There’s no-one quite like Coco when it comes to following in footsteps of sporting grandparents
There’s no one quite like Grandad, as Clive Dunn once warbled, and Johanna Konta could have won the Diary’s hastily-arranged prize for “Most Famous Gramps Culled From the Women’s Quarter-finalists” if Coco Vandeweghe hadn’t reached the last eight.
Jo’s grandfather, Tamas Kertesz, played football for Fer encvaros in his native hungary and won two caps alongside Fer en cPusk as. Coco’s grandad Ernie Vandeweghe played basketball with the New York Knicks.
Doesn’t that mean the prize should be shared? Well, in the event of a tie, other family members come into play and here the American has no equal: dad Kiki was also a basketballer and mum Tauna an Olympian in swimming and volleyball.
Her family tree shows even more sporting credits, too many to list here. with so many NBA men in her back-story it’s no surprise Coco towers over most of her opponents on the tennis court, although for her height she must also thank her grandmother, Ernie’s wife. The 6ft 2ins Colleen Kay Hutchins won Miss America in 1952 and when she was crowned told reporters: “I don’t know how that happened. I thought I was too darned tall.” CROSSING THE LINE The Diary was sorry to say au revoir to France’s Caroline Garcia, she of powerful serve and gloriously gloomy pout.
There were some suggestions her father – and coach – was tutoring her from the sidelines, which isn’t allowed in Slams. Garcia couldn’t enlighten anyone as to why he kept making a cross with his index fingers. Who knows, maybe the old man is a student of Bill Shankly whose hand-jiving in the 1974 FA Cup final between Liverpool and Newcastle United is enshrined in Wembley folklore. It worked, the Reds winning 3-0.