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It's been a minute since we posted here, but we've been staying active during this pandemic with live Zoom sessions, pop culture episodes, advice segments, and tennis updates.
Episodes 195-197 of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, podbean.com, and your favorite podcast apps.
Episode 195: "TBS Live!"
This week, we attempted our very first live show on Zoom. We recorded a live TBS episode covering the bizarre news of the past week or so (think vaccines, mergers, missteps), and followed that up with some games and live Q&A. Thanks to the folks who joined in, contributed to the live chat, and submitted questions. If you weren't able to make it, here's the entire session along with a quick intro.
0:30 Intro - the fandoms had quite a week, huh?
8:30 TBS Live: starting with Roger Federer's bombshell tweet on ATP/WTA merger
18:30 Billie Jean weighs in: "The WTA on its own was always Plan B"
26:05 Novak's no good very bad week
37:00 ND clarified: I said what I said
40:00 Tennis powers announce a $6 million player support fund
49:15 A live F-Marry-Kill from @SholzTalks10s
53:00 Name the Tennis Player
55:20 A live mailbag from the Zoom live chat - starting with best player social media accounts
59:30 Who benefits the most and least from the suspension of tennis?
75:30 Flukiest Slam champ of the century?
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. In The Body Serve Diary, Jonathan and James write conversationally about the various happenings in the wild world of tennis.
Women's final
Jonathan: We're underway in the women's final. Sveta looked eager to get things started: first to shake the hands of the folks at net for the photo op, and first to get in position for the photo op itself. Accordingly, she got out to the early lead by breaking Madison in the first game. Right now, she's up 4-2 after holding a long service game in which she saved two break points. Sveta has yet to reach 100 mph on her serve through three service games; instead she's relying on her veteran wiles and creative instincts on court. To escape that last service game, she upped the topspin quotient on her groundies to draw errors from Madison who couldn't resist going "hog wild," as Venus termed it earlier this week.
James: Sveta is such a smart player. She has so many tools to work with, alternately using looping topspin, not-quite-moonballs, low slices, drop shots, everything. She's seen it all out here and understands Madison's weaknesses. Now this is not to say that Madison won't turn it around and start clubbing the ball. Interestingly, though, Kuznetsova has never beaten -- or even won a set against -- Keys in their three meetings, all on hard courts.
Jonathan: Well look at you speaking things into existence! Madison breaks Sveta as she attempted to serve out the first set, held serve easily for 6-5, then broke again to close out the first set 7-5. It's wild how quickly the tenor of this match has changed. Madison is exercising incredible patience out there and seems to be in total control.
Don't look now, but Sveta has taken an early break to go up 2-1 in the second set. She called her coach down after the end of the first set, and being the veteran that she is, seems to have regrouped rather quickly. She finds herself in the exact same spot as the first set, serving for it at 5-4; let's see how it goes this time.
James: And again, broken while serving for the set. Although it hasn't seemed it this week, Sveta is not match tough, and it's not crazy for her to blink in these tough moments. At the same time, Keys has managed to clean up her ground game in crucial moments. Madison's mental game has been impressive during this match, as she has refused to panic after falling down breaks in both sets. By the way, I've just read that the on-court temperature is approaching the 120s Fahrenheit.
Jonathan: Ouch to the heat, and ouch to Sveta being broken while serving for the second set like she did when serving for the first. Luckily for her, it wasn't a carbon copy of the first, in that she was able to hold serve at 5-6 and send the set into a tiebreak. Unluckily for her, Madison wins the tiebreak and the match 7-5 7-6(5).
TBS Diary: Semis In Cincy
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. In The Body Serve Diary, Jonathan and James write conversationally about the various happenings in the wild world of tennis.
Jonathan: Did you ever imagine we'd be talking about Svetlana Kuznetsova this far into the tournament? Her run this week in Cincy has been magical. She's beaten four of the top 11 seeds: Sevastova, Stephens, Pliskova, and now top-seeded Barty in a comfortable, straight set affair in the semi-finals. We've said and written so many superlatives about her this week that I wonder what else there is to say.
James: Luckily she's always giving us more. Svetlana has said that nothing surprises her anymore, she's seen it all in tennis. Surely there's something just a tad surprising about this week? At 34, this is the first time she's beaten three top 10 players in one tournament. She dismantled the #1 seeded Barty in the semis, dictating play throughout the match. Kuznetsova looked at Barty's variety and said, "I can do that." It was an utterly comprehensive match from Sveta, even if Barty was not at her best. Ash didn't have a great day on serve (and an abysmal one on return), batting slightly over .500 on first and second serve points won; lots of that can be credited to Kuznetsova's elite return game. Ash was sure to heap praise on the "legend" Kuznetsova in press, saying that there wasn't much she could do when Svetlana was dominating like that.
Jonathan: We've got a bit of a lull in the day as we sit here overlooking the first men's semifinal and waiting for Sveta's press conference. Goffin just took the first set from Gasquet 6-3, never really looking bothered at all. Back to Sveta, she will play the winner of the Keys-Kenin second semi-final. Who do you think would be a preferred matchup for her?
James: I have no idea. I know who my preferred winner is: Madison Keys. Sveta has hung with big hitters her entire career (I mean, she's no slouch in that department either). She certainly wouldn't be cowed by either the moment or Madison's massive ground game. However, if Madison is hitting off both wings like she did last night, good luck to literally anyone in her path. The big "if" with Madison is accuracy. As far as Kenin, if I'm being completely honest, I've watched very little of her so far. But her run over the past two weeks is one of those that sometimes presages a massive career. Two wins over two different world no. 1s in less than two weeks.
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. In The Body Serve Diary, Jonathan and James write conversationally about the various happenings in the wild world of tennis.
James: We're fresh off the Grandstand, watching Svetlana Kuznetsova gut out yet another 3-set win in terrible midday heat. Today, her victim was #3 Karolina Pliskova, who was to my mind as good a bet as anyone to win this tournament. She's had a great year, having won three titles already. She was also the 2016 champ here in Cincinnati. But the conditions, coupled with Kuznetsova's relentlessness, proved too much for Pliskova, and she went out rather meekly in the third set. Sveta's moment is on point this week; she's scrambling around the baseline, sliding, and twisting in all directions to reach balls. Not only that, she hit 30 winners today and broke Karolina three times.
After the second-set tiebreak -- which Kuznetsova bossed or Pliskova threw away, depending on your perspective -- the heat rule allowed the players to take a much needed 10-minute break. The temperatures are only going to get worse this weekend. This is expected in Cincinnati in August, but unlike the past few years, there have been very little clouds and rain as a respite from the heat. Jonathan, what did you make of that match, and how to explain Kuznetsova's remarkable tournament so far?
Jonathan: Since we didn't have a #TBSDiary for yesterday's play, I feel compelled to mention that Sveta came into this match on the heels of totally dismantling Sloane Stephens 6-1 6-2. I asked her afterward if she was surprised by how easily she was able to get by Sloane given how competitive her previous two matches were. Her response: no. LOL. For Sveta, she's seen it all at this point and she just cahhhhhn't be surprised by anything on a tennis court anymore.
That said, I was a bit surprised by the result today, especially after Sveta got off to such a slow start. Pliskova was blitzing her through five games, and it looked like it could be over in a flash. But, like she did against Yastremska, Kuznetsova eventually got used to the pace and started to dictate play more and more. It was a wily, veteran performance. There may be a bit of magic for Sveta here in Cincy this week. She gets to play Ash Barty for the first time in the semis.
TBS Diary: Melting In Cincy
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. In The Body Serve Diary, Jonathan and James write conversationally about the various happenings in the wild world of tennis.to edit.
James: The heat finally hit us in earnest today, and Next Gen said "I'm good, luv. Enjoy." Upsets abounded -- although not all of these were technically upsets based on the rankings -- with Sharapova falling to #2 Barty, and Azarenka going out to the rising Donna Vekic. Even Shapovalov losing to Pouille wasn't technically an upset, despite the always ample news coverage of Shapo making it seem like his fortunes should be trending higher. One Next Gen-er who did prevail was Andrey Rublev, who is emerging from a wicked slump and beat Stan Wawrinka today.
Alexander Zverev kept intact his winless record in Cincinnati, losing to Serbian teenager Miomir Kecmanovic in 3 sets. (To be fair, Kecmanovic was an Indian Wells quarterfinalist this year, and is coming off a great win against Felix Auger-Aliassime this week.) Zverev's terrible record here becomes more surprising the more you think about it, especially knowing that he's won titles in humid Montreal and Washington, D.C.
Jonathan: I was COOKED today. I spent so much time in the direct sun on Court 10, my happy place. I was determined to get a tan, and it's my absolute favourite court; hopefully the sun screen I applied will leave me in good shape come tomorrow. But, wow, the CARNAGE! I started with a very wild Azarenka on Court 10 vs Donna Vekic. I had high hopes of a rematch of Auckland with Venus Williams, but alas it's not to be. Vika looks to be in great shape, but she's been suffering from a serious case of overhitting in the last few months. To Vekic's credit, she was solid from the jump. I was super impressed with her first serve and how she was able to place it wherever she wanted.
