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      For the WTA and ATP, 2024 Could Be a Year of Formative Change in Tennis

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      Tennis is trying to reposition itself by altering tournaments and spreading more money around.Steve Simon was feeling optimistic.Despite a 2023 season that ended with an avalanche of grumbling following the WTA Finals in Cancún, Mexico, which featured bad weather, a potentially dangerous center court and unrelenting complaints from the players, Simon, the chairman and chief executive of the women’s tour, was doing everything he could to move forward into 2024.“The WTA is very fine,” Simon said by video call in mid-December, just after it was announced that the WTA will soon separate the roles of chairman and chief executive, with Simon becoming executive chairman. He no longer will be in charge of day-to-day operations and instead will be tasked with, as he said, “working on strategic geopolitical issues, which are now very prevalent and affecting our business in many different ways.”There are formative changes coming to the WTA and ATP this year. The ATP has put into place its OneVision strategic plan designed to align the interests of players and tournaments with an eye toward enhancing the fan experience while also creating more lucrative media contracts.Part of the plan involves increasing the duration and draw size at several ATP tournaments. Madrid, Rome and Shanghai all went from one-week, 56-player-draw events to 12-day, 96-draw tournaments in 2023. Canada and Cincinnati will do the same in 2025. Indian Wells and Miami are already staged that way.All are Masters 1000 tournaments, the highest level in terms of prize money and ranking points other than the four majors — the Australian, French, and United States Opens and Wimbledon. Several of the tournaments are combined men’s and women’s events. Other tournaments, like ones in Dallas, Munich and Doha, Qatar, are increasing in value while still others, including Atlanta and Newport, R.I., are falling off the calendar after this year.Daniil Medvedev after winning the Qatar Open in Doha last year. The tournament is one of several ATP events increasing in value this year.Mohamed Farag/Getty ImagesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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      In Tennis, Bookends of Drama in 2023

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      The year was full of unlikely winners and exciting team competitions.There was no champagne courtside. So, as Matteo Berrettini embraced Jannik Sinner after Sinner’s victory over Alex de Minaur last month to clinch Italy’s first Davis Cup title in 47 years, their teammate, Matteo Arnaldi, did the next best thing: He shook a water bottle and poured it over Sinner and Berrettini.Sinner, 22, ended the season with his 20th win in his last 23 matches. This year, he had a 64-15 record, won four tournaments, reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and was runner-up at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. He had wins over the three top-ranked players — Novak Djokovic, whom he beat twice in two weeks, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev. Starting 2023 at No. 15, he ended it at No. 4.Djokovic sorely wanted to lead Serbia to just its second Davis Cup title. But in the semifinals, he fell to Sinner after squandering three match points and then teamed with Miomir Kecmanovic to lose the deciding doubles match to Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego. The loss sent Italy into the final, where it beat Australia.Jannik Sinner helped clinch Italy’s first Davis Cup title in 47 years this year. He also had a 64-15 record and won four tournaments.Jorge Guerrero/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesDjokovic was devastated by the defeat.“For me, personally, it’s a huge disappointment because I take the responsibility, obviously having three match points, being so close to win it,” he said after the match. “When you lose for your country, you know, the bitter feeling is even greater.”It is ironic that the season began and ended with exciting conclusions at the men’s and women’s team competitions. The Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup have been under siege in recent years as many of the game’s top players, including Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, shunned the historically heart-thumping, pride-producing finals because of scheduling conflicts. The U.S. women lost early in the finals, and the U.S. men didn’t even qualify as one of the top eight teams.Still, despite the player defections and a merry-go-round of format changes, both competitions provided some of the most striking moments of the year.Leylah Fernandez’s five wins helped lead Canada to its first-ever Billie Jean King Cup.Raul Caro/EPA, via ShutterstockLeylah Fernandez rode a wave of patriotic passion, winning five matches to lead Canada to its first Billie Jean King Cup. Her teammate, then-18-year-old Marina Stakusic, who had never won a WTA Tour match, became an overnight star when she won three matches against opponents ranked in the top 70.If 2022 was billed as the season of King Carlos when Alcaraz went from No. 32 to No. 1 on the strength of his U.S. Open championship, then this season mostly belonged to Djokovic.He is considered by many in the game as the greatest player ever. The statistics prove it.At 36, Djokovic had one of the best seasons of his career. For the third time since 2015, he reached the finals at all four majors, falling just shy of attaining the Grand Slam.In January, a year after being removed from Australia because of his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid-19, Djokovic returned to Melbourne Park and captured a record 10th Australian Open title by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. With the 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal injured for most of the season, Djokovic won his third French Open in June by beating Alcaraz and Casper Ruud.After falling to Alcaraz in a scintillating five-set Wimbledon final, Djokovic bounced back and beat Medvedev at the U.S. Open to earn his 24th major, surpassing Serena Williams. He is now just one win away from breaking the men’s and women’s major record held by Margaret Court for 50 years.Djokovic captured his record 10th Australian Open by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.Quinn Rooney/Getty ImagesIn all, Djokovic played just 12 tournaments in 2023 and he won seven of them. He did not lose from mid-July until mid-November, when he fell to Sinner during the round-robin portion of the ATP Finals. He then beat Sinner in the final after assuring the year-end No. 1 ranking for a record-extending eighth time.Alcaraz, who won six titles in 2023 on three different surfaces and reached the semifinals at the French and U.S. Opens, in addition to his Wimbledon win, ended the year ranked No. 2. But he was candid after he lost to Djokovic in the semifinals in Turin.