Week 1 @ Aus Open 2021

They always say Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year but for tennis players, there are 4 most wonderful times of the year, and right now is one of those times. Despite little miss Corona, we have been blessed with two weeks of insane tennis coming from Melbourne, Australia. The Australian Open kicked off a couple of weeks later than usual and with a lot of players having to follow strict COVID quarantine guidelines. Since tennis is pretty socially distant, I think it’s okay to have the tournaments again but I was so shocked that they allowed any spectators the first couple of days before they had to go back into a lockdown.

I know players love the fans and feed off the atmosphere but sometimes I feel like the spectators take it too far. For example, while rooting for Nick Kyrgios when he played against Ugo Humbert, the crowd was cheering at Humbert’s mistakes more so than applauding Kyrgios’ play. Anyone who knows anything about tennis knows that there is a whole etiquette for clapping at matches. Hellllloooo!

Anyway, let’s start at the beginning. Covid ain’t over. Some players had to quarantine upon arrival because there was a passenger that tested positive on one of the flights. This particularly sucks because being stuck in a hotel room for 14 days is not really how you would like to prepare for a grand slam tournament. I wonder if any of the players that had to be quarantine are still alive in the tournament in any of the draws. Not many, if any, that’s for sure.

We saw the much-awaited return of former US Open champion, Bianca Andreescu. Steph and I saw her play at Indian Wells a couple of years ago before her career really took off and we could tell there was something special about her. It’s almost like we knew this could be the last time we would be able to watch her on one of the outside courts. We were right. Queen B went on to win Indian Wells and the US Open that year. Shortly after that, she hurt her knee and has been out ever since. Due to the pandemic, she had a protected ranking and was able to enter the tournament as an 8 seed but she went down in the second round to Hsieh, who just lost to Osaka in the quarterfinals just a few hours ago. I love Andreescu but I really think it’s a good thing that she wasn’t able to just come back after so much time away and make a deep run in her first tournament back. Matchplay is so important and valuable and I feel like it would almost be a slap in the face to the other players that have been working their asses off playing tournaments while she was rehabbing her knee. Not to say that Bi wasn’t working her ass off too but it would just be such a bad look for the women’s game, in my opinion. Regardless, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Andreescu. She is an incredible player and I really think she has barely scratched the surface. Hopefully more grand slam titles to come.

Up next, Venus Williams. She is a fighter. She always has been. Unfortunately, I really do feel like the end is very near for her. She suffered an ankle injury on court in the second round against Errani, but despite the pain, she completed the match. She lost 1&0 but there is something to be said about finishing the match. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to play at her level but she did not want to give up. I think she really inspired a lot of people. Like, if Venus can finish a match while being in so much pain, we can finish our matches when we feel some aches and pains.

Next, Serena Williams. She is just a true icon. She is always in the headlines and she is always expected to win. Can you imagine going into a match and every time you are expected to win regardless of who you are going up against? I know, I know, pressure IS a privilege but that must be hard. She is so heavily criticized about literally everything, like her outfits and her weight. Sure, she has not always been the best role model and she has had her fair share of controversy on court. I’m not denying that. One thing that really bothers me, that is particularly apparent with Serena, is that everyone is always complaining about her outfits. She wore an all black cat suit to the French Open a few years ago and the federation banned it for future tournaments. She was fully covered and the outfit was not revealing, inappropriate or offensive in any way. However, they had nothing to say about Sofia Kenin’s extremely short shirt pulled up as high as possible. It’s bullshit. Serena has 23 grand slams. She can wear whatever the hell she wants. If you don’t like it then cool, she literally does not care what you think. She is going to wear whatever she wants, and I support that. You wouldn’t want someone criticizing every outfit that you wear, would you? I would be roasting some of you the way you all go out in public sometimes, but it’s better to keep some comments to ourselves.

Speaking of headlines, can we talk about Jessica Pegula? If you are from NY or are familiar with the NFL, the name Pegula may ring a bell. Jessica is the daughter of the owner of the Buffalo Bills. But like, what does that have to do with her tennis? She is in the quarterfinals of a Slam for the first time and she has overcome injury after injury in her career to get to this point, yet all that the headlines say is that she is the daughter of the Bills’ owner and about their wealth. Her family is rich, so what? Money doesn’t mean that a player will make it to the pros. Money doesn’t necessarily mean that a player will be talented. Money doesn’t mean that you will be disciplined. Or that you will come back from injury. Or that you will be able to fight any more or any less than other people. Does the money help? Yes, tennis is a very expensive sport, and a lot of professional players outside the top 50 or 100, barely make enough to break even. So I’m sick of everyone talking about how easy Jessica Pegula has it because her family is rich as fuck. The facts are that she is through to the second week of a major for the first time and she is playing lights out. She faces fellow American Jenn Brady in the next round, which guarantees an American in the semifinals. Faith has been restored in American Women’s tennis.

On to the men — Novak Djokovic vs Nick Kyrgios. I mean, please tell me this feud will be over soon. They are both insanely talented but I am just so sick of this. I used to be the biggest Djokovic fan but over the past two or three years, my love for him has simply vanished. Especially after all of the crazy shit he has done this year and all of the trouble that he has caused. The top players have a platform and they have a responsibility as they are the face of the sport. Young players are looking up to them and I just really wish that both Djokovic and Kyrgios would see that. Kyrgios is a phenomenal player but his attitude and behavior are often clouding his talent. Would love to be able to watch one of his matches without seeing any of his usual antics. Djokovic on the other hand seems to be aware of his responsibility but I really question everything he has been doing. Trying to start an all-male player council to go against the ATP player council; hosting a charity in the height of the pandemic while observing zero social distancing guidelines; throwing tantrums on the court; hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball (unintentionally) and then trying to have tournament directors bend the rules for him. Like what is he doing? I get so mad thinking about this because I truly love watching him play but I just don’t support his decisions and thought process off the court and I’m just not willing to support or endorse that. Anyway, the man has an abdominal injury, supposedly, so I doubt he will be able to walk away with the title at the end of this. Not mad about it.

I’m super disappointed to see that Shapo went down early on but at least it was to FAA, who has an amazing game. Shapovolov has such infectious energy when he plays that I can feel his vibes through the screen. He has also been playing quite a bit of doubles and I think that has really been helping his singles game too. I’m also extremely disappointed to see that Thiem made an “early” exit and to Dimitrov nonetheless. I think that the Thiem/Kyrgios match really took a lot out of him and Dimitrov just played lights out.

I’m sad that the tournament is only 2 weeks long but my sleep schedule is so fucked because of it. At least the matches keep me company while I work overnight.

So who do we think is gonna take the cake at the end of this? For the women, I would love to see Serena take it, but have a feeling that Osaka may take it. After surviving that match against Muguruza, she seems to be a lot more locked in and focused. For the men, I would have loved to see Thiem take it but since he’s out, it would be nice to see Medvedev breakthrough and claim his maiden slam. He was so close against Rafa at the US Open two years ago so I think he has it in him. All he has to do is keep his cool and may not kick his coach out of the stadium in the middle of the match. I quite like how Zverev plays (and looks) but with all of the domestic abuse allegations and the baby momma drama, I just don’t really want him to win it. He needs to get his personal shit in order because we don’t need bad press in our sport. Who do you think is gonna win? Lola quite likes Rafa so that’s her vote!