I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

Tag: us open tennis tournament

  • when the name of the game is life

    when the name of the game is life


    Whether the surface is a hard one or made of red clay or manicured green grass, the goal is the same: to win, to beat someone. To play better, smarter and mentally tougher than the opponent. To be more physical and aggressive. To charge the net when an opening appears. To cover the baseline when the shots go deep against you. The court is a battlefield and the scales of justice are often tipped by net cords and fractions of inches along white lines. The game is tennis, but the game of life is similar.

    How often must we summon courage to charge the net when an opening appears – when the scales of justice have tipped too far in the direction of injustice, when we stand behind the baseline for protection from the deep shots fired against us by people whose purpose is to disrupt our rhythm, to create confusion in our understanding of what matters most. Yes, the game is life, but the game of tennis is similar.

    For men who play singles, the winner is usually required to win two of three sets. In Grand Slam events, however, the rules change to three of five sets to determine the champion. If each man wins two sets, a fifth set is played. The fifth set is often the scene of one man’s surrender and loss to another man’s courage and inner strength. The first four sets are evenly played, but the last one is too much for the body or mind or will or all of the above for one of the guys and the desire to win or to not lose drives his opponent to victory. When the game is life, time controls how many sets we play. For some, the opportunities to play five sets never happen because winners and losers are determined at the end of three or four sets or earlier when players are forced to retire because of illness or injury.

    I love fifth sets in tennis. I particularly like them when they are close and long, and I’m not even paying for my seat in front of the television set. Nope, I’m watching for free, but I have the deluxe box seats and have seen my share of Grand Slams in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York City. From my ABCs of Agassi to Becker to Connors to later Golden Era Greats Federer and Nadal I admire the passion and persistence of the five-set winners. There is a moment of high drama called match point when the difference between winning and losing in the fifth set can be measured in split-second choices and breaks in concentration. Match points can be saved and the game can go on for hours, but in the end, a match point is lost and the winner takes center court with a victorious smile and wave to the crowd.

    Whenever I watch a five-set tennis match, I am reminded that match points in tennis have an advantage over those we have in real life. Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev understood the importance of the fifth set and its match point last night at the US Open in New York City. Their embrace at the net following the match showed their separate reactions to winning and losing match point, but we as individuals may never know when we miss the chance to win –  or lose what we value most. Moving through the game of life we often struggle to identify those inflection points that will profoundly define our fifth set’s legacy, but maybe, just maybe, we will recognize one more opportunity to charge the net with courage, to leave the safety of the baseline to protect what we must not lose.

  • the 37th. time is the charm: vivid memory of Peng Shuai

    the 37th. time is the charm: vivid memory of Peng Shuai


    The disappearance of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai last month following her accusations of sexual assault against a prominent member of the Chinese Communist Party has had international implications for the world of tennis that have now spilled over into the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics which will be played under the cloud of a United States diplomatic boycott that was partially prompted by the censorship of Peng’s social media and subsequent loss of public communication. The ongoing saga surrounding this female tennis athlete jogged my memory bank of two posts I published in early September, 2014 about this young woman’s remarkable experiences at the 2014 US Open. (The first one was dated September 02, 2014.)

    The name Peng Shuai is not a household name in the USA, but she is the third-ranked Chinese professional female tennis player behind the more familiar Li Na and  Zhang Shuai. More familiar to tennis addicts like me that is.

    This afternoon in New York City at the US Open, Peng played her 37th. match in Grand Slam events since turning pro in 2001 at the age of fifteen – and reached her first singles semi-final ever. Think about that. Thirty-six entries and thirty-six times falling short of a goal over thirteen years. Finally, on try number thirty-seven, she made it to the semi-finals of one of the most prestigious tournaments on the Women’s Tennis Association tour.

    Her interview following the match with Tennis Channel commentator Tom Rinaldi was not nearly so entertaining as the ones with the number one Chinese player Li Na, but then she hasn’t had the same practice. The most she could do was smile and wipe her face with a towel while she tried not to cry. “Very excited,” she managed to say in English, when asked to describe her emotions.

