Men's tennis feels more open than ever, but at the Grand Slams, it's a false dawn
Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court.
This week, the Madrid Open brought a coaching comeback story, a reminder of the growth required to be a tennis prodigy and a reminder of a false dawn at the top of men's tennis.
A false dawn at the top of men's tennis?
Discussing the state of the men's game Saturday night, America's world No. 17, Frances Tiafoe, offered an interesting perspective. 'Anybody can clip anybody on a given day,' he told reporters after beating Luciano Darderi to reach the Madrid Open third round.
Advertisement
'I think this is exciting times. Tennis reminds me right now of 2000 to 2004 or 2005, there's a window. Anybody can win slams, anybody can win tournaments like this. Every Masters, we'll probably have eight, nine (possible) winners.'
That period at the start of the 21st century will always be remembered as an interregnum, when Pete Sampras was on the wane and Roger Federer hadn't yet fully arrived. Between Wimbledon in 2001 and the French Open in 2004, six players, including Thomas Johansson, Albert Costa and Gaston Gaudio, won their one and only Grand Slam title.
Does what's happening now resemble that kind of openness? Yes and no.
At ATP Masters 1,000 level, the rung below the Grand Slams, things have definitely been unpredictable over the past year. Going back to Monte Carlo in 2024, the last 10 events have been won by eight different players, with five different winners in the last five.
Advertisement
At the Grand Slams, however, the shop remains as closed as it ever did. Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have won the last five between them; Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic won the eight prior.
While there is an important difference from the Big Three era, with players such as Tiafoe and, last year, Taylor Fritz expressing hope that they can win a major because they can beat even the best in the world, an as-yet unbreakable ceiling remains at the very top.
'I lived the real era, so for me, it feels great,' Tiafoe said of the tennis environment when Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were at their best. He recalled playing Nadal in the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2019 and feeling that 'in my mind, I'm not beating Rafa. But now you can play anyone and I really feel like at a Slam, anyone can win, not even just me, anyone.'
Still, it hasn't happened yet. The feeling of openness might be illusory at the very biggest events in tennis, but at least the chasing pack are no longer going into majors resigned to their fate.
Can Maria Sakkari sustain this return to form?
Maria Sakkari spent more than a year trying to find people who could help her solve her tennis problems.
Advertisement
Before those difficult 12 months, she had spent six years with Tom Hill, who was one of the youngest coaches on either tour when she took him on. Together they climbed the rankings to world No. 3, and Sakkari reached two Grand Slam semifinals in 2021. She said she hoped that he would be her coach for the rest of her career.
But after suffering a series of disappointing defeats, Sakkari sacked Hill early in 2024. She tried David Witt and then Raemon Sluiter, both coaches who have had significant success with other players, especially Witt, who previously coached Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula. He's now with Tiafoe.
Sakkari also tried working with Ben Crowe, the high-performance coach who helped Ash Barty win three Grand Slam titles before she retired at 25. None of it really worked for her and she slid down to No. 82 in the rankings.
Then, before the Madrid Open, Hill returned to the fold after ending his 12-month partnership with Peyton Stearns of the U.S., and a week on, Sakkari is already in the middle of one of her best tournaments in a good while. She ended a streak of eight consecutive losses against top-10 players when she beat the No. 6 seed, Jasmine Paolini, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the fourth round.
Advertisement
Sluiter said during an interview in March that Sakkari, who is one of the fittest athletes on the WTA Tour, was talented enough that her main issue was trusting herself and her shots.
'She can forget sometimes,' he said.
Sakkari, who is 29, has considered walking away from the sport on multiple occasions. It tortures her so. But she has always come back and said during an interview in March that she still believes she can get back to the top level of the game.
Hill helped her get there before. Maybe he can do it again.
How can Joao Fonseca learn his next tennis lesson?
Joao Fonseca, the 18-year-old Brazilian sensation, is going to win a lot of titles, and probably some pretty big ones. Blessed with a sledgehammer forehand, a backhand that he can redirect with ease and a high-kicking serve, his tennis ceiling is somewhere in the sport's stratosphere.
