Coco Brought a Bright Yellow Kit to the Australian Open

We’ve reached my least favourite a part of the Australian Open, a.okay.a. the half the place fewer and fewer matches are scheduled for after I’m awake. The time zone gods giveth, then taketh away. However there’s been some actually enjoyable stuff — despite the fact that I missed Medvedev’s 3:30 a.m. end, we watched Mirra Andreeva’s massive comeback towards Diane Parry, and Taylor Fritz upsetting Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Azarenka-Ostapenko… whereas I missed Danielle Collins almost upsetting Iga Swiatek, I promise I didn’t miss her outfit.

And I’ve had loads of alternatives to roll my eyes at Brad Gilbert and request that he climb right into a gap. I’m completely satisfied that he’s apparently a superb addition to Coco Gauff’s workforce, however he drives me NUTS. I don’t assume he’s a value-add and if I can watch a match on ESPN+ with their nameless C-teamers as a substitute of the principle crew, I’ll. I hate Gilbert’s dumb nicknames for everybody (he’s so pleased with calling Sinner “Sin Metropolis”), and I REALLY hate how he’s contributed to a rising total clubbiness within the American protection — Brad is BG, Darren Cahill is Killer, Rennae Stubbs needs to be Stubbsy, it’s all inside jokes and nicknames and selling everybody else’s teaching… after which poor Pam Shriver comes off like she’s discovered herself on the Cool Desk within the cafeteria and doesn’t know how one can sustain with the banter. It’s a LOT. I’ll give them that Cahill and Gilbert are each shockingly trustworthy after they speak about how they’re teaching their athletes, right down to Gilbert admitting that he makes preferential scheduling requests for Coco, which I assumed was one thing taking place off the file for all the highest folks however didn’t know they might overtly admit. In any other case, although, yikes.

[Photos: Andy Cheung, Julian Finney, Phil Walter, Morgan Hancock, Robert Prange, Darrian Traynor, Andy Cheung, Cameron Spencer, Kelly Defina, Shi Tang, Cameron Spencer, Daniel Pockett, Will Murray/Getty Images, MARTIN KEEP, Anthony Wallace, David Gray, William West/AFP via Getty Images]