NEW YORK — Covering a Grand Slam event can feel like running a marathon every day for 15 days in a row—and that’s without even counting the increasingly busy qualifying week. Pacing yourself is a must.
But none of us runners would have ever planned out the grueling nature of the first of our fifteen efforts on Sunday night—and into early Monday morning—which featured the latest match start in U.S. Open history and then the latest first-round finish in U.S. Open history.
Sometimes late matches can be prudently skipped, but these results were unavoidable: the exits of the man and woman who, respectively, hold more Grand Slam titles than anyone else in their draws.
“Of course, I’ve been very proud of all the achievements in the past. But now is now.” —Novak Djokovic
To read about the first round exits of Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams—and hear what both had to say to reporters as they exited—please subscribe to Bounces. The 15 percent off sale is just underway and going strong if you haven’t subscribed yet!