“I am not at his level on an indoor court,” Alcaraz, 20, said in November. “He has shown why he is the best player in the world. I have to practice more to be a better player.”With his 66 wins, Medvedev led the ATP in match victories. He won 19 straight, and reached the finals at Indian Wells and the Miami Open, which he won. He also won at Rome and reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and was runner-up to Djokovic at the U.S. Open. He ended the year ranked No. 3.Two upstart players — the Americans Ben Shelton and Chris Eubanks — used their wide grins and whopping forehands to envelop the sport in a giant bear hug. Shelton, about two years away from leading the University of Florida to an N.C.A.A. championship, reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. He then reached the semifinals at the U.S. Open before falling to Djokovic. Eubanks, another former collegian, upset Cameron Norrie and Tsitsipas to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.There was no shortage of compelling story lines among the women. Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka spent the season battling for tour supremacy.Sabalenka, only a year removed from serving woes so severe that she resorted to serving underhand during matches, won her first major at the Australian Open, a day she called the “best of my life.” She grabbed the No. 1 ranking after reaching the U.S. Open final.“It was amazing to see Sabalenka, who was basically laughed off that same court a year earlier, confront those demons and take responsibility,” Lindsay Davenport, three-time major winner and former No. 1, said by telephone last month.Swiatek took her third French Open and won six titles. But she faltered at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open before regrouping by the WTA Finals, snatching the year-end No. 1 from Sabalenka by beating her and Pegula to take the title. Pegula, for her part, was one of just two players, along with No. 4 Elena Rybakina, to notch multiple wins over Swiatek this season.Marketa Vondrousova, who endured long stretches away from the game because of two wrist surgeries, became the first unseeded women’s Wimbledon winner when she beat Ons Jabeur in the final.Coco Gauff, 19, beat Aryna Sabalenka in three sets to win the U.S. Open.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesBut it was Gauff and her wise-beyond-her-years attitude who transcended the sport in a way that only Williams has done. When Gauff, 19, beat Sabalenka in three sets to win the U.S. Open, the nontennis world, including the former first lady Michelle Obama, went wild. In her acceptance speech, Gauff, who had struggled early in the season, addressed her doubters.“Thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me,” Gauff said. “To those who thought they were putting water on my fire, you were really adding gas to it.”It was the kind of bold statement that left even former major winners stunned. One of them was Davenport, who admitted to having tears run down her face while she did match commentary on television.“To me, the story of the year was Coco,” Davenport said. “Players come along once in a generation. When you have all the expectations on you at 12 and 15 years old and you are able to handle everything and then elevate your game to win, then you really are truly something special.” More

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      To Beat the Best at the ATP Finals, Players May Have to Mix Things Up

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      Analysts say it is a good strategy against strong defensive players, which can put them in an uncomfortable position.The ATP Finals, scheduled to run from Sunday through Nov. 19, is more than the most prestigious men’s tournament outside of the Grand Slams, it is also an existential conundrum.The exclusive singles draw features the eight best players in the world, leaving no easy wins and raising the question of whether a player must change his game over the course of the week to best the best of the best.The answer is a highly qualified “yes,” with a giant “but” attached. Paul Annacone, the Tennis Channel analyst who coached Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, said changes should be minor, especially since the early matches are round-robin, meaning a player can lose one match and still survive.“I’m a big believer in figuring out your own identity and trusting what got you to the year-end championships,” he said. “Then you just have to do it just a little better than the guy on the other side of the net that day.”Charging the net, which can shorten rallies and help players take control of the action, is one tactic that the players can use against the game’s best defenders, like Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev, or against power sluggers like Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev, but it’s precisely those players’ skills that make coming up to the net after hitting a groundstroke such a risky move.Still, Jimmy Arias, who is also a Tennis Channel analyst, said it’s one way to survive the week.“It’s so hard to hit through base liners like Alexander Zverev and Medvedev, especially on a slower court,” he said, “so if you don’t come to the net against Medvedev, you’re kind of an idiot. If he hits a ridiculous passing shot from the stands, just clap and say, ‘Let me see you do that again.’”Daniil Medvedev charging the net to return a shot during a tournament in Vienna last month. Medvedev has gained a reputation as one of the top defenders playing today.Eva Manhart/APA/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesThe danger comes, Arias says, if you simply try to force your way to the net against an opponent who is dictating the points, though he adds that, given the quality of the opponents in Turin, Italy, that may become the only option.Patrick McEnroe, an ESPN analyst, agreed, saying that “the ability to finish points, especially at the net, helps exponentially” against such elite defensive players. Medvedev, who is known for stubbornly staying extremely far behind the baseline, gives himself time to reach almost any deep shot. The best plan is to come to the net or hit short-angle balls against him, McEnroe said, but noted that Medvedev succeeds because many players (Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz excepted) cannot execute that tactic well enough to beat him.McEnroe added that the court in Turin, which is indoors, was low-bouncing (forcing opponents to lift attempted passing shots) and relatively slow, though indoor courts felt quicker because there were no elements like wind.