As it stands now, we will get Venus vs Vekic tomorrow (not before 1pm) on Center Court. They've played once before, three years ago at Wimbledon, with Venus winning in three sets. Where did you start your day?
James: I too started with Azarenka-Vekic, though after waiting outside the court through a seven-deuce game I was tempted to bolt. Vekic was simply too solid and too strong on serve for Azarenka. Vika is back with Wim Fissette, but I have to wonder what level we can expect from her going forward.
I bounced around all day, checking out Kuznetsova and Ostapenko's practices, a few games of Wawrinka losing to Rublev, and a bit of Barty-Sharapova. I quite enjoyed the first set of Osaka-Sasnovich, which was on my favourite Cincinnati court: the Grandstand. It's not fancy; it's utilitarian, it's usually easy to find a seat, and there are a lot of short corner rows that allow you to sit alone (lol). Naomi was scratchy in that first set, looking alternately brilliant and wildly inaccurate. She and Sasnovich both hit some beautiful serves, and also hit plenty of groundstrokes that flew out by feet rather than inches. Sasnovich was close to snatching the first, did take the second, and managed to stretch the new world #1 to over 2 hours in the heat.
Now there's one marathon match in particular I know we both want to talk about … any ideas, Jonathan?
Jonathan: Ahhhhhh!!!! Svetlana Kuznetsova, visa in tow, has beaten Vekic (last week in Toronto), Sevastova, and now Yastremska since being given her wings to fly again on the WTA Tour. I've seen Sveta play so many times on Court 10 over the years, and it's almost always something really good. Today was no different. It was also my first live viewing of Dayana Yastremska, who has oodles of power. It was the first time Sveta played her, and she looked to be thrown off and on the back foot by the Ukrainian's power game in the first set. Sveta being Sveta, she saved two match points in the second set, eventually prevailing over a hobbled Yastremska in the end. By the latter stages of the third set, Sveta was ripping winners all over the place, and it was a sight for sore and sun-drunk eyes. We hope to maaaaaybe interview her tomorrow, which would be a full circle kind of moment, as she was one of the very first guests on The Body Serve way back when.
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. In The Body Serve Diary, Jonathan and James write conversationally about the various happenings in the wild world of tennis.
James: We were all ready to finish this evening watching Serena's opener, but we've just received the news of her withdrawal, basically at the same time as the rest of the world. The skies then immediately opened and poured down a near-whiteout, interrupting Roger Federer's opener with Juan Ignacio Londero. Western New York homegirl Jessica Pegula will take Serena's spot and face Zarina Diyas in tonight's second match. I can't say Serena's withdrawal is a shock, but we were all optimistic once we saw her practicing on-site this morning.
The fortunes of the elder Williams sister, however, have suddenly turned brighter. Venus had been struggling mightily throughout the past few months, losing in the first round in her last three tournaments. (In the last two, the caliber of her vanquishers rang alarm bells, especially Bethanie Mattek-Sands in her return to singles after many months). Today, Venus was crisp, clever, and strong in taking out Cincinnati defending champ Kiki Bertens. Jonathan, you've written a piece on Venus tonight -- would you care to add a bit of color?
Jonathan: The tennis Venus displayed in the first set should put all those fears to rest. I can't recall the last time Venus looked that good on a tennis court. Dare I say I saw shades of 2017 Venus during today's match against the defending champion? Even when she fell behind 0-4 in the second set, she immediately got both breaks back and threatened to get things done in straight sets. However, Bertens showed her class and didn't make things easy for Venus. What was really cool to witness was the crowd throwing everything behind Venus, willing her to the finish line. We KNOW the fraught history of the Williamses playing on home soil in the past, so this is always lovely to see. Anyway, you can read my piece here.
THE BODY SERVE: It appeared that many aspects of your game were working well today. Is there something in particular you were pleased about?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I just tried not to go too big, because I can go so big and I have a lot of power, and it's not always easy to control. So I'm trying to play smart instead of going … hog wild. Which is extremely easy to do.
Venus was the highlight of our day, but we got things started on the Grandstand with Frances Tiafoe (surprisingly?) taking out Monfils in straight sets. What made it even more surprising was the fact he was able to do it after falling behind 1-4 in the first set while being completely outplayed.
James: Frances' first few games were atrocious; he could barely find the court. As the set progressed, though, his volleys suddenly started landing, his groundstrokes started touching lines, and frankly, his opponent choked a few times. Monfils held four set points in the tiebreak, but Tiafoe found a way to gut it out. A question you asked in press elicited an interesting response from Frances; his volleys clearly weren't working early in the match, but he decided to keep returning to the well because he knew it was the right play. Eventually, it worked, and his entire game seemed to follow.
THE BODY SERVE. You seemed to struggle a little bit with your short game at the beginning of the first set, missing some balls at the net. But then you persisted and that was probably, looked to me, one of the reasons why you were able to pull that first set back in your favor.
FRANCES TIAFOE: Yeah.
THE BODY SERVE. Was that something you have been working on, giving you the confidence to keep doing it when it's not going so well?
FRANCES TIAFOE: It was tough. Just not easy, especially when you get passed a couple times when you came forward off some good approaches. Yeah, I dumped some volleys early. It was a game plan. You've got to stick to it. You can live and die by it. At least you know it's the right play.
Yeah, it was tough. I mean, just trying to be a little too fancy there in the beginning rather than just kind of being boring and taking care of the volley. Yeah, I was able to do that throughout the match better and better.
By Jonathan Newman
MASON, Ohio -- Venus Williams was the first woman into the third round at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati when she defeated the defending champion, Kiki Bertens, 6-3 3-6 7-6 on Tuesday afternoon. For the seven-time Slam champion, the win was just her second over a top-10 ranked opponent all season, and signaled that the American was rounding into form at the right time ahead of the U.S. Open.
Still, Williams was hesitant to place too much importance on the win, even though she entered Cincinnati having lost three consecutive first round matches.
"It was just a second round, though," Williams said. "For me, it's just round by round. I have a third round to play. To be honest, every player I play plays amazing. She was no less than that."
Her opponent, world no. 5 Kiki Bertens, was the defending champion at the Western and Southern Open. The two had played two prior matches, both eventually decided in three sets. Today was no different. Williams raced to an early lead, playing as good a set of tennis as she has all year to secure the first set 6-3. Bertens, for her part, found a groove at the start of the second, sprinting to a 4-0 lead before Williams recouped both breaks to get back on serve at 3-4. The pair was destined to play another three-set match, as Bertens broke back immediately before taking the set 6-3.
TBS Diary: It's Been a Minute
James: Aside from the loss of Piada, one of the only healthy options is the food court? The return of Andy Murray to singles, brief though it was, captured a lot of attention in the first day or two. On a smaller scale, 2-time major champ and 2017 Cincinnati semifinalist Svetlana Kuznetsova has gotten her visa issues sorted, and has returned to singles after a long layoff. She's looked great against Anastasia Sevastova. At the risk of objectifying her, Sveta looks to be in excellent shape; plus, her finesse and touch haven't deserted her. You love to see it.
Jonathan: What I DON'T love to see, James, is you not following directions: I asked for the ONE thing that has stuck out for you so far! But, I take your point about Svetlana; we are both currently on Court 3 as we write this piece in Google Docs, and, for how little tennis she's played this year, Kuznetsova looks great. Unfortunately for Andy Murray, he was unable to get by Richard Gasquet today, losing in straight sets. But, considering where Andy was at the Australian Open this year, that he was able to give a good account of himself in his singles return, AND remain pain free, is a massive victory in and of itself. He didn't look too bad on Court either!
James: I think Andy will see any singles play this summer as a positive. He was moving fairly well, fighting for breaks -- not really getting them -- but the match was encouraging, because he says he's playing pain-free.
At the US Open, he has decided not to play singles, but will play doubles and mixed doubles. Any guesses who he'll play mixed with?
Jonathan: I feel like you're baiting me into saying SerAndy, and honestly, Serena would have to be the frontrunner UNLESS Venus puts her foot down and requires her to double up with her instead.
Speaking of the elder Williams, Venus turned in arguably her best performance of the summer today, besting Lauren Davis in straight sets. Venus hadn't won a match since mid-June when she lost in the quarterfinals in Birmingham, subsequently losing three consecutive first round matches to Coco Gauf, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, and Carla Suarez Navarro. But today, against an opponent she was 3-0 H2H, Venus served up more aces than double faults, was consistently in the 110 mph range on the first serve, and even reached 118 mph at one point.
US OPEN PREVIEW PODCAST: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE TRAGIC, featuring COACHES DAVID TAYLOR AND KAMAU MURRAY
Episode 135 of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast: available on iTunes, podbean.com, and all podcast apps
We sat down with the coaches of last year's US Open finalists, David Taylor (Keys) and Kamau Murray (Stephens). These very different coaches share their thoughts on navigating player personalities and what they see as the most important roles of a tennis coach. But first, we analyze the US Open draws: the stacked women's first quarter, which could see a Venus-Serena third round and a Simona-Serena fourth, but with much uncertainty for all. On the men's side, Nadal gets an easy-ish one, while Djokovic looms for Federer (or vice versa) in the quarters. We also take on FFT President Giudicelli's comments on Serena's catsuit, and why boycotting is not top of mind for us.
