Chili Bites: Never gets old

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• Previously on The Bagel: Leave Rafael Jodar alone. At least, for now.

Cincinnati: Draws | Schedule | Scores

• Monday at the Cincinnati Open was all about the return of Venus and Serena Williams in doubles, and Serena’s first appearance on home soil since she returned to competition. Their doubles match against Marta Kostyuk and Mason’s own Peyton Stearns was supposed to start at 7pm on Grandstand, the Lindner Center’s No.2 court, and with that could being a joint ticketholders (lower bowl) and grounds pass (upper bowl) court, seats on the intimate stadium were at a premium. Cincy’s Grandstand is my favorite No.2 court in North America, and it unsurprisingly proved to be the perfect spot for sisters’ comeback match.
• Fans packed out the upper bowl well before their match, and I couldn’t help but flashback to Madonna’s 2006 appearance at Coachella. I was there that year, and Her Madjesty’s nighttime set led to fans camping out in that secondary stage tent from 10am, where they literally sat for like 12 hours as band after band came through and played all day. It was a weird sight, but an understandable one. But hey, I got there about an hour before she came on and all I was able to see was a slight glimpse a giant disco ball and a few locks of blonde hair. It was still awesome. Madge doing HUNG UP in the California desert was an unreal experience.

• And no, I don’t want to hear about how this was 20 years ago. Shut up. Respect your elders. And by elders, I mean me. We are old but we are wise. Kind of.
• It wasn’t rabid Coachella vibes last night, but the energy was electric and reverent. The rust was there for Serena – no lie, Venus was the best player on the court – but the sisters got going in the second set and nearly overcame a 6–0 and 8-2 deficit in the match tiebreak before losing 6-2, 1-6, 10-8 on a double-fault from Venus. You could tell the crowd was ready to explode for any great play from Venus and Serena. They are so beloved, so revered, so appreciated. And I think the Cincy fans let them know that.
• This was Serena’s first match since her Wimbledon singles loss to Maya Joint, a match where she says she sustained a “traumatic” knee injury that ruled her out of doubles there.

"That was a little traumatic experience for me,” Serena told reporters after the match. "Took me like two hours to leave the locker room that night, and it's been a long recovery, which is something I never thought I'd say because I never thought I'd be here talking to you all again.

"But, you know, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and so it's good."

Williams sisters come unstuck in Cincinnati in first doubles outing together since 2022

Serena and Venus Williams took to the doubles court together for the first time since the 2022 US Open but lost to Payton Stearns and Marta Kostyuk

The GuardianTumaini Carayol

• Did the match give us any more insight into where Serena’s head is in this “comeback”? Yes, and no. The US Open announced its penultimate set of singles wild cards today, and Serena wasn’t on the list. There is still one outstanding wild card to give, so the USTA is on tenterhooks just like the rest of us.
• Personally, and if I’m reading between the lines there did feel like a bit of downshift from Serena when it came to what her post-US Open plans might be. I was struck by how Serena answered this question about how she finds joy now and whether it’s different than 30 years ago:

"I never really enjoyed the process, but I think this time I'm enjoying the process a little bit more than I ever have, and it's kind of just having a different view of it. And it's also like – this isn't forever. This is, like, not long, so it's also just fun to know that, too. And like I'm not playing every week, I’m not showing up every week. I have kids, so it's a little bit different."

• On paper it reads like a pretty standard answer. But take a look at the press conference video and how she emphasized “this isn’t forever” and “this is not long”. It struck me.

• My thought on all of this has always been that it would be a wonderful story if Serena came back specifically to be able to play doubles with Venus at the US Open, where they would both walk away from competitive tennis together. I still think that’s what’s going to ultimately happen. That was always the dream ending and they have a chance to make it come true.
• But whether that was the intention from Day 1, a late-stage audible given how she’s felt and played on the court, or something in-between – maybe that was the spark for the comeback, with a “but let’s see how we go, and if I feel good, I’ll keep going” – I’m not sure we’ll ever know. But watching Serena in last night’s doubles, taking on the groundstrokes and serves of two quality singles players, she looked more than a step off. Her footwork left her out of position on more than a handful of volleys, and she just didn’t seem confident enough to aggressively poach to help Venus from the baseline. And again, credit to Venus, that was some of the best baseline ball-striking we’ve seen from her this year.