“That favors the aggressive player, but not to the extent that it did back in the day, so you need more versatility now,” he said. “That’s why Federer and Djokovic have dominated there.” (Federer won six times; Djokovic is seeking his seventh title.)He emphasized that changing strategies can be more nuanced than simply charging in. He suggested using the forecourt more often and hitting drop shots, low slices and short angle balls.“It puts the other player in uncomfortable positions and allows you to then take the initiative on the next shot,” he said, adding that this is something they now stress at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, the school launched by his brother, where he is co-director.Carlos Alcaraz playing a drop shot against an opponent in Ohio in August. According to the ESPN analyst Patrick McEnroe, Alcaraz has been playing these kinds of nuanced shots “at least since he was 13.”Matthew Stockman/Getty Images“This is the biggest thing that has changed with Carlos Alcaraz, who has been playing those shots at least since he was 13,” McEnroe said. “He has the huge firepower and athleticism that these other players do, but now you’re seeing the need to move better and use that part of the court strategically. You’re seeing shots you never thought about, and players are using them consistently.”Arias said that breaking down an opponent by making him change his positioning so he felt uncomfortable — something Federer would do with a short, low slice and that Alcaraz does with the drop shot — was essential.“It’s not just needed for this tournament, but to beat the best you need that all year, but it’s something that’s slightly lacking in the game today,” he said.While Zverev and Medvedev tend to camp at the baseline and let it rip, the analysts cite Rublev, whom Annacone called “so dominant from the back of the court,” as the most one-dimensional of the top players. Arias said Rublev and Sinner “play straight ahead, hitting it hard without opening the court much.”But Annacone and McEnroe said Sinner was improving in this regard because of his coach Darren Cahill. “He’s getting better at playing with subtlety and nuance,” McEnroe said, adding that Holger Rune also “has the potential to play that sort of game.”All three analysts say that when Stefanos Tsitsipas is in top form, he is versatile and one of the better volleyers.Annacone said that a player like Sinner or Rublev could win most matches during the year with their firepower, but that “each of these top players, aside from Novak, can be vulnerable on any given day against other elite players.”Djokovic, as always, remains the exception, even among the exceptional. He has lost just five times this year and is 33-1 on hard courts; since 2012 he is an astounding 108-15 indoors. (Alcaraz would have slotted in there with Djokovic, but he has scuffled a bit since Wimbledon.)So Annacone acknowledged that while players can’t overhaul their identity for this tournament, when they reach the semifinals and possibly face Alcaraz and Djokovic, “you need to be creative and think outside the box,” adding that changing tactics midmatch was easier now that coaching is allowed between points.“You have to be confident enough to do things a little differently, to adjust and adapt on your feet,” he said. “Try it, sometimes you’ll miss, but that’s life.” More

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      The Power and Speed of Jannik Sinner

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      Sinner, 22, has dominating talent and has already beaten many of tennis’s top players.It wasn’t long after Darren Cahill began helping to coach Jannik Sinner last year that he started pulling out videos for his young charge to watch.Cahill knew the extraordinary speed that Sinner already possessed off both wings. He was aware of Sinner’s ability to maneuver around the court at speed and of his work ethic. But Cahill felt that Sinner could benefit by studying the ground strokes, particularly the backhand, of a former Cahill pupil, the eight-time major champion Andre Agassi.“Jannik’s lanky and tall, so he’s got a big wingspan and can generate a ton of power,” Cahill said by phone of Sinner, who is about 6-foot-2. “Andre was revolutionary in the way that he hit the ball back in the day, especially on the backhand. There’s so much to learn from a lot of the older-generation players. Because of the equipment and technology that they had, they really simplified a lot of things, especially the great players.”Sinner, 22, has been one of the most talked-about players since he won the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2019. He was also named the ATP’s Newcomer of the Year that season.“He’s got some of the hardest ground strokes I’ve probably ever had to deal with,” said Alex de Minaur, who lost to Sinner in the final in Toronto in August.“A couple of years ago, in a lot of matches, he was breaking down physically,” said Darren Cahill, left. “He was a late developer, so he just needed to make sure that his body could deal with the rigors of playing at this level week in and week out.”Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesBut is Sinner a genuine threat to do damage, or even win, the ATP Finals, which begin on Sunday? Goran Ivanisevic, Novak Djokovic’s longtime coach, has thought so.“Jannik Sinner, that’s the future,” Ivanisevic said on the ATP Uncovered show in 2020. “For sure, top-five player, maybe No. 1. I can’t say that far, but the kid is 18, hits the ball amazingly quick. He is the deal.”Cahill, along with Sinner’s head coach, Simone Vagnozzi, whom Sinner has also worked with since last year, has helped Sinner grasp the concept of not just hitting the ball hard, but of also using dips, spins and off-pace shots to open up the court and force his opponents to run until their legs give out.The lessons, via video and on court, have paid off. Sinner, an Italian, is ranked No. 4 in the world, up from No. 15 a year ago. He has won four tournaments this year, including his first Masters 1000 at the Canadian Open in August, as well as two of his past four events, in Beijing and in Vienna.Sinner withdrew from the Paris Masters last week after finishing his second-round match at 2:37 a.m. and then being scheduled to play his next match against de Minaur less than 15 hours later. He complained that tournament organizers were not allowing him enough time to recover, leaving his body vulnerable before the upcoming ATP Finals and Davis Cup Final, where he will compete for Italy.After making his ATP Finals debut in 2021 as an alternate, Sinner has qualified on his own this year. He goes in as the fourth seed behind Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev and ahead of Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune. The tournament