Djokovic, Novak

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      Novak Djokovic Wins His First-Round Match at the U.S. Open

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      Novak Djokovic, the No. 1-ranked men’s tennis player, began his bid for the final leg of the Grand Slam with a 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-1 victory over Holger Rune in the first round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday night.Rune, an 18-year-old qualifier from Denmark, was making his debut in a Grand Slam tournament. He is a dynamic, flashy player with explosive power and contagious energy. He not only won the second set, but he also got the crowd on his side in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest venue in tour-level tennis with its five tiers and 23,771 seats.Loud cheers of “Ruuuuune,” which sounded paradoxically like boos, were a frequent part of the soundscape. Though Djokovic looked frustrated and off rhythm as Rune evened the match at one set apiece, Djokovic never looked genuinely rattled and was not threatened down the stretch.Rune, playing his first best-of-five-set match, began to cramp in his legs early in the third set and began wincing and hobbling between points and struggling to jump into his serve and cover the corners of the court: a necessity to pose any threat to Djokovic.The final two sets lasted just 51 minutes, less time than it took Rune to win the 58-minute second set.“I’ve got to say that it’s never nice to finish the way we finished today,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “Holger is a great guy, one of the up-and-coming stars. He was the best junior in the world.” Djokovic added “he is making his way through the professional ranks quite quickly. He deserves a big round of applause. It’s unfortunate he had to go through all of that.”Rune has been prone to cramping, and though it is easy to forget at this stage, Djokovic, too, once struggled with his endurance on court, only solving the problem in 2010 and 2011 after switching to a gluten-free diet.But at age 34, Djokovic has proved himself to be a long-running champion, one of the most successful in the game’s history. If he wins six more matches in New York, he will break his tie with his longtime rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by claiming a men’s record 21st career Grand Slam singles title.If he wins six more matches, he also will become the first player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to complete the Grand Slam in singles and the first man to do so since Rod Laver in 1969. The Grand Slam requires a player to win the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the same calendar year. Graf added an Olympic gold medal to her collection for a so-called Golden Slam.After failing to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics this month, Djokovic chose to rest before the U.S. Open rather than play in any preliminary events in North America. He was not at his sharpest on Tuesday night, but his shoulder, which troubled him in Tokyo, did not appear to limit his ability to perform.In his last appearance at the U.S. Open in 2020, he was defaulted in the fourth round after striking a ball in frustration and inadvertently hitting a line judge in the throat. But there were no misadventures in this first match, and Djokovic will be a big favorite again in the second round when he plays 121st ranked Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands for the first time. More

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      Novak Djokovic Knocks on the Door of a Very Exclusive Club

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      Only five players have achieved a Grand Slam, the last being Steffi Graf in 1988. Winning four major titles in a calendar year — the holy grail of tennis — is improbably hard.It has been more than half a century since a man completed tennis’s Grand Slam, and that man is ready for company.“I don’t own the club; I’ve just enjoyed belonging to it,” Rod Laver, 83, said in a telephone interview last week from his home in Carlsbad, Calif. “If someone comes along to win all the four, I’d be the first to congratulate them.”The moment could be near. Novak Djokovic won the first three Grand Slam tournaments of the year and needs only to win the United States Open, which began on Monday in New York, to join Laver in the club.It is undeniably exclusive. The four major tournaments — the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open — are all more than 100 years old. But only five players have achieved the Grand Slam in singles by winning all four majors in the same year: Don Budge in 1938, Maureen Connolly in 1953, Laver in 1962 and 1969, Margaret Court in 1970 and Steffi Graf in 1988.