Bill Simons
We all make mistakes. And as I do a three-week rotation at each Slam, writing daily reports crammed with hot takes, endless stats and compelling opinions, there’s inevitably a mistake or two.
I thought pulling on the Superman cape to ask if the soul of the US Open was in trouble would definitely be my reporter Waterloo. I didn’t know if I would be photographed and cut, cut and feathered, or just shy of the sport.
How could you? No loyalty. Don’t you know your line?
But I haven’t been expelled yet.
The mistake I made was thinking it would take something close to a miracle for Carlos Alcaraz to win the US Open. I wrote. “If he somehow comes back and wins seven of five best matches to win the Open, he could be anointed as the Houdini of tennis.”
After all, Carlos hadn’t played in over four months. And wrist injuries are glaring red flags. Just ask Juan Martin del Potro, whose once-high career was completely derailed by them.
When Alcaraz first appeared in New York and played mixed doubles with Serena, she was out of order and out of rhythm.
Then, in the opening rounds, it took him a while to get the gear. His delivery was slower. His attention wavered.
But in the fourth round against Tommy Paul, we saw Carlos, who has been surprising us for a long time. He gave us a stress-free master class.
Paul, an Australian Open semifinalist and one of the top ten players of his generation, was dispatched 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. His press conference afterward sounded almost like surrender terms, a cold shower of reality.
Tommy wasn’t waving the white flag right. But he quickly accepted. “Carlos is different.” He said Alcaraz just dominated him and was playing at “a different level.” Most importantly, Paul admitted that he could have played significantly better and still lost.
In court, Tommy was completely miserable. His usually nasty slices became little more than cat bait for the Spaniard’s forehand.
Yes, Carlos’ delivery wasn’t as impressive as it used to be. But he made up for it with blistering foreheads, creativity, court awareness and an ability to pressure Paul almost everywhere. Alcaraz was broken four times and seemed to be resting on a tennis cruise.
It wasn’t just Alcaraz who dominated Paul. This was the unbroken path of the Spanish conquistador back to the tennis circus.
Bright smile. Flowing hair. Grooving to music during transitions. OK, in his ESPN interview he thought he was playing Medvedev or Cherundolo in the quarterfinals, not Shelton.
The players were happy to see Carlos back. Fans quickly realized that tennis just wasn’t the same without him.
Without Carlitos this summer, the game was left with Slam winners who didn’t exactly deliver the loudest buzz. Yannick Siner is an amazing player. His ball-striking is superior, but his charisma is modest. All too often that amazing old GOAT Novak Djokovic gets choked up. And Alexander Zverev, depending on your point of view, is either a little naughty or still saddled with a checkered history.
But Alcaraz has such fun and natural ease. He lights up our sport more than any other player.
He doesn’t get discouraged or broadcast. When he takes off his shirt, the giggles are Nadalesque. She survived the wardrobe malfunction with a smile. When she smiles, all of tennis kind of melts away. He received a new victory ritual. he bends the bow, the symbol of kingship in the Odyssey.
On the plausibility spectrum, she’s right up there with user-friendly Kim Clijsters.
But this guy is only 23 years old. He already has seven slams. She is scandal free, rich personality, lovable and magical. Oh, how sweet it would be if we could all climb the mountain of success as easily as Carlos does.
And I said it would take a miracle like Houdini for him to run in the Open.
Wow!
But again here is another school of thought.
In some ways, Ben Shelton is America’s answer to Alcaraz.
Sure, he’s left-handed, was collegiate, and hasn’t traveled overseas in years. It made sense. Her father and coach, Brian Shelton, is the only coach to win NCAA team championships with both the women’s and men’s teams.
Furthermore, the 23-year-old is widely seen as the American most likely to end our long Grand Slam drought.
Let’s count down his greatness.
He has already won seven titles. He is 6th in the world. He is in his fifth year. He has won four tournaments this year on three surfaces and two continents, and he is the No. 1 American. And zero. that’s the number of sets he lost while winning the Canadian Open title in August.
When the US Open began, his father arranged everything. “You have to go all out, but relax and not try to do anything special. Be humble, find balance and remember it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon, one bite at a time.”
Now comes one hell of a bite.
In the most anticipated match of the Open, Shelton will face Alcaraz in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night. (If you’ve got $13,328, I’ve got you a courtside seat. Can’t afford that? Well, how about a $950 nosebleed seat?)