is at the Pala Alpitour in Turin, Italy, about 300 miles from Sinner’s Northern Italy hometown.Sinner has a winning record against Alcaraz, including victories at the Miami Open and China Open this year. After losing his first six matches against Medvedev, including in the finals in Rotterdam and Miami this year, Sinner has beaten him twice in the last month. In a three-set Vienna final, Sinner saved two set points in the first-set tiebreaker, one with an ace up the middle and flummoxed Medvedev with frequent forays to the net.The only players in the Finals that Sinner has not beaten are the world No. 1 and six-time ATP Finals champion Djokovic, and Rune. Sinner fell to Djokovic in the Wimbledon semifinals this year and in the quarterfinals last year. In the 2022 match, Sinner led by two sets to love before falling in five sets. Against Rune, Sinner lost in Monte Carlo this year and retired because of injury in a match in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2022.After suffering through some injuries over the past few years, Sinner has dedicated himself to strengthening his body through off-court work with his fitness coach, Umberto Ferrara, and his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi.The only players in the Finals that Sinner has not beaten are the world No. 1 and six-time ATP Finals champion Djokovic and Holger Rune. Wu Hao/EPA, via Shutterstock“This year, we made a lot of tough decisions to not play a couple of tournaments because it is very important for me to get a lot of gym work and strength and mobility to get better,” Sinner said. “I feel it on the court that the more the match goes on the more comfortable I feel.”Cahill also sees the value in putting the training first and the tennis second.“A couple of years ago, in a lot of matches, he was breaking down physically,” said Cahill, who is also an ESPN commentator. “He was a late developer, so he just needed to make sure that his body could deal with the rigors of playing at this level week in and week out.”Sinner has, admittedly, struggled mentally with closing out matches, his nerves often getting in the way. At last year’s United States Open, he held a match point while serving at 5-4 to the eventual champion, Alcaraz, in the quarterfinals, but lost the five-hour, 15-minute match 6-3 in the fifth set. The match ended at 2:50 a.m., the latest finish in U.S. Open history. Then, at this year’s French Open, Sinner held two match points in the fourth set against Daniel Altmaier, who saved one of them by hitting a net-cord winner. Sinner lost the second-round match in five sets.Sinner does not travel with a full-time psychologist like many players. Instead, he works with Formula Medicine, an Italian mental-training program sometimes used by Formula 1 drivers.“It’s not like I call them and we talk,” said Sinner, who admitted to being overly competitive in everything from tennis drills to playing cards to go-kart racing. “They give me some exercises to do on the computer. It’s fun to work with them, but you also have to show it on the court. It’s all part of the process.”Cahill sees his role as part technician, tactician and mental guru, often overseeing the work of Vagnozzi, Ferrara and Naldi and helping the team see when Sinner needs to work harder and when he needs time off. Cahill also recognizes the challenge for Sinner at the ATP Finals, especially given that he is the only singles player competing in his home country.“I always encourage my players to have a good look around, to take in the atmosphere, to enjoy it, put a smile on your face and to take the fans for a ride,” Cahill said. “Because, ultimately, that’s all we’re there for. If you think about winning and losing too much, it can be like an anchor around your ankle.”As a child, Sinner played soccer and was a top-level junior skier in Italy. He won a national championship in giant slalom when he was 8 years old. But by 13, he had quit skiing to devote himself exclusively to tennis.“In skiing, it was more that if you make one mistake you cannot win the race, while in tennis you can make some mistakes and still win the match,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest lesson that I have learned from skiing. Obviously, they are two different sports, but maybe the coordination, the balance and the sliding helped me a little bit to play tennis.”Cahill is keenly aware of the pressure that Sinner is facing as he enters the ATP Finals. They have been working on simulating stressful situations and critical points, including using deep-breathing exercises and encouraging Sinner to look across the net and take note of the stress level of his opponent.Two things that Cahill would like to give Sinner, but knows he can’t, are John Isner’s powerful serve and John McEnroe’s meticulous volley. He can, however, give him advice.“Jannik has earned his place in the ATP Finals, and everybody’s there to see him,” Cahill said. “Every single player is an incredible tennis player. So go out and put on a great show and don’t think about the end result. Just be brave and play your type of tennis.” More

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      An Opportunity at Paris Masters After a Taxing Tennis Season

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      Several players have broken through at the Paris Masters recently to win their first top-tier title. A well-rested Novak Djokovic may stifle that trend this year.It should come as no surprise that tennis’s Big Three — Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer — have dominated the Masters 1000 tournaments with nearly the same record-setting thoroughness as they have the Grand Slams. They’ve won a combined 103 of these top-tier tournaments; throw in Andy Murray and the title tally reaches 117.The Big Three won all but one Indian Wells crown from 2004 through 2017 and, with Murray, 12 of 15 Miami Open championships through 2019. Nadal won 10 times in Rome and 11 in Monte Carlo, with Djokovic winning a combined eight times at those two tournaments. The list goes on, with these legends typically filling a final’s other slot in most years, too.But there’s one slight weakness: the Rolex Paris Masters, which begins Monday. Djokovic has won it six times. But Federer, now retired, won it only once. Murray has won once, and Nadal has reached onlyone final.Last year, Holger Rune, then 19, won his first Masters 1000 in Paris, joining a list of surprising winners that since 2010 includes Robin Soderling, David Ferrer, Jack Sock and Karen Khachanov, none of whom ever won other Masters 1000 singles titles. (Three others — Denis Shapovalov, Filip Krajinovic and Jerzy Janowicz — reached their only Masters 1000 finals here.)Novak Djokovic has won the Paris Masters six times.Julian Finney/Getty ImagesSeveral factors make Paris different, including that it’s the last big tournament of the year. “People are tired,” said Brad Gilbert, an ESPN analyst and former pro. “That brings a lot of unpredictability.”Vedran Martic, Khachanov’s coach, noted that Khachanov was just 22 when he won, explaining that it’s easier for younger (and lower-ranked) players to find success after a long, grinding season. They have not been playing as deep into tournaments week after week as top-ranked players have, which gives them fresher legs. (Older players, he added, may also be more likely to have wives and children eager for their brief off-season to begin.)Craig Boynton, who coaches the world No. 11, Hubert Hurkacz, said the court surface in Paris kept the ball from bouncing high, making it tougher for players to set up shots and win quick points. “That is taxing mentally and on the legs,” he said, emphasizing that the fatigue factor in Paris is typically more mental than physical.