At any rate, it was clear, early on, that the Frenchwoman had only so much left to give.

Gauff was as on her game as ever, breaking her opponent six times, and saving four out of five break points against her. She defeated Boisson 6-1, 6-2. After the match, Boisson said that she was unable to play her game today: "She was just too good." Gauff, the 2022 French Open runner-up, is 5-5 against Sabalenka, and 1-1 against her on clay. They have never before played each other at the French Open.

Paths to the final:

ARYNA SABALENKA (1)
round 1--def. Kamilla Rakhimova
round 2--def. Jil Teichmann
round 3--def. Olga Danilovic
round of 16-- def. Amanda Anisimova (16)
quarterfinals--def. Zheng Qinwen (8)
semifinals--def. Iga Swiatek (5) 

COCO GAUFF (2)

round 1--def. Olivia Gadecki
round 2--def. Tereza Valentova
round 3--def. Marie Bouzkova
round of 16--def. Ekaterina Alexandrova (20)
quarterfinals--def. Madison Keys (7)
semifinals--def. Lois Boisson (wc) 

In the meantime, we have a champion! Sara Errani and partner Andrea Vavassori, seeded 3rd, won the mixed double championship today when they defeated 4th seeds Taylor Townsend and Evan King 6-4, 6-2 in the final. Errani and Vavassori are the first Italian team to win the French Open mixed doubles title in 67 years. They also won the 2024 U.S. Open. Errani, who is 38, has also won five major women's doubles titles (all with Roberta Vinci), an Olympic gold medal in doubles (with Jasmine Paolini), and she was the French Open singles runner-up in 2012.

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Wednesday, June 4, 2025

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French flair in 2025

Today, in Paris, French wild card Lois Boisson continued her amazing run by upsetting 6th seed Mirra Andreeva and reaching the semifinals of the tournament. Boisson had already caused a great stir by reaching the quarterfinals and upsetting 3rd seed Jessica Pegula. Prior to that, she had defeated Anna Kalinina and 24th seed Elise Mertens. She then had to play another French wild card, Elsa Jacquemot, in the third round, and the fact that they had both made it to the third round was news in itself. 

Boisson was granted a wild card to the French Open last year, but shortly before the tournament began, she injured her left knee, tearing the ACL, and had to undergo surgery. Part of her rehab was using virtual reality, and it appears to have paid off. According to the Roland Garros website, "The neurovisual training included sight tests, catching a ball at short range with one eye obstructed, buzzer reaction tests, even using virtual reality headsets."

"Doing these exercises has greatly improved my reactivity and it now comes naturally," Boisson said of the program.

Boisson made her WTA debut in 2021, playing doubles in Lyon. She has won three ITF singles titles, and she won her first WTA title in Sain-Malo, a WTA 125 tournament. She is ranked number 361 in the world.

Andreeva stunned the tennis world earlier this year by winning Dubai and Indian Wells (back-to-back wins). In Dubai, she knocked out 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, five-time major champion Iga Swiatek and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina before defeating Clara Tauson in the final. In Indian Wells, Andreeva defeated world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

But today, the Russian star, who is only 18, could not channel her inner Ostapenko. After narrowly losing the first set in an 8-6 tiebreak, she was obviously rattled by the predictably brutal French crowd. To make her situation worse, her opponent didn't appear to be under any pressure--she just went about her business, utilizing an impressive forehand with a lot of spin.

Boisson is the second player in the past 40 years to defeat multiple top 10 players in her first major main draw. (Monica Seles did it in 1999, also at the French Open.)

In today's other semifinal, 2nd seed (and 2022 runner-up) Coco Gauff defeated 7th seed Madison Keys 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-1. Between them, Gauff and Keys made 101 unforced errors and hit 40 winners, most of which came from Keys' racket. But Gauff went about solving problems and expertly covering the court. 

In yesterday's quarterfinal play, top seed Aryna Sabalenka defeated 8th seed Zheng Qinwen 7-6(7), 6-3. Zheng, who won an Olympic gold medal on the Roland Garros courts last year, was a favorite to win the title, but Sabalenka's was too much for her this week.

In the other quarterfinal, four-time champion and 5th seed Iga Swiatek defeated 13th seed Elina Svitolina 6-1, 7-5. Svitolina's run was notable, however, in that she upset 2024 finalist Jasmine Paolini in the round of 16, in a match in which Paolini led for two sets, and in which she held three match points. 

Swiatek and Sabalenka have never played one another at the French Open, but now they will compete for a place in the final. 

