Hurricanes and the U.S. Open

In 2005, we (I was married at the time) evacuated from the Northshore (my community is north of Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans) because of Hurricane Katrina. We went with our two cats to a historic hotel in central Louisiana. We had a really bad television, but I was able to watch the U.S. Open. Between that and blogging for my social/political issues blog and blogging for Mother Jones (whose staff interviewed me about hurricane evacuation), I kept busy. (I wrote song parodies about the horror of how the government was dealing--or not dealing--with Katrina, and a man in New England sang them in a coffeehouse.)

It was a scary time. The things that were going on in New Orleans were sickening (I won't go into them here), and they still make me feel sick, sixteeen years later. I typed so much that I developed an RSI. Somewhere on the Internet, I found a message from relatives in the U.K., asking if anyone knew our whereabouts. I was surprised to see my name on a list of "missing Louisiana poets."

Velma learns about Katrina

 

That was the year that the "Can Andy find his Mojo?" promotion was used. It was kind of funny--until he lost in the first round. Later, after Maria Sharapova had a really good win, an interviewer asked her how she did it, and she said "I found Andy's mojo."

It was a while before we could go home, and when we got there, our front gutters were crushed,  there was a tree on our roof,  and a giant oak had fallen, leaving what looked like a moon crater in the back yard. In other words, we were lucky.

I really wanted to watch the U.S. Open final, but of course, we had no power. There was a chain restaurant near my house with both power and televisions, and the manager kindly offered to let me watch the Open from there. But he was unable to get the channel on which the event was showing, so I had to go home and look at the scores on my phone app. 

Tarzan gets into Birmingham hotel life

 

In 2012, we evacuated during Hurricane Isaac. This time, we took four cats with us to Birmingham, Alabama, and stayed in a hotel with considerably more space than we had in 2005. We also had a better hotel, and again, I watched the U.S. Open (on a much better television). That turned out to be a false alarm for us; we returned to an intact house and yard. But the trip back took such a long time (you can imagine) that again, I missed the U.S. Open final.

And here we go again. Tomorrow evening, the power will go out. How long it stays out depends on how many trees go down, and there are a lot of trees in my community. Fortunately, we have a hard-working, very efficient power company. Also, through some fluke, my house is on the hospital grid, so I get my power back before my neighbors do. But I'll miss the early part of the U.S. Open, an event that I've come to associate with hurricanes.

From Giorgi to Barty, the U.S. Open warmup season produces more questions than answers

Camila Giorgi's win in Montreal may wind up being--for me--one of major tennis stories of the year. For a decade and a half, fans and commentators--and I'm sure many others--watched the Italian player in frustration because she refused to use any but the "hit the ball hard' gear. I imagine that most of us had given up on her, but then, out of nowhere, Giorgi decided that adding some strategy--changing pace, using spin, paying attention to the court--would be a good idea. 

It was. She won the Montreal tournament, a WTA 1000 event, defeating Karolina Pliskova in the final, and knocking off the likes of Elise Mertens, Petra Kvitova, Coco Gauff, an Jessica Pegula along the way.

 

The next week, world number 1 Ash Barty won the prestigious Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. So far, Barty has won majors on clay and grass, but not on hard courts. She has won hard court tournaments, though, including Miami in 2019, so she definitely goes into the 2021 U.S. Open as a favorite. 

I think that Barty has a strong chance to take home the title in New York. It goes without saying that one of the players most likely to turn that script upside down is two-time champion Naomi Osaka, who loves hard courts. Some are saying that Karolina Pliskova could win the title. The Tall Cool One was the runner-up in 2016, and she's more or less always a contender, but it has to get tougher for her each year, not winning a major. Assuming that it does, how will she deal with her mindset?

World number 2 Aryna Sabalenka is also mentioned a lot as a contender, and she certainly is, though have to wonder if she's really ready to claim that big a prize. Then there's Elina Svitolina, who--like Piskova--has yet to win a major, but this could be her time. 

Simona Halep is back--maybe. Halep has never won the U.S. Open, so here's hoping she's healthy enough to compete at the highest level. Iga Swiatek, Jennifery Brady, Ons Jabeur, Belinda Bencic, and Barbora Krejcikova can all be tossed in, as well---any of them could win it. Throw in Danielle Collins and Maria Sakkari if you like. (I wish that I could say that about 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu, but right now, I can't.)

