The Slow March Through the Institutions

A report on the 2022 US Open Wild Cards from our ATP insider

Day 1 of Left Open, Club Leftist Tennis’s daily leftist coverage of the 2022 US Open.

---

By Jackson Frons aka ATP Insider

Men’s Grand Slams are rigged. I don’t mean that the matches themselves are fixed[1], but that the playing field is so far from level that, at any given event, the final outcome might as well be inevitable. Take this year’s US Open. Despite a supposedly wide-open field[2], only a few players have a reasonable expectation of walking away with the title. While talent plays a role here, the gap between the game’s top players and the rest of the field doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is a product of the heinous, anarcho-capitalist, wealth sharing[3] propagated by the ATP. The system, as designed, helps the rich get richer.

Players like Rafa, Roger, Novak, and even young Carlito, can bend their schedules to optimize fitness and freshness for the year’s four majors[4], an approach that requires a full-time cadre of coaches, trainers, dietitians, physical therapists, and massage therapists, all at their own expense. This isn’t the norm. For every Novak Djokovic falling asleep each night in a hyperbaric chamber after purging his body of microplastics, there’s dozens of struggling futures grinders sleeping in vans. The gauzy lure of historical immortality is a privilege too abstract for the materialist, grizzled veterans of the tour. These players deal in currencies far more concrete—points and prize money.

Precious ATP points can be won at two classes of tournaments—ATP events (250s, 500s, Masters 1000s, and the Slams)[5] and ITFs, which are divided into low and high levels (Futures and Challengers).

A quick example: the other week Constant Lestienne[6] took the title at the Vancouver Challenger. For the five matches he won, Lestienne earned himself 125 ATP points and $21,000. Earlier this summer, American Reily Opelka lost in the first round at the French Open. While he only walked away with 10 ATP points, and despite not winning a single match, he still pulled in $62,000. Then compare that to Rafael Nadal’s $2,000,000 purse for winning the whole thing. The point being: access to Grand Slams begets the resources to succeed at Grand Slams.

So, in this broken system, how can the leftist tennis fan root for revolutionary possibility? For this humble reporter, the answer is wild cards.

What is a Wild Card?

The wild card is access. It is a gift that can be bestowed by a tournament director to, well, anyone, regardless of age, ranking, or even, in some cases, ability.

Here’s a spot in the draw, let’s see what happens.

The Grand Slam Wildcard, as a general concept, is also a redistributive policy. At minimum, it offers an ITF circuit player a payday better than any other they’d hope to earn all season. Should that person also win some matches, it could be a chance to circumvent another year of slogging through the minor leagues of tennis. The wild card, as you’ll see, also comes into play as a post injury rebound opportunity for established stars who’ve been on the sidelines, as well as aging local favorites looking to make a dignified farewell.

Of the 128 participants in the Men’s Singles draw at his year’s US Open, eight will be wild cards[7]. There is, naturally, some bureaucracy involved. Here’s a quick rundown:

Ugo Humbert and Rinky Hijikata[8] have been chosen by the French and Australian tennis federations respectively, as part of a wild card swap program that gives the Americans a player in the draw at each of the year’s first two majors. Hijikata unfortunately drew Nadal first round, so he’s likely in for a short Open. Humbert, a long time darling of the French federation and a former top 30 player, has his countryman Benjamin Bonzi. Hijikata, I think, has some leftist credentials, although I’m not sure what, specifically, they are. Humbert I find annoying so I’ve decided to label him a reactionary.

The next four wild cards were chosen by the USTA, the governing body of American tennis. Two went to veterans: Dominic Thiem and Sam Querrey and two went to up and coming young Americans: JJ Wolf and Emilio Nava.

For the veterans, our leftist pick should theoretically be loping journey man Sam Querrey; however, I’ve decided that Dominic Thiem’s meteoric decline following his title at the 2020 US Open is radical de-growth praxis and therefore more leftist than big Sam’s Southern California chill guy thing. I expect both to lose in the first round.

