The Monthly Maestro #10 - No Comment
A player's perspective.
In January, we were treated with a staggering 35 five-set thrillers during the Australian Open. When you’re watching a lengthy best-of-five, you start to recognize some habits of the commentators reporting the match. You begin to see which player they actually would prefer to win, if they rather throw their opinions at you or facts and statistics, and whether they’re genuinely enjoying the match.
The voices of respected commentators like John McEnroe, Robbie Koenig, and Mark Petchey are familiar to most tennis fans, but this Australian Open, we could notice a different tone of voice through the microphone. It was nobody less than former enfant terrible Nick Kyrgios shedding his light on the matches down under.
And Nick, I loved it.
Mic’d up Maverick
Tennis commentators add spice to matches that would otherwise be just another match you could easily forget about. When you’re watching a highlights clip like the ones posted below, it’s the commentator’s reaction that sparks your emotional response a few inches further. That’s where our maverick Kyrgios comes into play.
The one thing Kyrgios really brings as an extra ingredient, is the simple fact that he’s still competing on the tour nowadays. Although his injury has kept him from the court for several months now, he is preparing to make his comeback later this year. This provides the audience with a real current player’s perspective from the matches he’s commentating on, which is exactly what you want to know as a fan.
For example, if you would like to find out what the difference is between the hard courts on the Australian Open and the ones on the US Open, you could read this article reviewing them. However, Kyrgios has played on both of them recently, and it’s exactly those insights you’re looking for.
Kyrgios commentating on the men’s Australian Open Final between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev is just a joy to watch and listen to. I strongly recommend taking 4 minutes to enjoy this hilarious showman.
This Month’s Maestro
After winning his very first Major, where he beat 10-time champion Djokovic in the semifinals, I have to once again congratulate Jannik Sinner as this month’s Maestro. Being the first ever player to win this category twice, the Australian Open cup isn’t the only big title he could engrave his name in. I do want to send out a special shoutout to Nick Kyrgios for his commentary abilities. If this newsletter had been called the Monthly Maverick, I’d put him a whole lot sooner in the spotlight, and not for the last time.
But there was more tennis past month than just the AusOpen. One notable mention should be made for crowd clown Alexander Bublik, who managed to claim the title in Montpellier while he lost all of his opening sets in every match he played. He is the very first ATP player to do so. Hats off.
Plant-based diets in tennis
In an earlier edition, I noted that I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions and think that trying to work on your habits should be something everybody should do on a daily basis. Still, on January 2, I binged the Netflix documentary series You Are What You Eat - A Twin Study, and found something that I could try for myself in this new year. Made by the same producers that brought us The Game Changers, they dive into the world of plant-based eating versus an omnivorous diet, and its implications for one’s health and well-being.
Djokovic has been notorious for his vegan diet, and now Sinner is also eating carrots during a match changeover, I’m beginning to see a trend towards more greens on the tennis players’ plates. Although I’m very curious to experience the benefits of a full plant-based diet, in February I’ll start a tad more easy and stick to eating solely vegetarian.
Links worth checking out
Two decades ago - 20 years and three days ago, Federer claimed the no. 1 spot for the first time in his career.
Dear Tennis - A cinematic love letter to our sport by somebody that you could call a tennis poet.
This is Tennis - A Spoken Word homage to tennis by the ATP Tour.
Best,
Erik