2:10 The tragic: the women's first quarter, which features 5 current or former no. 1s plus Kuznetsova
12:45 The good: Madison Keys' draw
21:15 Also good: defending champ Nadal gets a soft draw to the semis
32:50 The bad (depending on your position): Djokovic and Federer drawn to play in the quarters
38:10 Peng Shuai gets dinged by the Tennis Integrity Unit, Lendl joins the Zverev camp
42:50 French Federation president Giudicelli bans Serena's catsuit: the cultural battleground that is the black female body
51:30 Is this the least wide-open women's draw in a while?
56:20 Our interviews with David Taylor and Kamau Murray, coaches of last year's US Open finalists Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens
1:04:40 Kamau Murray's radical honesty
PODCASTS FROM CINCINNATI: CHATS w/ WTA COACHES, TEA FROM THE SITE, TOURNAMENT ANALYSIS
Episodes 132, 133, and 134 of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast: available on iTunes, podbean.com, and all podcast apps
Here in Cincinnati, we had the chance to sit down with Sascha Bajin, Naomi Osaka's coach and the former long-time hitting partner of Serena Williams. Sascha talks about his playful relationship with Naomi, his approach to coaching, and his recent social media tribulations. We're also recapping the Rogers Cup, which was highlighted by an incredible giant-killing run by Stefanos Tsitsipas and a superb women's final between Simona Halep and Sloane Stephens.
2:00 Catching up with Rogers Cup results: all about Stefanos
7:30 Denis & Sascha Z ruffle a few feathers - we attempt to move past the knee-jerk reaction
17:00 Rafa's run to the Rogers Cup title
19:30 Simona and Sloane put on a great show in Montreal women's final
26:00 Anything to say about the shot clock? Not really
29:00 Our conversation with Sascha Bajin, coach of Naomi Osaka
37:00 Sascha's trials and tribulations on social media: "I've been getting in so much trouble on Twitter"
#133: Getting the Conversation Started: Creating a Safe Space to Come Out in Men's Tennis
You might have read what Roger Federer had to say about why there hasn't been an openly gay male tennis player in on the ATP Tour. Now, hear his words, along with those of Kevin Anderson, as both speak on what can be a tricky and challenging issue. Plus, our chat with Nick McCarvel about the upcoming event he's hosting (in partnership with No Challenges Remaining) to kick-start the conversation of "being queer and out in pro tennis," featuring the out retired player Brian Vahaly.
1:00 Talking about LGBTQ issues in tennis - why now?
6:25 Roger Federer speaks on the possibility of a male player coming out on the ATP Tour
14:20 Kevin Anderson expands on his previously stated support for LGBT athletes, and why he was compelled to speak in the first place
18:00 What are some of the barriers for an ATP player coming out?
24:50 Our chat with Nick McCarvel, host of the upcoming Open Playbook event with Brian Vahaly in NYC
Open Playbook: Being Queer and Out in Pro Tennis - at Housing Works Bookstore, Soho, NY on August 23
Event benefits Housing Works and New York Junior Tennis & Learning
#134: Kiki-ing Down the Door in Cincy
The bad news: our time in Cincinnati has come to an end. The good news: we're back with another episode to recap an event that produced a stellar title run by Kiki Bertens and a full-circle performance from Novak Djokovic. After recapping the finals, we rehash some of the notable matches we saw over the past week and regale you with some stories/observations from around the grounds. We also pondered a few questions: is Stan back? Is Milos being usurped and replaced in Canadian media? Do fans really care about Nick Kyrgios' "antics?"
2:30 Kiki Bertens takes out four top 10 players to win Cincinnati
11:30 Simona Halep and Darren Cahill audio: looking at Simona's evolution as a player and Darren's as a coach
17:00 Serena-Petra in Round 2 ... the tantalizing rivalry that never really was
24:00 Djokovic beats Federer to complete his Masters set: MasterBlaster
31:35 Other men's matches: Stanley vs. Roger, battle of Canadian no. 1s, Milos Raonic and Denis Shapovalov
36:45 The undeniable star power of Nick Kyrgios
41:55 Thanks to USTA Midwest for the USTA Pride Event at the Western & Southern Open
44:00 Stories from around the grounds: ball thievery, Alexis Ohanian flying under the radar, watching Coric & Fuscovics
52:35 Marin Cilic provides your moment of zen
JAMES: Nicholas. We just talked about how he covers up his sensitivity with anger and aggression, but this was just straight up high school bullying. Jock vs. nerd is my least favorite dynamic. Stefanos tweeted a characteristically whimsical, earnest tweet about New York City, and Nick quoted it with "da fuq." He deleted it quickly. Nick snapping at reporters and being generally surly is one thing; picking on younger players for absolutely no reason is just ugly.
We also learned today that Serena will be bumped up from her #26 ranking to the 17 seed at the U.S. Open. Sounds about right, no?
JR: The USTA watched the wreckage of the seeding debates at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and said, "Not today, Satan." Partly due to circumstance and partly due to good PR, they were able to stay above the fray, announcing back in June that they would alter their seeding policy so as not to penalize women returning from maternity leave. This pre-emptive strike was a public relations slam dunk: it allowed them to assert their moral high ground by championing social justice and squelch any debate that could dominate the pre-US Open news cycle, as it did before the French and Wimbledon.
As far as the actual seeding, I think they made a smart choice. This time around, the tournament benefits from the fact that Serena is already ranked within the top 32, so seeding her won't displace another player. Giving her a top 16 seed would have guaranteed Serena not to face a top 16 player before the fourth round. At #17, she will face a 9-16 seed in the third round. I would like to see her higher, because I think she can beat many in the top 16, but for now let's all just move on and stop talking about it.
On a sweltering Sunday in Mason, Ohio, Kiki Bertens outhit and outlasted world number one Simona Halep to win her first hardcourt title. Both women came into this final riding high on a string of impressive results: Bertens had beaten nine top 10 players on the season, adding #2 Wozniacki, #5 Svitolina, and #8 Kvitova to her list just this week. Halep, the reigning French Open champion, worked through the draw without much trouble, save for her opener against Tomljanovic. Halep entered Cincinnati as the Rogers Cup champion after cementing her number one status against Sloane Stephens in a grueling final last week. This week, Halep was gunning to become the first woman since Evonne Goolagong in 1973 to win Canada and Cincinnati in the same year.
Halep swept through the first set doing much of what she did yesterday against Aryna Sabalenka: smacking her forehand deep, using her movement as a weapon, and looking to move forward and finish points whenever she could. Halep landed 92% of her first serves in the opener, compared to just 43% from Bertens. While she protected her own serve, Halep also created two break chances against her opponent, and capitalized on both.
Bertens said about the first set, "I had to run too much on the court, and she's, like, really good at that. So I was, like, Okay, there is only one chance and you have to play a little bit more aggressive, go a little bit more for your returns and for your serve."
In the second set, Bertens started to do just that. Halep immediately fell behind 1-4, as her opponent started playing with more purpose, pinning Halep far behind the baseline and finishing with deft drop shots. Halep's first response was to call for coach Darren Cahill, after which she reeled off three straight games. One of the critical moments of the match came at 4-4; Halep earned a break chance on Bertens' serve with a stunning, 26-shot rally. But, Halep failed to capitalize on the momentum shift, and after a long, grueling game, Bertens held for 5-4.
Bertens -- even through a few bouts of frustration -- kept the pressure on, swiping away any Halep momentum with big serving and consistently deep groundstrokes. In the tiebreak, Bertens was the clear aggressor (for better or worse); with the aggression came more mistakes, leading to a match point for Halep at 6-5. But, a steely Bertens wiped it away with a huge serve-forehand combination that caught Simona stretching to her backhand side.
As was the case yesterday when she lost the first set against Petra Kvitova, once Bertens troubleshooted her way through the second set, she was able to roll with the momentum through the third. The pair traded breaks to begin the set, but the Dutchwoman quickly took control. With Halep showing signs of fatigue after the first game, Bertens needed only to hold her nerve and serve, eventually closing out the biggest title of her career with an ace.
A pair of historic achievements loom on the horizon after today's play at the 2018 Western and Southern Open. Simona Halep aims to become the first woman since Evonne Goolagong in 1973 to win the Canadian Open and Cincinnati in the same summer. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic gets another crack at completing his career haul at Masters 1000 events; he has been unsuccessful in five prior Cincinnati finals, and needs to win tomorrow to own all nine Masters crowns.
Semifinals day in Cincinnati began with Kiki Bertens taking out Petra Kvitova in three sets in sweltering humidity. Kvitova managed to grab the first set, but appeared to struggle with fatigue as the match wore on. Bertens' serving was key: she finished the match with 10 aces, winning 77% of her first serve points. Afterward, in press, Bertens credited her improved tactics for her success on hardcourt, in particular imposing herself in the first two to three shots of every point. While she excels in the heavier, slower conditions on clay, her more aggressive play has earned her key wins on grass (Pliskova, Venus) and hardcourt (Pliskova, Kvitova, Wozniacki, Svitolina) this season.
