October 2, 2020
Five Point Friday
Here’s your roundup of the five most interesting things I’m enjoying or thinking about this week.
1.) Sonic Boom Disrupts Match
During their second-round match, Stan Wawrinka and Dominik Koepfer were caught off guard by a thunderous explosion that echoed throughout Paris. It turns out a fighter jet exceeding 750 mph (1,207 kph) was heading to escort a passenger plane.
Sonic boom heard all over Paris after a fighter jet was sent in emergency to escort a passenger plane, surprising tennis players at Roland Garros pic.twitter.com/hmjFPhCIVO
— Charlotte Reed (@cnbccharlotte) September 30, 2020
2.) Injury Ends Williams’ Bid for 24
In her latest bid for a 24th Grand Slam title, Serena Williams made the call to withdraw from her second-round match at the French Open. She suffered an Achilles injury in her semifinal match against Victoria Azarenka at the US Open, which didn’t have enough time to heal. D’Arcy Maine of ESPN shares some thoughts asking, ‘does it really matter’ if she ever gets to 24?
Does it Matter if Serena Hits 24
3.) Verdasco Suing Roland Garros
World #59, Fernando Verdasco, tested positive for COVID ahead of the French Open but with a handful of recent negative tests, argued it was likely a false positive due to a previous case. He asked for a retest, but tournament officials refused, saying it wasn’t part of their protocol. On the night of his withdrawal, local authorities updated policies to allow the event to take record of prior infection into account, which wouldn’t apply to him. Frustrated, he plans to sue Roland Garros for being forced to withdraw.
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View this post on Instagram
4.) Bouchard’s Wildcard Run
Former world #5, Eugenie Bouchard, has had a few rough years on tour with her rank dropping to #330 in August of this year. However, she’s capitalized on a string of wildcards, including a qualifying wildcard in Istanbul a few weeks back where she fought to the event’s finals. Now a wildcard at the French Open, she finds herself ready to take on unseeded Iga Swiatek today for a spot in the fourth round.
5.) Underarm Serves in Paris
The underarm serve is controversial, but that hasn’t stopped players from using it, and the trend continues at the French Open. Of course, it’s results are mixed – check out a few that have been hit this year in Paris.
Love it. Both the underarm serve and the reaction. Bring it on, I want to see the underarm serve as the star shot of @rolandgarros 2020 alongside the dropshot! https://t.co/RBEXiBJrja
— Miguel Seabra (@MiguelSeabra) September 29, 2020
Medvedev underarm serve (won the point)#RG20 (?@Eurosport_RU ) pic.twitter.com/zo3PPdhrO9
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) September 28, 2020
Bublik underarm serve, ace (info – @Leplouk )#RG20 (?@Eurosport_RU ) pic.twitter.com/h8mzTfYifE
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) September 28, 2020
Errani missed an UNDERARM serve on second serve. Jesus. pic.twitter.com/OoCdE5AuJC
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) September 30, 2020
How NOT to hit an underarm serve: https://t.co/pStZg18589
— Gökalp Taşkesen (@gokotaskes) September 30, 2020
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.
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