The Spin
Last year I saw and heard of Cori Gauff for the very first time. I recall saying that she reminds me of a very young Venus. Today Cori Gauff met her hero, Venus Williams on the first day of the 2019 Championships. It did not go well for Venus.
At 39 years young and a career that took flight before Cori was a twinkle in her dad's eye, Venus was winning tournaments. Today felt a bit like the passing of a baton. The long elegant legs of Venus continued to eat up the lawns of Wimbledon in much the same way that it did when she was winning her 5 titles, however, her opponent across the net, also endowed with long legs was faster, and so much powerful. She hit big off the ground in much the same way that Venus used to dismiss her opponents and tell them to get off her lawn. She was tougher than Venus and she was not afraid.
Years ago I recall my son saying to me that he liked seeing Venus play because he just knew that no matter what she would hit a shot that would change the match. Today there were glimpses of that Venus. She battled hard. She fought. She stayed true to her game.Today was not her day. As a fan I am sad but I am also proud. Proud that at 39 years old when many players of her era have families and are sitting in commentary booths opining on tennis, Venus is still out there battling for all she is worth and never complaining. There were no histrionics. There was no appeal to her box. There was no shaking of her head in dismay, and when it was all over, she walked to the net and smiled that beautiful, gracious Venus smile and she congratulated her opponent.
Wimbledon Etiquette
For as long as I have been watching Wimbledon it has always been the case that after a match, the players walk off court together. Has this changed? Clearly it hasn't as the only people who seem to adhere to that tradition are Nadal, Serena and Venus, Sharapova and Federer. Perhaps the All England Club needs to remind players of this etiquette.
No more Miss and Mrs.
I liked that. I liked that all players got that Ms. and Mrs. beside their names. I did not consider it sexist. I did not think that it took away a woman's accomplishments to be called Mrs. Some umpires clearly did not get the memo as they continued to title some of the women as Miss and Mrs. Frankly, for Venus and Serena they should always be called Ms. Williams.
Upsets and Then Some
Naomi Osaka lost to Putintseva. Sabalenka lost to Rybarikova. Ostapenko continues on her downward trajectory. Vondrousova said that she was carrying an injury which contributed to her loss against Brengle. Halep struggled for a bit but fought her way to the second round, as did Monica Puig. Caroline Garcia got bagelled and I swear she was giving the least effort in her match. Wozniacki escaped when Sorribes-Toro retired and Yastremska won her first match on grass by ousting Camila Giori.
Day 2 Picks
Ashleigh Barty vs Saisai Zheng
Svetlana Kuznetsova vs Alison Van Uytvanck
Harriet Dart vs Christina McHale
Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Garbine Muguruza
Donna Vekic vs Alison Riske
Lesley Kerkhove vs Ivana Jorovic
Stefanie Voegele vs Kaia Kanepi
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Belinda Bencic
Serena Williams vs Giulia Gatto-Monticone
Kaja Juvan vs Kristyna Pliskova
Paula Badosa vs Varvara Flink
Elena-Gabriela Ruse vs Julia Goerges
Carla Suarez Navarro vs Samantha Stosur
Maria Sharapova vs Pauline Parmentier
Kateryna Kozlova vs Lauren Davis
Tatjana Maria vs Angelique Kerber
Kiki Bertens vs Mandy Minella
Arina Rodionova vs Taylor Townsend
Laura Siegemund vs Katie Swan
Barbora Strycova vs Lesia Tsurenko
Elise Mertens vs Fiona Ferro
Andrea Petkovic vs Monica Niculescu
Tamara Zidansek vs Eugenie Bouchard
Vera Lapko vs Qiang Wang
Sloane Stephens vs Timea Bacsinszky
Yafan Wang vs Tereza Martincova
Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Katerina Siniakova
Ana Bogdan vs Johanna Konta
Amanda Anisimova vs Sorana Cirstea
Magda Linette vs Anna Kalinskaya
Vitalia Diatchenko vs Kristina Mladenovic
Ons Jabeur vs Petra Kvitova
Matches to Watch
Kvitova v.Jabeur
Sharapova v Parmentier
Mertens v. Ferro
Vekic v. Riske
Stephens v Bacsinszky
Upset Special
Jabeur beating Kvitova
Diatchenko beating Mladenovic
Last year I saw and heard of Cori Gauff for the very first time. I recall saying that she reminds me of a very young Venus. Today Cori Gauff met her hero, Venus Williams on the first day of the 2019 Championships. It did not go well for Venus.