When asked if she was surprised by any of these non-clay results, Bertens said: "Raemon [Sluiter] when we flew to the States, was like, 'Yeah, maybe you can just play a final in one of these weeks.' I was, like, 'Yeah, sure.' But I was not really believing it." She added that although she's playing well, she doesn't believe that she's playing her best tennis. If this isn't her best tennis, it certainly is her best season: she moves into her first hardcourt final with huge momentum and a stunning nine victories over top 10 opponents this year.
Her opponent in the final will be world number one, Simona Halep. Last week's winner in Montreal aims to grab back-to-back Premier 5 titles. Halep has made the final in Cincinnati three out of the past four seasons, and with the win today, joins two-time champion Serena Williams as the only women in the Open Era to make the final three times. After a tough, rain-delayed, three-set opener against Ajla Tomljanovic, Halep has since dispatched Ash Barty, Lesia Tsurenko, and now Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets.
Aryna Sabalenka stunned Madison Keys and the Cincinnati spectators with her display of all-out power tennis. Sabalenka earned an early break and never once took her foot off the gas. She saved break points with aces, hit a 99 mph second serve ace, and smacked winners at will throughout the match. Keys strikes the ball so beautifully, and hit her fair share of gorgeous groundstrokes, but she struggled to put two or more points together at a time.
The word that comes to mind watching Sabalenka play is audacity: the audacity to attempt such a high and consistent level of baseline power tennis, hitting winners from tough positions, knowing when to pull the trigger, and taking it to an American player so thoroughly on Center Court. And to finally, finally win a match in straight sets. Last night, she told reporters that she would "feel calm and fight, like always, and try to show people my best tennis." That she certainly did. Tomorrow, she will have to do the same to get past the world number one, Simona Halep, who beat Lesia Tsurenko in straight sets.
Petra Kvitova didn't exactly steamroll her way into the semifinals, slogging her way through a 2 hour, 42 minute match against Belgian Elise Mertens. This is the same Elise Mertens who caused Sloane Stephens to explode with frustration over relentless defense. Kvitova diagnosed her performance thusly: "I was the second player on the court, which I didn't want. I didn't really serve well, but luckily, I did have a good second serve." Kvitova managed to strike her forehand well as the third set wore on, and it earns her a spot in the semis against Kiki Bertens, who took out the fifth seeded Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-3 on the Grandstand.
Milos Raonic put up a fight against Novak Djokovic, snatching the second set on the strength of 10 aces. It feels like Raonic is close to putting it together again after this week, having played a calm, confident match Thursday against Canadian usurper Denis Shapovalov. Raonic strung together good wins at both Indian Wells and Stuttgart, and he's showing again this week that he is well positioned to beat the best players in the world, even if he blinked against Djokovic in the first and third sets.
The Western and Southern Open owes a debt to the weather gods today as the start of play was delayed only briefly, allowing for the completion of all the round of 16 matches during the day session. Yesterday, we wrote how the rain wreaked havoc on the proceedings, leaving the majority of the field needing to win two singles matches today in order to proceed to the semifinals. The quarterfinal matchups should have been decided after yesterday's play, but the consistent rain delays resulted in 9 of the 16 would-be quarterfinalists needing to win two matches today to advance to the semifinals.
Del Potro and Kyrgios started the day on the Grandstand. In a match full of blazing serves and unreachable forehands, the two men split tiebreak sets before Del Potro ran away with the third set and the match. Although Kyrgios was defending runner-up points here, a tight loss to Del Potro is nothing be ashamed of. The Aussie seemed more engaged and willing to scramble compared to his first two matches here. It's remarkable just how much the crowd gives to Kyrgios. On such an intimate court, you can hear and feel the Cincinnati fans pulling hard for Nick to recover from mental lapses. It's a collective therapy session. It's obvious that something sets Nick apart from nearly every other player in tennis, and I think it has something to do with his vulnerability and openness, which he often veils with anger and indifference. It's clear that the crowd is fascinated by him.
While Kyrgios and del Potro got things started on the Grandstand, Simona Halep opened Center Court play against Ash Barty. After being on the losing end of a tight first set, one where she was able to trouble the world number one, Barty broke for 2-0 lead in the 2nd set. But, just like the first set when she broke for an early 3-1 lead, Barty gave the break right back to Halep, and never recovered. Halep, not so fresh off her win in Montreal last week, advanced 7-5 6-4 to the quarterfinals, where she will play Lesia Tsurenko later today.
Stan Wawrinka followed Kyrgios and del Potro on the Grandstand, taking on and taking out Marton Fucsovics in straight sets. Wawrinka, vanquisher of Schwartzman in the first round and Nishikori easily in the second, looks well on his way back to top form after struggling in his return from knee surgery. Fucsovics displayed a variety of crisp, aesthetically pleasing shots in the match, but never really threatened to push Wawrinka outside his comfort zone. With Federer's 6-1 7-6 win over Leonardo Mayer, the Mason, Ohio faithful will be treated to a 24th all-Swiss meeting between Federer and Wawrinka. The fact that both men will be playing their second match of the day might mitigate the lopsided 20-3 head-to-head in Federer's favour.
TBS Diary: Rain, Rain Go Away
JONATHAN: Today was a frustrating day of rain delays. The first major weather problem started yesterday, but it bled into Thursday, with the tournament desperate to finish second and third round matches. The day began shortly after 3pm with Halep up 4-3 in the third set against Tomljanovic, a match suspended the night before owing to rain. Halep, scheduled second on in the night session, wasted no time in taking the third 6-3. Good thing too, as shortly after she completed the win, the rain returned to interrupt play again. We were on Court 10 for Shapovalov and Raonic, the battle of the old and new guard of Canadian tennis. Once match started for the day, Shapovalov managed to play only three points on serve before they were ushered off the court again.
It was a bit of revenge for the oft-injured Raonic, who lost in straight sets to Shapovalov in Madrid earlier this year. Raonic saved set point on Shapovalov's serve in the first set tiebreak before going on to win 7-6 6-4. Raonic regains the top Canadian ranking on Monday after Shapovalov was only able to reach the last 16 while trying to defend his semifinal points in Toronto last week. With Raonic having zero points to defend at the U.S. Open, this match could ensure that he will keep Shapovalov at bay in the battle for Canadian supremacy for some time.
JR: That first set was extremely tight. Raonic couldn't get a backhand over the net. I don't know how many he missed, but only the slice was working. As usual, the serve got him through; he hit 9 aces in the first set to Denis' one. Raonic also received medical treatment twice during the first set. But it only came down to two key errors from Shapovalov in the tiebreak, and Milos snatched that set and, with less fanfare, the match.
Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova should be -- or perhaps, could be -- the premier rivalry of women's tennis in the 2010s. Serena is, well, Serena, owner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles and the most feared first serve in women's tennis history. Petra's game can peak at such a deliriously high level that competitors have called her "unplayable," especially at Wimbledon. A sustained rivalry between the two could be the platonic ideal of women's power tennis, but they have met only seven times, with Williams winning five.
JAMES: We've been uncommonly lucky with these night sessions at Cincinnati so far: Djokovic and Serena on Monday, and Federer and Serena-Petra on Tuesday. My thoughts are still somewhat scattered from the excellent Serena-Petra match last night, partly because it's a shame one of these women had to go out so early in the draw. But, the fact remains that this rivalry is more about what could have been than what has been.
Serena and Petra have met only seven times, with Serena winning five. We've seen classics between Venus and Petra, especially at 2014 Wimbledon, but it's rare that Serena and Petra's paths have crossed when both are peaking.
Everything about this matchup excites me: the righty vs. lefty serves, each woman's fierce return game, the depth and pace of their groundstrokes, and the basic fact that their peak tennis is nearly unplayable for the rest of the field. Their rivalry could have been the apotheosis of women's power tennis.
What do you think, Jonathan, too dramatic?
JONATHAN: Serena and Petra are arguably the two premier power players of the last ten years, and their individual command performances tower over the rest of the WTA's. There's a sense that when each is at the absolute peak of her powers, nobody can stop her. So, it's surprising that last night's match was only their seventh meeting, and disappointing that when they have met, they've rarely been able to summon their best against each other at the same time.
Last night's performance wasn't a course correction for that, but it was at least the second time in their would-be rivalry that they played three sets. None of the three sets went beyond nine games, with each woman taking control of a set and not ceding ground; most of the tension within each set happened early, and once the winner of that set was able to withstand the other's charge, it was smoother sailing.
JR: There were moments in last night's match when they shone at the same time, especially the third game of the second set. With Petra serving, Serena reached three break points. Petra's response? Ace, ace, ace, and then another ace just for fun on a non-break point. But Serena kept digging in, finally realizing that Petra was serving out wide almost every time, on both the deuce and ad sides. Serena smacked a crosscourt forehand for a blazing winner to set up a fourth break point. On her fifth, she punished the exact same serve with the exact same crosscourt forehand to break Kvitova's serve and announce her presence in this match.
From there, the second set was entertaining and the Cincinnati crowd became fully invested. Serena continued to crush returns throughout the set, securing a second break to go up 5-2.
