I AM A DIVA

I am a Diva and I know it

The Spin

So folks are up in their feelings over Serena Williams and whether she is a diva or not.  My take:  If Serena Jameka Williams is behaving like a diva its because she has earned it.  We see accommodations being made for people who do not have the volume of work that Serena has done.  Who have not achieved the heights of a career that Serena has done. At some point that has to count for something.  The fact that she did not in this instance do what she is alleged to have done, i.e. kick Dominic Thiem out of a press conference room so that she could speak to the media is for some by the way, but let us pause for a moment and talk a little bit about Serena and her career and what she has done for tennis. 

Bursting onto the scene in the late 90s, Serena has played against almost 5 generation of tennis players.  5 generations that were supposed to usher in the end of the Williams era.  Lest we forget but let us pray for them in passing: the Russians, Belgians, Serbians, Young Americans, and the Rising Stars and the list goes on and on.  Yet here she stands, ranked No. 10 in the world and now with a husband and child (and grandchild).  For my money, Serena has earned her place as a diva in this sport.  She should always play on Center Court, as the Australian Open and French Open organisers recognised.  She should always get a choice of what time of the day she should play and frankly if some minion player is in the large press room, he should be booted out so that Serena can take her place at the head of the table. 

If we are honest, who really wants to hear what Thiem has to say about men's tennis?  Seriously?  Is there a reporter out there who is being paid to write 5,000 word pieces on Thiem's thoughts on tennis?  I am sure somewhere in Austria there may be someone who is interested in his thoughts, but I doubt the international press corps is a part of that.  I have never seen an article where Thiem is quoted and it makes me want to go and read it in depth.  Possibly the only time the casual tennis fan (and let us be real here, it is the casual tennis fan that tennis needs in order to survive), knew anything about this Thiem fellow was when this whole make believe, fictitious, click bait article came out on social media that Serena had asked for him to be moved so that she could have her press conference. 

Serena's coach posted recently about the fake sportsmanship that is exhibited in men's tennis.  I agree with him.  Players believe that they need to show that there is camaraderie amongst them, when that is as far from the truth as you can get.  

Serena is a diva.  I love that she is a diva.  I was hoping that she had indeed kicked Thiem out of the press room so that she could give her thoughts on tennis and then go home to her French apartment with her husband and daughter (and grand daughter) and field calls from tournament directors who are hoping that she accepts their wild card offers to play before Wimbledon.  There are also fans out there who are waiting with baited breath to press submit on their ticket purchases hoping that they get the chance to see Serena play at a tournament before Wimbledon. That is what is important to tennis.  The ability to host a successful tournament with a big name player who can at least keep the debt collectors from the door.  Not some run of the mill player who has gotten lucky to be in the semis of a Grand Slam where he will no doubt be mauled by his opponent, and even if he gets to the final, he will once again display, for all the world to see, his inability to take his game to the next level when asked to do so. 

Onwards ... 

People ask me all the time why do I love the WTA Tour so much.  I usually point them to the unpredictability of the women's game.  The fact that no matter who the opponent is, every woman will give of her best on the day to win that point.  Women's tennis is not hierachial in the same way that men's tennis has become.  There is parity.  You can be ranked outside the top 100 and you come across the No. 1 player in the world on the biggest stages of the sport and you realise there and then that this is your moment.  If not now, when? And you go for it.  We saw that 2 years ago with Jelena Ostapenko blasting winners, left and right to win the French Open title, wresting it from the cold dead hands of Simona Halep. 

We saw Sloane Stephens, realising that she had a chance to win a huge title, fought her way back from a break point down in the third set against Venus Williams and literally creamed poor Keys' clock to win the US Open. 

Amanda Anisimova (Charles Platiau - Reuters)

Many people are in awe of the 4 women who have made the semis of the French Open. Me, not so much.  Maybe with Konta I am a bit shocked and to a lesser extent Ashleigh Barty, but Vondrousova and Anisimova have shown us what they are made of on the regular WTA Tour.  The Spin's preview

Ashleigh Barty

Anisimova v Barty - this is going to be literally youth v experience.  Anisimova as we all saw this morning in her dismantling of the 2018 champion hits a hard ball.  Apart from that though she serves extremely well, is focused during points, and has a steadier baseline game than Barty.  Barty is going to attempt to mix it up on her backhand slice by trying to keep the ball low and forcing Anisimova to the net where she is not yet comfortable. However, that may not work in Barty's favour as I have seen Anisimova take those short slices and hit them into corners that I did not know existed on a tennis court.  Look for her to do the same in her match. 

Of the 4 semifinalists in this year's tournament, Anisimova has the lowest rating in terms of aces, return games won, break points converted etc., yet here she is with a chance to play for her first Grand Slam title.  I would not write her off at all. 

Joanna Konta

Konta v Vondrousova - again, a case of experience going up against youth.  While I had pegged Vondrousova to do well at this tournament, there is one weakness that she has that I don't think has been addressed and that is her fitness.  She hits a hard deep ball and that may be what keeps her in the match against an opponent who stays on the baseline and redirects off both wings.  

Marketa Vondrousova

Konta's game is not the prettiest but it it is effective.  The problem lies when you get the chance to move her off the baseline (not something that is easy to achieve) and get her moving on the clay.  If anyone can do that, it is going to be Vondrousova.  A big heavy whipping lefty forehand will give Konta nightmares if used effectively and while the Czech is not the best mover, she has a killer drop shot/lob combo that will get Konta moving forward and backward.  

On a good day, the  Spin would not watch a Konta match, but I am excited to see how this one pans out. 

Spin's Picks

Anisimova v Barty - Anisimova

Konta v Vondrousova - Vondrousova

2019 French Open champion - Vondrousova