Of the youngsters, Nava is my favorite. He’s the son of Mexican Olympians—sprinter Eduardo Nava and tennis player Xochitil Escobedo[9], who fell in love after meeting in the Olympic Village in Seoul. I also grew up playing with his older brother Eduardo Jr. and was Xochitil’s coworker at a club in Los Angeles for most of the past year. Needless to say, I ride for the Navas. They’re good people. Emilio should have an interesting first round against unseeded Australian John Millman. Nava’s aggressive baseline play against Millman’s relentless defense will make for some dramatic points. Look for this one to go five-sets. Definitely a league pass match.

JJ Wolf, on the other hand, looks like the villainous owner of a chain of fan boat dealerships. Seriously, go Google JJ Wolf. You’re not going to regret this one. Based on a cursory study of his Instagram follows, Wolf also seems to have very epic Ohio Guy Conservative politics, but he’s still young and potentially open to a class awakening. He’s playing Bautista Agut first round and I actually think with a rowdy New York crowd behind him, he has a shot. JJ, unfollow Turning Point USA and join us on the left, we won’t make fun of your cool haircut like Charlie Kirk will.

The last two wild cards are where things get a little fun. They go, respectively, to the winner of the USTA Boys Under-18 Hard Court National Championships[10] and the NCAA men’s singles champion. Unlike the other six spots, these two recipients aren’t yet full-time pros. It’s the sort of thing you don’t find in other sports—a promising young pitcher doesn’t make his major league debut in the World Series. These earned wildcards present a glimmer of chance before the draw churns itself down to an inevitable champion. We’re seeing careers still in the balance. For every Kalamazoo or NCAA Champ who goes on to a long, prosperous career—like Francis Tiafoe or Steve Johnson—there are just as many Collin Altimaranos and Devin Brittons who you’ve likely never heard of. Guys for whom, although they don’t know it at the time, the U.S. Open first round will be the biggest match of their career.

This year’s Kalamazoo Champion is Learner Tien. He’s sixteen, ranked outside the world’s top thousand, and showed literally no emotion after winning the biggest junior tennis tournament in the United States.

In short, Learner Tien rules.

He’s from Irvine, which makes him tangentially connected to a lot of tennis people I’m tangentially connected to, and his name is Learner. Learning is leftist. Tien has also rocked an insane longish, incredibly smooth haircut reminiscent of the host of a ‘70s variety show host. Wilson should manufacture him a Blade festooned with rhinestones.

Tien’s first round matchup is against Miomir Kecmanovic, so I don’t think he’ll get a win, but propelled by the home crowd and bolstered by his stoic demeanor, I think our boy can grab a set.

Final verdict: look out for Tien long term, he’s an undersized left-hander with consistency, variety, deceptive power off the forehand wing, and no social media accounts. He’s like Bradley Klahn meets Donald Young meets a luddite. I’m all in on Learner Tien, 2032 leftist US Open Champion.

As I write this, you may not know the name Ben Shelton, but the time you read it? I think so. Shelton, the nineteen-year-old rising-Junior from the University of Florida was last year’s Kalamazoo finalist[11] and is currently enjoying the best summer of any tennis player under 20 not named Carlos Alcaraz. On the Challenger circuit, he reached a semi-final in Indianapolis and finals in Rome[12] and Chicago. At the ATP 250 in Atlanta[13], he scored his first win on the main tour before going down to John Isner 7-6 in the third. His real breakthrough came in Cincinnati though where he won a three-set battle against Lorenzo Sonego and absolutely demolished French Open finalist Casper Ruud.[14]

Shelton should be in the top hundred in no time and he has the game to back it up: a booming lefty[15] serve, a heavy forehand that regularly breaks the sideline, and an athletic, aggressive all-court style.

Now, to assess his leftist credentials, Shelton is a coach’s son[16], which to me reads like cop behavior. And not only that, his dad is also a former pro, which to me reads like monarchist behavior. But he also left high school a year early to play college ball, clinched the team national title, and dropped the tennis equivalent of a very large bat flip after doing so[17], which is cool. He doesn’t follow any avowed fascists on Instagram, which basically makes him a communist by American tennis standards, but he does follow Touré[18], which is objectively very funny. I’m pro Ben Shelton, he’s a strong establishment ally with the potential for radical growth. I also think he should take care of qualifier Nuno Borges with relative ease in the first round.