And then there's Angie Kerber. Kerber is back. Her appearance in the Wimbledon semifinals was a huge announcement. She's won the U.S. Open before, and she looks ready to do it again. The German star is in the third quarter of the draw, which also contains Svitolina, Elena Rybakina, Halep, and Osaka. 

First rounds of interest:

Karolina Muchova (22) vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo
Victorija Golubic vs. Bianca Andreescu (6)
Tsvetana Pironkova vs. Daria Kasatkina (25)
Camila Giorgi vs. Simona Halep (12)
Madison Keys vs. Sloane Stephens
Donna Vekic vs. Garbine Muguruza (9)
Alize Cornet vs. Ons Jabeur (20)

Rain, injuries, a huge pay gap--and some great tennis

Photo by Diane Elayne Dees

 

It feels a bit strange not to be in Cincinnati this year, but then, "a bit strange" has become the norm in the last year and a half. Humidity and rain define much of the Cincinnati summer (very much like where I live), and there has been plenty of rain at this tournament, causing several delays in play.

There have also been several injuries and retirements.Simona Halep, back after a long injury (calf tear) layoff that caused her to miss Wimbledon, where she was the defending champion, had to withdraw after the first round because of an adductor tear. In doing so, she gave a walkover to Jessica Pegula. And in the round of 16, Karolina Muchova retired in her match against Belinda Bencic because of an abdominal injury.

Sadly, two of the four quarterfinal matches were decided by injury. Petra Kvitova, suffering with an abdominal illness, retired in her match against Angie Kerber. And Paula Badosa, arguably the hottest contender at the event, retired against Karolina Pliskova because of a shoulder injury. 

Then there's the matter of the prize money gap, which--this year--is greater than in the past. For example, a first-round WTA winner gets $12,385, while a first-round ATP winner gets $23,650. In the quarterfinals, the respective prizes are $47,820 and $116,655. The WTA champion gets $255,220, and the ATP champion gets $654,815. (Perhaps it's time to have Sinona Halep explain to us again how there's no sexism in professional tennis.)

Two elite players who are "back" did well--or not that well--depending on your glass half empty/full point of view. 2017 champion Garbine Muguruza, who has made a slow climb back to form, fell in three sets in the round of 16 to the now-dangerous French Open champion, Barbora Krejcikova. And Angie Kerber lost in straight sets to world number 1 Ash Barty in today's semifinals.

Final FEELINGS 🙌@jilteichmann improves to a perfect 4-0 vs. the Top 🔟 this year with her takedown of Pliskova 6-2, 6-4.#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/49lqJPYd6q

— Western & Southern Open (@CincyTennis) August 21, 2021

The break-out star of the event is wild card Jil Teichmann of Switzerland, a very talented player who has had some injury struggles in recent times. Teichmann took out 2nd seed Naomi Osaka in the round of 16. This was the biggest win of her career, and some wondered whether the emotional toll of that achievement might be too much for her. It wasn't. She went on to defeat Olympic gold medal winner Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals. Then, in the semifinals, she upset 5th seed and 2016 champion Karolina Pliskova.

There have been several outstanding matches. In the opening round, Paula Badosa and Petra Martic (both very interesting to watch!) went after each other in a two and a half-hour event which Badosa won 11-9 in a third set tiebreak (after saving five match points). That was the Spaniard's warmup: She next faced 3rd seed Aryna Sabalenka, favored by many to win the championship, and defeated her, too, also in a third set tiebreak. 

In the round of 16, Angie Kerber defeated Alona Ostapenko in what really could appropriately be called a "battle." The two of them threw everything they had at each other, with Ostapenko breaking Kerber the first time she served for the match. In the end, it was Kerber who prevailed in what was a really thrilling contest.

World number 1 Ash Barty has blazed through this event without dropping a set, not even to Barbora Krejcikova and Angie Kerber, both of whom I thought would give Barty a hard time. Barty also delivered a bagel to Victoria Azarenka, so that gives you an idea of how she's playing.

The final will be played tomorrow. Here are the players' paths to the final:

ASH BARTY (1)
round 1--bye
round 2--def. Heather Watson
round of 16--def. Victoria Azarenka (14)
quarterfinals--def. Barbora Krejcikova (9)
semifinals--def. Angeique Kerber

JIL TEICHMANN (WC)
round 1--def. Sorana Cirstea
round 2--def. Bernarda Pera
round of 16--def. Naomi Osaka (2)
quarterfinals--def. Belinda Bencic (10)
semifinals--def. Karolina Pliskova (5)

In doubles, the breakout stars are 6th-seeded Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani. The pair upset 2nd seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in the semifinals, and will face Sam Stosur and Zhang Shuai in the final.