Here is the semifinal singles draw:

Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Iga Swiatek (5)
Lois Boisson (wc) vs. Coco Gauff (2)

There have also been other big upsets in Paris. One didn't surprise me that much--four-time defending wheelchair champion Diede de Groot (who is seeded 3rd, and it feels strange just to write that) was knocked out in the first round by Li Xiaohui. de Groot is just returning from injury and subsequent surgery, and Li--who ended de Groot's 145-match win streak at the World Team Cup last year--was certainly not the player she wanted to face in her first round. 

The other upset is indeed surprising: The unseeded team of Anna Danilina and Aleks Krunic upset top doubles seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Danilina and Krunic will play another unseeded team--Ulrikke Eikeri and Eri Hozumi. The other semifinal match will feature 4th seeds Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider, who will compete against 2nd seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.

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Monday, June 2, 2025

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In Paris, wild cards and wild goings-on

I doubt that anyone expected two French wild cards to be competing in the third round of the French Open, but that's what happened. Elsa Jacquemont had upset Maria Sakkari and Alycia Parks, and Boisson had upset 24th seed Elise Mertens and Anhelina Kalinina. When they played each other, Boisson emerged the victor, which gave her a slot in the round of 16 against 3rd seed and Charleston champion Jessica Pegula. 

That match went to three sets, and the final game was a almost a sporting event in itself. At 4-5, Pegula held four break points, all of which disappeared, a couple in dramatic fashion. The Frenchwoman clinched it with an impressive forehand shot, and won her biggest match--in her first major competition--3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Ranked number 361 in the world, Boisson is the lowest-ranked woman to reach a major quarterfinal since 2017. The 22-year-old was supposed to have competed last year, but she tore her ACL shortly before the tournament began. What a way to make up for lost time!

The French now have not only a countrywoman in the quarterfinals, but also an "honorary" Frenchwoman in the form of Elina Svitolina (married to Gaeil Monfils), who pulled off a shocking upset against 4th seed and 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini. Svitolina was down a set and 1-4, then she was down a set and 3-5, then down a set, 4-5, 15-40. The Ukrainian star saved those two match points, then saved a third match point in a tiebreak. In the third set, Svitolina had a pretty easy time, winning it 6-1. She played well, and her determination was first-rate, but Paolini wilted, presumably from the pressure. I was surprised--Fighting Italians don't generally do that. I had picked Paolini as highly probable to win the whole thing, so file that under What Do I Know?

Those were the most dramatic results, but those weren't the only matches that took fans (and the players) to the edge. Enter defending champion Iga Swiatek, who had to face Elena Rybakina in the round of 16. Swiatek and Rybakina were 4-4 against each other before taking to the court in Paris. Rybakina had won both of their clay court matches, though one of those was won via Swiatek's retirement.

Swiatek has hardly been her best tennis self for the past year, but she has played well at this tournament (which she has won four times). In the round of 16, however, Rybakina, in her no-nonsense (almost) poker-face way, immediately went about dismantling her opponent's game. At 5-0 in the first set, she held a set point, but wasn't able to convert it, and we thereby avoided the hostile takeover of a popular European specialty baked goods company.

Rybakina then immediately went up a break in the second set. Alona Ostapkenko, who has never lost to Swiatek (and who was "scheduled" to meet her again in this round) said, when asked how she always managed to beat the Polish star, replied, "I don't give her any time." Swiatek, like most clay court experts, likes to have some time to set up her shots, and the clay gives her that time. But against big hitters like Ostapenko and Rybakina, time can be a luxury that the four-time French Open champion can't afford. Or at least, a luxuty that she thinks she can't afford. 

As her hopes began to rapidly fade, Swiatek opted to let go of some of her well-known aggression, explore the baseline, and rally with her opponent, thus receiving some precious time. And as things got better for her and she "remembered who she was," the 5th seed was able to throw Rybakina off of her rhythm. The two and half hour match ended with a Swaitek victory--1-6, 6-3, 7-5. 

Zheng Qinwen, for her part, had to work to get past Liudmila Samsonova, whom she eventually defeated, 7-6, 1-6, 6-3. The match lasted two hours and 47 minutes, including an hour-and-a-half first set. In defeating Samsonova, the 2024 Olympic gold medal winner completed a sweep of ten matches on the Roland Garros courts. 

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka defeated Amanda Anisimova 7-5, 6-3. Prior to this event, the U.S. players held a 5-2 record against Sabalenka. Mirra Andreeva defeated former countrywoman Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 7-5, Australian Open champion Madison Keys defeated Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 7-5, and 2022 finalist Coco Gauff defeated Ekaterina Alexadnrova 6-0, 7-5.

