🎾 Axios Sports: Serena advances

Plus: Pujols hits No. 694 | Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By IBM   Axios Sports By Jeff Tracy · Aug 30, 2022 👋 Good morning! Got a lightweight, GOAT-heavy edition for you this morning. Today's word count: 1,131 words (4 minutes). Let's sports...     1 big thing: 🎾 Serena's not done yet Photo: Elsa/Getty Images   Serena Williams' potential final singles match got off to an inauspicious start at the U.S. Open on Monday night as her serve — the greatest ever's greatest weapon — looked out of sorts in the first few games. Then she shook off the nerves, settled in, and did what she always does at Arthur Ashe Stadium: dominated. "I haven't seen Serena play like this in five years. I really haven't." — ESPN's Chris Evert, an 18-time Grand Slam title winner Photo: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images Match recap: Williams, 40, defeated Montenegro's Danka Kovinić in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, in front of a star-studded, sold-out crowd of nearly 24,000. Both players were clearly affected by the spectacle in the early going, but the much younger Kovinić, 27, was better able to grind out games. But once Serena's serve started cooperating, her confidence skyrocketed and Kovinić, frankly, didn't stand a chance. By the numbers: After landing just four of 16 first-serves to start the match (25%), Serena made 39 of her final 49 (80%). Her nine aces were the third-most among the 64 women who played Monday. What's next: Kovinić wasn't exactly an easy out, but Serena's next opponent should be a much bigger challenge as she's set to face No. 2 Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday. The bottom line: Serena's now won U.S. Open matches in her teens, 20s, 30s and 40s. One-of-a-kind doesn't even begin to describe her. At this point, only one question remains: Is she going to make a run at this thing? Go deeper: Williams honored with tribute after her win (SI)     2. ⚾️ No. 694 Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos: Scott Kane, Diamond Images, Ron Vesely/MLB Photos, Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images   Albert Pujols, 42, homered again on Monday night for his 15th of the season and 694th of his career. Why it matters: The opposite-field shot came against Reds lefty Ross Detwiler, the 450th pitcher who's allowed a home run to the future Hall of Famer. That passes Barry Bonds for the most pitchers homered against in MLB history. It was also Pujols' eighth homer in August, tying Bonds (April 2007) and Carl Yastrzemski (July 1983) for the most in a single month by a player aged 42 or older. The big picture: Not only is he one closer to 700, but he's just two shy of tying Alex Rodriguez for the fourth-most ever. With 33 games left, both marks are very much in play.     3. ⚡️ Lightning round No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas can't believe he lost. Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images   🎾 Upsets galore: Four top-10 seeds lost to unseeded opponents at the U.S. Open on Monday: Daniel Elahi Galan def. No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas; Daria Snigur def. No. 7 Simona Halep; Brandon Holt def. No. 10 Taylor Fritz; Harriet Dart def. No. 10 Daria Kasatkina. Notes: Snigur, a 20-year-old Ukrainian, had never won a single match before on the WTA Tour. ... Holt's mother is two-time U.S. Open champ Tracy Austin. 🍿 "BS High": HBO announced Monday it's producing "BS High," a documentary about the Bishop Sycamore scandal. The announcement came exactly one year after the "high school" football team was blown out on national TV, leading to questions that ultimately uncovered the scam. 🏀 Aces honored: Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young was named the WNBA's Most Improved Player on Monday after averaging career-highs in points, rebounds, steals and three-point shooting. Three days earlier, Aces first-year coach Becky Hammon was named Coach of the Year.     A message from IBM Predicting the U.S. Open     The USTA is tapping into the powerful artificial intelligence of IBM Watson to serve up Likelihood to Win predictions produced by analyzing scores, stats and expert media commentary. The goal: To enhance the fan experience of the U.S. Open. See how it's done.     4. 