“Attitude is most important at this time,” Boynton said. “In the locker room, people say, ‘Who’s crispy?’, meaning ‘Who’s burned out?’” Guys can get to Paris super crispy thinking about their vacation and want to get it over with and move on.”Young players feeling good in the fall can gain confidence and get on a roll, as Rune did last year, Gilbert said. “If you get hot, that’s a good tournament to capitalize on.”Martic agreed to an extent, saying that in 2018 Khachanov had just won in Moscow and was in a good groove. But he added, “It’s difficult to point to one reason: He also plays well indoors and likes Paris and the crowds and atmosphere there.”The calendar matters in other ways, too. Federer withdrew from the Paris Masters or skipped it four times in the 2010s, partly because his hometown tournament in Basel, Switzerland, immediately precedes it. He not only won Basel seven times in that decade (and 10 total), reaching the final two other times, but also devoted extra energy to supporting the event.More significant, Boynton said, is that on the heels of Paris is the ATP Finals for the top eight players. That’s even more prestigious than a Masters 1000. Three of those four times Federer bowed out of Paris, he played in the Finals; Nadal played the Finals four times after either skipping Paris or withdrawing mid-tournament because of injury.Gilbert said that if a strong performance at the Paris Masters could send a player into the ATP Finals, however, “that’s a great motivator.” And, he added, money matters, too, pointing to a new wrinkle this year that will reduce crispiness.The ATP will distribute $20 million among the top 30 players with the most rankings points accrued from Masters 1000 tournaments and ATP Finals. “That’s a significant amount of money, and my guess is that everyone close to the bonus pool will be up for a real battle,” he said.However, any opportunity to break through comes with a Novak-size caveat: Djokovic, the most successful of the Big Three at this level, has reached the finals in seven of his past eight visits.This year, he will be well rested. So, despite prior unpredictability and the factors favoring youth, the odds remain strong that an older man will be playing on the last day in Paris. More

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      The Tennis Escape Artists Who Lifted the Trophies

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      Tennis players save match points regularly, but often crash out of a tournament soon after. But sometimes, a great save sets the stage for a big win.Holger Rune should have been out of the Paris Masters in the first round last year.Rune faced Stan Wawrinka in a contentious opening match that didn’t finish until after midnight. After saving three match points, Rune beat Wawrinka, a three-time major champion, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), and went on to win the whole tournament, his first Masters 1000 crown. Along the way, he upset five top-10 players, including the world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and the six-time champion Novak Djokovic in the final. The win placed him into the world’s top 10 for the first time.Match points are saved in tennis with the regularity of a metronome. Most often, a player performs these death-defying acts early in the tournament then falters before the latter rounds. But sometimes, saving a match point can motivate a player for an entire week.In 2021, winning players saved match points in 58 main-draw matches on the WTA Tour. Only four times, though, did someone come back to win the tournament. Naomi Osaka did it at the Australian Open when she rebounded from 3-5 down in the final set to beat Garbiñe Muguruza in the fourth round and then defeated Serena Williams in the semifinals and Jennifer Brady in the final.Ashleigh Barty won the Miami Open over Bianca Andreescu but only after hitting a return winner down the line to save a match point against 149th-ranked Kristina Kucova in the second round.Naomi Osaka saved match points at the 2021 Australian Open when she rebounded from 3-5 down in the final in the fourth round. She later won the tournament.Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesAt the 2021 Italian Open, Iga Swiatek was down two match points to Barbora Krejcikova in the third round but managed to escape with a 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 victory. She then won the tournament by pummeling Karolina Pliskova, 6-0, 6-0, in the final.Krejcikova got some measure of revenge when she saved a match point against Maria Sakkari in the semifinals of the French Open a few weeks later, ultimately winning, 7-5, 4-6, 9-7, on her own fifth match point. Krejcikova then defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for her first and only major singles championship.This year alone, eight ATP tournaments have concluded with a champion who saved match points along the way. Six times it was in the final, including Djokovic’s victories over Sebastian Korda in Adelaide, Australia, and Alcaraz in the final in Cincinnati. Hubert Hurkacz also did it twice this year, saving match points on his way to titles in Marseille, France, in February and in Shanghai earlier this month.“It’s like being on the edge of a cliff,” Djokovic said in 2020 after he had saved three consecutive match points against Gaël Monfils in the Dubai semifinals before beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. “You know there is no way back so you have to jump over and try to find a way to survive, I guess, and pray for the best and believe you can make it.”Last year, eight male players — including Rune in Paris — saved match points, though none in the finals, and went on to win the title. Alcaraz did it twice, against Alex de Minaur in the semifinals of Barcelona and against Jannik Sinner in a five-hour-and-15-minute quarterfinal at the U.S. Open that ended at 2:50 a.m. He went on to beat Casper Ruud in the championship match.