Age isn’t Just a Number: Outside the ATP Week 6
Roundup of Recent Events
On Getting Old and Being Young
What a Wimbledon final. There are rumors that may be circulating suggesting I picked Novak in four. HOWEVER, this is propaganda and these images are forged. I definitely always knew Carlos was going to win what would turn out to be the best men’s final at the All England Club since Roger Federer’s devastating choke against Djokovic in 2019[1].
More surprising than the result of the match[2] was the manner of Novak’s defeat. The mystic fascist man-God who, after the French, seemed borderline unbeatable at a slam in 2023 looked, by the end of things, old and tired. It got me thinking about the non-linear and paradoxical ways that tennis players age.
Here a few other highlights from the past weeks that deal with youth, the opposite of youth, retirements, comebacks, etc.
Endings
There’s a maxim spouted at country clubs and park courts across America: tennis is a “game for life.” This is true, in so far as you see comrades of a certain age playing it far more regularly than, say, tackle football, but I think there’s no reason to pretend that tennis, especially professional tennis, is “good” for you. That’s not to say tennis is “bad” for you—I think it’s hard to argue against any type dexterous cardio[3]—but, also, violently changing directions on cement isn’t exactly easy on the joints. Poor Rafael Nadal can’t feel one of his feet. The wincing final moments of Juan Martin Del Potro’s final days are seared into my mind. Andre Agassi’s blood was like 50% Cortisone injection slurry during his last U.S. Open. Then there’s the graceless, and seemingly memory-holed, finish of Roger Federer’s career—a 6-0 third set loss to Hurkacz. For the ardent Fed defenders yelling, “umm no his career actually ended at the Laver Cup,” ignoring that the Laver Cup isn’t even a legitimate event (and that he only played doubles) fine, okay, sure. Roger Federer ended his career by losing a doubles super-tiebreaker to Jack Sock. That’s way better. Totally.
The point here: Pete Sampras exempt, great careers rarely end gracefully. The boundaries of time that define a career, too, are quite fluid. Players play for longer than they ever have, peak later, and, with advancements in training, hang on and comeback beyond the bounds of normal athletic time. I mean Andy Murray is almost in the top 40 again and he has mechanical hips.
Time is weird and I’ve been wondering, post Wimbledon, how it all will shakeout for Novak. Maybe he’ll ride off triumphant into the sunset after winning his thirty-seventh Australian Open. Maybe his Achilles tendon will roll up the back of his leg Kobe style next month in New York. Perhaps the invisible beams of light produced by his Tao Patch will cause him to spontaneously combust.
Participation King
Perhaps not the most decorated or famous player of his generation, Feliciano Lopez did participate. He participated enough to earn a literal participation trophy. Two, actually. Lopez holds the Open Era crown for consecutive major appearances at 79, and is tied with Federer for total appearances at 81. His career, however, didn’t end at a major, but in Mallorca, right before Wimbledon, where he played roughly at the same level he has for the last decade.
Lopez, who turned pro in 1997, may also have been the most consistently incoherent player of the last twenty-plus-years. He was a Spaniard in one of the greatest eras of Spanish tennis ever, yet he stuck out from the crowd of Nadal, Ferrer, Almagro, Verdasco, et al., not for his excellent play, but for his contrarian style. Unlike his clay court loving countrymen, Lopez preferred the grass. He didn’t play with spin. In fact, he serve and volleyed more than almost any player on tour.
Lopez also peaked in ranking, somewhat inexplicably, in 2015, despite truly embodying the aughts. You just know this guy owns D.J. equipment. He’s married multiple models. His backhand is just terrible. He’s also, apparently, pretty conservative. In a parallel universe he maybe had a dating show even more insane than the Mark Philippoussis one.
Comeback Time
Caroline Wozniacki has announced she’s coming back. The 33-year-old, who retired at the start of 2020, plans to play the U.S. Open. It’ll be interested to see how she does—with a layoff that long she’ll likely need a warmup event or two to work herself into presentable form. Then again Kim Clijsters could probably still roll out of bed and hang with most of the top hundred.
Kevin Anderson also returned to the court after a 17-month lay-off and won his first round in Newport. I don’t really have a good bit about this. Newport kind of confuses me. Why are we playing grass-court tennis after Wimbledon? Why is the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Rhode Island? Then again, the courts are so bad that the tournament basically functions as a points reform system for anyone over 6’5 on tour.
Young…American?
American teenager Alex Michelsen has quietly found his way into the top 200 after a strong start to the summer, including a title last week at the Chicago Challenger, where he beat a very washed up Kei Nishikori[4] and noted prodigy Juncheng “Jerry” Shang. He also lost a tight three setter to breakout star Chris Eubanks in Mallorca.
Before this week, Michelsen only had one ATP main draw appearance to his name[5], but he just scored a first-round win in Newport over defending champion Max Cressy. I’d expect him to be gifted a slew of wildcards during the American hard-court swing and I’d be stunned if he isn’t playing at the U.S. Open.
His politics, unfortunately, appear predictably horrible. I’ve yet to do a deep dive into his ideology, be he follows an account on Instagram called TraditionalConservatism that is some full-blown Nazi shit. Maybe he and Tennys Sandgren can play doubles in matching Groyper outfits.
Nepotism Report
This week in Bastad, world number-437, Leo Borg, who is only a couple of weeks younger than Carlos Alcaraz, won his first career tour level match when he took out Elias Ymer (the lesser Ymer brother) in the first round. While I should be politically opposed to the nepotism wildcard, I do appreciate a good fail son. The powers that be, also, seem to be desperately trying to make Leo Borg happen, even though it doesn’t seem like Leo Borg is, how can I put this delicately, good (at least relatively speaking). His ranking, too, has been inflated by the opportunities his name affords. The UTR algorithm pegs him in the mid-700s. While I doubt Borg the younger ever rises to fill his father’s shadow, I do hope he has some fun scandals along the way.
The Most Important Leftist Tennis Player
Finally, the most noted leftist tennis player in the American North East returned to action in the last month: me.
Results have been mixed. Is it fun and exhilarating to compete? Absolutely. Having played three two out of three set doubles matches against college kids Saturday did I feel as if a truck had slowly rolled back and forth across the center of my body? Yes.
Next match is against an Italian international this weekend. Maybe I’ll bring my passport from the homeland to impress him. Perhaps we can have changeover discourse about the political valances of DOP food distinctions. We’ll see how it goes.
In the meantime, am I old?
[1] This might be anecdotal, but Roger blew like so many match points.
[2] Which definitely wasn’t surprising
[3] I’m no doctor
[4] Like I said, age is weird.
[5] Mallorca, as a lucky loser.
didn’t know that Djoker was being invigorated by light energy—that’s incredible