    Very excited, indeed. Peng is the daughter of a policeman and homemaker and the niece of an uncle who encouraged her to start playing tennis at the age of eight; she has played off and on for twenty years since. When she was thirteen years old she had heart surgery and has struggled with several health issues throughout her tennis career according to her bio.

    “I love tennis, I love to play tennis,” she said in her post-game interview.

    I was happy for her because I love a good story about individuals who overcome adversity to realize their dreams after years of hard work.  Years of hitting a little yellow ball across a net. Hours, days, weeks, months, years…and in those years believing within herself that she could win the big matches that place her name among the elite in her sport. She has spunk. I love spunk.

    In February of 2014, Peng Shuai reached a career high ranking of number one in the world in doubles.  She is the first Chinese professional tennis player, male or female, to reach that standing.  Beyond impressive. Rankings are rankings in every sport and are often overrated, but Peng has had a tortuous climb from number 357 in the world in 2002 to number 39 in singles in 2014.

    She will face the winner of the Caroline Wozniacki/ Sara Errani match which will be played tonight under the lights in the Arthur Ashe arena. They each have their own stories and are, I’m sure, equally excited and deserving of the opportunity to meet Peng in the semi-finals.  Exciting matches in store for the readers of Sports Illustrated.  I can’t wait…

    Peng Shuai may not make it to the finals of the Us Open this year, but I’d bet good money she’ll keep trying until she does.

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    As of this writing, the whereabouts of Peng are unknown.

    Stay tuned for The Rest of the Story of Peng’s experience at the 2014 US Open Tennis Tournament. Hint: unbelievable.

     

     

     

     

  • two thumbs up from Pretty

    two thumbs up from Pretty


    Leylah Fernandez fights hard but loses US Open final to Emma Raducanu - Tennis Canada

    Leylah Fernandez (l.) and Emma Raducanu at trophy ceremony

    (Tennis Canada))

    The last grand slam tennis tournament for 2021 is in the history books, my friends, and I have to say I loved it! The US Open brings the grand slam season to an end for this year, but the best of the best was saved for last according to my most reliable sources: Pretty and me.

    Fernandez and Raducanu introduced themselves to the tennis world’s grandest stage in New York City with the effervescent smiles of their teenage years, but they brought mature tennis games filled with passionate desires to win along with that youth. Wow. What an inspirational duo. I have high hopes for the sport as well as the next generation of young women swinging rackets at barriers of national origin, race, gender and yes, my old nemesis sexual orientation.

    Pretty gives US Open two thumbs up in 2021

    Granddaughter Ella James was lost in thought as she studied the earth walking barefoot at DX2’s gorgeous place in the upstate at the lake – faithful dog Carl stood guard.

    The hype, the drama of Novak Djokovic’s quest for a calendar grand slam died a painful death in the final to Daniil Medvedev who at age 25 is ranked #2 in the world in men’s singles. The New York crowd, on the other hand, roared its support for Djokovic in the final – often at inappropriate moments. Even though he lost the trophy in straight sets, Djokovic said in the presentation ceremony he was the happiest man in the world because the crowd had touched his heart. Perhaps, at last, this man’s search for love from the New York fans transformed his pain at losing the historic opportunity of winning the calendar grand slam.

    Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, reacts to the crowd after losing to Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, in the men's singles final of the US Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

    (AP Photo)

    Novak Djokovic at trophy ceremony

    No Williams Sisters, no Federer, no Nadal at this year’s US Open – I have thought of them often during the two weeks tournament. Twenty years of spectacular entertainment from these players who could bring me to tears of joy with their amazing victories or tears of sorrow in their defeats. One more match, one more tournament is what I wish for from these greats. But if they are done, thank you for your service – the future rests in a new generation of players who were inspired by your greatness.

    Pretty and I give you all and the future two thumbs up.

    **********************

    Stay safe, stay sane, please get vaccinated and please stay tuned.

  • Dancing with Destiny – the Williams Sisters


    At her press conference following her loss in the 2019 singles finals at Wimbledon, Serena Williams was questioned about why she lost. Although she tried to say her opponent played a brilliant match, the members of the press wouldn’t let it go. They asked her if she thought her lack of match play in 2019 had hurt her, whether her role as a mother took too much time away from her tennis, and finally someone said they heard Billie Jean King wondered if she spent too much time supporting equal rights or other political issues.

