A Wimbledon to remember

The beauty of a first-time women's winner, Fritz gets his flowers, and the great commentator debate.

The Replay (But Make It Deep)

You know the post-vacation blues, when you get home from a fun trip and reality strikes a little too harshly? That’s how I feel when a Slam winds down—gloomy, adrift, and a little hollow. What exactly am I supposed to do with myself now? As I write this, we still have the women’s and men’s finals to watch, so not all is lost, but there’s something about the earlier rounds—with all their potential for upsets, excitement, and first-time achievements—that’s a little harder to come by towards the end.

This is less true on the WTA side, which has truly delivered this year on varied and less predictable finals match-ups, with American women carrying the torch. Don’t get me wrong, Carlos Alcaraz (2) vs. Jannik Sinner (1) is sure to be another epic, but I’m already looking forward to the day when someone other than Djokovic can break through.

I’m an emotional viewer, and I love a good story, so I’m always rooting for the so-called underdogs (an extremely relative term) a little more than the all-time greats. Sheer athleticism is not the main course for me, though I know it is for some—it’s the mental and emotional part of tennis that I love most. Players pushing themselves to their limits, strategizing solo (well, ideally) in the heat of the moment, weaving their way out of problems on court, accepting and overcoming defeat, showing up a little better every time. That’s what keeps me coming back for more.

I will always marvel at raw talent, but it’s in moments when top players show their human side—that they, too, struggle—that I find myself drawn to them the most. When they then overcome those struggles to put on one of the performances of their lives? I’m glued.

Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek

In this way, the women’s final is almost tailor-made for me, and for the rare moment, I will be psyched with whoever wins. In May 2023, Amanda Anisimova (12) took a break from tennis to focus on her mental health after the grueling tennis schedule left her feeling burned out, physically ill, and homesick. She didn’t touch a racket for months. Now she’s in her maiden Grand Slam final at age 23. “Being able to prove that you can get back to the top if you prioritize yourself, that’s been incredibly special to me,” she said this week.

Iga Swiatek (4) has struggled in different ways. She’s been number one in the world and has won five Grand Slams already at age 24, but has had the rockiest year of her career so far. No, she wasn’t able to defend her Roland Garros title for the fifth time, and she hasn’t won another title in over a year, but it’s her seeming unhappiness on the court over the last year that’s been most concerning. In the wake of a coaching change and a one-month suspension for taking contaminated melatonin, Swiatek looked out of sorts, having increasingly common on-court outbursts and seeming generally unsure of herself (and her game). But something seems to have switched ever since the pressure of defending RG passed—she made the final at Bad Homburg and is now in the Wimbledon final for the first time, disproving the long-held notion that grass was her “worst” surface.

Whoever wins this trophy today, it’s sure to be cinema (the kind that makes you cry).

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Net Gains

For years, Taylor Fritz (5) has gotten the least hype of the Americans despite being the top American on the ATP side, and I was so pleased to see that change this past week. The introverted Californian is not a showman like many of his compatriots, but he’s proven himself to be the most willing to improve and evolve, and is an impressive student of the game. He had what many considered the hardest first two rounds on the men’s side at Wimbledon (Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (36) and Gabriel Diallo (40) whose rankings are deceiving) and played one of the tournaments of his life to make his first Wimbledon semifinal, becoming the first American man to do so since John Isner in 2018. It feels right that he’ll be back to his career high ranking of four in the world next week, and I think he could be coming for Alexander Zverev’s number three spot soon if their momentum keeps shifting in opposite directions.

Facing Alcaraz, whom he had never managed to take a set off before Friday, was never going to be easy for Fritz, whose movement and net game will always be his biggest challenges despite massive improvements. But he made those of us who have been Taylor Gang for years very happy with his performance and seemed to finally garner widespread respect from fans and commentators in the process. I’ll be thinking about that brutal almost-had-it tiebreak all weekend.

If you think Fritz is just a pretty boy from California without a thought between his eyes, I recommend watching his press conferences for a pleasant surprise. His match analysis is better than anyone’s on tour at the moment, and he’ll make a hell of a coach or commentator one day.

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The Great (Commentator) Debate

John McEnroe

Speaking of which, John McEnroe was a great tennis player, but his commentating leaves…something to be desired (like moments of silence, less bias, and a true familiarity with all the players). Tennis fans have been complaining about this for years, but it seemed to reach a fever pitch this past week when the sports columnist Sally Jenkins wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post titled, “Tennis fans deserve better than John McEnroe,” eviscerating him and his brother Patrick McEnroe. She did not mince words, writing:

Please, someone in American television, break the McEnroe grip on tennis microphones. Belching up words is not broadcasting, a craft John McEnroe never learned. Johnny Mac has become an entitled air quaffer, a lapsed past master turned trifler who refuses to work at it. Witness how he tends to butcher the names of anyone not ranked in the top five.

Adding fuel to the fire was Andre Agassi showing how it should be done when commentating the men’s semifinal match between Alcaraz and Fritz. Not only was his dulcet voice comforting rather than grating, but his analysis of the game, interesting asides about life as a tennis player, and even-handed respect for both players made the match better, not worse. He even knew to stop talking occasionally during match play—what a concept!

I’m not sure network executives will be willing to give an OG like McEnroe the boot, but for the sake of turning people on to tennis, they really should consider it.

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Off Court

Last week, I wrote about the big theme underlying all of the seed carnage in the early rounds of Wimbledon: many players seem to be burned out and struggling with their mental health. So I’m actually pleased to see that so many players have pulled out of the smaller tournaments taking place this coming week, and not purely due to injuries. Most surprising, but perhaps most needed, was Alexander Zverev pulling out of Gstaad. Often considered a “250 vulture” for playing so many small events despite being number three in the world, I fully expected him to be eager for points after a shock first-round exit at Wimbledon. Instead, he cited personal reasons for not being able to make the event, and whatever those reasons may be, his demeanor in the press conference last week indicates that’s the right decision.

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I’m curious, which players not in the top five on the women’s and men’s side are your favorites to watch and why? Better yet, who’s your favorite outside the top 20? Let me know in the comments!