JN: I find it amusing when folks imply that Serena was missing a trick by "allowing" Petra those aces out wide and not anticipating it as her go-to move. With that angle on a perfectly struck Petra serve out wide to the backhand, there really isn't much room to get to it without leaving yourself absurdly exposed to the serve down the tee. It is a convenient part of that narrative, though, that it was a short-angled backhand return winner on a wide serve to Serena's backhand that broke Petra for a second time, allowing Serena to close out the second set 6-2.
Where these two are most interesting against each other is when they find themselves embroiled in long rallies. Towards the back end of the match, it looked like Serena was thriving more in those situations. In press, she said: "I feel like I did better in the longer points, but I feel like she kept it short more than me." In fact, Serena said that she was looking forward to the longer rallies, something that isn't necessarily always the case.
JAMES: Monday at the Western & Southern Open has been packed with tennis and player press appearances. Organizers pulled off a rather surprising night session: Serena-Gavrilova followed by Djokovic-Johnson, an early-week billing made possible by the two legends' currently depressed rankings. No less than Stan Wawrinka was relegated to the Grandstand, getting a 3-set win over 12-seed Diego Schwartzman. It seems like the real Stan is starting to show.
Serena was back to business with a straightforward win over Aussie Daria Gavrilova. Jonathan, what did you think Serena did well tonight?
JONATHAN: What didn't she do well tonight? We saw her on the practice court looking assured and in good spirits before the match, and it translated to a comprehensive win over Gavrilova. Her serve was impeccable, with good mix of speed and placement. For me, it was her movement that was most impressive: Gavrilova was unable to disrupt her as Serena changed direction, running laterally and towards the net in ways we haven't seen since her comeback.
JR: It's funny that her first serve percentage was only 44 percent, because it didn't feel that way watching the match. Serena wasn't broken, and she protected her second serve well; in fact, Gavrilova created only one break chance the entire match.
A lot of the technical things were just working well for Serena tonight. As you said, the movement was encouraging, but even more impressive was her anticipation, sensing where Gavrilova would hit. This allowed her to get to balls with plenty of time to create her signature angles.
JN: This was a totally different Serena from the one we saw in San Jose two weeks ago, when she suffered the worst loss of her career against Johanna Konta. Whatever concerns onlookers may have had for Serena's US Open Series should be put to rest after a performance like tonight's. Serena posted to social media shortly after that loss that she was struggling with "post-partum emotions" and other personal issues, struggling to balance motherhood and tennis. Perhaps that loss is now put into proper perspective?
JR: Yeah, I think it's impossible for us to understand what any new mother is going through, especially one whose life has undergone so much change. A new marriage, a new baby, the immense pressure to stop breastfeeding and return to dominating tennis -- it's a lot, and to me, the only surprising thing about it so far is that Serena has been open and vulnerable about her feelings. We'll see what happens against Petra Kvitova tomorrow, but for tonight, Serena has silenced some doubters.
Elsewhere on the grounds, Frances Tiafoe served for the match against Denis Shapovalov, having broken him to go up 5-4 in the third set. Denis broke Tiafoe easily, and then reeled off the next 2 games to take the match. Tiafoe reached the round of 16 last year after taking out Sascha Zverev in the previous round.
JN: After Tiafoe's heroics here last year against Zverev, he was unable to replicate, and capitalize on the crowd support to close out the match. When he broke Shapovalov to lead 5-4 in the final set, Tiafoe roared on his way to the changeover, beckoning the crowd to get on their feet and up the ante. Unfortunately for him, Shapovalov didn't wallow and came right back like the burgeoning professional he is. A tough tough loss for Frances, but a mettle-building one for Denis. The crowd thoroughly enjoyed that one; it seemed like they appreciated the hype surrounding Shapovalov and weren't too mad about their own player losing.
Episodes 128, 129, and 130 of The Body Serve Podcast: Wimbledon preview, Week 1 wrap, and Recap.
PART ONE: Previewing the Nature Valley WimbleBowl
We're back to regularly scheduled programming with our Wimbledon preview. First, we go over the grass court news: the seeding question that dominated the news cycle, Kyrgios' water bottle explosion, Petra's excellence, and Boris Becker's heretofore unknown career in diplomacy. Then we break down the gentlemen's and ladies' draws.
3:15 Nick Kyrgios pleasures a water bottle, owes 15,000 Euro; or: why we should stop criminalizing Nick
10:20 Odds and ends - Andy is back, Fed and Rafa trade no. 1, Petra Kvitova wins title no. 5
17:00 The Serena Williams seeding drama: here's how the Wimbledon seeding policy works
25:45 Draw preview - does Federer have any obstacles?
29:15 Nadal's fortunate draw avoids many of his bugaboos
36:50 Women's draw - Simona Halep's very tough quarter w/ Petra, Penko, Pova
45:55 Sloane is #4! A year after being #957
48:45 For some reason we really care about the #25 seed's draw
Maybe you've heard that Wimbledon 2018 has been full of shocking upsets, but just how shocking are they? Most of the early-round vanquishers have backed up their results with trips to the second week. In the words of tennis' poet laureate, Venus Williams, their places in the draw are not accidental, but "an opportunity earned." We comb through the draw, look at Federer's decision to leave Nike for Uniqlo, and take a look at Marion Bartoli and Nick Kyrgios' tiff.
0:30 Week 1 summary: Everybody lost
5:10 Wozniacki's unkind words for Makarova are belied by Makarova's actual results
10:25 Many of the early-round giant-killers are still slaying!
16:00 Other women's draw stuff - Serena, Venus, Kerber, Simona, Hsieh
24:20 Our women's draw predictions
25:55 Men's draw: Mackenzie McDonald is giving US fans a different look
31:45 Gulbis is rebuilding his career the hard way, knocks out #4 Sascha Zverev in round 3
37:00 Other men's draw stuff and predictions
41:30 Federer with Uniqlo in massive 10-year contract
47:30 Marion Bartoli goes all the way in on Kyrgios & Monfils
Wimbledon is (mercifully) over, and we've got two players making their returns to the winner's circle after rather tumultuous 2017 campaigns. Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in a much-talked-about semifinal before taking out Kevin Anderson in the final. Meanwhile, Angelique Kerber became the second ever player (Venus) to beat Serena Williams twice in a Grand Slam final. We then parse through the major stories of week two at the All England Club, including Dominika Cibulkova's appearance in this episode's #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas.
01:52 Kerber reasserts her class with third Grand Slam title
06:46 Serena has a ways to go yet, but what a ride!
14:26 Nadalovic, Rafole, Djokodal? Whichever you prefer, it was a hell of a match
32:17 AELTC relying on tradition, honour and empire to explain away bad organization
38:23 Women's final (non)scheduling: the issue is about R-E-S-P-E-C-T
45:06 Dedicated to Jana: doubles rundown
48:07 #SeeWhatHadHappenedWas: Cibulkova gives ALL the bad looks
54:08 Rankings Watch: who's up and who's down after Wimbledon?
56:53 Chrissie Evert has had IT: she will name and shame
61:44 What will it take for the WTA to acknowledge its rich gay history and present?
64:44 #SaveHopmanCup
We are proud to bring you our Pride Special, a partial and selective history of the LGBTQ people across tennis history who changed our sport forever. Some of the stories you'll know, others were news to us, but all of them challenged our view of history and opened our eyes to so many forms of resistance. Listen for stories about Baron Gottfried von Cramm, Helen Jacobs, Billie and Martina, Renee Richards, and many more. Happy Pride!
03:45 The early modern era: Big Bill Tilden
8:00 Helen Jacobs, shorts pioneer and one-half of a fascinating gay relationship in the 1930s
14:20 When queer love is criminal: Baron Gottfried von Cramm
22:00 Ted Tinling, the designer of women's tennis
27:00 Renee Richards changes everything
40:00 The summer of 1981: Billie Jean King & Martina's outings pose an existential threat to women's tennis
45:55 "In Defense of Billie Jean," by ally Chrissie Evert Lloyd
51:00 Martina: a perfect storm of Cold War hysteria, citizenship fears, and the "butch" female body
54:55 Amelie Mauresmo, who was never "in"
1:03:45 Gender trouble: the confounding clash of sex, sexuality, gender, and gender expression
1:11:30 Things we learned and closing thoughts
Reading List:
Big Bill Tilden - Frank Deford
Second Serve - Renee Richards
The Rivals - Johnette Howard
"Amelie Mauresmo's Muscles: The Lesbian Heroic in Women's Professional Tennis" - Pamela J. Forman and Darcy C. Plymire
"Renee Richards Wants to be Left Alone," Michael Weinreb (Grantland)
"Renee Richards' 'Second Serve' is a Book About Two Remarkable People," Jeremiah Tax (Sports Illustrated)
"Life, Death, Tennis and the Nazis: Gottfried von Cramm, The Man That Wimbledon Forgot," Will Mage (Vice Sports UK)
Subscribe and review The Body Serve on iTunes, and follow James and Jonathan on Twitter.
Episodes 124, 125, and 126 of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast
Subscribe and review The Body Serve on iTunes, and follow James and Jonathan on Twitter.