While Ben Shelton and Learner Tien appear to be strong ambassadors for a leftist tennis future, with great wild card comes great responsibility, and the path beyond the U.S. Open doesn’t always lead to noble futures for past wild card recipients.

A decade ago Denins Novikov won Kalamazoo and earned a spot in the U.S. Open. This was, inarguably, the most important Kalamazoo of recent memory for two reasons:

1.     I played in it[19].

2.     Dennis Novikov is the least leftist Kalamazoo champion ever. His current Twitter bio reads:

Pro Tennis Player • Web3 • Degen | Founder @nftlordsalpha & Founder @risingalpha_| MAYC #17470

His Avi is some kind of melting, kaleidoscopic NFT ape. Shame on you Dennis Novikov. Go rug pull some Pickleball players and leave the good and noble sport of tennis alone[20].

Another subject for potential re-education is 2014 Kalamazoo champion Noah Rubin, a player I admittedly have a soft spot for, as he harkens back to the days when the short, annoying Jewish guy had a place in men’s tennis. His relentless, not particularly aesthetic style reminds me of top 100 grinders like Paul Goldstein, Jeff Salzenstein, and Jay Berger. Unfortunately, Rubin, who is notoriously connected with Sean Hannity, has leveraged his success and connections to become the founder of something called the “BTR Tour,” which claims to be “Reinventing Tennis.” I’d love to tell you how they plan to do that, but the website doesn’t work. Perhaps they are reinventing that, too. Once the Biden administration caves to the Pickleball lobby and privatizes the USTA, assume Noah Rubin will be our new overlord.

My final grievance is against the USTA for their crimes against non-American NCAA champions. Not many people outside of the tennis world realize that American Division 1 tennis probably around fifty percent foreign guys. Why? Going to college for free[21] is better than losing money on the futures tour. Also, Americans aren’t actually all that good at tennis compared to the rest of the world.

This century, foreign players have won the title in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2018, and 2019. None of those champions received wild cards. Matias Boeker, Americ Delic, Benjamin Becker, Benedikt Dorsch, Benjamin Kohlloeffel, Somdev Devvarman, Blaz Rola, Petros Chrysochos, Paul Jubb, you are our comrades. You deserved the wild cards you earned. May your names sing out in history, may you all get checks for $62,000.

ATP insider, out. See you on the courts.

Jackson Frons writes fiction and plays tennis.

---

[1] That gets reserved for the lower levels of professional tennis.

[2] See: Nadal abdominal, Zverev ankle, Thiem everything, and Djokovic vaccination status.

[3] For reference, the NFL is currently putting out celebratory rankings of the league’s top 100 players. The 100th guy, Kyle Juszczyk, will make over $5,00,000 this season. By contrast, despite being a “global game,” the current ATP number 100, Juan Pablo Varillas has only grossed around $175,000 in prize money so far this year..

[4] The only events that employ the more grueling three out of five set format.

[5] The number denotes total points awarded to the winner. For a slam, the prize is 1500.

[6] ATP 75 at pub day.

[7] I don’t have the space here to get into qualifying wild cards, but those are the means tested, neo-liberal cousin of the main draw wild card.

[8] Contender for the best name in tennis.

[9] American pro Ernesto Escobedo is Nava’s cousin.

[10] Held in Kalamazoo, Michigan and known as The Nats at the Zoo.

[11] Where he went down to Zack Svajda, who is a true a radical, insofar as he resembles an actual child while still being a professional athlete.

[12] Rome, Georgia. Unfortunately.

[13] Wild card.

[14] For comrades inclined to wager (leftistly) bet Shelton.

[15] Both Tien and Shelton being left-handed is also very leftist.

[16] Bryan Shelton

[17]

[18] Who’s a pretty solid tennis player and a Fort Green Park regular.

[19] Don’t look up how I did… Much like if Mark Wahlberg had been on the 9/11 flights, if I had rightly won the 2012 Zoo, things would’ve gone a little differently.

[21] Or at least at significant discount.