The Sins of Our Fathers

The final major of the year is over and the champions are the same as in January: Aryna Sabalenka stakes her claim as hardcourt queen while Jannik Sinner dominates mere days after being cleared in an anti-doping case. We recap some of our highlights from week two, which had a ton of potential but didn’t deliver many (any?) classics. We dig into why disliking billionaires is actually totally fine; conflicts of interest and their sometimes humorous results; online mean girl/mean boy behavior from some famous commentators; and more observations from the site. We finish up with a look at commentator Nick Kyrgios and the complacency that led broadcasters, journalists, and commentators to excuse his misogyny; plus the ongoing lawsuit over Ben Rothenberg’s reporting on the Zverev abuse allegations.      

0:35 Not the most brilliant three weeks of tennis in history but OK!

3:00 The women’s final was fun! Aryna Sabalenka bookends her year with hardcourt Slams

7:35 Billionaires, they’re just like us!

14:45 Notable week two matches: Navarro d. Badosa; Zheng d. Vekic; Aryna evolving into the most consistent Slam player on tour

19:00 Rennae cooks coach/commentator Brad Gilbert on air, and why that’s totally fine 

26:55 An unseasoned final 

30:50 The American narrative + Frances Tiafoe getting so close again

44:50 Penko a first-time Slam doubles winner; Taylor/Katka, Mladenovic/Zhang, D. Young

52:10 “Little grim reapers” and a few more observations from the grounds

63:40 ESPN commentators discover player name pronunciations and immediately get mean about it

71:10 Nick Kyrgios, misogyny, and the insider hypocrisy that protects him

79:45 Ben Rothenberg appeals a lawsuit from Alexander Zverev + its broader implications for journalism