Advertisement
But for the time being, he is still a teenager, and winning on the ATP Tour demands that players lift up their floors — and flaws — in tight moments. Fonseca is going to lose matches because of that, just as every young player trying to make it to the top of the sport has done and will do. Eighteen is also not the easiest time to be shouldering the tennis hopes and dreams of an entire country, and maybe even a continent, with Fonseca the most exciting men's player Brazil has seen since three-time Grand Slam champion Gustavo Kuerten.
Fonseca, who had his breakthrough moment in February when he won the Argentina Open, has been trying to find his sea legs ever since. After a second-round loss to Tommy Paul in Madrid, he's 4-4 in tour-level matches since that title in Buenos Aires, though he did win a Challenger Tour event in Phoenix after an early exit to world No. 5 Jack Draper at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
If there is a common thread to his losses, it's that they all include losing a tight set, or even two of them, to an opponent who has been around the block and played a lot more tight sets than he has. As he did against Alex de Minaur in Miami, Fonseca clobbered Paul all over the court in Madrid, but when it came to the key points, he over-pressed when the move was to slowly wear down his opponent.
In the end, Paul beat Fonseca 7-6(7), 7-6(3) in a match that exemplified the next hump the Brazilian has to get over. He held two set points in the first-set tiebreak, but lost them with errors as he went for big shots rather than stealing a page from the Djokovic playbook, which is to keep the ball in play and either get the error or succumb to a winner. Do not, under any circumstances, give points away for free.
Advertisement
In an interview in March, Fonseca said he knows the difference between winning at the Challenger level and consistently beating a top player.
'If you have the opportunities, when you just don't take them, he's just going to take the match from you,' he said.
He will learn.
How do new players find the fabled 'locker room'?
The 'locker rooms' on the tennis tours have not always been hospitable places. The WTA Tour has been characterized as home to various factions, with everyone in it for themselves. Certainly that was the perception around the turn of the century when Jon Wertheim's 2001 book, 'Venus Envy,' gave a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life on the professional tennis circuit.
Advertisement
Things aren't so fractious now, but generally players still like to keep their distance from one another, typically spending their time at tournaments with their entourages.
Bianca Andreescu, who enjoyed a sudden breakthrough in 2019 when she won the U.S. Open at 19, this week spoke about creating a welcoming atmosphere. Over the past couple of years, she has reached out to fellow breakout stars Mirra Andreeva and most recently Alex Eala to let them know that she's available if they ever need anything.
Now 24 and rebuilding her career after a dreadful run of injuries, Andreescu says she doesn't want the next generation of players to have the experience she did. 'I'm going to be honest, I didn't have anybody reach out to me and nobody was friendly with me on the tour, no one would say hi to me,' Andreescu, ranked No. 132, told a few reporters at the Madrid Open last week, where she lost in the second round to Elena Rybakina.
'And I told myself, no, I don't want the next generation to feel that way. I know it's a competitive environment, but at the same time, us women, we are the only ones that really understand each other as much as possible.'
Advertisement
Eala, who lost to defending champion Iga Świątek in Madrid, has spoken about how much Andreescu getting in touch meant to her.
Shot of the week
Matteo Arnaldi scrambles his way to a break against Novak Djokovic.
Recommended reading:
'Trying to win a match or two': Novak Djokovic describes new tennis reality
Iga Świątek resets to open Madrid Open title defense
Why pickleball star Anna Leigh Waters is partnering with a tennis legend — in her sport
What Carlos Alcaraz's 'My Way' series says about his tennis present and future
📅 Coming up
🎾 ATP
📍Madrid: Madrid Open (1000) featuring Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jack Draper.
Advertisement
📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻 Tennis TV
🎾 WTA
📍Madrid: Madrid Open (1000) featuring Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari.
📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel
Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below as the men's and women's tours continue.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Tennis, Women's Tennis
2025 The Athletic Media Company
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Scottie Scheffler Reveals Concerning Message Ahead of The U.S. Open
Scottie Scheffler Reveals Concerning Message Ahead of The U.S. Open originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The U.S. Open is back this week, and it's shaping up to be one of the most anticipated majors of the year. With Oakmont Country Club hosting, fans and players alike know it's going to be a brutal test of both physical skill and mental endurance. Known for its tight fairways, deep rough, and lightning-fast greens, Oakmont doesn't leave much room for error. The lowest winning score at this venue? Just 5-under. Advertisement Scottie Scheffler, fresh off wins at the Memorial and the PGA Championship, enters as the betting favorite but he's not letting the noise get to him. 'The U.S. Open compared to the Masters is a completely different type of test. I think in the Masters you have a lot more shot making when you get around the greens,' Scheffler said at his press conference Tuesday. Scottie Scheffler looks at the trophy on hole No. 18 after the final round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Course on Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Scheffler, currently the world number one, offered a unique perspective on how the U.S. Open differs from other majors. 'It's just a different type of test,' he said. Comparing it to tennis, where majors are played on different surfaces. "When you miss a green at the Masters, the ball kind of runs away and it goes into these areas and you can play a bump, you can play a flop," Scheffler said. He emphasized how strength and precision will be key, saying, ' Here, when you hit the ball over the green, you're just getting some heavy rough and it's like, let me see how I can pop the ball out of this rough and somehow give myself a look.' Advertisement "It's just a different type of test." With Scheffler in top form and Oakmont ready to bite, the 2025 U.S. Open promises a thrilling ride. Related: Cameras Catch Scottie Scheffler's Son's Special Moment at PGA Championship This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fox Sports
40 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
US Open gets a peaceful day of practice ahead of tough test that awaits at Oakmont
Associated Press OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Serenity at Oakmont could be found Wednesday morning when Rory McIlroy stood on the first tee as the sun rose against a hazy sky on the horizon. He was playing with his best mate in golf, Shane Lowry, their final practice before the U.S. Open. The peace gets shattered as soon as the score starts to count. Even with Scottie Scheffler in full flight as the No. 1 player in golf, even as McIlroy tries to build on his dream moment of being the Masters champion, as Bryson DeChambeau gets a chance to see if his brawn can handle this rough, there has been one name — Oakmont — that rises above all others going into the 125th U.S. Open. 'Oakmont is relentless,' said John Bodenhamer, the chief championships officer at the USGA who sets up the course for the toughest test in golf. 'There's no letup. It's a grind. That's the U.S. Open.' It gets started on Thursday with Matt Vogt, the former Oakmont caddie now an Indiana dentist, selected to hit the opening tee shot. Jon Rahm, who won his U.S. Open four years ago at Torrey Pines, made his debut at Oakmont in 2016 when he was fresh out of Arizona State. He shot 76 on the first day, went 1-over par the rest of the way and finished as low amateur. Even with changes to the course from a restoration project, including a ditch that now meanders across the landing area in the 10th fairway, the Spanish star has a better idea what to expect. 'You're aware of what a golf tournament here is going to be like. It's going to be a challenge,' Rahm said. 'A lot of unfortunate things are going to happen. It's hard fairways to hit, bad lies, difficult bunkers, difficult greens. It's going to be a nice test, a difficult test, and I think one of the truest representations of what a U.S. Open is all about.' Dustin Johnson set the Oakmont scoring record for a U.S. Open at 276 when he won in 2016. The USGA mentioned a few other numbers that also describe Oakmont, mainly the 5-inch rough so dense at the bottom there were no guarantees a golf ball might be lost. Another number had historical context — only 27 of the 1,385 players who have competed in a major championship at Oakmont finished under par. That includes when Oakmont, now a par 70, was played as a par 71 or par 72. 