Bill Simons
Tennis craved normalcy. Roland Garros needed to take a breath. “Please let the middle hold – Merci.” Enough of the scorching heat and marathon matches. We’ve had it with all the helter-skelter.
Wide swaths of the internet are poring over a controversial video. Did Spanish teen Rafael Jodar shove an innocent little ball girl or not? This week we’ve seen players almost shitting on the court and making sexist claims that women umps can’t control the crowd. And there’s been a rash of players careening into courtside signage.
More to the point, what’s been tripping up the serenity of our proper game is not only teary farewells to icons like Stan Wawrinka and Gael Monfils, but also the absence of the game’s most charismatic player, Carlos Alcaraz, the shock departures of the ATP No. 1, Jannik Sinner, and the greatest of all time, Novak Djokovic.
Now we have a tourney with two Matteos (Berretini and Arnaldi), but without a man who’s won a major, and only three men who’ve reached a final. There are a slew of backbencher players we’ve barely heard of, and resumes that need to be beefed up.
Still, there were plenty of fireworks today. After the city’s Paris Saint-Germain soccer team won the Champions League, the streets of Bois du Boulogne exploded with honking horns, endless chants and explosive pyrotechnics. And there was plenty of excitement on court, too.
COLD COCO IN PARIS: Coco Gauff is the wealthiest and most charismatic woman in tennis. Beautiful, brave, fun and accomplished, she’s a role model. But she wins ugly. The analyses of her adventurous serve and forehand have been long, and at times tedious. Blazing speed, seamless defense, explosive athleticism and a gritty fighting spirit are her thing.
Unfortunately, today, the French Open’s defending champ lost ugly. Coco was up 6-5 in the second set, two points from victory against the Russian-born veteran, who now lives in Austria, Anastasia Potapova. Then she led the No. 30 player in the world 3-1 in the third set. And she faltered both times.
Still, Coco’s fans hoped she could once again win ugly. She had a commanding 20-3 record against players outside the Top 20. She’d never lost a third-round match at Roland Garros. Since 2021, she’d always gotten to the French Open quarters, and it had been eons since she’d lost to anyone not named Iga.
It’s said that in the NBA you can just tune in the last two minutes and get all you need to know. It’s not quite that way in tennis. Still, execution at the end is often critical.
Yesterday, at crunch time, Joao Fonseca unleashed three thunderous aces to beat Djokovic. Today, when Coco was serving to force her match into a decisive third-set tiebreak, she suffered an “Oh, no, not again!” double fault and a brain-freeze, sitting-duck drop shot. Then she shanked a forehand as Potapova claimed her third straight win over the Floridian 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4.
It was Coco’s earliest Roland Garros loss in six years. She suffered 24 forehand errors. She observed, “When momentum is on my side, I should put my foot down on the gas instead of letting go.”
THE COURAGE TO STAND UP TO EVIL: In my work covering tennis for 45 years, sometimes little pleasures delight. Decades ago, I stayed in the Kauai house of Billie Jean King and her vastly under-appreciated husband, Larry.
There were pictures of Billie, Rosie Casals and assorted memorabilia. On one side, was the gorgeous Pacific. On the other side was a blue, slightly cracked, tennis court, that was fighting for its life.
Yesterday, at 81, Larry lost his life to cancer. One of the most important men in WTA history, he not only graciously stood by Billie’s side through one storm after another, he set up the legal foundation of the most important organization in women’s sports.
For decades, WTA players have courageously spoken truth to power. One of the very best examples of this occurred today. After the little-known 25-year-old Ukrainian, Oleksandra Oliynykova, lost to Russian Diana Shnaider, she came into the press room and read a lengthy statement that protested war, materialism and apathy.
Oliynykova contended that, “The people I love would be killed. I will be killed,” and offered comments she said were about humanity, not politics.
She noted, “When people are being killed [in Ukraine], while children are dying, when violence is justified or celebrated, we cannot pretend that nothing is happening. We cannot look away. We cannot protect those who support or excuse such actions.
“Our organization was not built by pioneers like Billie Jean King so that money and luxury could become the only values in women’s tennis. They wanted something bigger…They wanted us to have a voice, to inspire others to make the world better…
“Being a role model is not about the size of your bank account. It’s not about expensive watches, private jets, or luxury brands. A real role model has the courage to stand against evil…when it’s easier to stay silent. A real role model has the determination to act when action is needed. We as players have a responsibility that goes beyond tennis, because sports should always stand with humanity, and humanity should never be optional.
