Serena’s tantrum great for tennis, claims her coach
SERENA WILLIAMS’ meltdown during her defeat in last year’s US Open final was ‘the best moment in tennis for the last 10 years’, according to her coach.
That assertion from Patrick Mouratoglou seems eccentric at best and has already seen him slapped down by Chris Evert, who was on court for the somewhat chaotic presentation ceremony 12 months ago.
The Frenchman’s wider point was that tennis — and sport in general — needs drama, and nowhere demands it more than New York.
Williams so often delivers on that front. She may do so again on the US Open’s opening night tomorrow, when she faces old adversary Maria Sharapova, with whom she has a well-documented mutual enmity.
After nearly four years apart, they will meet in the first round under the giant lights of the Arthur Ashe Stadium, which hosted the American’s controversial loss to Naomi Osaka last year, when she came close to being defaulted.
In a recent ESPN documentary Mouratoglou, who was caught by umpire Carlos Ramos giving hand signals to his player, reasoned that the global attention attracted by the match’s events could only be a good thing for the sport.
‘It was horrible for us. It was horrible for Serena. It was fantastic for tennis. Tennis was everywhere,’ he said. ‘Everyone felt something that day.’ Evert, working for ESPN this coming fortnight, does not share his view.
‘I don’t agree with that at all,’ she said. ‘Yes, it got a lot of exposure. I mean, so do other bad things that happen in the world. I don’t think it was good. I was down at the level presenting the trophy. It was thundering, it was vibrating, the floor was vibrating, the boos were deafening. I looked over and saw Naomi sobbing. To me, that isn’t the greatest thing that’s ever happened in the sport, period.’
Yet it is the potential for human, and sporting, drama which is bound to ensure a bumper first-night audience.
Another factor is that women’s tennis has been starved of rivalries at the top in recent years, owing to the inability of its new Grand Slam champions to consistently perform at the highest level.
MIDDLESEX’S Harriet Dart was handed a winnable first round after coming through the final round of qualifying late on Friday night. She will face Romania’s world No 147 Ana Bogdan. Dart, who is ranked 140, is now one of five British men and women in the singles draws.