“Being able now to put myself in a position to win four out of four is honestly incredible, and I’m really stoked about New York,” Djokovic said in an interview before the draw was released. “I can’t wait.”Technically, Djokovic already has won “four out of four” over two seasons in 2015 and 2016. Though that was rare and remarkable, it was not a Grand Slam, which by tradition and the constitution of the International Tennis Federation requires that the four titles be won “in one calendar year.”“You’ve got to do it in the calendar year,” Laver emphasized. “Start at the Australian in January and finish up in New York in September. That, for me, is a Grand Slam.”For a period in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Australian Open came last, taking place in December. But for peak Laver, it was the first leg, and the wiry and driven Australian left-hander nicknamed Rocket is the only player to have achieved the Grand Slam twice in singles. He did it once as an amateur in 1962 and once, more impressively, as a professional in 1969 against deeper fields that included major singles champions like Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, Arthur Ashe and Tony Roche.Rod Laver returning the ball during his victory over Andrés Gimeno of Spain during the men’s singles quarterfinals of the 1969 French Open.Bodini, via Associated Press“I just look at those opponents, that kind of opposition at the time, and I feel like it’s the standout Grand Slam of them all for men or women,” said Steve Flink, the American tennis historian and author of “The Greatest Tennis Matches of All Time.”Laver is also the only player to have saved a match point on the way to a Grand Slam in singles, escaping against his Australian compatriot Marty Mulligan in 1962 in the quarterfinals of the French Championships.“A Grand Slam takes some good fortune, and I was fortunate that day,” Laver said.The term Grand Slam entered sports in the 20th century via contract bridge, a card game in which a grand slam meant winning the maximum 13 tricks.In baseball, it came to mean a home run with the bases loaded, and in 1930, Grand Slam became a part of golf’s lexicon when Bobby Jones won the four major tournaments of that era.It was only a matter of time before other sports embraced the concept. In 1933, when the Australian tennis star Jack Crawford won the first three major tournaments, journalists used the term as he tried to win the U.S. Championships.John Kieran, a longtime sports columnist for The New York Times, wrote that “if Crawford wins, that would be something like scoring a grand slam on the courts.”Crawford almost did, reaching the final and taking a two-sets-to-one lead over Fred Perry, the British star, before Perry took complete command to win the title.Five years later, Budge, a redheaded Californian with a big serve and dreamy backhand, chased the Grand Slam in earnest, spurning big offers to turn professional at the end of 1937.“He was determined to try and go out and win the Slam in ’38,” Flink said. “Some people were telling him, don’t do it, you could get hurt, you could ruin your lucrative pro career.”Don Budge achieved the Grand Slam in 1938, spurning calls to turn professional, which would have made him ineligible for Grand Slam tournaments.Ray Illingworth/Associated PressAt that stage, turning professional would have made Budge ineligible for the Grand Slam tournaments and restricted him to the barnstorming circuit. But Budge, determined to chase his goal, remained an amateur and secured the Grand Slam with relative ease against often-overmatched opponents. His health and the logistics were more daunting. He had an abscessed tooth for much of the season that left him vulnerable to illness. The trip by boat to Australia to start the year took several weeks. And at the U.S. Championships, where Budge was set to face his unseeded friend and doubles partner, Gene Mako, in the final, a hurricane delayed the match for nearly a week.Despite all that time to ponder the stakes, Budge beat Mako in four sets and completed tennis’s first Grand Slam.It has remained a rare feat. Connolly, a teen prodigy from San Diego, had the most dominant run to a Grand Slam. She was nicknamed Little Mo because her deep and penetrating groundstrokes reminded the sportswriter Nelson Fisher of the firepower of the battleship U.S.S. Missouri, which was nicknamed Big Mo. Connolly lost just one set in the four majors in 1953. She might have won a second Grand Slam but was out of the game by age 19 after a horseback riding accident. She died of cancer at 34.Maureen Connolly with the women’s singles trophy after beating Doris Hart in the final at the Wimbledon Championships in 1953.Central Press/Getty ImagesCourt and Graf, the other women in the club, routinely outclassed their opponents in their Grand Slam seasons. But Court, a powerful Australian, had an enormous scare: tearing ligaments in her ankle during her quarterfinal victory at Wimbledon against Helga Niessen Masthoff. A doctor suggested she withdraw from the tournament. But Court, with the Grand Slam at stake, pushed on, receiving painkilling injections in the ankle before the semifinal against Rosie Casals and the final against Billie Jean King.