“If I stay silent, if I get tired, I don’t see any sense of being here. I believe that the mission of the sport is to unite people to stay together for some right things…
“This war defines my life, because my future is in Ukraine. My father, he’s going back to the Army. My boyfriend is a soldier. Everything in my life is defined by war…
“We are suffering because of aggression. And here [at the French Open] there are people who are getting popularity, influence and money to support the war. Their views are dangerous. The silence here on tour is dangerous, and not right.
“If I’m going to be silent, I don’t understand what I’m doing…If I do not try to do everything to help Ukraine win, my life would be destroyed. The people I love, they would be killed. I will be killed. I don’t see any other option.”
When Shnaider was asked if she wanted to make her feelings on the war known, she replied, “I’m not going to speak anything about the situation. I’m here just to speak about tennis and about my game.”
AMERICAN HOPE AND HEARTACHE: For eons, at the French Open and at many other Slams, the narrative for American tennis – particularly for the guys – has been the same. Our fine, but far from dominant, cadre of outstanding players suffers from attrition. As the business end of Slams approaches, too many Americans go out of business.
Yes, Coco won last year and a few Americans still are hoping for Parisian glory. But the third round has again snuffed many a Yankee’s dream.
It’s not only that, after being up two sets, Tommy Paul fell to Casper Ruud. It’s not just that Michael Chang’s man, Learner Tien, learned some harsh lessons from Flavio Cobolli. In addition, Coco and Alex Michelsen, Iva Jovic, Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova, Brandon Nakashima and Peyton Stearns all fell in the third round.
But, amidst the red, white and blue gloom and doom, there were three dazzling bright spots. Madison Keys, the 15-year vet and 2025 Aussie Open champ, squandered two match points in the second set against the brilliant 19-year-old Canadian, Victoria Mboko. But Madison kept her composure, and eventually avenged her January loss to the No. 9 player in the world as she scored a hard-fought 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 win. The No. 19, the only American woman still in the draw, and she’ll next face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Big backers of Big Foe – that’s Frances Tiafoe – were thrilled by his run to the quarterfinals of last year’s French Open. But his results of late, outside of Acapulco, have wobbled. The charismatic two-time US Open semifinalist’s journey has been emblematic of the American narrative.
He reached No. 10, is a household name in tennis circles and has earned almost $17 million. But he’s never scored a massive breakthrough. Was the 28-year-old’s career was adrift? He was ranked No. 20. Perhaps this was a mid-career crisis. In any case, he got a new coach, Mark Kovacs, and went on a 75-day crash fitness course.
Today, Frances seemed to be on the brink of crashing out of Roland Garros. In the almost empty, lifeless Court Suzanne Lenglen, Portugal’s Jaime Faria, No. 115, didn’t seem like just a feisty journeyman. He gave Frances fits as he took the first two sets, and was just two service holds from victory. And when the well-traveled warrior with a triple digit ranking began to give Tiafoe a lot of lip, Frances offerered some thoughtful advice: “Why don’t you quit trying to act like you’re tough? You’re not hard bro, just play.”
Ultimately, Tiafoe showed his heart, fitness, pedigree and maturity as he roared back to score a 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7), 6-2 win – his second five-set victory of the week. The only seed in the top quarter of the draw will next face No. 57, German Daniel Altmaier.
It seems as if, from the dawn of time, Paris has been a tennis headache for Southern California men not named Chang. We know the names: Kramer, Gonzales, Smith, Connors, Sampras. And this year, Fritz and Friends – that would include Taylor and his compatriots, Michelsen, Tien and Nakashima – all fell.
So, who would have guessed that the pride of La Jolla, Zachary Svajda, would be the last Southern Californian standing? Of late, the No. 85 in the world hasn’t been on tennis’ radar screen much. In fact, the last time we saw him in person, he was again winning the Tiburon Challenger as Blue Angels jets zoomed above.
And today, the angels were with him. He not only reached the fourth round with a gritty 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 upset over the considerable Francisco Cerúndolo. The win came on the birthday of his late father, Tom, who died in October.
Zachary’s story reminds us of Stevie Johnson, who used the untimely death of his dad and coach Steve to inspire him. Svajda told TNT, “Today my dad was all I felt. It brought me to tears. He always told me to enjoy myself on court, and I could beat anyone.”
He’ll next have to beat one of the hottest players in the draw. Italian Flavio Cobolli hasn’t lost a set yet.
GO FIGURE: There have been a record-equaling eight five-set matches at Roland Garros. Twenty matches have gone past four hours. There were a record nine five-setters in the third round. There have been three comeback wins from two sets down.
AT LAST: Men were featured in 15 straight Roland Garros night matches. Sabalenka and Osaka will play under the lights Monday.