A dozen medals later, Olympic tennis concludes

History is written!💜🎾

🇨🇭 @BelindaBencic
🇨🇿 @VondrousovaM
🇺🇦 @ElinaSvitolina #Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Tennis pic.twitter.com/b689QQYASM

— wta (@WTA) July 31, 2021

I've read, on Twitter, that many tennis fans didn't watch much (or any) of the tennis matches at the Olympics. Some fans opted to watch sports that they don't otherwise get to see, or at least, see very often. And some just weren't interested, given the absence of some major players, and the early exit of others. My problem involved time zones--I just couldn't wake up in the middle of the night or the very early morning to watch matches.

I did get to see some live matches, however, and I watched a few replays. There were a few standouts in singles, and two of them had something in common: Elina Svitolina played in them. Her round of 16 match against Maria Sakkari was thrilling and of very high quality, as was her bronze medal match against Elena Rybakina (who continues to impress). The other memorable match was the final (which is always a nice thing), in which Belinda Bencic defeated Marketa Vondrousova.

Svitolina, incidentally, is the first tennis player from Ukraine to win an Olympic medal.

As always, some of the subtexts and backstories were as interesting as the tennis. Bencic has long been known as a talent to watch, yet she has never reached the heights to which many thought she would climb. Now, she has Olympic gold and silver. Then there's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, whose backstory is about the same as Bencic's. When the Russian player reached the final of the French Open, it felt like it was such a long time coming. At that time, Pavlyuchenkva said, "I want to believe that the best is yet to come," and now, she has a gold medal for mixed doubles.

Pavlyuchenkova's countrywoman, Elena Vesnina, took 32 months off for maternity leave. Upon her return, she reached the third round of the French Open in singles, and the final in mixed doubles (with Aslan Karatsev). At Wimbledon, she and Veronika Kudermetova knocked out the defending champions (and top seeds), and finished as the runners-up. 

Quite a comeback. Vesnina and Karatsev made it all the way to the final at the Olympics, too, and held a match point in the process. The Russian came away with a silver medal (she also played for a bronze in doubles), but we will also remember her for acing (and defeating) Novak Djokovic.

Here are the winners:

Singles
gold--Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)
silver--Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic)
bronze--Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)

Doubles
gold--Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic)
silver--Belina Bencic/Viktoija Golubic (Switzerland)
bronze--Laura Pigossi/Luisa Stefani (Brazil)

Mixed Doubles
gold--Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/Andrey Rublev (Russian Olympic Committee)
silver--Elena Vesnina/Aslan Karatsev (Russian Olympic Committee)
bronze--Ash Barty/John Peers (Australia)

It's hard to say goodbye, and even harder to say it three times

Kiki Bertens (photo by Daniel Ward)

It's always tough for fans when a talented, popular player retires. These are hard times, for not one, but three talented and popular players are leaving the tour. Kiki Bertens, Carla Suarez Navarro and Barbora Strycova have all announced their retirement. Each woman added something special to the WTA, and each will be remembered for her contributions, not only to the game, but to the unique culture that is women's professional tennis.

Kiki Bertens, who was ranked as high as number 4 in singles, was known as a clay court specialist for years, but then she showed the tennis world that she could be just as deadly on a hard court. In 2018, she won both Charleston and Cincinnati, securing her place as a two (at least)-surface threat. 

Several years ago, I had a strong feeling that Bertens could win the French Open. In 2019, I was no longer alone--the Dutchwoman was a top favorite--the favorite for some--to win in Paris. She had won Madrid without dropping a set, and her chances to win a major looked really good.

Sadly, Bertens had to retire in the second round when she became ill, and we'll never know what might have been. Nevertheless, she retires with a wonderful career record. Bertens won ten singles titles, the most notable of them, of course, in Charleston, Cincinnati and Madrid. She also won ten doubles titles, was on the Dutch Olympic team in 2016, and played Fed Cup for The Netherlands for eight years.