PART ONE: Songs in Clay Major: Roland Garros Preview
The denouement of the clay season is upon us with the dawning of the French Open. We're back to preview the year's second major with the help of some of our listeners. We solicited questions specific to Roland Garros, and you all came through big time; we structure our draw analysis through your thoughtful offerings. After parsing through the draws, we finish with a few thoughts on the protected seeding drama that erupted again this week.
02:26 Women's draw dark horses
09:34 Muguruza or Ostapenko: who will fare better?
13:57 Players who'll benefit/suffer most from lack of on-court coaching
16:40 Is this the beginning of the end for Aga?
20:00 Other women's draw observations
30:18 Men's dark horses
34:45 Who will be Nadal's fiercest competition?
37:10 The Big 4 as super coaches
42:18 FMK Frenchies edition: Pouille, Chardy, and PHH
44:26 Other men's draw observations
52:06 Wading into the protected seeding WTA issue again
The quarterfinals of the 2018 French Open are set, and we are back with episode 125 to recap how we got here. Serena Williams dominated week one discussion with her catsuit, and her play, before having to withdraw ahead of a fourth round meeting with Maria Sharapova. Some folks had stuff to say about her attire, and we've got something to say about that. We cover the usual mid-slam topics: upsets, genuine surprises, feel-good stories, amusements, and various atrocities.
02:02 Mother is back, causing ALL the conversation
05:30 The catsuit's out of the bag
15:34 Serena has to withdraw ahead of the Sharapova match
21:15 Girl, BYE: Bill Simons and Karolina Pliskova edition
29:08 WTA upsets, surprises, and upcoming quarterfinals
39:56 So, let's talk about Sloane
46:55 Marco Trungelliti's road race with destiny
48:12 Cecchinato's surprise and Jack Sock's abominable display
51:08 ATP upsets, disappointments, and other etceteras
53:54 The folly of John Isner
55:34 Grigor and Goffin disappoint, Nole holds court, and QF previews
64:55 Serena's moment of levity/immense pettiness
Simona Halep and Rafael Nadal are your French Open champions. For Simona, it was her first time as last woman standing at a Slam, while Nadal hoisted the Coupe des Mousquetaires for an 11th time. After recapping both finals and notable matches since the quarterfinals, we tackle some of the outside-the-lines etceteras that popped up since our last episode. On tap: Nadal's alleged equal pay remarks, the ubiquity of flossing, the laughable punishment meted out in the James Blake case, and using Margaret Court to raise the stakes for our current greats.
01:41 Simona turns the Titanic back around
11:05 Putting the many facets of Simona into context
15:55 Muguruza defollicles Maria & Madison has no answers for Sloane
20:02 Complicating Sloane's relationship with the media
24:46 Sloane gives a pitch perfect performance as runner-up
27:00 Nadal's third "La Undécima" & the anxiety of greatness
34:54 How did Dominic acquit himself in his first Slam final?
39:48 The massive elephant in the room: Nadal & equal pay in tennis
53:28 Assessing Novak's performance and loss to Cecchinato
58:11 Speaking of Cecchinato...thinking out loud about sports reporting
63:50 Doubles, juniors & flossing?!?! How do the kids all know how to do it?
70:53 ENOUGH of using Margaret Court to move the goalpost
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. In the The Body Serve Diary, Jonathan and James write conversationally about the various happenings in the wild world of tennis. In this Diary entry, the boys are joined by former guest of the show and Twitter pal from Australia, Frith (@PluckyLoser), to discuss the myriad issues surrounding one of the hottest topics in the early going of the 2018 Australian Open.
Jon: Renaming Margaret Court Arena has been a hot topic in tennis over much of the past year, owing in large part to Court's bigoted views of queer people and her active role in disseminating those views to influence the "no vote" against marriage equality in Australia. And so, since marriage equality is now the law of the land in Australia, and Court's name still adorns that show court at Melbourne Park, it comes as no surprise that players are being made to grapple with this at this year's tournament. Still, the issue has been framed in a myopic way, and we're hoping to make the discourse a bit more elastic.
James: I'm glad you noted that the reason Court has upset people is not simply because she holds beliefs that many find repugnant. It's her behavior: her direct attacks on fellow Aussie Casey Dellacqua and other LGBTQ tennis players, her political action, her church's stance on ex-gay conversion therapy, and her repeated attempts to degrade queer people and their families in the public sphere. Of course she "has a right to an opinion," as do all of us in free-ish societies. So let's just get that out of the way. But I believe that speech has real consequences.
Billie Jean King released a statement last week asking that Margaret Court's name be removed from the arena due to Court's outspoken attitudes toward lgbtq people. Obviously, this is a hot topic amongst journalists ahead of this year's Australian Open.
While I think it's important not to avoid the topic altogether, I have a problem with how it's being framed on social media and in the press. Players are being asked "would you play on Margaret Court Arena?" This assumes that: a) they have a choice; b) they understand the context of the question; and c) that this will elicit any worthwhile or thoughtful answers. I'm skeptical about all three.
Frith: I might be starting this on a somewhat radical note, but I think it's important to acknowledge that Australia does not have a Bill of Rights that guarantees a right to free speech, though the high courts have found that freedom of expression is implied. So legally it's a different kind of issue here, to what people might be used to in other places.
In terms of Billie Jean's statement, while it definitely was the right thing for her to do, it won't necessarily have much of a proactive impact on the naming. Aussies are awfully recalcitrant and don't really take well to being told what to do in our own country, especially by an American. I'm sorry, but it's true!
I agree with you that putting the onus on the players seems like an unworkable approach. I mean, let's say they want to boycott Margaret Court Arena - how exactly does that even play out? On a purely practical level, if I am 18-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov and I don't want to play my match on Margaret Court Arena, what happens?
Jon: I don't know. I'm not even sure the players know how that scenario would play out, or if it's something they had even considered. It also seems like some of the top players asked about this in their pre-tournament press availabilities were caught a bit off guard by the question. But now that it's out there, we know you've done some digging to get to the bottom of what the actual process is for changing the name of the court.
Frith: I'm sorry if this is incredibly dry, but I'd like to go into a little bit about how the naming rights to Margaret Court Arena work, because I have been obsessing over this lately and I think it's fascinating, or at least important.
Melbourne Park, the larger facility in which Margaret Court Arena (MCA) is homed -- which includes Rod Laver and all the rest of the courts -- is owned and operated by the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust (MOPT). This is a statutory authority run by a Board of Trustees who report to the State Minister for Events, Tourism and Sport. It's covered by an act of Parliament (Melbourne and Olympic Parks Act 1985) which combined the Olympic Park with the National Tennis Centre. I spent a couple of days reading the act, vision statements, and a bunch of reports so you don't have to.
The Australian Open is unquestionably the largest event that takes place at Melbourne Park, but it's not the only one. Netball and basketball teams all call Melbourne Park and, more specifically, Margaret Court Arena, home. It's also used as a venue for bands and entertainment throughout the year - there was even an ice-hockey game there once. Tennis Australia are a co-tenant. They're definitely in the penthouse, but they don't own the building.
This is all super important to recognise, in my opinion, because if we just keep asking Craig Tiley to change it he can honestly keep playing the same straight bat he's been playing this whole time: saying that there's more to it than Tennis Australia, that it's complex and multi-layered. I do think that he could do and say more, that if Tennis Australia brought their influence to bear it would make a huge difference. But when he says it's out of his hands, he's right.
I've written to the State Premier, Daniel Andrews, asking for his help because he's been a long time outspoken ally to the LGBTQIA community. It's not remotely in his purview, but I figured it couldn't hurt going to the big fella. I've also written to the State Minister for Sport, John Eren MP, whose bio states that he is "passionate about sport and recreation and giving all Victorians equal opportunity to get involved, stay active and play the sport they love." (I told you, I've read a lot of vision statements.) I'm fully expecting them to get back to me saying that it's the decision of the board of trustees, and they respect the independence of the MOPT. Especially because it's an election year in Victoria and I don't think they'll be keen on creating an issue that might distract from whatever their primary campaign messages are. Colour me cynical, but it's the way it is.
So, the real target for any meaningful campaign will be the board themselves. I'm contacting the Director of Arenas, Steve Harper CFE, requesting information on the nature of the agreement to rename Show Court 1, Margaret Court Arena. If it's an honorary arrangement, that's definitely in our favour, but if there's a bequest tied to naming rights in perpetuity, hoo boy we are in trouble! Everything gets more complicated when there's money on the table. Is there a get outta jail free card, if the name negatively affects the commercial value of the building? There's a lot that's yet to become clear and I remain optimistic.
Basically, my point is that nothing is going to change this Australian Open. I don't even think it'll change this year. My aim would be AO20, though obviously AO19 would be amazing. It's going to take a lot of convincing arguments, probably a tonne of meetings and a million emails. It's boring, practical, grassroots activism that will get this over the line. A bunch of concerned letter writers asking the right people the right questions.
So while it's good to know where players stand on LGBTQIA rights and messages of support are so important - read the tweet from my friend Mitch about Laura Robson if you need to understand why - Margaret Court Arena will be Margaret Court Arena for a while yet, whether or not Denis Shapovalov wants to play there or not. So stop yelling at the players please.
