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To see Serena Williams lose the US Open semis revives a memory from five years ago. I went to the 2015 Open with one mission: Follow her everywhere for 2 weeks and, at the end, write about her historic calendar Grand Slam -- if she won. @heislerphoto was my partner. (thread 1/)
We stalked her. Early morning practices. Hotel lobbies. Cafeteria. Arena bowels. Anywhere we could go without asking favors. She'd see me everyday outside her hotel as she got into her car, then again on the practice court. She thought it was weird. 2/
She rolled through four rounds, then beat Venus in the quarters. When she got to the semis against unseeded Roberta Vinci, she knew: a win puts her into the final against 26th-seeded Flavia Pennetta. Pfft. She was a cinch to win the Slam and her fourth straight Open. 3/
I had sketched out an outline and had some tidbits in a file for the planned Sunday story, and I would spend Friday night after the semis writing the bulk of it. I calmly took my position in the media seats at Ashe, just behind the chair umpire. Probably had coffee in my hand. 4/
Serena blew through the first set. She lost the second, surely just a hiccup. I don't remember the third set, really. Couldn't tell you a score. I just remember a moment where I thought, for the first time, "Oh, jeez, could she really lose this?" 5/
And then I thought, selfishly (because that's how sports writers think), "If she does, there goes the story. Two weeks, gone." Every reporter knows that dread of a story imploding. We root for ourselves. That's a secret. 6/
She lost. My friend @christophclarey wrote the historic gamer. I thought I was finished, along with Serena. Not quite. 7/ https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/12/sports/tennis/roberta-vinci-ends-serena-williamss-grand-slam-run-at-us-open.html
It was a text from Jason Stallman, the sports editor, right at the end of the match. How much have you written?
Me: Not much.
Him: How fast can you crank something out?
They wanted the story, immediately, for the Saturday front page, if it was any good. 8/
Me: Not much.
Him: How fast can you crank something out?
They wanted the story, immediately, for the Saturday front page, if it was any good. 8/
I don't think I've written faster. I vomited two weeks of tidbits through my fingers. I cut and pasted stuff I had in a file. I wrote without reading it, a feeling sports writers know. Hit send.
I just looked it up in our archives: 5378 words. (Really? Holy cow.) 9/
I just looked it up in our archives: 5378 words. (Really? Holy cow.) 9/
It ended up on A1, carried by Todd's photos. (I mean, look.) I remember sitting on the patio outside the media center as other journos were still inside writing daily stuff, slugging a beer or three with Todd. Not how we planned it, but cheers. 10/ https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/12/sports/tennis/two-weeks-in-new-york.html
Here's how it looked in the paper the next morning. Yay, Todd! Yay, slow news day. 11)
Here's the thing: I haven't read the story since. I'm one of those people. Didn't look at it just now. Don't know what the first sentence is. Don't remember anything about it.
Also: Serena has won 5 majors since -- but not another U.S. Open. That's the biggest upset of all. (end)
Also: Serena has won 5 majors since -- but not another U.S. Open. That's the biggest upset of all. (end)