“Sometimes when you overcome [match points], it’s good because you’re like half out of the tournament so you’re just happy that you’re there and you still have opportunities to play more matches,” said Rune in an interview.“I try to play more aggressive because you think the opponent may be more tight and nervous in these moments,” he said. “But I also don’t want to miss because I don’t want to end the match by mistake. So I try to play safe but aggressive and often I play some very good tennis on the match points.” Rune will try to defend his Paris title when the tournament starts Monday.“People often say that after saving match points or winning matches like that, it frees you up a little bit, but I don’t know if there’s any evidence to support that,” Andy Murray said.Glyn Kirk/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesAndy Murray, a former world No. 1 and three-time major champion, typically has strong memories of matches he’s played. But when asked about winning tournaments after saving match points, Murray stumbled then chuckled when reminded that he had saved a match point against Milos Raonic during the semifinals of the 2016 ATP Finals, ultimately winning the match, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (9). The victory was particularly significant because Murray went on to beat Djokovic in the final, securing the year-end No. 1 world ranking.“People often say that after saving match points or winning matches like that, it frees you up a little bit, but I don’t know if there’s any evidence to support that,” said Murray, who also saved seven match points in a second-set tiebreaker against Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quarterfinals of Dubai in 2017 before winning the championship over Fernando Verdasco.Murray sees a difference between saving match points in a close contest and coming back from a deep deficit.“It depends a bit on the situation of the match,” Murray said. “If you’re a set and 5-1, 40-0, down it’s different to being 6-6 in the third set and it’s just one match point against you on your serve. You’re still very close to winning that match.”Saving match points in Grand Slam tournaments holds a special place of honor for players. In 2016, Angelique Kerber saved a match point in the first round of the Australian Open against Misaki Doi and went on to win her first of three majors, defeating Serena Williams in three sets in the final.“When I played here the first round I was match point down and playing with one leg on the plane to Germany,” Kerber told the crowd after winning.In 1996, Pete Sampras became physically ill during his U.S. Open quarterfinal against Alex Corretja but still managed to save a match point and win. He then beat Michael Chang for the title. Boris Becker saved two match points, one with a net-cord winner that skipped over Derrick Rostagno’s racket in the second round of the 1989 U.S. Open. He went on to win the championship over Ivan Lendl.Andy Roddick won his only Grand Slam after saving a match point in the semifinal.Nick Laham/Getty ImagesIn 2003, Andy Roddick saved a match point in a U.S. Open semifinal win over David Nalbandian then captured his lone major by beating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final. Djokovic saved two match points in a classic five-set U.S. Open semifinal over Roger Federer in 2011 then won the title over Rafael Nadal. Djokovic also saved two match points against Federer in the Wimbledon final in 2019.But no player can top Thomas Muster and the year he had in 1995. Muster won 12 ATP tournaments that year, 11 of them on clay, and had a 65-2 record on the surface. In six of those tournaments, he saved match points, including against Becker in a Monte Carlo final in which Becker double-faulted on his first match point and then made a forehand error.In six of the 12 tournaments Thomas Muster won in 1995, he saved match points.Clive Brunskill/Allsport, via Getty Images“Tennis is one of the few games where you can’t take a result and bring it home,” said Muster by phone from his home in Austria. “You have to win the match. It’s always open and can become a different ballgame. You can be down a set and 5-0 and still win. In any other sport, no way.“You need attitude and willpower to keep believing in yourself,” Muster added. “When you’re down match points, you have nothing to lose anymore. In my mind, I’ve already lost it. But once you save that match point you say, ‘Now I’m winning it. Now that I’ve pulled it out, there’s no way somebody can take it from me. You’ve got to beat me, you’ve got to earn it.’”As for Murray, he’ll take his victories however can get them.“I don’t mind whether I’m saving a match point or winning, 6-1, 6-1,” Murray said. “It doesn’t matter to me.” More

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      Novak Djokovic Wins the US Open and a 24th Grand Slam Title

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      Novak Djokovic has won so many Grand Slam singles titles in so many different ways, it is getting extremely difficult to keep track of them.Djokovic, a Serb, further solidified his reputation as the greatest player of the modern era on Sunday with a clinical, straight-sets win over Daniil Medvedev of Russia. Floating across the court and swinging his racket with an ease and grace that top players a decade younger, and even more junior, can mostly only dream about, Djokovic took advantage of a flat start from Medvedev, then outlasted his friend in an epic second set and finally took apart his Monte Carlo neighbor, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3.He did it on an Arthur Ashe Stadium court where he spent most of his career playing the villain in matches against underdogs or longtime crowd favorites like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Sunday was nothing like that. The nearly 24,000 spectators welcomed him with a massive roar, then showered him with the biggest one when Medvedev dumped a shot into the net to give Djokovic the title that has been surprisingly hard for the greatest hardcourt player in the sport’s history to win.