It's a rare moment when The Now intersects with What's To Come, but tomorrow we're going to get it on a tennis court in New York. Maybe you missed it, but that's when Serena Williams, the greatest women's player in history, plays Naomi Osaka, the greatest tennis player yet to come, in the women's final at the U.S. Open.
The Blob will watch because it can't resist these sorts of intersections, when history is driving the bus on both sides of the net. I'd dust off that mossiest of clichés -- "the torch is being passed" -- but Serena seems remarkably stubborn about handing it over, and Osaka, who's only 20, has all the time in the world to wait until she does.
If you don't know her name yet, you're going to. Not only is she the first Japanese woman to reach a Grand Slam final, those who've seen her, and who know what they're looking at, say she has rare gifts and clubs the ball with stunning pace. And she's refreshingly honest and engaging.
Asked how she saved 13 break points in a straight-set erasing of Madison Keys in the semis, for instance, Osaka just laughed.
"This is going to sound really bad, but I was just thinking 'I really want to play Serena'," she said.
Well, she'll get her wish. Whether she's ready depends on how badly Serena wants to make history herself; if she wins, it will be her seventh U.S. Open title and 24th major singles title, tying Margaret Court for the most in tennis history -- both pre- and post-professional era.
Anyway, it's going to something to see. Even on a college football Saturday, in the middle of the first weekend of the NFL season.
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