When I wrote the headline “Parting thoughts on the US Open,” I lied. I’m still haunted by the men’s final, in which Novak Djokovic had to play not only Roger Federer but his idolatrous status and a hostile crowd to prevail for the title.
The meme all this week has been “Where’s the love for Nole,” plumbed by many of the same publications – that means you, New York Times – that couldn’t get enough of Feddy Bear and Serena. The reaction to the reaction has been all over the place ...
Read More
In the end, I think Stan Wawrinka did Novak Djokovic a favor. By beating Nole in the French Open final, he took the Grand Slam pressure off of him and enabled him to say, “You know what? The heck with it. I’m slamming that door (pun intended) and going for it at Wimbledon and the US Open.”
All the talk was about Serena, but Nole actually came closer to winning the Grand Slam as he lost in the French final but won the other three (US Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open) whereas she won the French, Australian and Wimbledon but lost in the US semifinals. ...
Read More
After the highs of June (American Pharoah winning the Triple Crown) and July (planet Pluto, Novak Djokovic defending his Wimbledon title), August has been a bit of a dud for me, with AP losing to Keen Ice at the Travers this past Saturday and Nole losing the Rogers Cup (to Andy Murray) and then the Western & Southern Open (to Roger Federer). ...
Read More
Two terrific matchups in Round 1 of the US Open, which begins today – Andy Murray versus Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal versus Borna Ćorić.
But really it’s the battle of the two temperaments and Rafa versus his recent past.
Not for nothing is “A star is” Borna known as “Baby Nole.” That range, that return, that poise – all at 18. He’s already beaten Rafa (at Basel in October) but really, it’s more than that. For Rafa’s it’s got to be like looking in a mirror at when it all began to unravel for him, back in 2011. ...
Read more
Read More
Well, once again the gazillion-page (actually only 832-page) September Vogue is out, and, once again, the big issue for me is not the cover or the fashion but whom editrix Anna Wintour has anointed among male tennis players for the ritual dressing (and undressing).
This year, tennis-crazed Anna, the sly minx, is offering a kind of two-for-one and her own version of doubles. In the “People Are Talking About” section, rising star and teen dream Borna “Identity” Ćorić looks like he’s headed off to Harvard, standing at the net in a gray and white Canali sweater with gray J. Crew sweats. Coach Brad Gilbert has given the 18-year-old Croat the nickname but the question is, “Whose identity?” ...
Read More
The FINA World Aquatics Championships – a qualifier for the Olympics – will be held July 24 through Aug. 9 in Kazan, Russia for the first time.
The championships consist of diving (July 24-Aug. 2), open water and synchronized swimming (both July 25 through Aug. 1), water polo (July 26 through Aug. 8) and, my favorite, swimming (Aug. 2 through 9).
I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Worlds. The opening scene in my debut novel “Water Music” takes place there, and it’s often an indicator of what the swimmers will do at the Olympics, though not always. I can’t help but think that Ryan Lochte – who eclipsed Michael Phelps at Worlds in Shanghai in 2011 – peaked too soon. ...
Read More
From the high of American Pharoah winning the Triple Crown, I plunge to the low of Novak Djokovic losing to Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final.
After routing Rafael Nadal in three sets – unthinkable at Roland-Garros and a whole other kind of heartbreak – and outlasting Andy Murray in five sets, Nole fell to Stan in four. He was so close to his dream of a career Grand Slam. It wasn’t to be. At least not this year.
It’s easy to make excuses – and Nole, to his credit, has learned not to make them even though beating Rafa and Andy back-to-back must’ve produced a physical and emotional letdown – but he simply got outplayed by a player who has beaten him in big matches before, like the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2014. ...
Read More