    Serena’s quick response to that question was “The day I stop supporting equality is the day I die.”

    For more than twenty years beginning in 1997 the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, carried the heavy burden of American tennis (both women and men) on their shoulders; the load was never an easy one. Their two-person dynasty has often been controversial, but their attitudes about the sport they represented matured as their games became more powerful. Their popularity increased as they turned out to be more comfortable with their celebrity, more confident in their games. They grew up in front of a nation and, eventually, the world.

    Serena won her history making 23rd. singles major at the 2017 Australian Open but made even bigger news when she announced her pregnancy following the tournament. The tennis world gasped at the possibility of a French Open, Wimbledon and even a US Open without its reigning diva who struck fear into the rackets of any player unlucky enough to see her name on Serena’s side of the draw.

     

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    Venus Williams and her little sister Serena

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    Never in their 27 professional matches prior to that night were the theater and drama more exciting than in the quarterfinals of the 2015 US Open under the lights in New York City.  Approximately 23,000 fans came to the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows to watch a match that was more than a game, and the Williams sisters delivered another thrilling exhibition of tennis at the highest level. As the ESPN commentators noted before the match, this was a big-time American sporting event with all the bells and whistles we love in our fascination with sports.

    Tom Rinaldi who replaced Dick Enberg as the TV tennis philosopher that adds stories to evoke our emotional attachment to an event, made these remarks prior to the match: “In an individual sport, their stories will always be linked…in our view of the Williams sisters, we see champions sharing a court, a desire to win, and a name. True, one will win –  but both have prevailed.”

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    As a tennis fan who has followed their careers since they first played competitively and in keeping with our celebration of women’s history month, I salute two American women who personify persistence and perseverance to be the very best in their sport and in so doing, prove repeatedly that they are both the images of true champions. Their love of family speaks volumes about their character, and their love of playing tennis is a gift we can all be grateful to appreciate

    You rock, girls – keep going. Records are made to be broken.

    Stay tuned.

    (I have written countless posts with references to the Williams sisters, and I took excerpts from a few of them to write this one.)

     

  • Turn Out the Lights…


    …the party’s over.

    Serena Williams’s search for the ultimate prize of the Calendar Grand Slam in 2015 ended Friday afternoon with high drama in the third set of her US Open semi-final match against Roberta Vinci on the courts of Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York. Roberta Who??

    Exactly. Roberta Vinci, an unseeded player from Italy, was a very long shot to win. The odds makers had her at 200:1 or thereabouts – depending on your bookie. Now that’s an underdog.Think David and Goliath, the first recorded upset in a match that was crucial to a lot of folks in days of yore. In the biblical account David the little shepherd boy goes up against the great Philistine warrior giant Goliath and manages to take him down with a single  stone from a  slingshot. Score David 1, Goliath 0.

    In her press conference following the loss, Serena looked like a giant who had been slain by a barrage of unbelievable shots from an opponent comparable in rank to the little shepherd boy. Surely Goliath must have had a similar shocked expression on his face as he tried to figure out what hit him before he fell to the ground.

    The tennis world reeled from the results of both semi-finals in which the top two players lost, and the widely anticipated match-up between Serena and Simona in the final was not to be. The media scrambled to find a new story line, and the ticket-holders for the final were disappointed in the lost opportunity to watch an American sports icon make history in her country’s most prestigious tournament.

    The Serena Saga came to an unceremonious end with much doom and gloom in the atmosphere at the Arthur Ashe arena, but as the poet Kahlil Gibran wrote: The moving finger writes, and having writ, moves on.

    Tom Rinaldi’s interview with Roberta Vinci after her match with Serena introduced an Italian tennis player with a great smile and sense of humor to go along with her slingshot.  She was the beginning of a new story that captivated tennis fans and gave the world an unprecedented opportunity to witness a magical moment in sports in an American tennis final that belonged to Italy.

    It’s why they play the game.

    To be continued.