US OPEN 2015 BEGINS TODAY
Even though the last tennis tourney, Wimbledon, didn’t work out well for me, I’m not letting that fact deter me from watching every second of the US Open for the next two weeks.
And, as always, I’m rooting for Roger Federer.
There’s not much gossip to tell you yet, but I will along the way.
The big news is that there’s finally a player I hate more than Eugenie Bouchard and Serena Williams! It’s Nick Kyrgios. He’s disgusting. He’s a young Aussie about whom the commentators have been making a fuss for a couple of years now, especially when he bested Raphael Nadal at last year’s Wimbledon tournament.
I have never liked him, finding him to be thoroughly obnoxious. I hate when sports reporters call him the “Bad Boy of Tennis.” “Bad Boy of…” whatever usually connotes someone charming, with an edge, like Maksim Chmerkovskiy of Dancing With The Stars fame. Maks is rightfully labeled the “Bad Boy of Dance.” But Kyrgios is more the “Douche-bag of Tennis.”
Here’s what he did a few weeks ago, which is unforgivable: When he was playing the much-higher-ranked Stan Wawrinka in the Rogers Cup tourney in Montreal, while on-court, he told Stan that Stan’s girlfriend, fellow player Donna Vekic, had “banged’’ another Aussie male player. In the middle of the match!!! That’s classless at any time, but on the court just means he has less than no class.
So, now he’s been blaming his thuggish behavior on being twenty-years-old. What a weak excuse. Every tennis player in history over twenty has played at that age, and none has ever stooped that low before. Not even the high-strung John McEnroe. (Just contrast Nick with Arthur Ashe to realize how out-of-line he was.)
Speaking of John, I don’t know the details, but I do feel that he should be ashamed of himself for inviting Nick to play in his recent charity event. That event was a fundraiser for the Johnny Mac Tennis Project, which supports young tennis prospects who have financial issues. Since it involves kids, they shouldn’t have the example that they can behave like creeps, and still be welcomed into the fold. Not cool, Johnny Mac.
In my opinion, Kyrgios should not even be allowed to play in the US Open! Such disrespect, especially of one’s fellow players, should be sanctioned much worse than the United States Tennis Association has done.
But, I’ll try to put it out of mind, and just root against him. He’s playing against the #3 seed, and two-time Majors Champion, Andy Murray, in the first round, so, hopefully, that means that Nick will be a non-issue for the remainder of the tournament. Now, if only I could be so lucky in the cases of Williams and Bouchard!
And, as always, go, Roger!
[Note: I plan to tweet about the goings-on at the tourney, so please follow me, if you want to cut to the chase! @MajorCelebrity. I’ll also post an update in this space right after Labor Day, and do a complete wrap-up the following week.]
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