“I had no doubt that this feisty little player who played sublime tennis while chattering away eccentrically was the biggest hurdle to clear if I was to win the Grand Slam, and so it proved,” Court wrote in her 2016 autobiography.Margaret Court received painkilling injections in her ankle to finish Wimbledon in 1970.Associated PressCourt beat King, 14-12, 11-9, in one of the best major women’s finals. Court went to New York, ignored medical advice to withdraw, and won the U.S. Open after another painkilling injection, defeating Casals in a three-set final.She thanked the officials, Casals and “the Lord” and returned to the locker room, where she had a beer with her husband, Barry.Court, like Laver, targeted the Grand Slam before the season. Graf did not. 1988 was her breakthrough year, and her overwhelming success surprised Graf, a self-contained champion who did not embrace the spotlight but whose foot speed, forehand power and crisply sliced backhand set her apart.Steffi Graf won all four major singles championships in 1988 and an Olympic gold medal, for the so-called Golden Slam.Peter Morgan/Associated PressSince then, only Serena Williams has come close to a Grand Slam, winning the first three majors in 2015 before losing to Roberta Vinci of Italy in the U.S. Open semifinals in one of tennis’s biggest upsets.Williams’s inability to seal the deal — she would have faced another Italian outsider, Flavia Pennetta, in the final — or play her best showed how expectation builds during a Grand Slam chase.Though Williams twice won four majors in a row — the so-called Serena Slams — the Grand Slam hunt generates higher levels of start-to-finish pressure. Players know that if they lose at the Australian Open to start the season that the Grand Slam is unattainable that year.“That’s the way it was devised and the way it was understood from the beginning,” Flink said. “I don’t see any reason to retrofit it. Budge, Court and Laver all knew when their starting point was and weren’t going to say, ‘Well, I lost the first one but maybe I can win the next one and still get four in a row early next year.’ No, the quest was done until the following year.”Martina Navratilova maintains that she did complete the Grand Slam, even if she didn’t win all four in the same year. Navratilova won six straight majors in 1983 and 1984, a year in which she won an astounding 74 straight singles matches. To drum up interest in the sport, the International Tennis Federation had declared in 1982 that four majors in a row amounted to a Grand Slam, and Navratilova received a million-dollar bonus from the I.T.F. when she achieved that feat at the 1984 French Open.But there was resistance to the concept. The I.T.F. soon retreated and has reverted to defining the Grand Slam as a calendar-year achievement. Navratilova is not on the short list.“Looking back now, yes, of course, I wish I had done it in the calendar year because then I’m on the same level in every way with Rod and Steffi and Margaret, but at the time it was not judged that way,” Navratilova said in an interview last week.What also has changed is that when Laver won his Grand Slams, three of the four majors were played on grass with only the French Open staged on clay. But the U.S. Open switched to hardcourts in 1978 and the Australian Open did the same in 1988, so Graf had to achieve her Grand Slam on three surfaces.“A lot of players couldn’t play that well on grass, so I had an advantage in that area, and maybe the fact I was a left-hander on grass was a little bit of an advantage, too,” said Laver, referring to his excellent sliced serve wide in the ad court.Djokovic is the first man since Laver to win even the first three legs of the Grand Slam: an indicator of the depth of the challenge. If Djokovic, 34, finishes the job in New York, he will be the oldest player to achieve the Grand Slam in singles. Laver was 31 when he won the U.S. Open in 1969.