The Curious Case of CoCo and the First-Ever Midmatch Interview

CoCo Vandeweghe had truly turned on her game this season, registering a quarterfinal appearance—and a slightly desultory loss to Maria Sharapova—at Wimbledon before slapping service and groundstroke winners around the court in a 6-4, 6-3 opening-round win against No. 29 Sloane Stephens at the U.S. Open. Even so, her record this year remains a middling 17-18, which has her hungry for success.

Along came Pam Shriver, who made Vandeweghe an early focus of this major tournament by interviewing her for half a minute after the young American took the first set against her compatriot Stephens.

"ESPN approached me yesterday regarding if I was open to the idea," Vandeweghe said later. "Pam explained it to me herself. She would come out and ask me two questions. ... If I didn't want her out there I could just wave her away at any point in time. I could say it two seconds before I walked out on the court. I gave her the nod to go ahead, and then it happened."

Reaction was mixed among tennis observers and players, with Serena Williams speaking at length to what Vandeweghe called "innovation." "Being a vintage player from Lord knows what decade, I'm old-school so I can't say that's something I would do, per se," Williams said. "I found it quite interesting. Maybe that's the future of tennis and the future of where it's going. Hopefully they don't make that mandatory, so we'll see."

Asked about the pros and cons of the midmatch interview, Williams continued: "I think it's great for some viewers, get into the mind of the athletes. ... I don't necessarily want to answer questions about anything. That's kind of the integrity of tennis, when you think about it. It's just you on that court. It's not a reporter, it's not a coach, it's just you in that moment. It's the only sport where you have that."

A certain star name of Roger Federer also came down hard against midmatch Q&As, saying ESPN's method of asking players directly was "not the way to go." Federer, long a figurehead of the ATP Players Council, made his statements in the face of the network's Chris Evert stating that ESPN has asked other pros about midmatch conversations so far, with many volleying back positively.

Darren Cahill, Laura Robson and Caroline Wozniacki also weighed in on the matter.

Asked later what she made of the experience, Vandeweghe had this: "I can’t remember a thing I said." She moves on to face fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in round two, and should she come through in that match, a likely showdown with Serena looms.

What say you, tennis fans—what should have the advantage here, tradition or innovation?

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9. News tips gladly accepted. Serving tips kindly refused.