American Girls

The Japanese girl falls behind right away, on serve at 15-40 in the first game of the opening set, visibly uncertain and, admit it, kind of awed. She is hitting her vigorous long groundstrokes and it is clear right away what she is trying to do, keep the ball in play as deep as possible and hope it works.
It worked the other day against the American teenager, just make sure you get one more ball over the net and eventually they will make a mistake. Determination, grit, fortitude. You really should not speak of Kurumi Nara as a girl, for at 25 she is a leading force in tennis and an accomplished pro. It is just that she is so little — five one — and so lovely with her round good-natured face and frank smile
Miss Nara is a strong tennis player, with a serious following in Japan and beyond. Asian tennis is rising. The Japanese have been a presence on the international circuit since after World War I, and they bring their energy and courage and, as in other areas, attention to detail, to the sport.
But the girl on the opposite side of center court at Philippe-Chatrier Stadium, is the French Open’s top American, and in this storied place, if you beat an American, you better be ready to meet another American.
The American on the other side of the court lets the lead slip and Miss Nara holds, 1-0, fighting off a break point and then getting a point with a long ball to the baseline and following it up with a drop shot, clever.
She holds again, and the American girl, a clear foot taller and much faster and stronger, lets her concentration dip by the tennis equivalent of a couple nano moments and makes two lazy mistakes, a shot over the baseline and one into the net, to get broken, 1-3. So she steps up.
You notice that the biggest champions are not infrequently slow out of the starting blocks; it is not unusual to see them drop the first set and then take over the match. Venus Williams, typically, double-faulted on her first service. She has to warm up, get used to this court...