🏈 Stat du jour: Brady's still on top Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images   With the NFL season kicking off in just nine days (!!!), Tom Brady is once again the league's No. 1 player, according to his peers whose "NFL Top 100" votes were released on Sunday night. Why it matters: Brady, 45, has been No. 1 four times since this vote debuted in 2011. No one else has topped the list more than once. The top 10: Brady: QB, Buccaneers Aaron Donald: DE, Rams Aaron Rodgers: QB, Packers Cooper Kupp: WR, Rams Jonathan Taylor: RB, Colts T.J. Watt: OLB, Steelers Davante Adams: WR, Raiders Patrick Mahomes: QB, Chiefs Jalen Ramsey: CB, Rams Travis Kelce: TE, Chiefs The bottom line: Father time will catch up with Brady eventually. Right?     5. 🌎 The world in photos Photo: John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images ANAHEIM, Calif. — Aaron Judge crushed his 50th HR on Monday night, joining Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle as the only Yankees with multiple 50-homer seasons. The big picture: With 33 games left, he's on pace for an AL-record 63. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images LOS ANGELES — More than 2,100 immigrants from 120 countries participated in a mass naturalization ceremony on Monday at Dodger Stadium, taking the Oath of Allegiance to become U.S. citizens. Above: Veronica Castor with her father, Jacinto — originally from Mexico — who's been a Dodgers fan for 50 years. Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images BARCELONA — Robert Lewandowski's first career goal at Camp Nou on Sunday was pretty decent. So was his second one.     6. 📺 Watchlist: Americans abroad Tyler Adams and Jesse Marsch. Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images   Leeds host Everton this afternoon at Elland Road (3pm ET, Peacock), as the most American-heavy team in the Premier League looks to continue its strong start to the season. Who to watch: Midfielders Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams both start for Leeds and play integral roles on the USMNT, while Jesse Marsch is just the third American to manage a Premier League club. Where it stands: Leeds, playing their third straight EPL season after spending 16 years in lower tiers, are 2-1-1 and sit at fifth place in the table. More to watch: 🎾 U.S. Open: Day 2 (11am, ESPN+; 12pm, ESPN) ... First-round matches for Iga Świątek (11am), Carlos Alcaraz (12pm), Rafael Nadal (7pm), Naomi Osaka (9pm) and more. ⚾️ MLB: Yankees at Angels or Padres at Giants (9:30pm, MLB) 📺 "Hard Knocks": Episode 4 (10pm, HBO/HBO Max) ... Penultimate episode. 🏒 Women's hockey: USA vs. Canada (2pm, NHL) ... Final day of World Championship group stage. Both teams have already qualified for the quarterfinals.     7. ⚾️ MLB trivia Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images   Will Smith, the latest star to commit to Team USA for next year's World Baseball Classic, has hit 67 home runs since his 2019 debut — tied for fourth-most among catchers in that time. Question: Which four catchers are tied with or ahead of him? Hint: All have an "E" in their last name. Answer at the bottom.     8. 🏀 Wild stat: Player of LeMonth Photo: Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images   The NBA season may not begin for another 49 days, but there's never a bad time to marvel at LeBron James' career. This time, let's do it through the lens of the Player of the Month award. By the numbers: Since his debut in 2003, LeBron's won 40 of 106 (38%) possible such awards. Kevin Durant is second with just 15, followed by Kobe Bryant (13), James Harden (11) and Steph Curry (10) as the only others in double digits. Wild(er) stat: From January 2008 to February 2014, the span in which he won all four of his MVPs, LeBron won an absurd 22 of 36 (61%) POMs. The big picture: LeBron won his first of these awards in November 2004 at age 19 and his most recent in February 2020 at age 35. Think the 37-year-old has any more left in him?     A message from IBM Predicting the U.S. Open     The USTA is tapping into the powerful artificial intelligence of IBM Watson to serve up Likelihood to Win predictions produced by analyzing scores, stats and expert media commentary. The goal: To enhance the fan experience of the U.S. Open. See how it's done.   Talk tomorrow, Jeff "Serena and Pujols and Brady and LeBron, oh my!" Tracy Trivia answer: Gary Sánchez (79), Salvador Pérez (77), Willson Contreras (72) and J.T. Realmuto (67) Editor's note: The third item in yesterday's newsletter has been corrected to show the Mickey Mantle card that was sold was not a rookie card. 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. And of course, tell your friends to sign up. Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: