US Open Dominated by Americans — Plus Marijuana and Michelle Obama – The American

Michael Mmoh and John Isner both won their first-round matches at the U.S. Open. The downside is that they meet in the second round Thursday, which means there will be one American less in the men’s draw at close of business.

But that’s a plus, not a minus. Two young Americans did well. Isner, 38, announced he will retire after nearly two decades at the higher levels of American and world tennis. And either he or the 25-year-old Mmoh, who is in the midst of his best season in a career that has been interrupted by injuries, will move on, perchance to meet another compatriot. Maryland’s Frances Tiafoe, California’s Taylor Fritz, and New Jersey’s Tommy Paul have been making deep runs in tournaments all year.

There’s the women’s draw, too, and doubles, and mixed. We have a good chance in doubles, with two contenders, Indiana’s Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury from England, seeded third, while Florida’s Austin Krajicek, with Croatian great Ivan Dodig, are seeded second.

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula are seeded third in the women’s draw, and Chicago’s Taylor Townsend has been doing great with the lively Canadian star Leylah Fernandez. Miss Townsend and Ben Shelton may meet top-seeded Jessica Pegula and Austin Krajicek in the mixed doubles.

This only skims the surface of a mighty international cast. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz is the defending men’s champion, with the great Novak Djokovic, a three-time winner here, fixed on taking his place and earning his 24th Slam. Iga Świątek of Poland defends the women’s trophy, and apart from Misses Pegula and Gauff, there are contenders from such distant lands as Russia, Belarus, the Czech Republic, and even less-well-known countries.

The purse is 65 million. That’s dollars. Who can offer more? The tournament is celebrating equal pay in the women’s and men’s draws, which was instituted first here some 50 years ago. Women’s and men’s tennis are different sports in many ways, but in the atmosphere of the U.S. Open, with women everywhere — in all walks of life, in every profession — it does not seem controversial to say they both contribute to the fantastic contribution this tournament makes to New York City.

However, the principle of equal pay at all tournaments is by no means universally accepted. What works in New York may not be applicable everywhere. When you think about it, neither do many things that work, or used to work, in America necessarily succeed in foreign places. Sports are sports, but without making outrageous parallels, does it really make sense to ask Afghanistan to copy our gender-equality notions? Or to suggest to Gabon and Niger that they should play by the rules of American democracy?

Of course we hate to see women and girls oppressed and ravaged by savage brutes, and it is a shame that poor people in West Africa are misled by guys in khaki who want to play Bonaparte. We are, after all, the friends of liberty everywhere. But we must focus on guarding our own, spreading it by example.

Indeed, some observers would suggest we clean up our own act, or acts, before getting overly involved in others’. After all, we do have some dysfunctions, and, in fact, they are on display even in our well-oiled, superbly managed sports, which are often run like businesses.

The U.S. Open may generate $1 billion in revenue for the USTA this year, with daily attendance reaching 50,000. These are approximate figures based on past years that will be refined in the coming fortnight, but the point is this: How can such an event have a marijuana problem?

Court 17 is one of the smallest of the stadia at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, enclosed within Flushing Meadows Corona Park sort of the way the Vatican is within Rome, at least in policing. The USTA security people — serious people — determined that the marijuana fumes settling into Court 17 on opening day were not due to dopers masquerading as tennis fans but were coming from the park, which the small stadium abuts.

Court 17 has a capacity of about 3,000, compared to the Arthur Ashe’s 23,000, the 14,000 at the Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the 8,000 at the Grandstand. Like the Grandstand, it does not have a roof, but that does not mean there is efficient ventilation. Maria Sakkari, the eighth-seed Greek star who lost her opening match on Court 17, said the smell of dope was pervasive and strong. She was too good a sport to demand play be suspended or moved.

The park police said that the USTA security is correct, as well as they can determine. They stated they cannot do anything since their jurisdiction does not include the tennis center, which as a private space (owned by a charity) can and does ban smoking in any form. Under New York City law, consumption of dope is allowed in public parks.

Michael Mmoh and John Isner both won in straight sets, but the score belies the gutsy performances of their opponents — and their own. The same could be said of Jessica Pegula’s win, 6–2, 6–2, over Italy’s hard-hitting Camila Giorgi and the way Coco Gauff had to “win dirty” to beat Laura Siegemund. That match had some unfortunate drama, as the fans were rude and in fact hateful toward the German doubles champ here (2016, 2020), despite Miss Gauff’s efforts to quiet them. Then Miss G. complained to the ump for going easy on Miss Siegemund’s apparent time violations, so it all got a little testy. But they shook hands. And Michelle Obama was there and told Coco Gauff to always stand up for herself, poor umpiring and all.

Civilization hangs by many threads, and though some are frayed or broken, others are strong. Americans — and many others — had a good start at their home Slam, showing by their example that hard work and strong will, generosity and fair play combine for a good ethic.