June 2, 2023

Here’s your roundup of the five most interesting things I’m enjoying or thinking about this week in tennis.

1.) Monfils High & Low

Gael Monfils had a blockbuster first-round comeback against Sebastian Baez in the first round of the French Open. Down 0-4 in the fifth set, he fought back with the support of his home crowd to win the match 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 in three hours and 47 minutes. However, despite the triumph, a nagging left wrist injury came back to haunt him, forcing him to withdraw from his second-round match against Holger Rune.

2.) Kasatkina’s Tweener

During her second-round win against Marketa Vondrousova at the French Open, Daria tracked down a deep lob for a perfectly executed rocket of a tweener that the tournament tagged as the shot of the day. Impressive stuff!

3.) Alcaraz’s Ridiculous Response

Carlos Alcaraz is well-known for his perfectly executed drop shots, but he’s not too shabby at tracking them down either. His opponent Flavio Cobolli learned that the hard way during their first-round match. After Flavio hit a well-executed backhand drop shot, Carlos came up with an even better reply.

This is actually ridiculous even for Alcaraz’s standards pic.twitter.com/Hs0LiOW5JP

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 29, 2023

4.) King & Navratilova

In celebration of Pride Month, the WTA rewinds the clock to share the story of when Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova were outed in a span of 90 days, shaking up women’s tennis and ultimately helping pave the way for greater LGBTQ+ acceptance.

Read the Full WTA Story

5.) Fritz Shushes Crowd

Playing against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, the hometown crowd didn’t take it easy on Taylor Fritz, regularly booing and giving him a hard time as he cruised to a fairly straightforward win. Despite the treatment, Taylor remained composed throughout the match, that is, until after match point when he shushed them. It didn’t go over well but made for an entertaining post-match scene.

TAYLOR SAYS: 🤫@Taylor_Fritz97 takes out home favourite Arthur Rinderknech 2-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 to reach the third round in Paris!#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Iqe9Vl0zSa

— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 1, 2023

“I love you guys” 😂

The French crowd ‘loves’ @Taylor_Fritz97 🤣🤫#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/UU1wj7qVs3

— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 1, 2023

If you have a moment, I’d love to hear your feedback. Which topic is your favorite? What would you like to see more or less of each week?

Share your thoughts in the comments below, and have a great weekend.