The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Serena will be the crowd favorite at U.S. Open
The world according to Jim:
• Has Serena Williams just positioned herself as the sentimental favorite to win the U.S. Open?
Her impending retirement (or, if you prefer, “evolution”), revealed in a bylined story in Vogue magazine this week, had no specific date yet for leaving tennis but it’s pretty well assumed that the tournament beginning Aug. 29 will be her last Slam. When she steps away it will bring closure to a remarkable career, one in which she and sister Venus not only set a new standard of excellence but redefined the sport itself . ...
• An example? Coco Gauff, after winning an early-round match in a tournament in Toronto this week, told her questioners that Serena’s example was the reason she plays the sport: “Tennis being a predominantly white sport, it definitely helped a lot. Because I saw somebody who looked like me dominating the game, it made me believe that I could dominate too ... “I think for me what makes her the GOAT is her personality and all that she’s done off the court to fight for equality, to fight for young players like me and continue to lead in the way that she does lead. I think that’s what we really should be focused on.”
Hers is not the only version of that story.
• This will, in all likelihood, make the Open Serena’s last opportunity to win a 24th Grand Slam singles title and match Margaret Smith Court’s record, and while the odds seem heavily against her at this point, wouldn’t it be the perfect mic drop? ...
• Then again, if you want to be picky, only 11 of Court’s titles came in the
Open Era of tennis.
And if you think of the Open Era as its own entity, as opposed to the lessenlightened period before April 1968 when professionals were barred from the four major events, at this moment Serena already has the record for
genders. She has 23 Slams. Rafa Nadal has 22, followed by Novak Djokovic with 21 and Roger Federer with 20.
Which is another way of suggesting that the past two decades just might have been the golden era of tennis . ...
• So is Serena the greatest female athlete ever? She’s got to be in the conversation . ...
• Today’s wacky betting propositions involve who will be the last NFL team to lose a game this season (and enable the surviving ‘72 Dolphins to toast the loss) and who will be the last team to win their first game.
The favorites: The Chargers as the last team to lose, and Atlanta as the last team to win a game. No word on whether the Chargers are also favored as the last team to attempt a punt this season . ...
• Incidentally, tonight’s game at Sofi Stadium should be billed as *Rams vs. *Chargers. The uniforms will be familiar, but few of the players will — especially in the first exhibition game, in which the starters are usually on the sidelines in sweats.
This is one reason why public training camp workouts have become popular. You have a better chance of seeing players you recognize making real football plays on the practice field, for far less money . ...
• As is often the case, the public has spoken with its collective wallet. A site for resale tickets lists a number of NFL exhibitions with get-in prices in the low single digits, including $2 and $3 for Saturday’s Washington-carolina game. (It was $1 earlier in the week.)
As for *Rams*chargers? As of Friday morning the $7 tickets were gone — seriously — but there were a good number of seats at the top of Sofi Stadium’s 500 level for under $20 . ...
• What did Kevin Durant think would happen when he went public with his demand that Nets coach Steve Nash and GM Sean Marks be fired as his rationale for wanting a trade? Did he really expect owner Joe Tsai to accede? True superstars — hey, anyone we can think of offhand? — flex their power behind the scenes, so while we can assume their influence we can’t actually prove it.
Although, as Hall of Fame hoops scribe Marc Stein noted on Substack this week, the day after Durant made his trade request he received $10,742,461 from the Nets, part of a contract clause that he gets half of his 2022-23 contract in two installments, paid July 1 and October 1. Nice timing . ...
• Today’s “kids these days” moment: Did you see the clip of Pittsburgh’s Rodolfo Castro sliding headfirst into third base against the Diamondbacks the other night and then realizing his cell phone had fallen out of his back pocket?
MLB was soon investigating. High-tech signstealing, or just a guy obsessed with what social media’s saying about him? ...
• It will seem weird in places where Bill Russell consistently broke the local fans’ hearts — like, um, Los Angeles — for the local teams to hoist his retired number to the rafters and wear it on their shirts.
But consider: Winning is the object of the game, and 11 NBA titles, two NCAA championships and an Olympic gold medal (and a 21-0 record in elimination games between the three) speak volumes. And layered over that is his role as a champion for civil rights and social justice throughout his life.
In other words, no NBA legend deserves the honor more. I think even longtime Laker fans would agree.