We all need DJs in our lives like the one at the Cincinnati Open during a rain delay between the match of Andrey Rublev versus Alexei Popyrin. Maybe the person didn't have two turntables and a microphone courtside, but someone was having a little fun. Heck, they might have even been off-site.
But the genius of it all was brilliant. One could have just played some current pop hits. Taylor Swift, after all, just announced she will have a new album coming out, so why not play songs for the Swifties? Maybe Rublev or Popyrin are fans.
But nay. Instead, during a rain stoppage, the DJ (wherever they were) decided to entertain us all. Those who stayed courtside or those of us watching from home. Instead of moving on to other programming, we might have asked, "Wait...what's next?"
Cincinnati Open DJ gives us all a little sunshine during the rain
First of all, it's a rain delay. One might understand the irony of the DJ playing Katrina and the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine," but one might also wonder if the DJ was aware of the irony. But, of course, they were. Then, closer to the resumption of the match, the DJ played "Let's Go Crazy."
Perhaps, this was simply a fun song to play from the early 1980s, but maybe the person creating the playlist was also aware that the song by the Purple One was from the soundtrack to Purple Rain. The rain had stopped, but not the play at the tournament. Why should we all not "go crazy" as Prince suggests at the end?
If there is pressure on a tournament's DJ to keep people from leaving and going home, then the Cincinnati Open one deserves a raise. The playlist was witty and ironic. There was no cluelessness behind it.
As for the match, the bombastic Russian and the calm Australian kept smashing away at one another in a very tight match. In the end, Andrey Rublev won 7-5 in the third set and will move on to the round of 16, where he will play Francisco Comesaña.