Talk About Strange
It is a shame Kristie Ahn graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Science, Technology & Society and not Math. If she had, Ahn would have been able to figure the odds on the likelihood of playing the same individual in the first round of back-to-back Grand Slam tournaments. After facing Serena Williams at the US Open and losing 7-5, 6-3 she played Williams again in Paris and fell 7-6, 6-0.
Tom Couch is a trainer. He is also Danielle Collins’ boyfriend. So, it was rather “bizarre” when, after not converting two break points in the second set of her quarterfinal match with Kenin she screamed at him, “Sit in a different spot. I am distracted!” He did and she won the second set but then lost the match, 6-4 4-6 6-0. After the contest, Collins, who is an “idiosyncratic” competitor, mentioned that she loses focus during matches when her team is not following the “designated seating plan”. Against Kenin, something in front of where Couch was sitting was throwing her off. She admitted that “it is a mental thing…I guess”. (Could this be the new method of “really focusing”. Will coaches, in the future, advocate watching “who is sitting where” rather than concentrating on the shot the opponent has hit?)
Alexander Kenin, Sofia’s father and coach didn’t have to be asked to move. He did it on his own after she lost the first set in her fourth round match with Fiona Ferro of France. As it turned out, his seat choice was right next to Ferro’s coach, Emmanuel Planque. After winning the match 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, Kenin acted like she was in charge of the stewards on Court Philippe Chatrier saying that she didn’t understand why Planque was sitting where he was because the section was for members of the team of the higher seed and he should not have been there. She added, that her father was there trying to “help me…” which ultimately resulted in a fine for coaching. (Kenin and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is coached by his father, were both fined $8,500 for coaching violations in the first and fourth rounds along with unsportsmanlike conduct.)
Every player follows his/her own rituals when it comes to staying hydrated and properly nourished during a match. Television regularly features energy drink and nutrition bar commercials for every gourmets taste. There is also the “old school” approach where cold water and a banana suffice.
During her 7-5, 6-2 victory over Paula Badosa of Spain that earned her a spot in the Roland Garros quarterfinals, Laura Siegemund of Germany decided to have a mid-match meal. While Badosa took a medical timeout during the first set, lying on the court to receive treatment for a back problem, Siegemund received a “snack bowl”. As she explained, “I was trying to get some carbs in. I tried the bar. Couldn’t get it down. So, I asked my physio to bring me something else. I just wanted to get some carbs – some potato or rice – whatever. You have to listen to the body. The body kind of tells you what you need.”
