Wimbledon 2022: "Love it, Kenny, love it!"
In doubles, one thing is particularly important: smooth communication. And mutual motivation. Jonny O'Mara is a master at the latter in particular.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Jul 04, 2022, 06:05 pm
When Jonny O'Mara looks back on the 2022 Wimbledon tournament, he can definitely say that he has become part of an instant classic: later on Sunday afternoon, O'Mara and partner Alicia Barnett made sure that the audience on Court 3 didn't even know whose camp they should join: after all, Barnett/O'Mara was a purely British duo at work - but on the other side of the net stood Jamie Murray and Venus Williams. Almost something like the favorites of the heart, especially since the comeback of the five-time individual winner came as a surprise.
Doesn't matter. Barnett and O'Mara lost the first set, took the second and then won a truly epic tiebreak by 18-16. Appropriate on a day when Björn Borg and John McEnroe stood guard on Center Court. In 1980, the tiebreak of the fourth set in the final of the two legends ended with exactly that result.
Skupski with his last match
Change of scene, this time it's Monday lunchtime, Jonny O'Mara has to play alongside Ken Skupski in doubles. Opponents on Court 12 are Andreas Mies and Kevin Krawietz, the two-time French Open champions. Mies is considered to be generally willing to provide information, but compared to O'Mara, the man from Cologne is almost a verbal wallflower.
Apart from the fact that O'Mara celebrates the first point won as if it were the match point in the match scheduled for three winning sets, he also takes on the role of the animator afterwards. For his partner and himself. Examples?
- Skupski tells O'Mara where he's headed: "Love it, Kenny, love it!"
- Skupski makes the first point on Krawietz's serve, now O'Mara wants to create break chances himself: "Make it happen, Jonny!"
- The “Here you go, Kennyboy!” almost becomes routine. It should also be borne in mind that Wimbledon will be Ken Skupski, 39,'s last tournament. And that Jonny O'Mara is twelve years younger than his partner.
Krawietz and Mies too strong
The fact that it didn't help in the end doesn't come as a surprise: Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies are back at the height of their creativity after a difficult start to the season. And after the 7: 6 (6), 6: 4 and 6: 4 after a season in Wimbledon 2022, there are good chances of a deep advance in the tableau. For Jonny O'Mara, the journey continues in mixed doubles. It will at least be worth listening to.
Here the double tableau in Wimbledon
wimmap