Nadal, Gauff and Pegula Pay Tribute to AP Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich
PARIS (AP) — Rafael Nadal, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula were among those paying tribute to Associated Press tennis writer Howard Fendrich as players gathered at Roland Garros for a French Open that’s now missing one of the sport’s most-respected journalists. Fendrich, a regular at Roland Garros and all the tennis majors since 2002, died Thursday, less than three months after being diagnosed with cancer. The news elicited a social media outpouring that included a Friday morning post from Nadal, whose record 14 French Open victories were chronicled in rich and colorful detail by Fendrich. “Tennis loses one of its great journalists,” Nadal said. Gauff, whose title last year at Roland Garros was her second major singles championship, opened her pre-tournament news conference with a shout-out to Fendrich, the award-winning writer who spent 24 of his 33 years with AP on the tennis beat. “I just wanted to start this off just recognizing a deep loss that I think we all have experienced as a community with Howard,” Gauff said. “He was someone I always …