“This means the world to me,” he said to the crowd just before lifting the trophy for the fourth time of his career.His turn from foil to protagonist had begun two years ago, near the end of a very different final against the same opponent. On that day, Djokovic walked onto the court trying to become the first man in more than 50 years to win all four Grand Slam tournament titles in a calendar year.Medvedev’s straight-set upset was all but sealed that day when Djokovic was uncharacteristically flat, yet a stadium filled to witness history swaddled Djokovic with a kind of love he had never felt in New York. He sobbed in his chair as it washed over him before the final game.Djokovic missed the U.S. Open last year because of the federal government’s rule prohibiting foreign visitors who had not been vaccinated against Covid-19 to enter the country. He set foot on American soil for the first time in nearly two years in mid-August to play the Western & Southern Open near Cincinnati. He quickly realized that the love he felt during the 2021 U.S. Open final had not faded.The U.S. Open final took a visible toll on Djokovic, who grimaced and stretched throughout Sunday’s match.Karsten Moran for The New York TimesDjokovic needed every bit of that support Sunday, when, while seemingly on cruise control midway through the second set, Medvedev reverted to form. After a mistake-filled set and a half, the Russian with arms like an octopus and the legs of a gazelle cleaned the errors out of his game, ramped up his serve and did that very effective imitation of a backboard that has previously lifted him to the pinnacle of the sport.Points that lasted longer than 20 shots became routine in a match with its share of 30-shot rallies, and suddenly Djokovic’s legs began to go, like a boxer jarred from a shot to the jaw. He leaned on his racket between points, gasping for breath. He rubbed his head with a bag of ice between games.“I was losing air on so many occasions,” he said. “I don’t recall ever being so exhausted after rallies.”Serving to stay in the second set at 5-6, he stretched his legs before tossing balls in the air. He heaved as he ran for shots, saving set point with two soft volleys.“He was tired,” Medvedev said. “I was all over him.”On to a decisive tiebreaker they went, and even that, like so many points in this video game of a match, went back and forth. Medvedev got within two points of drawing even, winning a lung-searing drop shot exchange. But then, like he had so many times before, Djokovic played three consecutive mistake-free points.When Medvedev bunted a backhand into the net, 104 minutes after the set began, Djokovic had gained a two-set lead, an advantage he has coughed up only once in his career, 13 years ago, before he turned into himself into the nearly indomitable player he would become.He sauntered slowly to his chair, grabbed his bag and headed off the court for a toilet break. Medvedev took off his shirt and called for a trainer, who massaged his shoulders, though after what he had endured during the course of the previous hour and a half, a brain massage was what he really needed.Djokovic willed his way to win the second set after a tiebreaker with Medvedev.Karsten Moran for The New York TimesWhen he returned to the court, Djokovic was floating once more, the adrenaline of another championship and record in sight delivering a rediscovered spring in his step. He flew toward the net, taking advantage of an opponent who plays so deep in the court he often looks like he is about to hit the back wall on his backswing. No one was going to take this sweet return to America away from Djokovic this time.It seems every time he plays a tournament these days he sets a record in men’s tennis, and usually he is besting one of his own. Djokovic began the year in Melbourne, where he won a record 10th Australian Open title. Sunday brought his 24th Grand Slam singles title, upping his men’s record of 23 that he set at the French Open in June.On Friday he played in a record 47th Grand Slam semifinal, one more than Federer. Three weeks ago he won a record 39th title at a Masters 1000 tournament, the events just below the level of the Grand Slams. On Sunday he played in his 36th Grand Slam final.His performance at the U.S. Open guaranteed even before he took the court for his final matches that he would wake up Monday morning as the No. 1 player in the world, reclaiming the top spot from Carlos Alcaraz, the 20-year-old Spanish sensation. That will mark his 390th week at the top of the sport. He already had that record, too.“What are you still doing here,” Medvedev, 27, said to Djokovic, 36, who has been keeping him from winning titles since he first broke into the top levels of tennis six years ago.Toweling off in a corner of the court before serving for match point, catching his breath for one final time, Djokovic looked at the fans in the front rows and nodded his head, his eyes wide. Moments later he was kneeling on the court, his shoulders shaking as tears flowed once more. When he rose he walked over to the stands and lifted his daughter, Tara, who is 6 and barely able to sit through a tennis match. She often colors in books on the floors of stadiums while her father is playing.Djokovic hugged his daughter, Tara, after winning his 24th Grand Slam singles title.Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times“Tennis is not really her thing,” he said with a grin and quizzical look earlier this year.It is now. She watched from the side of the court on Sunday, and Djokovic said whenever he needed a lift he looked over to see her smiling and pumping a fist, and he believed all would be well.Then came the embraces with the rest of his family in the stands. When he returned to the court, he swapped out his sweaty kit for a shirt with a picture of him and Kobe Bryant, his sports hero, friend, and sometimes mentor, whose jersey number was 24 when he ended his N.B.A. career. That number was on the back of Djokovic’s shirt.“It is a pity about Wimbledon, couple of points either way,” said his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, lamenting Djokovic’s lone loss in 28 Grand Slam matches this year, in five sets to Alcaraz in July. Ivanisevic said he and Djokovic never talked about that loss after that day. “That’s what makes him great.”Days before this tournament, Djokovic reflected on the heartbreaking but heartwarming day two years ago when Medvedev stopped him one match shy of perhaps the ultimate tennis achievement. He still felt the warmth from the New York crowd that had finally taken to him.“They love sport and they also love when they are experiencing something special,” he said. “They genuinely backed me up and wanted me to win and wanted me to make history.”In retrospect, he said, he buckled under the weight of that, as he has rarely done.This time around, Djokovic prohibited his family from mentioning anything about history, opting to keep this match as simple and as clear as it could be.The New York fans had to wait two years to see it, but on Sunday they finally did. Chances are they may see it again. More

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      The Tennis Education of Ben Shelton