And, as many have pointed out, Alcaraz is a problem. Carlos won all three of their previous matches.
However, Shelton has nothing to lose. He is coming off an impressive win over rising Stephanos Tsitsipas. Ben will be walking onto the world’s biggest tennis stage with his massive weapons, improved variety, considerable experience and, presumably, the raucous support of the Donkey Stadium.
There are plenty of pro-American “This is finally our year” vibes in the air at this year’s Open.
And with Shelton’s blistering forehand and massive serve—lightning 148 mph one moment, nasty backhands the next—he just might take the racket out of Carlos’ hands.
However, oddsmakers currently give Shelton roughly a one-in-four chance. So to win, he has to tap into his inner Houdini, right?
Wrong.
I don’t want to talk about any magic tricks these days.
NOT ON OUR BINGO CARDS. Not many people expected Italy’s Luciano Darderi, France’s Arthur Gea, Holland’s Bottic van de Zandshulp, Argentina’s Francisco Cherundolo and Belgium’s Alexandre Blox to advance to the fourth round of the US Open.
YOU GOT IT RIGHT. John McEnroe said: “I bet half the people in the stadium don’t even know who Alexander Blox is.” By the way, when Inside Tennis used alphabetical A-to-Z features, we always started with Arthur Ashe for A, Billie Jean King for B, and Jimmy Connors for C. Then we’d get to X and start to panic. Fortunately, there was Belgian Javier Malis. Now Belgium has given us another X, Alexandre Bloks.
JUST A QUESTION. Have you ever seen Belgium’s rising star Alexandre Bloks and Canada’s Milos Raonic in the same room?
The mighty fall. Today, two former US Open champions, who held a total of ten slams between them, lost. Iga Sviatek went to Qinwen Zhen, and Naomi Osaka went to Elena Rybakina.
99 SHS PATIN OF GAREREJ. For an impressive 99 weeks, Aryna Sabalenka has been #1. After crushing Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4, all Elena Rybakina needs to do to become No. 1 is beat Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zhen in the quarterfinals.
TALK BABY AND WEAR BIG GLOVES. ESPN’s Chris McKendree said Rybakina is “very quiet, very soft spoken. We don’t know much about him, but we do know this. When the titles are big, he plays big.”
THE PRICE OF VICTORY. Teenager Iva Jovic offered perhaps the tournament’s best inventory of what it takes to survive a thriller. After beating Alex Iala, he explained. “Losing my ears, literally falling to the floor, cuts on my knees, mental breakdowns. It literally took everything.”
COCO QUEEN. US Open guest services worker Ayanna Campbell has become a social media star by dancing and chanting on the practice courts. Tennis Channel’s Instagram video of her welcoming Coco Gauff. “When I say Coco, you say Gauff!” – exceeded two million views. Coco replied. “My queen, I love her♥️.” Campbell’s reaction to his unexpected fame. “I was like, ‘I’m so famous.’ Even Mama Gauff was spotted filming her.
GO TO PIC. Sloan Stevens made a surprise visit to Coco Gauff’s tenth birthday party.
SAY IT’S NOT LIKE THAT. Coco Gauff asked. “Is it rude to say I’m not a big fan of Cheesecake Factory cheesecake?” Somewhere, corporate America is calling an emergency meeting.
Confused analysis. Roddick said: “No one wins messier than Coco. He has an incredible ability to win games when he’s not at his best.”
MEDIA MEMORIAL. Andy Roddick is a legendary game analyst. A macho cartoonist, he is a perceptive and inventive wordsmith who clearly draws on his depth of experience and the nuances of tennis, competitive sports and contemporary culture. How will this change the broadcast landscape?
QUESTION, WHAT ARE YOU REALLY THINKING? As the thug continued trash-talking Jakub Mensik, Louis Armstrong’s crowd started chanting loud and long.
15 HONEY DELAY. Taylor Townsend recalled playing the COVID Open without fans and said it taught her to never take spectators for granted again, including those who “show up and cheer and have 15 honey deuces.”
THE BEST SMILES IN MEN’S TENNIS. Francis Tiafoe, Carlos Alcaraz, Hubert Hurkac, Francisco Cerundolo or Alexander Bublik?