Bertens won a lot of points with her heavy topspin forehand, but she employed enough variety in her shot-making to get the better of a variety of opponents. The 29-year-old Bertens was also known for her high level of fitness. A nagging Achilles injury, however, contributed to her decision to retire from professional tennis. She also acknowledged that her pandemic-related time away from the tour allowed her to look at other options for her life.

"...Covid came and everything changed, of course," Bertens said when she announced her retirement. "I gave my body total rest because I felt like I needed it. With the unknown, it was tough to go out there and practice every day. So I thought I would give my body a total rest, and I quite liked it, to be honest."

The 29-year-old Dutch star acknowledged that she might have played for another two or three years if the pandemic hadn't come along and given her that rest. But, she added, there were days when it was hard for her to walk, so she doesn't really know how much longer she could have played. She played her final match at the 2021 Olympics, losing in the opening round to Marketa Vondrousova.

Bertens was both a crowd favorite and a peer favorite--always candid, always trying to improve, always available for a good laugh. She will be missed.

¡ Muy feliz por la primera victoria en Tokyo !
Poder competir en estos JJ.OO. ya es una alegría inmensa.
Les agradezco todo el apoyo que recibo 🇪🇸 💪🏻 A por más 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/BiEVmnI7TN

— Carla Suárez Navarro (@CarlaSuarezNava) July 25, 2021

Also playing her final match at the Olympics was Carla Suarez Navarro, whose retirement story was especially poignant because the 32-year-old Spanish player had spent eight months undergoing both chemotherapy and radiation for Hodgkin's lymphoma. Suarez Navarro said that she knew that 2020 would be her last year on the tour, but then she changed her mind because she didn't want people to remember her as someone ill with cancer. "I didn't want to go through the back door...."

Suarez Navarro played at both the French Open and Wimbledon, then competed at the Olympics, where she defeated the talented Ons Jabeur in the first round. She and her friend, Garbine Muguruza, teamed for doubles competition, and made it to the second round.

Known for her beautiful one-handed backhand, Suarez Navarro won two singles titles (including Doha, in 2016, and three doubles titles (all with Muguruza). She played on Spain's Fed Cup team for eleven years, and she was a three-time member of the Spanish Olympic team.

👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻 pic.twitter.com/hHkCTsPsiO

— Barbora Strycova (@BaraStrycova) May 4, 2021

Also announcing her retirement was Barbora Strycova, a very talented doubles player who could also be a tough singles opponent (she reached the 2019 Wimbledon semifinals). Strycova won two singles titles and 31 doubles titles, including the 2020 Wimbledon title (with Hsieh Su-wei). She was the world number 1 doubles player in 2019. Strycova played on the Czech Fed Cup team for twelve years, and she was twice a member of the Czech Olympic team.

The 35-year-old Czech player, who is pregnant with her first child, is a podcaster and a figure skater, and has long had somewhat of a cult following among serious WTA fans. She has been called "The Professor," a fact to which Elina Svitolina can attest:

 

One of my favorite of Strycova's professorial moments occurred when she showed Aga Radwanska how to "Radwanska" at the 2016 French Open:

The Czech star, in announcing her retirement, said that she hopes to play one final WTA event in 2022. We can only hope. One thing for sure--there will never be another like her. Perhaps world number 1 Ash Barty said it best when she described Strycova as a "hell of a chick."

Credit One Bank new title sponsor in Charleston

Charleston Tennis, LLC, announced yesterday that Credit One Bank is the new title sponsor of the long-running Charleston 500 tournament formerly known as the Volvo Car Open. The event, a player favorite, is the largest women's-only tennis tournament in North America. The tournament will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2022 in the newly renovated and modernized Credit One Stadium. The event's new name will be revealed at a later date.

Present at the announcement were: 
Bob Moran, President, Charleston Tennis, LLC
John Coombe, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Credit One Bank
Steve Simon, CEO, WTA
Madison Keys, 2019 Charleston champion

Madison Keys

Credit One first partnered with Charleston Tennis, LLC in June of 2020 for the Credit One Bank Invitational, which was part of Tennis Channel’s Re(Open) Tour and the first large-scale tennis event to be held after the sport shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament featured sixteeen players, received more than 40 hours of live coverage on Tennis Channel, and helped raise funds for the Medical University of South Carolina’s front-line healthcare workers. Following the success of the event, Credit One and Charleston Tennis, LLC began exploring additional partnership opportunities through sponsorship of the Daniel Island stadium and activation around the tennis tournament and throughout the region.

Charleston Tennis, LLC will continue to own and operate the facilities and event programming at the Credit One Stadium and LTP Daniel Island tennis center, including the WTA 500 tennis tournament, concerts, tennis programs, and more. Volvo Cars USA will continue to support the event as the official vehicle. 

Credit One Stadium will expand from 7,500 seats to 11,000 seats and feature sixteen fully air-conditioned permanent suites, all new concessions, additional bathrooms, and a 75,000-square-foot Stage House with a partial roof. The Stage House will transform the stadium experience for tennis players, entertainers, media, and special guests, offering locker rooms, a gym, training facilities, production and media space, catering amenities, and a VIP rooftop restaurant and outdoor bar. The roof of the Stage House will also provide partial shade for attendees at the tennis tournament and act as a support structure for concerts and special events.

Bob Moran

 “The future of live tennis is a bright spot for us, building and planning for what the future will look like for the new Credit One Stadium. After nearly eighteen months of navigating postponements and cancelations, we look forward to bringing world-class tennis back to Charleston each April and broadening our reach to bigger and better concerts and special events throughout the year,” Moran said when making the announcement.

 

The 2022 tournament will be held April 2-10. Veronika Kudermetova is the defending singles champion, and Nicole Melichar and Demi Schuurs are the defending doubles champions.

 

Madison Keys, John Coombe, Steve Simon

My Wimbledon top 10

Destiny fulfilled 🇦🇺@AshBarty is our new Ladies' Singles Champion 🏆#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Yeh7wldDuv

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2021

 Here are my top 10 Wimbledon happenings and phenomena, in ascending order:

10. You can call it tradition, or you can call it ridiculous: 2021 marked the final blank middle Sunday at Wimbledon, and it's about time. At a tournament where it often rains--the first three days of this year's event, it rained so much that there were massive delays--it makes no sense to have no play on the middle Sunday. But that isn't the only problem. Tournament administrators promote Manic Monday as "the greatest day in tennis" (but of course, they also claim to have the greatest tournament), but for fans, it's a nightmare. Then there's the matter of not having the quarterfinals played consecutively, which is even more of a nightmare for fans. Perhaps in another 50 years, those in charge will make changes to the round of 16 and quarterfinal schedules, too--but let's not raise our expectations.

9. The harder they fall: Defending champion Simona Halep tore her calf during the French Open, and--shortly before the Wimbledon draw was made--she announced that she would not be able to play in London. This sad news was followed by the equally sad news that Serena Williams had to retire during her first round match; the seven-time champion slipped on the court and injured her leg. After having to wait two years to play at the event, they were again denied the opportunity. And for fans, the agony continued when two-time champion Petra Kvitova was upset in the first round by Sloane Stephens.

8. Diede De Great adds a third Wimbledon title: Top seed Diede De Groot added a third Wimbledon title to her very impressive resume today, when she defeated Kgothatso Montjane 6-2, 6-2 in the wheelchair singles final. De Groot wasn't in the doubles final, which is very unusual; she and partner Aniek Van Koot were upset in the semifinals. Second seeds Yui Kamiji and Jordanne Whiley won the doubles title, defeating Montjane and Lucy Shuker 6-0, 7-6 in the final.

7. Goal accomplished: Talking to the press the day before the MUSC Women's Health Open final in Charleston, Ons Jabeur said, "I want to show them what Ons can do." She was stopped by Astra Sharma in that final, but then Jabeur went to Paris and made it to the round of 16. She followed that by winning Birmingham (her first WTA title), then reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. And what a run it was: Jabeur took out three major champions, two of them Wimbledon champions--Venus Williams, Garbine Muguruza and Iga Swiatek--on her way.

Jabeur had reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open earlier this year, and--at that time--she became the first Arab woman to reach the quarterfinals of a major. Now she's the first Arab woman to reach the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, and we can conclude that she has indeed shown us what Ons can do.

6. May I have another, please?: Desirae Krawczyk and her partner, Joe Salisbury, unseeded, won the French Open mixed doubles title this year. Now Krawczyk, this time playing with Neal Skupski, has also won the Wimbledon title. Krawczyk is ranked number 17 in the world in doubles. She and Alexa Guarachi were the women's doubles runners-up at the 2020 French Open.