(Sorry Denis for picking your name out of the blue! Must've been a tough loss today and now some random Australian talking about trustees won't keep your name out of her mouth. I'm happy for you though James.)
James: Wow, thanks Frith for bringing some much-needed context to this discussion.
I'm glad you mentioned the tweets from your friend Mitch (@mitchgrow). His experience, and Laura Robson's demonstration in 2012, remind me that this is the type of action that can make change: small, organic, and personal. I'd add to that list Casey Dellacqua's personal essay in response to Court's public attack, along with loving and public support from Ash Barty and Rennae Stubbs. I think these have more potential to be powerful than player press conferences. They remind us that this isn't just a politically correct campaign led by angry "liberals." We are real people whose lives are made more difficult and indeed more dangerous by people who seek to dehumanize us.
That's not to say that players can't totally change the game, so to speak. If Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, for example, made an affirming statement to their legion of LGBTQ fans, that would be damn near earth-shattering in the world of tennis. But, if we expect to hear from them, we will definitely be disappointed. That said, it would be nice to see a single gesture toward acceptance from an ATP player not named Andy Murray or Roberto Bautista Agut. I'm just afraid that the context is totally lost on a lot of these players. The cultural gulf might be too much, they might feel they stand to risk too much by speaking out, or they simply don't care (or the very real possibility that many actually agree with Court).
Jon: We heap all the expectation to effect change onto the players. They will have to deal with the negative headlines, while the people who have the actual clout to influence the name change -- as Frith researched and pointed out -- stay quiet or drag their feet. This is not to say we shouldn't expect tennis players to be allies in one way or another, but to judge them based on whether they would "boycott Margaret Court Arena" is, frankly, a bit absurd. If a player chooses to do so, more power to him or her, but hopefully we can put the onus on the bureaucrats and the politicians instead. As Frith says, "stop yelling at the players, please!" As for the question being posed to players about boycotting MCA, perhaps it's part of larger reporting, and I hope that whatever comes of this includes more context than what's been leveled at the players so far.
Many thanks to Frith for joining us for this Diary entry. Your research and willingness to share it with us is very much appreciated.
Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. In the The Body Serve Diary, Jonathan and James write conversationally about the various happenings in the wild world of tennis.
Jon: Holy cow, what an opening day of the Australian Open! Only ONE of the 10 'merican women (Nicole Gibbs) who played in Melbourne yesterday survived the carnage. Among the defeated: Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, CoCo Vandeweghe, CiCi Bellis, Taylor Townsend, and Alison Riske. Within the first four hours of play, Venus, Sloane, and CoCo -- three of the four semifinalists from the 2017 U.S. Open -- were out. The top two American men, John Isner and Jack Sock, also bowed out in the first round. I certainly can't remember a day like this for American tennis at a Slam, can you?
James: There were probably a few French Opens back in the day that saw this much American blood spilt. But to your point, it was a shocking display from the U.S. contingent. I was actually most surprised by Vandeweghe's performance; going in, I felt that she had momentum and a tricky, but not impossible, first round. I heard reports that she had the flu, though. What about you -- any true shockers for you, or was it just jarring that this all happened on the same day?
Jon: Not really. I think it's not so much that these individual American players lost to these particular opponents, but that they all lost on the same day and in such a large volume. Bencic was always going to be a tough out for Venus; nobody has played and won more matches than her since Singapore. Sloane Stephens hasn't won a match in a long time and she was playing Zhang, ranked #34 and the highest ranked first round opponent for a seeded player. I take your point about CoCo; she came in fresh off that ESPNW article aiming to debunk the perception of her being arrogant, and was viewed as a legit threat on these fast courts to build on her two Slam semis last year. Babos played top tennis, and if you're not at your fighting best physically, then it becomes all the more difficult to perform at this level. While her loss may have been surprising, CoCo's outbursts were not, just as they weren't again from Ryan Harrison. These two continue to lower the bar for expectations of Americans overseas.
James: There's just no excuse for hurling obscenities at your opponent or your opponent's fans. I'll never understand the bloc that believes that this abusive and embarrassing behavior is "good for the sport." It is amazing to me that Ryan Harrison, especially, has any fans left. At least Colleen, for her part, put on her gentle, reasonable voice when conversing with the chair last night after getting a point penalty. The universe is serving Jack Sock a bit of restorative justice lately; after his less-than-full-effort performance in Auckland, there's talk of rescinding his $100k appearance fee, and now he's out in the first round in Melbourne after ending the 2017 season on a high.
Jon: Sock says it's been very difficult to deal with the start of a new year after finishing on such a high at the end of 2017 (winning Paris to qualify for the year-end championships). Paraphrasing here, but it's been a struggle for him to get motivated after having such a short turnaround between seasons, having never played that deep into a season before. All that makes perfect sense, but it's not a good look when your performance is so bad that people are calling it tanking, and not for the first time in your career. Being in the top 10 also means added scrutiny, and having to answer for behaviour that would have flown under the radar when he was a less accomplished singles player.
As for Harrison, it's not just about the swearing on court, which some have suggested dismissively. It's about, as you pointed out, swearing at your opponent (in the case of Hanfmann), and your opponent's supporters. It's certainly not behaviour that would be tolerated or excused if done by someone like Nick Kyrgios; there is absolutely a double standard there, one that I believe has to do with race. Context is very important when debunking the "oh, who hasn't cursed before" argument. This is an American player, casually and aggressively saying "fuck THOSE people" directed at an obviously majority Jewish group of people, on foreign soil. It reinforces some really ugly stereotypes about Americans, ESPECIALLY in this day and age.
James: Yet totally in keeping with the tenor of our national conversation. Can we talk about something more fun? Sloane Stephens' press conference, for example. When Sloane feels like participating, she is such a hilarious presence in press. Take this, haters: "Relax, everybody. It will be okay. Don't worry. We will get back to having fun soon." I'm not too worried about Sloane, because she took this attitude last summer right before she went on a tear through the American hard courts. Just as she did then, she ensured the assembled press, "I'm going to beat someone eventually. I'll have the best Instagram picture when I snap this losing streak."
Obviously, Sloane was not in fighting shape to start this tournament. It's really only her second tournament back after her knee injury, which she played on for much of the fall. Nike's atrocious kit certainly didn't help her mystique.
Jon: Sloane's mystique? We need to do a segment to delve into what you mean by that at another time. To expect Sloane Stephens to have continued that otherworldly form in New York through the rest of her career was just never on the table. She will never be Serena, nor Venus; she is Sloane, and that's (BIG SHOCK) totally OK. I'm glad to hear she is comfortable enough in her skin to push back against the press for trying to pigeon hole her into that lane. She will come back and win again, and continue to do HER in the meantime.
One of the most anticipated storylines of day one was Rafa's return to sleeveless tops, a full decade after he last wore one on the ATP Tour. I am saddened to report that it was a big big miss.
James: Perhaps "mystique" is not the word I was going for! As for Rafa's kit, Nike is trash. They gave us a full line of unimaginative, bland, and just plain ugly kits for their top players this year. Fumbling Rafa's return to the sleeveless look is something I cannot forgive. But, I was glad to see that Rafa got through his match without drama.
Sadly, I was asleep during Rafa's match, as it started at 3 am here. I just went to check the stats on ausopen.com, and wouldn't you know, they don't work! It's actually impressive how the tournament has fumbled just about every aspect of their digital technology: the app and website went down simultaneously in the first minutes of play, and even when they are purportedly working, they are full of bugs. As a layperson when it comes to technology, all I can do is laugh. I don't understand the need to completely rework the app each year; I don't recall having any problems before. Between the tech problems, the "draw ceremony," and having to reckon with the ever-irritating Margaret Court, there's a dark cloud over the Happy Slam which hopefully moves away soon.
Jon: If I know you, those last few sentences read like you're about ready to put a wrap on this Diary entry! Let me just say about Rafa's kit...the pink is the LEAST of the trouble with it. For whatever reason, the arm holes of the shirt are enormous and have Rafa's still-very-ample musculature swimming, and the grey colour of the shirt just makes it look dirty. It looks like one of those patterns that designers first cut to put on a mannequin. It looks entirely unfinished and unwashed. A bright white shirt or even charcoal (although not hot weather friendly) would have done much better.
James: Why not an homage to Rafa's signature pre-2009 look? What a shambles. Anyway, you're correct that I was wrapping up; we have to save something for the podcast! To look out for: who will take advantage of holes in the draw left by Venus, Sloane, and CoCo? CoCo's section now looks like a cakewalk for Wozniacki to reach the semifinals. I'll also be especially interested to see Novak and Stan tonight. 'Til next time!
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Aspiring to know more about people who are involved in positive social change, the 2013 Social Change Impact Report identifies distinctive profiles of social change agents around the world and includes many of their key motivations, interests and levels of involvement, ultimately putting a face on social change agents. The six different types of social change agents are:
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Since our founding in 1970, Walden has attracted students who seek knowledge both to advance their careers and use their knowledge to create positive social change in their communities and professions. Beginning in 2011, Walden has partnered with global research firm Harris Interactive to gauge the state of social change worldwide. The annual Social Change Impact Report illustrates one of the many ways we are leading and contributing to positive social change around the world.