• So the conventional wisdom then pivots to: ok, Serena, you actually looked pretty good against Joint at Wimbledon until you hit the wall. And ok yes, maybe this doubles match was just a situation where the rust compounded after having to heal the injury. But the game has gotten faster off the ground and for you to get back to being truly competitive – and I have a hard time believing Serena has any desire to do a Venus and just compete for the love of the game even if that means taking lots of Ls – you’re going to have to WORK. And just as this was the question for her in the last years of her career, the question remains: are you willing to make the personal sacrifice to do that work?
• BECAUSE LEGIT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO! Is that sacrifice of hours of disciplined training on the practice courts – not just for a few weeks, but a sustained over months – is that sacrifice ultimately (a) feasible and (b) worth it?

• Great champions have egos, and the greatest ones have well-earned outsized ones. Can Serena really take the licks and lumps needed to build a real singles comeback? I certainly couldn’t. But I am an abject coward. And Serena is an abject not.
• Regardless, just like Venus, Serena has more than earned the right to do what she pleases for the reasons that make sense to her. I reject all the pearl-clutching about “tarnished legacies” and all that nonsense. Besides, sitting there in that Grandstand crowd of 95-5 Williams fans, it was abundantly clear just how much Venus and Serena mean to the masses. It never gets old to be in the presence of the greatest to ever do it. Why would we ever want them to stop?

• Unfortunately I come bearing more injury news from Cincy: Elina Svitolina withdrew ahead of her third-round match with Wang Xiyu with a right ankle injury that she sustained in Toronto. She’s been advised to rest it. Hopefully that doesn’t put a dent on her US Open campaign. Joao Fonseca also withdrew after the second round with a left abdominal injury. (ATP)

• For the most part, the women’s draw has been holding up so far. Amanda Anisimova held off Alex Eala in three sets to set up a big-hitting Round of 16 against Linda Noskova. In a weird move, Anna Kalinskaya retired down 0-5 in the third to Sorana Cirstea, who will now take on Jess Pegula, who came through the Billy Bowl to beat Emma Navarro in two sets. Da Fu is now 4-0 against Er Fu. Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina look prime for a potential quarterfinal rematch of the Toronto final. Iga plays Diane Parry and Elena will take on Diana Shnaider in the Round of 16.

• The men have seen a few upsets, but it’s rolling along. Andrey Rublev bowed out in two quick sets to Nuno Borges, and as I write this, Daniil Medvedev is down to Montreal finalist Brandon Nakashima. But the top half of the draw has set up some nice fourth rounds: French Open champion vs. Tommy Paul, Rafael Jodar vs. Flavio Cobolli, Thiago Tirante vs. Jakob Mensik, and Arthur Fils vs. Alex De Minaur.
• Tommy Paul says everyone is friends in the locker room, to which I say BRING BACK BEEF. (ATP)

• I loved that US Open Series “Greatest Road Trip in Sports” campaign, so much so that my friends and I genuinely wanted to try and drive from California to New York and hit as many tournaments as possible. Also because Rafael Nadal fight for his damn life with those lines is still the funniest thing.
• The US Open has now awarded all but one women’s singles and one men’s singles wild cards. Venus, Sloane, and Gael are among the awardees. Interestingly, two ATP players who would still need a WC to get into the main draw: former champion and retiring Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov. Gonna be a rough call, but you have to think it goes to Stan. (US Open)
• You know what my favorite thing is about The Open Era? Tournaments are, in fact, open. If you’ve got the ranking points that put you inside a tournament’s ranking-list cut off, no one can stop you from playing. You can be rich, you can be poor, you can be a fan favorite, you can be an asshole, you can be from any country, you can bean absolute unknown who brings in zero dollars to the tournament. But your ranking gets you into professional tournaments. That’s a really romantic thing if you think about it! There are no coaches to bench you, or teams refusing to sign you, or any other nefarious reasons to stop you from becoming a professional tennis player. If you’re good enough and you do all the paperwork and stuff, you’re in.