“It’s quite a milestone, and there’s a reason why no other male tennis player in the Open era has managed to win all four Slams in the same season,” Djokovic said. “The game has been improving every decade and obviously it’s not comparable to the tennis of 40 or 50 years ago, because of the technology of the rackets. They used to play with wooden rackets. We have so much more advantage and help coming from the rackets and just the pace and just generally the game itself has transformed a lot. But that probably makes it more challenging and difficult to win it.”And yet Laver found it challenging in 1969. He had to win a marathon five-set semifinal over Roche at the Australian Open. He had to rally from two sets down in both the second round of the French Open, where he beat Dick Crealy, and Wimbledon, where he beat Premjit Lall before holding off Stan Smith in five sets and Ashe and Newcombe in four-setters. At the U.S. Open, Dennis Ralston pushed Laver to five sets in the round of 16.“All it takes is one bad day and it’s gone,” Laver said.He was once convinced that Roger Federer would be the one to join the Grand Slam club, but Rafael Nadal’s clay-court prowess snuffed out most of Federer’s best chances and quite a few of Djokovic’s, too. Nadal has won the French Open a record 13 times.“So unless Nadal does it, those are 13 years nobody is doing the Grand Slam,” Laver said with a laugh.Astonishingly, given their stature, neither Nadal nor Federer has won even the first two legs of a Grand Slam.“Even getting it to the final leg is a great achievement,” Laver said. “I know Novak’s shoulder has been bothering him recently. That’s just one of the things that can go wrong, but, yes, I think he has every chance to pull off a Grand Slam and win the U.S. Open.”If he does it, Laver plans to be the man to hand him the trophy. He will be in New York for the men’s semifinals and final at the invitation of the United States Tennis Association.“I’d like to be there to see if he can win it,” Laver said. “It’s been quite a long wait.”Cindy Shmerler More

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      Tennis Players Want a Choice About Vaccination; Tours Encourage It

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      Despite the possible consequences of not being vaccinated — illness and the loss of income and opportunity to play — tennis players have been stubbornly slow to get the vaccine.When the United States Tennis Association announced on Friday that proof of coronavirus vaccination would be required for all spectators 12 and older to enter the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, it widened a gulf between the spectators and the players they’ll be watching at the U.S. Open.Adults in the stands will now be roughly twice as likely to be vaccinated as the players on court: The WTA said “nearly 50 percent” of its players were vaccinated, while the ATP said its vaccination rates were “just above 50 percent.”Despite the possible consequences of not being vaccinated — illness, of course, but also the inability to play and make money — tennis players have been stubbornly slow on the uptake, even as many have lost opportunities to play in major tournaments because of positive tests. While some players are openly skeptical of the need for a vaccine as a healthy young person, some simply haven’t prioritized it.The French veteran Gilles Simon, who was disqualified from the U.S. Open on Friday for “medical reasons,” confirmed in an interview with L’Equipe that he was removed because he hadn’t been vaccinated. Simon’s coach, Etienne Laforgue, tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in New York, and Simon was disqualified because he was deemed a “close contact.”“I was not against it to the point of never being vaccinated, I’m just saying I didn’t feel the need or the urge,” Simon told L’Equipe.Simon would have remained eligible to compete in the tournament, with increased testing, if he had been vaccinated.“I’m not very scared of Covid, actually,” Simon said. “My basic philosophy is: ‘If you’re afraid of it, you get vaccinated; if not, no.’ It’s still a choice.”Simon must now isolate in his hotel room for 10 days, according to federal and New York City guidelines. Simon, 36 and ranked 103rd, rued that his hotel room, where he will stay during what he admitted might have been his last U.S. Open, lacks a nice view.“If your last memory of a U.S. Open is 10 days in a room, it is not one you want to keep,” he said.The highest-profile tennis player to miss this year’s U.S. Open because of a positive Covid test is the fifth-ranked Sofia Kenin, who, despite disappointing results this year, remains the highest-ranked American on either tour under the pandemic-adjusted ranking system. Kenin said she had tested positive despite being vaccinated.