The inaugural 2011 Social Change Impact Report focused on why social change matters. The focus of the 2012 Social Change Impact Report was discovering what motivates people to engage in and lead positive social change. In 2013, the research uncovered who is leading and contributing to positive social change. By segmenting these groups in the 2013 Social Change Impact Report, we find new insights to understanding the ways in which social change agents are alike and different.

subset: commoncrawl


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Fairy Fest in the Making!
September 18, 2019 @ 8:00 am - 11:00 am
An event every week that begins at 8:00 am on Wednesday, repeating until September 18, 2019
Looking for Volunteers
Are you crafty and would like to help us prepare for the upcoming Fairy Fest on September 21? We're hosting our 2nd annual Fairy Fest, a fun, magical, and educational family event and would love help creating handmade items for sale and for make-and-take activities for children. We have many opportunities to lend a hand creating fairy wands, crowns, gnome hats, skirts, and so much more. All workshops are at the Community Gardens (rain or shine).
Let us know if you have any extra supplies of the following items to donate: vintage fabric, silk flowers, ribbon (no bows or curling ribbon please), acorns, felt. As we are committed to using only sustainable products on the Farm, we prefer natural/sustainable donations. Thank you!
*photo credit: Natalie Walsh


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Sex toys have come a long way since the Stone Age – but then again, perhaps not as much as we might think.
Last week, an excavation in Sweden turned up an object that bears the unmistakable look of a penis carved out of antler bone. Though scientists can't be sure exactly what this tool was used for, it's hard not to leap to conclusions.
Read more at: http://www.livescience.com


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Housing Articles NewsManufactured Housing
Modular Housing
Harvard Releases the 2007 State of the Nation's Housing Report
Cambridge, MA - The U.S. housing market continues to struggle under a cloud of sharp drops in housing demand and an oversupply of stock according to this year's State of the Nation's Housing report from the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies. After years of setting records, housing starts and sales fell in 2006 and are on track to end this year even lower. Homebuyers on the margin of qualifying for mortgage loans finally pulled out of the market despite the availability of creative mortgage products that helped them keep up with higher house prices. "As buyers left, home sales fell and house price appreciation slowed in some areas and fell in other areas. Investors and second homebuyers also started to leave. The air went out of the inflated housing market as higher home prices and interest rates finally tempered demand," explains Nicolas P. Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies. "Many buyers are now waiting on the sidelines hoping prices will fall."
The problems in the housing market put an end to the big lift that the economy enjoyed since the 2001 recession. In the latter half of 2006, the drop in home building was so drastic that it shaved more than a full percentage point off national economic growth. Though builders cut back on housing starts, the numbers of vacant homes for sale rose by more than 500,000 from the fourth quarter of 2005 to the fourth quarter of 2006 and continued to rise in the first quarter of 2007. Meanwhile, the tightening of credit standards in the wake of worse than anticipated subprime loan performance is further dampening demand. It is unclear how the wave of subprime loans with steep initial discounts that originated at much lower interest rates will perform when the discounts expire and the loans reset to higher interest rates. Already, homes entering foreclosure increased by about 75,000 from the fourth quarter of 2005 to the fourth quarter of 2006. Until some of the excess inventory is absorbed by the demand cycle and credit conditions stabilize, housing will continue to struggle and home prices will fall in more areas.
Still, the nation's largest housing challenge remains housing affordability. "In just one year the number of households spending more than half their income on housing increased a startling 1.2 million to 17 million in 2005," notes Rachel Drew, Research Analyst. "Even if prices or rents soften for a period of time, the nature of US labor markets, the regulatory restrictions imposed on residential development, and the fiscal limits of government assistance to cost-burdened households will make affordability a long-term challenge." Some Americans try to escape these cost burdens by taking longer commutes and incurring higher travel costs, while others double up or live in substandard housing or undesirable neighborhoods. The prospects for a substantial easing of these problems are unfortunately dim.
In time, housing markets will recover. "While it will take time to work out current loan problems and work off the oversupply of homes, the long-term outlook for residential investment remains strong," comments Eric S. Belsky, executive director of the Joint Center. Largely, as a result of a record number of new immigrants arriving in the United States in the 1990s and larger numbers entering this decade, net household growth is poised to accelerate by about 2 million to 14.6 million households 2005-2015. In addition, incomes and wealth stand higher for most households in real terms than ten years ago. This should translate into solid growth in both new construction and remodeling spending over the next ten years compared with the last ten.
Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies is the nation's leading center for information and research on housing in the United States. Established in 1959, the Joint Center is a collaborative unit affiliated with the Harvard Design School and the Kennedy School of Government. The Director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies is Nicolas P. Retsinas. The Center's research and additional information about its programs and activities are available at www.jchs.harvard.edu.


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Both decisions are still running close in California whereas voters in Florida and Arizona have approved of banning gay marriages and the electorate in South Dakota have rejected a plan to prohibit all abortions in the state except in cases where mother's life or health is at risk or in cases of rape or incest.
In Nebraska an initiative to end affirmative action was accepted, a similar proposal is still open in Colorado.
Voters in Washington approved of plans to legalize physician assisted suicide making it the second state after Oregon to embrace euthanasia.
As to drug-related issues, Massachusetts voters accepted decriminalizing possession of one ounce or less of marijuana. Under the new law those caught won't face criminal penalties, but will have to give up the drugs and pay a fine of $100. At the same time Michigan became the 13th state to allow the use marijuana to treat pain with doctor's approval.
Finally, a plan to name a sewage-treatment plant after George W. Bush was rejected in San Francisco.


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Nicolaus Copernicus: The Earth Is a Planet
This was a lovely little book about Copernicus. The illustrations were colorful and done in an "old-fashioned" style which made the book feel authentic. The information was interesting and easy for the kids to understand while still explaining clearly what he thought and discovered.
I thought it sufficient for the elementary grades. My fourth-grade boys really enjoyed it, but I almost wished it had been a little longer and more detailed for them. Almost. Any older and you'd probably need a different book.
There are not many children's books on Nicolaus Copernicus. Fortunately, this is a great one. Highly recommended for your study of the middle ages or astronomy.


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The 0 point 7 percent of the world... series
Published on 10/28/05 @ 01:06:00 am using 286 words, and has 1448 views
Well, it's that time of year again in which we all ignore obvious math and get caught up in the silly madness of crowds. I'm refering to that display of American arrogance that is the "World" Series. I won't go into my thoughts on how mind-numbingly boring the sport is in general, but simply want to point out a few things:
1. The entire baseball league is comprised of two (2) countries.
2. The "World" Series this year is being played by teams from one (1) country.
3. The world consists of over 260 countries.
Now for some simple math (requires a grade-school education):
2 / 260 = 0.7% (percentage of the world participating in the "World" Series)
Let's look at football for a moment... Not American football. I'm referring to the sport played all over the world where they actually use their feet. (hint: soccer) Here we have something approaching a "world" involvement and, hence, the World Cup. As an aside, it was estimated 10 years ago that soccer is played by over 100,000,000 people around the world. That's one hundred million! So, greater than 100,000,000 participants worldwide... greater than 200 countries participating... World Cup championship... Call me kooky, but that makes more than a little sense.
On the other hand, how is the championship series of a sport played by a maximum of 2 countries (again, 0.7% of the world) in any way accurately called the "World" Series? I just don't get it. Maybe the point is not to think? Maybe enjoyment of the sport is an inverse relationship to the amount of electricity in the braincase? Any thoughts?
or, What my speakers are currently pumping...
DJ Krush - Strictly Turntablized
This post is the creative work of Yours Truly and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.


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There is so much pressure on kids to grow up faster, progress at a certain rate, fit into routines and live up to expectations. That we forget to let them be children and enjoy the "things" that they like to do.
I want to support my kids to just being kids and doing their thing, whatever that may be!
I love how my son found the "thing" that he likes to do, that he enjoys and that he loves.
Well, Its the "things" that he likes to do. Because he likes to do so many activities that there are days that we do not have time for everything. But of course, I support him 100%
He loves his TaeKwoDo classes.
I was surprised to see how dedicated he is because it is a sport that requires much discipline and concentration. And I proudly say that my son does it extremely well.
Taekwondo is not simply a sport that provides an excellent physical condition and good habits of life but also gives dedicated practitioners the opportunity to explore the totality of art, the possibility of reacting effectively to a threat or adverse situation.
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But although it is a sport that requires a lot of dedication and discipline, I do not like to demand too much, I know that he learns in his way, and he does it very well.
Another activity that he loves is to go explore. My son has a great spirit of explorer and adventurer. He is happy exploring and knowing new places, learning new stories. He really loves being outdoors exploring the world.
After long days of practice, school classes and other days exploring the world, staying home and playing out on the patio with his soccer ball and playing with Max is relaxing.
It melts my heart to see how they play and have fun together. Max has been an excellent addition to our family. My son spends hours playing with him.
They really love each other!
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What are the "things" your kids love to do and how do you celebrate them?