5. No title, but certainly a victory: In 2016, Angie Kerber won the Australian Open and the U.S. Open, was a runner-up at Wimbledon, and won a silver medal at the Olympic Games. In 2018, she won Wimbledon again. Since that time, the former number 1 dropped out of the top 20, but she came to life in a big way during the 2021 grass season. Right before Wimbledon began, Kerber won the Bad Homburg event, her first title in three years. Her Wimbledon second round match was arguably the greatest singles match of the tournament, and she made it as far as the semifinals. Kerber (who looked a bit passive in the match) lost to eventual champion Ash Barty, but it was a great run. And more important--Angie's back.

4. You need a shot of vitamin V: Charleston champion Veronika Kudermetova and her partner, veteran Elena Vesnina, had already taken out the top seeds, French Open champions Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, in the quarterfinals (and saving two match points in the process). In their semifinal match, they had to contend with the on-fire team of Caroline Dolehide and Storm Sanders, and what ensued was as thrilling a match as anyone would want to see. 

Down 2-5 in the third set, the younger half of the Russian team appeared to be deflated beyond repair. Kudermetova's resigned agony was palpable, but experienced champion Vesnina did everything but breathe fire into her (and she may have found a way to do that), bringing her back to life. The Russians saved three match points, and went on to win the match, 7-6, 3-6, 7-5. It was two and a half hours of very high quality tennis and non-stop excitement.

3. The mirror doesn't lie: When we think of the fiery, determined Sara Sorribes Tormo, we tend to think of a clay court, but it turns out that the Spaniard is just as maddening an opponent on grass. Ask Angie Kerber, who had to deal with Sorribes Tormo in the Wimbledon second round. Kerber, with her strong legs and her ability to hit impossible angles, is one of the greatest defensive players on the tour, and perhaps one of the greatest ever. But when the German star looked across the net in the second round, she saw the tireless retriever from Spain, running and hitting and looking every bit as fierce as Kerber. It was exhausting just to watch them. For three hours and 19 minutes, they were at each other, providing continuing thrills for spectators. Kerber won, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.

2. London's finest drama: I don't like the custom of naming doubles teams (though I make an exception for The Spice Girls, because that name was inspired), but if Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina had to have a name, Drama Drama Drama would do as well as any. During their run at Winbledon, drama followed them wherever they went. There was that thrilling match against the top seeds, Krejcikova and Siniakova, and that crazy-exciting match against Dolehide and Storm. So it was no surprise when the final, which they played against Hsieh Sui-wei and Elise Mertens, was also filled with high drama. It was a tense and thrilling affair, beautifully played by all, and as good a final as one could hope to see. Hsieh and Mertens emerged the winners, 3-6, 7-5, 9-7, and Mertens has now returned to her number 1 ranking.

1. Four decades was long enough: In 1971, Evonne Goolagong lifted her first of two Venus Rosewater dishes. She won the title again in 1980. That no other Australian woman came along and won the title until 41 years had passed is rather strange. But now one has. World number 1 Ash Barty, whose childhood dream was to win Wimbledon, saw that dream come true when she defeated Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 in the final.

Though their premier championship wins are half a century apart, Barty and Goolagong Cawley are friends, and Barty has named Goolagong Cawley as a mentor. They also share indigenous heritage: Goolagong Cawley's family is Wiradjuri, and Barty's father is of Ngarigo heritage. Throughout the tournament, Barty wore a dress with a scalloped hem, in tribute to the dress that her mentor had worn 50 years before. 

Barty is known for her variety in shot-making, and especially for her slice, but she has now made her serve even better, which makes her a major threat. In the final, she played the woman known for her serve, and her ability to hit aces--Karolina Pliskova. After a weak start, the Czech player came to life in the second set, and, via a tiebreak, forced the match to a third set. Barty prevailed, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, and then went on to show us a great number of emotions as it became to real to her that she was holding the Venus Rosewater Dish. 

A doubles star who leaves tennis behind for two years in order to sort things out and to play professional cricket, then returns to become number 1 in the world in singles--wins the French Open, then takes a year off because of the pandemic, during which time she wins a golf tournament. Then injures her hip at the French Open, but shows up at Wimbledon--and wins the title. 

Oh, that movie is too over-the-top to be made! It was, however, exactly what happened in the professional life of Ash Barty, 2021 Wimbledon singles champion, and world number 1.

 We await the sequel.