2017 U.S. OPEN • WTA PRESS CONFERENCE SPILLS, HANDSHAKE CHILLS • WOMEN’S SIDE KEEPING THINGS INTERESTING

Written by: Staff on 3rd September 2017

2017 U.S. OPEN • WTA PRESS CONFERENCE SPILLS, HANDSHAKE CHILLS • WOMEN'S SIDE KEEPING THINGS INTERESTING

epa06170651 Naomi Osaka of Japan serves to Angelique Kerber of Germany on the second day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 29 August 2017. The US Open runs through September 10. EPA-EFE/JUSTIN LANE |

Press conference spills, handshake chills: Women’s side of U.S. Open keeping things interesting

By Ricky Dimon

“Why did you win today?”

“I didn’t win.”

Yes, that–word for word–is actually how Naomi Osaka’s post-match press conference began on Saturday afternoon at the U.S. Open.

Ironically enough, the reporter prefaced the question with, “Stupid question.” Little did he know just how stupid it was. Because, you know, Osaka didn’t even win her match. She lost! She lost her third-round contest 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 to Kaia Kanepi.

Osaka, who upset defending champion Angelique Kerber in the first round, was classy enough to keep the interview going–even though every reporter in attendance should have been banned from asking any further questions simply due to the epic fail by the initial offender. And she did so despite breaking down into tears just about one minute into it.

As for French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko, she was more mad than sad following her 6-3, 6-2 exit at the hands of Daria Kasatkina. So mad, in fact, that she barely looked at or offered her hand to Kasatkina when it ended. The “handshake” was more like a finger graze, which we have come to expect whenever Ostapenko loses a match.

“I was not feeling 100 percent today,” the Latvian lamented as she attempted to explain her poor performance. “I was not feeling good already at the beginning of the day. Yeah, I couldn’t give my 100 percent today; like not my best. Already before the tournament I had some problems like with the throat. I had to take some antibiotics, but I somehow tried to avoid it and try to get ready for the tournament. But today I felt quite bad.”

Agnieszka Radwanska is surely feeling bad, too, as her drought of no Grand Slam titles will continue into 2018. The Pole’s last chance of the year at this U.S. Open ended with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 third-round loss to Coco Vandeweghe.

And the match ended on a challenge, with both players waiting at the net looking at the big screens to find out what happened. That is not something rare. It happens quite often, normally with the two players laughing and discussing what they think the replay will reveal. Not so with Radwanska and Vandeweghe. When the American was finally confirmed to have won, she celebrated wildly in the direction of her box as if she had won the MegaMillions lottery and clinched the calendar-year Golden Slam all on the same day.

There was an eventual handshake (an actual one, unlike with Ostapenko), but it was as cold as the unusually brisk New York weather this week.

The sportsmanship isn’t always great, but I’ll say this much for the WTA Tour: the borderline hatred between many players is fun to see–much more fun than when the men always hug it out at the net following their matches.

Like Caroline Wozniacki getting mad that Maria Sharapova keeps playing on Ashe, and Sharapova firing back that she is in the fourth round and “not sure where (Wozniacki) is.”

More of that, ladies!