• That is why I think, once again, the US Open Mixed Doubles competition is a farce, an entertaining farce, but a farce nonetheless. It’s an exhibition in clown’s clothing and somehow it’s even more ridiculous this year, because explain to me WHY THERE IS A QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT. The US Open has selected teams based on starpower, marketability, and vibes – I mean you have to laugh that there are more WILDCARD sports than Direct Entries lol – but they don’t have room for LITERALLY the No.1 doubles players on the ATP and WTA Tours: Henry Patten and Katerina Siniakova. “Well, you have to prove you’re good enough to compete in this event.” THE PROOF IS LITERALLY THE RANKING!

• This is some Squid Game nonsense. What do you mean that singles players who haven’t played a doubles match, let alone a mixed doubles match, in a year, are direct entries – yes, that’s right, a player’s SINGLES RANKING is used for direct entry – while the eight-supreme doubles teams are going to have to beat each other up for a right to play an event that is literally their core competency, for money that means way more to them than any of those 20 singles players?
• It sounds weird, but at least last year the tournament didn’t even pretend to want doubles specialists in the field. This year, again in order to create content and bolster their offerings during Week Minus One, the best doubles players in the world have to QUALIFY?? If anything, It should be the other way around and THE SINGLES PLAYERS should have to qualify.
• Once again I cannot believe the USTA is making my blood boil over DOUBLES. If you know me, you know that my blood pressure literally NEVER goes up over…DOUBLES.

• There are ways to do this that aren’t this gross. You want a 16-team draw? Give the singles teams 7 direct entries, the doubles teams 7 direct entries, and two wildcards for all your vibey needs. It’s not that hard! Or, if you don’t want the doubles teams there, then don’t pretend you do! Just make the full thing based on combined singles rankings. This halfway solution is just rubbing salt into the wound you chose to inflict.
• Whatever. We’re all gonna watch and we’re all gonna have a good time and in so doing we’re all going to be subconsciously reminded that the problem is not “doubles” but “who is playing the doubles” when it comes to our interest and excitement. A doubles team coming through to win the competition, like Sara and Andrea did last year, does nothing to disprove that notion. And regardless of how you feel about that sentiment, it’s pretty easy to see how much this accelerates the erosion of the doubles specialist, somehow even more than it already did last year. Which is saying something.

• Remember that artist whose work got ripped off by the Monte Carlo Masters? Happy to report she’s reached an amicable resolution. (Twitter)
• Do you need a good laugh? Watch Jen Brady trying to do an ad read:

• The Cincy schedule has been kind to my cinephile life. I’ve been able to catch TRAIN TO BUSAN and POINT BREAK – yes, the originals – in the cinema (shoutout to the incredible Esquire and the Oakley Cinemark, you’re great!) and THE END OF OAK STREET (absolute n0nsense, had a blast, perfect summer movie).
• I do love that more and more corporate chain cinemas are starting to show older movies. I already have a ticket to Terminator 2 next month. It’s always worth checking your local chain to see what they’ve got cooking. You can also check Fathom Events’ website. They’re the company doing these “classic” movie reruns. You can usually catch some Ghibli movies too. And pertinent to my interests, V FOR VENDETTA is going to be shown in November.

• I also finally sat down to watch THE DRAMA and…I liked it! It was thoroughly infuriating and I caught myself yelling a lot, but it’s a movie that’s really fun to talk about. It’s also VERY funny if you’re into dark awkward humor.

The adorable love story behind Wikipedia’s ‘high five’ photos

Nearly 14 years later, the tale of this iconic couple can finally be told.

InputAnnie Rauwerda

• This is so cool: A woman in Ohio is doing her part to preserve “hanji”, the ancient Korean art of paper-making:

• Spotify and LinkedIn are trying to cull out AI slop and good luck because everything thought it was a good idea and here we are. (NY Times)

Many tech companies now trying to manage A.I. slop are also the ones enabling it. In July, Meta promised to support a European pact to make A.I.-generated content more identifiable via detection, labeling and tagging. That same month, the company also released an image generator that automatically opted in public Instagram accounts as a reference for the tool. (Meta removed the featureafter three days of backlash.)

“A.I. slop is a double-edged sword in that a lot of these platforms experienced upticks in engagement as a result of it,” said Paul Shovlin, an expert in A.I. at Ohio University. “But then, it got to a point where it became a liability because there’s so much flotsam and jetsam that it’s now hard for users to find the kind of quality that they’re looking for.”

Bop of the Day: The 80s weren’t completely bad.