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      At the packed grandstand court here on Friday, you could hear the fans’ murmured conversation, a low, languid hush, as Ben Shelton toed the line to serve for the first time.Then the hush came to a jarring halt. Shelton’s knees bent, his shoulder cranked, and his Yonex tennis racket thrust violently toward the tossed ball.Crack!He unleashed a 130-mile-per-hour heater, an ace that stunned his third-round opponent, Russian tour vet Aslan Karatsev, and sounded like a leather whip lacing a fence post.“Whoa!” came a unified response from an astonished and suddenly very loud and awake crowd, a large majority of which had likely never seen Shelton, still in his first year as a professional.“So, this is what everyone’s talking about,” I heard a fan mutter.“He’s got some serious game,” said another.Serious game, indeed.For me, as for most tennis fans, among the great joys of every U.S. Open is the discovery of young, emerging, surprising talent. This year is no exception. A quick walk through the sprawling grounds on any day during this first week revealed a strong crop of sterling up-and-comers. Look, there’s France’s Arthur Fils, cranking forehands. And there’s Czechoslovakia’s 18-year-old qualifier Jakub Mensik. The Russian Mirra Andreeva might be just 16, but she already hits the yellow felt off the ball.Shelton was the fifth best player on his Florida team in 2021, but won the N.C.A.A. singles title in 2022.Maansi Srivastava/The New York TimesShelton, 20, is the best of the bunch. Dripping with raw talent, he is the ultimate late bloomer, a player who puts the lie to the notion that top-tier tennis pros must first be 12- and 13-year-old forehand-smacking prodigies.Seemingly out of nowhere, in less than a year on the ATP Tour, the young Floridian has risen from tennis’ minor leagues to a career-high ranking in May of No. 35. (He entered the Open ranked No. 47.)But this week, doubt swirled. For all of Shelton’s ability, he has of late been on a steep learning curve. The movie version of his rookie season could be titled The Education of a Young Tennis Pro.Over the last seven months, he has sustained 19 losses and struggled to string together wins. When he beat former U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem this week — a match called early when Thiem defaulted with illness after losing the first set — it was the first time Shelton had won back-to-back singles matches since he’d made his surprising quarterfinal run at January’s Australian Open.During his matches in Melbourne, he flashed an eye-widening talent that gave a tennis-head like me goose bumps, reminding me of the first time I saw Roger Federer.Seeing Shelton up close at Flushing Meadows did not disappoint.In the first set against Karatsev, everything came easy. Shelton broke Karatsev with a smooth forehand winner. Then he cruised, serving with the canniness of an All-Star pitcher, firing off 140-mile-per-hour lasers then befuddling his opponent with left-handed spin.Shelton won the opening refrain, 6-4, in 33 minutes.Shelton’s serve was clocked at 147 m.p.h in the third set, the fastest in the tournament so far.Maansi Srivastava/The New York TimesHis best qualities were shining through, and the crowd was more than willing to go along for the ride. Many pros play with a foreboding look, grimly serious, sometimes hangdog, or remarkably neutral, like poker players. There is no neutral with Shelton. He pumps his fists and shouts in celebration and shows what he feels at virtually every moment of every match — often with a broad, inviting smile.Then there is his skill. Shelton can bend balls with heavy spin, flatten them for winners, or cut at them for precision volleys. Few on tour have his strength — he’s built like a football safety: 6-foot-4, 195 pounds, sculpted muscles — or his combination of foot speed and live-arm explosiveness.His talent is so immense that his coach, who happens to be his father, former professional Bryan Shelton, says a primary goal is to contain his son’s prodigious abilities. For example, instead of firing off a high-powered ace and then excitedly trying to serve the next ball with even more umph, he tries to get his son to dial it back a bit, learn to control the zeal.Dialing back after Friday’s smooth first set proved difficult. Karatsev began drawing a bead on Shelton’s serve. The Russian returned enough of them, tightening his offense to gain the upper hand.Second set, Karatsev, 6-3.Shelton’s level had dipped just a bit, a sign of his inexperience.In the third set, Shelton struggled to reach Karatsev’s returns.Maansi Srivastava/The New York TimesHe only became serious about tennis after quitting football in 7th grade. He was not an upper-tier American junior until late in high school, nor did he do what upper tier juniors do. He did not leave the country to face high-test competition. He did not he play any of the significant junior grand slam events that have operated as springboards for many pros.Shelton went to the University of Florida, where the men’s tennis coach happened to be Bryan Shelton, who is well respected in tennis circles for emphasizing a mastery of the game over chasing victories.There was no grand plan to move Ben quickly up the tennis ranks. The foundation began coming together seemingly out of nowhere.“You work on something, you work on something, you keep working on it, and then, six months later, you see that you can do it,” the younger Shelton told me this week. “That’s what happened to me. And at the same time, I think I finally grew into my body, which helped me move a lot better. When that changed, my whole game changed.”By his account, Shelton was the fifth best player on his Florida team in 2021, but won the N.C.A.A. singles title in 2022 — a tennis anomaly if ever there was one. Then he began running roughshod in ATP Challenger tournaments, the tennis equivalent of Triple-A baseball.For the first time in his life, he traveled outside the United States, off to the Australian Open. Who could have imagined his success there? Not even him. He reeled off four upsets, making it to the quarterfinals of his second Grand Slam tournament before losing to veteran Tommy Paul.Now comes the hard part. Pro tennis is full of quicksand that has swallowed players who succumbed to the pressure of great promise. Shelton appears ready to leapfrog all the typical obstacles and thrive if the last two sets of his battle against Karatsev are any guide.The third set went quickly. Shelton’s serve cranked to a new level: He hit 147 m.p.h on the radar gun, the fastest in the tournament. He held two break points, won them both, and took the stanza, 6-2.“Go Ben!” came shouts from the crowd.“Ben, we love you!”“Finish it!”Karatsev’s shoulders slumped. He knew what was coming.In the fourth set, Shelton did not lose a game, putting a crowning cap on what amounted to a U.S. Open launch party.Final score: 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0. Onto the round of 16, where his opponent will be Paul, the compatriot who bested him at the Australian Open.The Education of a Young Tennis Pro continues. More