At 39 years young and a career that took flight before Cori was a twinkle in her dad's eye, Venus was winning tournaments. Today felt a bit like the passing of a baton. The long elegant legs of Venus continued to eat up the lawns of Wimbledon in much the same way that it did when she was winning her 5 titles, however, her opponent across the net, also endowed with long legs was faster, and so much powerful. She hit big off the ground in much the same way that Venus used to dismiss her opponents and tell them to get off her lawn. She was tougher than Venus and she was not afraid.
Years ago I recall my son saying to me that he liked seeing Venus play because he just knew that no matter what she would hit a shot that would change the match. Today there were glimpses of that Venus. She battled hard. She fought. She stayed true to her game.Today was not her day. As a fan I am sad but I am also proud. Proud that at 39 years old when many players of her era have families and are sitting in commentary booths opining on tennis, Venus is still out there battling for all she is worth and never complaining. There were no histrionics. There was no appeal to her box. There was no shaking of her head in dismay, and when it was all over, she walked to the net and smiled that beautiful, gracious Venus smile and she congratulated her opponent.
Wimbledon Etiquette
For as long as I have been watching Wimbledon it has always been the case that after a match, the players walk off court together. Has this changed? Clearly it hasn't as the only people who seem to adhere to that tradition are Nadal, Serena and Venus, Sharapova and Federer. Perhaps the All England Club needs to remind players of this etiquette.
No more Miss and Mrs.
I liked that. I liked that all players got that Ms. and Mrs. beside their names. I did not consider it sexist. I did not think that it took away a woman's accomplishments to be called Mrs. Some umpires clearly did not get the memo as they continued to title some of the women as Miss and Mrs. Frankly, for Venus and Serena they should always be called Ms. Williams.
Upsets and Then Some
Naomi Osaka lost to Putintseva. Sabalenka lost to Rybarikova. Ostapenko continues on her downward trajectory. Vondrousova said that she was carrying an injury which contributed to her loss against Brengle. Halep struggled for a bit but fought her way to the second round, as did Monica Puig. Caroline Garcia got bagelled and I swear she was giving the least effort in her match. Wozniacki escaped when Sorribes-Toro retired and Yastremska won her first match on grass by ousting Camila Giori.
Day 2 Picks
Ashleigh Barty vs Saisai Zheng
Svetlana Kuznetsova vs Alison Van Uytvanck
Harriet Dart vs Christina McHale
Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Garbine Muguruza
Donna Vekic vs Alison Riske
Lesley Kerkhove vs Ivana Jorovic
Stefanie Voegele vs Kaia Kanepi
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Belinda Bencic
Serena Williams vs Giulia Gatto-Monticone
Kaja Juvan vs Kristyna Pliskova
Paula Badosa vs Varvara Flink
Elena-Gabriela Ruse vs Julia Goerges
Carla Suarez Navarro vs Samantha Stosur
Maria Sharapova vs Pauline Parmentier
Kateryna Kozlova vs Lauren Davis
Tatjana Maria vs Angelique Kerber
Kiki Bertens vs Mandy Minella
Arina Rodionova vs Taylor Townsend
Laura Siegemund vs Katie Swan
Barbora Strycova vs Lesia Tsurenko
Elise Mertens vs Fiona Ferro
Andrea Petkovic vs Monica Niculescu
Tamara Zidansek vs Eugenie Bouchard
Vera Lapko vs Qiang Wang
Sloane Stephens vs Timea Bacsinszky
Yafan Wang vs Tereza Martincova
Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Katerina Siniakova
Ana Bogdan vs Johanna Konta
Amanda Anisimova vs Sorana Cirstea
Magda Linette vs Anna Kalinskaya
Vitalia Diatchenko vs Kristina Mladenovic
Ons Jabeur vs Petra Kvitova
Matches to Watch
Kvitova v.Jabeur
Sharapova v Parmentier
Mertens v. Ferro
Vekic v. Riske
Stephens v Bacsinszky
Upset Special
Jabeur beating Kvitova
Diatchenko beating Mladenovic
