In the women’s singles competition, the talk was of a “changing of the guard” as Serena Williams made one last run. (Probably. We think.)
But the women’s tennis guard isn’t really changing. In Serena’s absence, we’ve seen about a dozen players emerge who are all capable of winning majors. They’re still there.
The change is on the men’s side. The era of the Big Three (occasionally Big Four) is starting to fade. The No. 1 spot in the world will be decided Sunday between two guys who are going to be around for a while. And Carlos Alcaraz has a ceiling that’s someone in the parts of the atmosphere that can only be reached by billionaires’ rockets.
And some players have become must-see viewing. Who won’t want to watch Frances Tiafoe, who didn’t have his serve in high gear and had a lapse of about 45 minutes but still pushed the outstanding Alcaraz into a fifth set and a fifth hour? And Nick Kyrgios has that McEnroe “it” factor of being volatile but charismatic.
Long live the new guard. This is a lot of fun. Thanks for following along with me again. Now have a rest (once you read Bryan Graham’s match report below):
Updated
Patrick McEnroe first interviews Tiafoe, who’s in tears and takes some time to answer.
Tiafoe tells Alcaraz he’ll win a lot of Grand Slams. “You’re a hell of a player and a hell of person.”
“I will come back, I will win this thing one day. Sorry guys.” And that’s all he can say before walking back to his chair while the crowd roars and Alcaraz again points to salute.
Over to Alcaraz, who gives cliched but accurate answers about persevering through five-hour matches.
Tiafoe leaves the court, touching his heart to thank the crowd.
Alcaraz doesn’t seem interested in looking ahead to the final. It seems so far away, he says.
McEnroe then gives Alcaraz a chance to say a few words in Spanish. I studied the wrong language in high school and college, so I have no idea what he said. I think one word translates to “incredible.”