'Our mantra is tough but fair,' Bodenhamer said. "And what does that mean? It's pretty simple. It's not about the score. It's about getting every club in a player's bag dirty, all 15 of them — the 14 in their bag and the one between the ears. And we work hard on that. 'And that's how we've gone about our business here at Oakmont.' The other number that stands out is 10 — the number of times the USGA has brought its marquee championship to the course built to be tough in 1903. No other course has held the U.S. Open more often. The USGA has been accused over the years of trying to protect par, which it long has denied. Johnny Miller remains the only player to win the U.S. Open with a 63 in the final round, in 1973 at Oakmont. The following year, Hale Irwin won at 7-over par in what became known as the 'Massacre at Winged Foot.' It also fed into the belief that par matters. In some respects, it does. Bodenhamer was asked what score would indicate the USGA didn't get it right. 'Interesting question,' he replied. 'Off the top of my head, something in double digits. I've said this before, we don't want 20 over to win and we don't want 20 under to win. It might be tough. It might not be tough enough. There's a number in there somewhere." Scheffler is in search of the third leg of the career Grand Slam after winning the PGA Championship by five shots at Quail Hollow last month. Scheffler has won his last three tournaments — all in a five-week stretch — by a combined 17 shots. 'What is he doing? Well, everything,' Justin Thomas said. "It's effortless. Every single aspect of his game is unbelievable. I think his mental game is better than anybody out here. To be able to play with those expectations and to stay present as often as he has to me is maybe more impressive than even the golf he's playing. 'He just doesn't make any mistakes and almost kind of lets himself be in contention versus forces himself in contention. He just seems to be playing better.' If there is a common trait among U.S. Open champions at Oakmont, strength would be on the list. Johnson won in 2016, Angel Cabrera in 2007, big Ernie Els in 1994. The first of 18 professional majors by Jack Nicklaus and those powerful legs came at Oakmont in 1962. 'I'd say there's definitely a strength factor coming out of the rough,' Scheffler said. 'I don't really know if this is a golf course you can necessarily just overpower with a bomb-and-gouge type strategy, especially with the way the rough is.' Scheffler's strength, much like Tiger Woods, is knowing where to miss and playing the angles. That works almost anywhere. Almost. 'There's not really many areas where you step on the tee box and you're like, 'Hey, I can miss it right here; hey, I can shade towards the left side of the fairway because right is really bad,'' he said. "Actually, if you hit it in the right rough, you're probably not going to get it to the green. If you hit it in the left rough, you're probably not going to get it to the green. So might as well try and split the difference there and hit it in the middle.' Sounds simple enough. It rarely is at Oakmont. And that's just the way the USGA likes it. ___ AP golf:
USA Today
40 minutes ago
- USA Today
These are some of the more interesting prop bets from BetMGM for the 2025 U.S. Open
These are some of the more interesting prop bets from BetMGM for the 2025 U.S. Open Who's your U.S. Open pick? World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, winner of three of his last four starts, including the most recent major, the PGA Championship? Maybe it's Rory McIlroy. He completed the career grand slam in April when he won the first major of 2025 at the Masters. Perhaps you feel like Bryson DeChambeau is going to go back-to-back in the national championship, while adding a third USGA trophy to his mantle. Those three are among the top four in MGM's odds for the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. Tournament winner odds for the 2025 U.S. Open Scottie Scheffler +275 Bryson DeChambeau +750 Jon Rahm +1200 Rory McIlroy +1400 Ludvig Aberg +2200 Xander Schauffele +2200 There's a long list of items prospective bettors can make wagers on. From the MGM website, here are a few more interesting ones. Winning margin at 2025 U.S. Open 1 stroke +250 2 strokes +350 3 strokes +650 4 or more strokes +333 Will there be a hole-in-one in any round? Yes +140 No -175 Will the 2025 U.S. Open end in a playoff? Yes +350 No -500 Will an American win the U.S. Open? Any U.S. player -165 The field +130 Will a LIV golfer win the U.S. Open? Yes +350 Will there be an albatross at any point this week? Yes +1600
