Good morning, Court Theorists! ☕️☀️🗽
Today’s tennis mood: A little shocked by Novak Djokovic and a little angered by the Venus Williams situation.
Let’s tennis!
-Allen
🎾 On tap: Today is the continuation of U.S. Open round one matches, including several that were rained out yesterday, so it’s a packed schedule. Ashe Stadium is filled with fan favorites Aryna Sabalenka, Ben Shelton, Naomi Osaka, plus the return of Carlos Alcaraz to singles action. But there are some outstanding match-ups all around the grounds, with Stan Wawrinka vs. Matteo Berrettini, Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Arthur Fils, Ashlyn Krueger vs. Amanda Anisimova, and Martin Damm vs. Frances Tiafoe. More on all of this below.
🎾 ICYMI: Yesterday’s first-round matches were overwhelmingly straightforward. However, there were a few upsets…
Kamilla Rakhimova defeated 27th seed Barbora Krejcikova 7-6, 6-2.
Luca van Assche took down 29th seed Cameron Norrie 6-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.
And, in the biggest upset of the day, Mariano Navone took out the 4th seed, Novak Djokovic, 7-6, 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Djokovic cramped, vomited, and broke down in tears during the match, his first first-round loss at a major since 2006. “It’s something that I’ve been carrying unfortunately, pretty much every match this year. Vomiting, throwing up, a serious issue there,” Djokovic said after the match. “And then my whole body, you know, starts to collapse. Cramping, pain. The back just gave up in the end, and the shoulder, and I couldn’t close it out.
🎾 A record not to be proud of: That four-and-a-half-hour Djokovic-Navone night match meant that Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin didn’t begin until 12:13 am — the latest start ever at the U.S. Open.
What she said: “I would’ve preferred something else, definitely. I think it wasn’t great for either of us. We both tried our best, but yeah…” Williams said after the match. “I just don’t know any other sport where you have to start that late. I definitely think there’s room for improvement there.” That’s a much kinder way than I would have put it.
Slipped away, again: Kenin won 6-2, 7-6. Williams had seven set points in the second set, three in a row on Kenin’s serve at 4-5 and four in a row in the tiebreak from 6-2 up, but could not find a way to take any of them for a third set.
🎾 One to watch: Roman Safiullin vs. Carlos Alcaraz (1st round - U.S. Open): Watch this one for a Carlos Alcaraz level check. And, to be clear, Safiullin, who has defeated Alcaraz in the past, will check it. Expect Safiullin, who reached the 4th round at Wimbledon, to play his rock-solid, give-nothing-away style to see where Alcaraz is before making any rash decisions. Meanwhile, after several months away, expect Alcaraz to dazzle right off the bat to show exactly how back he is.
The record: Roman Safiullin and Carlos Alcaraz are tied at one apiece in their head-to-head record.
On the line: Safiullin has zero pressure on him this match. He will also have little in the way of support in Arthur Ashe Stadium. As for Alcaraz, he has 2,000 points on the line from last year’s title. And he has a world of expectations — including his own — to manage.
🎾 🏆 🎤 YOUR CALL
(Yesterday’s poll results: You all are split 50-50 on Lois Boisson vs. Emma Navarro. However, due to rain, the completion of the match was postponed until today.)
And that’s game.
