A benefit of the 16 hour time difference with Melbourne, Australia is that you can watch tennis when you wake up at 3:00 a.m. It was exquisite: turn the TV on, watch the match in the Rod Laver Arena and then be lulled back to sleep by the pop, whoo, pop, whoo, pop, whoo…. But my take away after the conclusion of this year’s first Grand Slam event is that professional tennis players are just like us.
We expect professionals to be perfect. But that’s simply not true. The Australian Open showed that the pros are just like us.
Pros whiff balls, as Rafa did in the finals; they crash and burn and then remerge like a phoenix, sometimes all in the same match, as darling Naomi Osaka did in the women’s finals; they crumble before our very eyes, as both GOATs did; and they make fashion statements that make us scratch our heads. Several hold a place in our hearts with their beaming smiles or their dimples (we love you, Sloane!). A few capture our hearts by their fierce appearance on the scene, such as Frances Tiafoe, whom we loved watching play with Serena at the Hopman Cup. Some delight us with the upset, such as Stefanos Tsitsipas, and others by their nearly flawless performance, such as Djokovic’s in the men’s finals. And some touch to our hearts with the obstacles they’ve overcome, like Petra Kvitova.
So if you are frustrated on the court, in the office or at home because things are not going your way, remember: the pros are like us and have bad days too.
