Tennis Prose




Jan/25

15

Osaka Is Back, Finally

When Naomi Osaka was at her best, she looked like a better version of Serena Williams because she moved better, smoother, quicker and her strokes are a little more fluid but they generate about the same power and destruction.

An astounding assertion surely to be denied by some or many but the proof is in the pudding – young Osaka gave prime Serena a lesson in their infamous US Open final where Osaka not only withstood Serena’s devastating game but also her raging theatrics and gamesmanship drama show with the chair umpire. That win by Osaka in her FIRST Grand Slam final revealed everything. Osaka went on to win three more Grand Slam, before the wheels came off her juggernaut due to her ridiculous political activism and media manipulation charades. Osaka went into a funk for over two years.

This year she looks different and by clobbering troublesome Karolina Muchova yesterday 16 61 63 she is back into Grand Slam title contention and a third round date with Belinda Bencic. What was most impressive about Osaka was her mental mindset. Her emotional intensity was as strong as I’ve ever seen from her, summoning herself with emphatic CMONs and positive body language. As she said after, she believes she wants this title more than any other player.

Osaka was so impressive beating Muchova that she is now my favorite to win the title.

Novak Djokovic struggled mightily with unknown Jaime Faria but eventually prevailed in four sets. Faria had never played a Grand Slam match before AO and he has but one win over a top 100 player. Yet vs the greatest player of all time he was outhitting and outplaying the 37 year old 24 time Grand Slam king. Faria was blasting winners everywhere and shocking not only the match observers but also Djokovic. Faria didn’t buckle until the middle of the third set and then Djokovic gained control of the duel and finished the job.

But the unique factor of this match is that another total unknown player suddenly played the best tennis of his life against Djokovic, like Nishesh Basavareddy in the first round and so many others in recent years at Grand Slams. Federer and Nadal did not have this magnetic ability to electrify opponents to play so well against him. It’s just another example of the “goat effect” and Djokovic creating more tennis magic. Next round will be an even more challenging assignment -Tomas Machac.

Andy Murray is a strong presence and ally in the Djokovic team box with the three other guys but so far it’s not noticeable that any technical, tactical or philosophical differences have been made to the Djokovic arsenal.

It was sad to see the chair umpire try to cheat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at 22 in the fifth set with an awful time violation call when Fokina was clearly waiting on the line with ball in hand ready to serve once the unruly crowd quieted down. Fokina was enraged and almost allowed the terrible call to bother him but kept his head and game together and eventually took command of the match and won 67 67 63 61 63. It’s possible Felix Auger Aliassime was more bothered by the call in his favor because he’s a gentleman and did not want any free help or cheating on his behalf. It was the worst most disappointing and corrupt moment of the tournament so far.

Interesting message from an ATP champion: Ex ATP player text: “I saw several baseline camera replays where shots were clearly visible different than the hawkeye is saying. Electronics give room for corruption.”

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6 comments

  • catherine · January 18, 2025 at 4:01 am

    Osaka back – and gone again. Retired…

    Swiatek quickly sent Raducana back to the dressingroom, Emma probably wondering why she had bothered to go on court. This match mirrored Emma’s first meeting with Iga at junior Wimbledon, an event which she claimed she had ‘erased from my memory’.

    Never mind. She should take on board one of Stan Wawrinka’s mottos, via Samuel Beckett: ‘Fail better’.

  • Scoop Malinowski · January 18, 2025 at 6:39 am

    Iga owns Emma and always will. that was ruthless. at least no excuses from Emma.

  • catherine · January 19, 2025 at 4:09 am

    Maybe a turning point of some kind for Emma. She’ll dwell on that for a while I would think. In her nightmares…

  • Scoop Malinowski · January 19, 2025 at 7:36 am

    She is accepting the reality of this loss and not using fictional fantasy injuries. like many players, Andreescu, Stephens, Ostapenko, Bouchard, Jabeur, the game may have passed them by already. there’s a lot of delusional self motivation in tennis but that’s what it takes to excel. Emma may need to find a coach who cares about her not the salary.

  • catherine · January 20, 2025 at 4:58 am

    Emma’s only the first on the sacraficial Swiatek pile – Lys loses winning 1 solitary game.

    Fisette is coaching Iga now – I forgot. A good pairing I predict. He could do well with Emma but that moment’s past I suspect.

  • Scoop Malinowski · January 20, 2025 at 7:15 am

    Emma will be lucky to reach the top 30, she’s tried everything, trained to the max, but nothing to show for it. but she produced maybe the ultimate grand slam miracle of all times.

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