Plenty of Americans have sung the classic APRIL IN PARIS. Count Basie’s version from 70 years ago was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame. Per Wikipedia, (i)t has been performed by many artists, including: Alex Chilton, Benny Goodman, Bill Evans, Billie Holiday, Billy Eckstine, Blossom Dearie, Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong, Mary Kaye Trio, Sammy Davis Jr., Sarah Vaughan, Thelonious Monk, Tommy Dorsey, Tony Bennett, and Wynton Marsalis.[7][8].
April, sure. May, not so much. And lately, that’s meant June typically was a moot point. TIME’s Sean Gregory explained yesterday:
Call Coco Gauff the queen of clay. The American phenom, just 21 years old, won the second Grand Slam championship of her career on Saturday, outlasting world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 at the French Open final in Paris. She’s the first American to win the French since Serena Williams did so in 2015: no American man has won a singles title on Roland Garros clay since Andre Agassi in 1999.
Ponder that. A decade since any woman from this country won the second Grand Slam leg. More than a quarter-century for the men–and counting. (This morning, Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Argentina’s Carlos Alcaraz–currently the world’s top two male pros–are engaged in an epic battle that’s still ongoing at this writing–but no American anywhere except on media row.)
Any wonder why this tournament was relegated to the Tennis Channel for years, and only this year was upgraded to TNT at a bargain-basement rate out of sheer desperation?
But with Gauff finally over her career hump, it may be that TNT will get more than its money’s worth down the line. Because not only do we have a true talent, we have a role model as well. As BLEACHER REPORT’s Julia Stumbaugh noted yesterday:
“I worked so hard for this moment and for it to have happened is insane… I’m still in shock honestly can’t find the words but all I can say for now is just thank you and never give up on your dreams,” Gauff wrote on social media.
After accepting her trophy, the 21-year-old told the crowd in Paris that she “didn’t think, honestly, that I could do it.”
“But I’m actually going to quote Tyler, The Creator, right here and he said: ‘If I ever told you I had a doubt inside me, I must be lying.’ So, I would like to leave that with you guys. I think I was lying to myself, and I definitely could do it,” Gauff said.
Gauff, 21, is one of just five American women since 1968 to win multiple Grand Slam titles in singles tennis before turning 22, according to ESPN Stats and Research.
Wow. Talk about getting in on the ground floor.
It’s enough to make a grown person cry. Or at least sing.
Courage…