Wimbledon: from one Boris to another

WIMBLEDON, England—Wasn’t that just like a British male politician to try and steal the attention from the women? You hear during Wimbledon a guy named Boris is making news you presume it is Boris Becker.

Becker won Wimbledon three times (and six Grand Slam tournaments overall) in the 1980s, but right now he’s in prison, having been sentenced in April to two years for violating United Kingdom bankruptcy laws.

Which is a bit more serious than a double fault at match point. The other Boris, British prime minister Boris Johnson, merely was chased from office, as had been duly predicted. The unfortunate part, if one cares about tradition, and what arguably is the world’s most important tennis event, is the ouster that took place Thursday, a few hours before the Wimbledon ladies semifinals. 

Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, who’s been playing well for awhile now, defeated Tatiana Maria of Germany,  6-2, 3-6, 6-1, while Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, beat former  champ Simona Halep of Romania, 6-3. 6-3.  The finals are Saturday.

Before that in this wild, Wimby another individual often in trouble for lesser things, such as creating laughs, Nick Kyrgios,  the Aussie, is accused of assault in his home country, a story even bigger in the land of Oz than Kyrgios heading to his first Slam semifinal.

Quarterfinal showdown with Cristian Garín of Chile that he is favored to win, and less than 24 hours after he survived a five-set challenge from the American Brandon Nakashima on Monday.  

That match was largely uneventful by Kyrgios standards, mostly lacking the battles with umpires, the racket smashing and even the spitting in the direction of fans that often occur when Kyrgios signs up for a tournament.

After the 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-2 win Monday, Kyrgios spoke of how good he felt, how he had reached a kind of equilibrium in his life after years of turmoil and how he has been able to enjoy moments on the tennis court in a way he rarely has in the past.

“That’s probably the first time in my career where I wasn’t playing well, regardless of playing Centre Court Wimbledon, fully packed crowd, I was able to just say, ‘Wow, look how far I’ve come,’ to myself,” he said. “I was bouncing the ball before I served. I really just smiled to myself. I was like, ‘We’re here, we’re competing at Wimbledon, putting in a good performance mentally.’”

Hours later, news broke in Australia that Kyrgios had been charged with one count of common assault related to an incident with an ex-girlfriend, Chiara Passari, according to The Canberra Times and a statement from the police. Kyrgios is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 2.

“While Mr. Kyrgios is committed to addressing any and all allegations once clear, taking the matter seriously does not warrant any misreading of the process Mr. Kyrgios is required to follow,” Pierre Johannessen, a lawyer for Kyrgios, said in a statement Tuesday evening.

As they used to ask, “tennis anyone?”