Serena in Singles, Vondrousova's Ban & Tiafoe's Biggest Title
Plus: A rare Pete Sampras interview in the ATP's new docuseries
Context-free soundbite: “Levels of confidence I didn’t have for 12 seconds of my professional life.”
Wimbledon qualifying is underway, and Andy and JW catch up on the latest news : Serena playing singles, Ben Shelton changing agencies, Marketa Vondrousova’s suspension, Dan Evans’s wild-card snub, the ATP’s new docuseries Aces and whose game is heating up at the right time.
Coming up this week:
Love All on Wednesday
Q&Andy with Tim Henman on Thursday
Wimbledon Draw Show on Friday
Check out the new episode, then come back here for this week’s bonus stories.
Weekend Winners
Frances Tiafoe def. Taylor Fritz
6-4, 6-4
Terra Wortmann Open (Halle, Germany)
Tiafoe won his first title above an ATP 250 and became the first American to win in Halle. He beat three Top 10 opponents. “I felt like I couldn’t miss [a first serve], and I returned really, really well,” Tiafoe said.
Linda Noskova def. Jessica Pegula
6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Berlin Tennis Open
Noskova broke into the Top 10 with this title and became the Czech No. 1. She dropped just one set all week.
Francisco Cerundolo def. Tommy Paul
6-7, 6-4, 6-3
Queen’s Club
Cerundolo got his first ATP 500 title in this fourth three-setter of the week. The occasion was so big, his dad, who is afraid to fly, boarded a plane for the first time to travel from Argentina and witness it in person.
Marie Bouzkova def. Emma Navarro
7-6, 4-6, 6-2
Nottingham Open
Bouzkova rolled an ankle and still won her second tournament of the year over a resurgent Navarro.
The Sport’s $3 Billion Mistake?
The Financial Times released its Business of Tennis Special Report yesterday. The centerpiece of the multi-part series is this: Tennis is leaving $3.5 billion on the table by running the sport like it’s played—individually.
Instead, says Andrea Gaudenzi, the CEO of the ATP, tennis should team up. He contends the sport could double or triple its total revenue—about $3.5 billion, by his estimation—by consolidating the tours and the majors under one umbrella.
“Tennis is under-monetised. There is a huge opportunity to grow the pie,” Gaudenzi says. The sport needs to create a “one-stop shop” for broadcasters, sponsors, betting companies, fans and players that can “move, change, adapt, innovate and be ready for the challenges that we will all face in the next 10 years,” he adds.
The paper also talked to Wimbledon defending champ Iga Swiatek, agent Stuart Duguid, All England Lawn & Tennis Club chair Debbie Jevans and Billie Jean King National Tennis Center COO David Zausner.
Serena Playing Singles: The Reactions
As soon as Serena Williams accepted the wild card to play singles at Wimbledon, the next questions started rolling in. Who will she face? What will she wear? And chiefly, can she win?
Williams herself has kept expectations low. “I’ve had enough pressure. It’s really about my kids getting to see me play,” she said before she played her first match back earlier this month.
It’s impossible not to wonder, though, how far the GOAT will go on her best surface and how she will stack up against players half her age.
Lindsay Davenport had the reality check. “It doesn’t get easy as you get older, and grass is a tough surface to start on. The ball goes very quick, very low, and it’s very physical. There is a lot of bending,” Davenport told BBC Sport.
“Winning a match or two would be deeply impressive. Reaching the second week would be bonkers,” sport columnist Jason Gay wrote in The Wall Street Journal.
A lot will depend on the serve, which looked good in the two doubles matches she played this month. She clocked one at 120 miles per hour.
“I saw a little bit of the doubles, her first round. It looked like she was getting pretty good miles per hour on the serve. No one is going to want to face her,” ESPN’s Mary Joe Fernandez said in the pre-tournament conference call with the media.
Who will have the honor to face her first will be revealed Friday, when Wimbledon’s draw is made. Williams will play her first match on Monday or Tuesday. Now we’re on outfit watch.
Perfect Delivery: No Sir
Jack Draper won his first match under coach Andy Murray’s tutelage when he returned from injury at Eastbourne this week. In his on-court interview, he explained their relationship.
🎤 Jack Draper
“I haven’t called him ‘Sir’ yet. That’s not going to happen.”
Murray was awarded knighthood at the end of 2016, his best year on tour—he won his second Wimbledon and Olympic gold medal and he finished No. 1 in the world.
Now he’s trying to help Draper follow in his footsteps. Draper made his return this week after spending two months out with a knee injury. He won his first match over Marcus Giron 6-4, 7-6 and plays fellow Brit Jack Pinnington Jones on Wednesday.
Quick Hits
Miu Miu, Coco Gauff’s high-fashion partner, released a new 17-piece Court Collection.
Flavio Cobolli in Icon Italia.
Maja Chwalinska practiced in Wimbledon in Lacoste clothes and shoes, sparking speculation that she signed with the company. She was unsponsored at Roland Garros.
Dan Evans said the LTA “poured fire on my chance to get a wild card” at Wimbledon by denying him one into Queen’s. Simon Briggs reports in The Telegraph.
More Wimbledon withdrawals: Eliot Spizzirri, Reilly Opelka, Arthur Cazaux, Cristina Bucsa.
Tournaments in Progress
WTA 500 Bad Hamburg Open
Bad Hamburg, Germany
Grass
Iga Swiatek, Mirra Andreeva, Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka
ATP 250/WTA 250 Eastbourne Open
Eastbourne, U.K.
Grass
Taylor Fritz, Jack Draper, João Fonseca, Madison Keys, Jasmine Paolini, Jelena Ostapenko
ATP 250 Mallorca Championships
Mallorca, Spain
Grass
Luciano Darderi, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Grigor Dimitrov, Corentin Moutet
Wimbledon Bracket Challenge Starts in 3 Days!
The next Bracket Challenge opens on Friday, June 26. You can create or test your login at any time. Reach out as soon as possible if you can’t log in.
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why not Megan's voice?!