Here is the quarterfinal draw:

Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Zheng Qinwen (8)
Elina Svitolina (13) vs. Iga Swiatek (5)
Mirra Andreeva (6) vs. Lois Boisson (wc)
Madison Keys (7) vs. Coco Gauff (2)

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Saturday, May 31, 2025

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Early exits re-shape the draw at the French Open

Sad as it is, it was rational to expect both 2023 finalist Karolina Muchova and 2021 champion Barbora Krejcikova to make early exits from the French Open. Krejcikova, who was out for six months with a back injury, did make it to the second round. Muchova, however--who had both a recurrence of her long-time chronic wrist injury, as well as an illness--lost in the first round to Alycia Parks. And the other great Czech, Petra Kvitova, back from maternity leave (though she had planned to retire), also went out in the opening round.

For me, having the great Czech players go out early in a major takes some of the fun out of watching the event. (2029 finalist Marketa Vondrousova, who--like Muchova--has been constantly plagued with injuries, lost in the third round to 3rd seed Jessica Pegula.) But they weren't the only ones to leave the tournament earlier than expected. First round exits included 9th seed Emma Navarro, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Elise Mertens, and Rome finalist Peyton Stearns, among other notable competitors. The biggest surprise for me was the first round defeat of Marta Kostyuk, who lost to qualifier Sara Bejlek (from the Czech Republic). Second round play resulted in the defeats of Danielle Collins, Donna Vekic and 11th seed Diana Shnaider.  

The most dramatic match that I saw was the one played between 10th seed Paula Badosa and Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the second round. It as dramatic because Badosa was ill--with a fever. She nevertheless defeated Ruse 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Defending (and four-time) champion Iga Swiatek, who hasn't won a tournament since her victory in Paris last year, has won her first three rounds, though, in the second set of her third round match, she got some serious push-back from the talented Jaqueline Cristian. And world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka has yet to drop a set.

Here is the draw for the round of 16:

Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Amanda Anisimova (16)
Liudmla Samsonova (19) vs. Zheng Qinwen
Jasmine Paolini (4) vs. Elina Svitolina (13)
Elena Rybakina (12) vs. Iga Swiatek (5)
Mirra Andreeva (6) vs. Daria Kasatkina (17)
Lois Boisson (wc) vs. Jessica Pegula (3)
Madison Keys (7) vs. Hailey Baptiste
Ekaterina Alexandrova (30) vs. Coco Gauff (2)

Boisson is one of two French wild cards who had to compete against one another in the third round. Boisson defeated Elsa Jacquemot 6-3, 0-6, 7-5. 

A lot of eyes are on Zheng Qinwen, who won an Olympic gold medal last year on the Roland Garros courts. Also of interest is the match to be played between Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek. I hope to be able to watch that one, and the round of 16 match that I hope I can watch (though so many of those matches are at times that I can't watch them) is the one between 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini and Elina Svitolina. Paolini had a tough first round match against Yuan Yue, which probably served as a confidence-builder.  

In doubles, top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend and 2nd seds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolin are into the quarterfinals.

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Monday, May 19, 2025

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Aging awsomely

This past weekend, world number 4 Jasmine Paolini not only showed (yet again) that she's a true member of the Fighting Italian contingent--she also displayed a particular Fighting Italian characteristic--the power of age. Francesca Schiavone was 30 when she won the French Open, and Flavia Pennetta was 33 when she won the U.S. Open. Those were the only majors they won, though Schiavone was a French Open finalist the year after she won the event. And--while Sara Errani achieved a Career Slam in doubles when she was 27--she won Olympic gold in doubles when she was 34. Billie Jean King Cup specialist Roberta Vinci never won a singles major, but she became a finalist at age 32, and she was 31 when she achieved a Career Slam in doubles.

Paolini, age 29, just became the first Italian woman in 40 years to win the Italian Open, and she won it twice, getting both the singles and the doubles trophies. Last year, when she was 28, she reached the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon. Prior to that, the spirited Italian player was known more as a hardworking journeywoman on the tour. 

What is it about these Italian players that allows them to carry on through the years, and then--when many other players would be retired or winding down--achieve the top awards in professional tennis?

When writing about Italians, one is tempted to use a food or wine metaphor. Schiavone once said, when speaking about her game: "Is a mix. It's like Capricciosa pizza. I don't give you Margherita, I give you Capricciosa, different kind of ingredient." I did use a kind of wine as a metaphor when describing Maria Sharapova's second French Open victory, and indeed, Sharapova and champagne seem to go together. 

The Fighting Italians, however, are obviously in the red wine camp. When I think of aged, complex Italian wine, Barolo comes to mind. Nebbiolo grapes are fermented in oak for a couple of months. The wine, depending on the variety, is then aged for as long as long as five years, with some of that process occurring in the bottle.  

The Fighting Italians are definitely Borolo Reserva, which requires maximum aging. Borolo is spicy and complex, and if that doesn't describe Schiavone, Pennetta, Errani, Vinci, and Paolini, I don't know what does. Aged in oak: those years grinding in out on the courts, then aged in the bottle--the maturity that comes when you are determined to reach your highest potential, yet you also know not to take everything too seriously. 

