Daily Bagel: OMG Madison

Internet ephemera from the tennis world and beyond. Have something you want to include? Join the Discord  – we have a really nice and active community growing there – or hmu on Bluesky.

• NEW PODCAST: Jess Pegula, Madison Keys, Desirae Krawczyk and Jennifer Brady launched The Players Box podcast this week. We listened to it on stream today and it's fun! A strong flex when you can't, definitionally, call your podcast "Nothing Major".
• If you're looking for another great Substack to follow, might I recommend Japanese tennis journalist Akatsuki Uchida's? If you watch a lot of Grand Slam press conferences, you'll recognize her voice. (Tennis Writer Around the World via Substack)

• Ok, so I know I was quick to make the jokes but now that we know that Carlos' hair situation was an accident and he clearly knows it doesn't look fantastic – and honestly, he really does seem kind of embarrassed about it – we should probably lay off. Leave the kid alone.
• Lol, I can't believe someone wrote this. (LA Times via Yahoo)
• Intrepid work from ATP Insider Andrew Eichenholz, who sussed out the family connection between Petra Kvitova and Vit Kopriva. He grew up a few houses down from Petra and was coached by her dad and brother. (ATP)
• Assuming he's up for the gig, PLEASE GIVE ANDRE AGASSI A LOT OF MONEY TO GET HIM INTO THE TENNIS BROADCASTING BOOTH PLEASE. (Yahoo)
• If you are anything like me, it's Day 3, Coco Gauff has yet to even take the court, and you're already sick of all the talk about the Coco Gauff serve. I love that Coco is taking on the challenge of what will be a long-term project. Let her sort it out in peace. How must it feel to be the No.3 player in the world, a reigning Grand Slam and WTA Finals champion, just 21 years old, and have to turn on the TV and hear people who smile at me and ask me for interviews and time tell the world that I can't serve, sounding all the while like someone auditioning for a job. (The Athletic via Yahoo)

What really matters is that Gauff’s new motion is not for the U.S. Open. It is for the rest of her career. Gauff could have been satisfied with her year. Before winning the title at Roland Garros in Paris, she made the finals of the Madrid and Italian Opens. But that’s not who she is. Winning isn’t winning when she is dumping serves into the net or sending them flying off the court.

“I know where I want to see my game in the future,” she said.

“I’m not going to waste time playing the way I don’t want to play.”

• Jon Wertheim sits down with Alex Eala at a NYC pizza parlor for Tennis Channel:

• Vanity Fair has the story behind The Speech.

“I think there was more beef in the media than there actually was. I think we were these two competitors wanting to win, and perhaps we said things that we look back on and we can laugh at right now,” she says. “But ultimately, if you asked me what they were now, I wouldn’t even be able to tell you. I think that comes to show that I don’t even remember what it was about, except the fact that she wanted to beat me and I wanted to beat her, and we were playing for the same titles.”

• Aryna Sabalenka is the cover girl for the September issue of Boardroom:

Twenty years from now, what would you like someone to say about you?

She was a beast. Beauty and the Beast.

• CNN asks the question on everyone's mind these days: How the hell did Italy do it?
• This is wild from The Groundies newsletter: there may be a legal dispute over those US Open "Bagel" t-shirts. (The Second Serve)

• Venus Williams looked awesome in her competitive three-set loss to Karolina Muchova. I hope that's not the last time we see her on Ashe, but if it is, what a statement. (The Guardian)

• One of my favorite weekly reads: Todd Spiker recaps the first couple of days of the US Open. (WTA Backspin)

Petra has long been one of the most well-liked players (loved, really) of her generation, and that will only continue as she leaves the heat of the action; while the most indelible images of her career between the lines – mostly at Wimbledon, where she burst onto the scene back in 2011 by leaving all-time greats in the stands in literal awe (w/ mouths agape) over her grass court prowess as she powered her way to her first of two SW19 wins – will forever make her greatest moments those that will be cherished by anyone who saw them play out.

• From Simon Cambers: It took some time, but the Swiatek-Fissette partnership – one that made all the sense on paper – has finally solidified. (ESPN.c0m)

"We made a little change in the footwork, in general, for faster surfaces," Fissette told a small group of reporters at Wimbledon. "It was funny because I showed her, and then she tried but was not convinced. Then she asked me to show her some videos but she said, show me realistic videos, not like [Novak] Djokovic or [Carlos] Alcaraz.

"I said to her, you have been the game changer in footwork, so if you want to go again to the next level, it's better to look at Djokovic or Alcaraz or [Jannik] Sinner as an example. So we kind of did that. And let's say she was more convinced after that."

• For the record, I absolutely 100% do not at all care one bit about Taylor Swift stuff. You can find those links elsewhere! This is called CURATION.

• When things slow down in Week 2, I will absolutely be diving into this. Possibly on stream. Because there's nothing more spectacular than when I get super mad about something that doesn't matter at all in the slightest. Literal cinema! (The Ringer)

• Looking for some different tennis gear? These shorts are dope. (Jeu de paume)
• I'll be doing some livestreaming during the US Open over on Twitch. Follow me there at pandaxprs12 to get notifications when I go live. You can also join our growing Discord to chat with me and other fans during the tournament, suggest links for the Bagel Bites, and just have a general fun time.
• Sign up below if you'd like to get these Forty Deuce posts sent directly to your inbox. It's free.