Coco Gauff beat Marta Kostyuk in straight sets. And she is out. I know that feeling by heart.
The rest of the group was settled without her. Jessica Pegula beat Linda Noskova, who still finishes first, and that win puts Pegula ahead of Gauff. You play your match, win it cleanly, pack your racket, and find out on your phone that the other court decided. The level in club league (interclubs, Belgium’s weekend team league) has gone way up, people don’t realise: with us too, there are Sundays when we win and still get home before the frites.
Technically, what interests me is Pegula. She beats the group winner exactly when she had to. That’s an intention. Mine, I have them on Tuesday evening, when court 4 is free, which is to say never.
In the semi-final, she meets Mirra Andreeva. They have never played each other. There is the story of the filmed conversation with her coach, the microphones nearby, and the apology Andreeva said she appreciated. On Tennis Channel, Pegula said: “It’s the match people wanted to see. Well, now they’re going to get it…”
Céline compares a Masters to her division. Me, in Kitzbühel, in ’92, I also went out while winning. Well, losing, but with style.
A first meeting, nothing to look up in the statistics. It’s the situation I prefer. My folder is empty, nobody can tell me I can’t read the match. For the semi-final, I’m watching Pegula’s down-the-line forehand. That shot, I make it. Not every time, but I make it.
It’s true, we checked: We Love Tennis.