Theoretically, the pressure is now on Paolini to defend (and surpass?) her 2024 French Open and Wimbledon runs. I trust the way Italians age, and the way they handle pressure. Paolini has already won more 1000 tournaments than any of the original four, and the season is still young. Sooner or later, she'll be raising another glass--as well she should.

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Monday, May 5, 2025

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With fans like these, who needs enemies?

Recently, when discussing Jannik Sinner's drug ban, Serena Williams said, "I can't help but think about Maria Sharapova all this time. I can't help but feel for her." In a related statement, Sam Stosur said: "My point of view used to be very black and white. You get caught, you are done, no matter what. But I have to say, in this instance, where all those things are the facts, like it’s been proven from many, many doctors and people going through this, a player shouldn’t be banned for this, in my opinion, you shouldn’t be now one or two years banned, which is normally what would happen.”

Nice, but what should have come next was a public apology to Sharapova, whom--without having any relevant information--Stosur harshly criticized upon hearing that the Russian star had been suspended. It didn't come.

I have written a lot about WADA, etc., and the gross unfairness shown toward players like Sharapova and Simona Halep. Craig Reedie, who was president of WADA at the time, publicly stated that--because Sharapova made more money than WADA had in its budget--he was glad to see her brought down. That statement alone was grounds for a lawsuit, but Sharapova didn't file one. And both Sharapova and Halep were (and continue to be) trashed by so-called fans who are familiar with either part of the evidence or--in some cases--none at all.

Now the target is world number 2 Iga Swiatek, who is in what some might call a slump. At any rate, something is wrong, and that includes something wrong on clay courts, which Swiatek has dominated for some time. Many observers are certain (because they have supernatural vision and information-gathering powers) that the problem is the Polish star's mental coach. Others are quick to say that the problem is that Swiatek can no longer "use drugs."

I have no idea what the problem is, though it isn't illogical to wonder whether Swiatek's suspension had a profound psychological effect on her. But that, too, is just a guess. Only Swiatek knows what's really bothering her.

Iga Swiatek is an easy target. A rather charming nerd, she prefers Lego construction and map-drawing in the clay to creating TikTok videos (though Aryna Sabalenka has gotten her to do that) and making red carpet appearances. And, according to the hopelessly sexist Jimmy Arias, she's bad for women's tennis because her cap doesn't allow us to see her face ("smile!)". An enthusiastic Swiftie and an avid reader, the world number 2 is intelligent and articulate, but those qualities don't seem to matter much to many who call themselves tennis fans. 

This is also a good time to mention that the Ukranian players are still repeatedly bashed on social media for not shaking hands with the Russian and Belarusian players. So, for the hundredth time, they cannot shake hands for fear of having the resulting photos and videos used as propaganda. Is that really so hard to understand? Apparently, it is.

The WTA's top players--Sabalenka, Swiatek, Pegula, Gauff, Svitolina, etc.--are constantly criticized for being too inconsistent, too disappointing, too rich, too lazy, too fill-in-the-blank. The fact of the matter is that they work very hard all the time, they're under a lot of stress, and they're human. They have to deal with fans, sponsors, their teams, constant travel, intense training, injuries, increasing threats from sports gamblers, and questionable drug accusations and bans. 

I remember once, many years ago, sitting in the stands of a small court in Charleston. A player had a long discussion with the chair umpire about whether a ball was out, and about the examination of the mark on the clay. A man across from me yelled at her to “shut up and play,” To this day, I regret that I didn’t yell back at him, “You’re here for recreation—she’s trying to make a living,” (I cleaned that up.) 

ATP players also get their share of unjust criticism (while getting almost no criticism at all for their sexism and misogyny), but they don't get criticized nearly as much for their appearance, and they don't get threatened with sexual assault and rape (though they do get threatened), nor do they get told on a regular basis that they are inferior athletes because of their gender. 

As I've written before, being a sports fan is a personal thing. We identify with athletes, are inspired by them, and project all manner of our own issues onto them. Sports is a kind of shorthand for the lives we all live--enjoy victory or suffer defeat, play it safe or take risks, keep trying or give up. That involves a lot of drama, and a lot of emotion, and that can be exciting. But with increasing access to misinformation and disinformation, an obvious deficit of critical thinking skills among many people, and no end in sight to sexism and misogyny--the world of women's tennis has become increasingly fraught with falsehoods, hostility and all manner of unpleasantness. 

Fortunately, there's a lot of positive and interesting news to report about women's tennis, and there are several organizations and individuals who report it--and who also report the not-so-positive news in a rational, fact-based way.

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