“Fortunately I am vaccinated, and thus my symptoms have been fairly mild,” she said.Many tennis players have been able to take advantage of on-site vaccination programs set up by tournaments as they travel on tour. The top-ranked Ashleigh Barty, whose native Australia has lagged behind in its vaccination rollout, was able to get vaccinated in April at a tournament in Charleston, S.C. Before she did, Barty made sure that she wasn’t cutting in line.“That was important to me, knowing that those who were the most vulnerable were able to get it first,” she said in April.Simon’s contention that vaccination should remain a choice is supported by both tours, even as they urge players to choose vaccination.Other sports have been more successful at getting their athletes to get the shot. The W.N.B.A. said in June that 99 percent of its players were vaccinated. The M.L.S. Players Association said in July that it was “approaching 95 percent.” This week, the N.F.L. announced it had reached a player vaccination rate of nearly 93 percent. Michele Roberts, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, said in July that 90 percent of N.B.A. players were vaccinated. Earlier this month, the N.H.L. said its player vaccination rate was at 85 percent, and its union warned that unvaccinated players might lose pay if they tested positive.In tennis, where each player is an independent contractor, there is no player union to encourage unified behavior and no general manager or team owner to encourage vaccination for the team’s competitive benefit. Other individual sports are still ahead of tennis, however: The PGA said early this month that its player vaccination rate was “above 70 percent.”“While we respect everyone’s right to free choice, we also believe that each player has a role to play in helping the wider group achieve a safe level of immunity,” the ATP said in a statement. “Doing so will allow us to ease restrictions on-site for the benefit of everyone on Tour.”The WTA said it “strongly believes in and encourages everyone to get a vaccine,” and has set a goal for 85 percent of players to be vaccinated by the end of the year. But it is currently “not requiring players to get a vaccine as this is a personal decision, and one which we respect.”Sofia Kenin was forced to withdraw from the U.S. Open after testing positive despite being vaccinated.Robert Deutsch/USA Today Sports, via ReutersThe third-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas caused an uproar in his native Greece earlier this month after he said that he would get vaccinated only if it were required to continue competing..css-1xzcza9{list-style-type:disc;padding-inline-start:1em;}.css-3btd0c{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:1rem;line-height:1.375rem;color:#333;margin-bottom:0.78125rem;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-3btd0c{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.5rem;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}}.css-3btd0c strong{font-weight:600;}.css-3btd0c em{font-style:italic;}.css-w739ur{margin:0 auto 5px;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.3125rem;color:#121212;}#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-w739ur{font-family:nyt-cheltenham,georgia,’times new roman’,times,serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.625rem;}@media (min-width:740px){#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-w739ur{font-size:1.6875rem;line-height:1.875rem;}}@media (min-width:740px){.css-w739ur{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.4375rem;}}.css-9s9ecg{margin-bottom:15px;}.css-16ed7iq{width:100%;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-box-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;justify-content:center;padding:10px 0;background-color:white;}.css-pmm6ed{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;}.css-pmm6ed > :not(:first-child){margin-left:5px;}.css-5gimkt{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.8125rem;font-weight:700;-webkit-letter-spacing:0.03em;-moz-letter-spacing:0.03em;-ms-letter-spacing:0.03em;letter-spacing:0.03em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#333;}.css-5gimkt:after{content:’Collapse’;}.css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transition:all 0.5s ease;transition:all 0.5s ease;-webkit-transform:rotate(180deg);-ms-transform:rotate(180deg);transform:rotate(180deg);}.css-eb027h{max-height:5000px;-webkit-transition:max-height 0.5s ease;transition:max-height 0.5s ease;}.css-6mllg9{-webkit-transition:all 0.5s ease;transition:all 0.5s ease;position:relative;opacity:0;}.css-6mllg9:before{content:”;background-image:linear-gradient(180deg,transparent,#ffffff);background-image:-webkit-linear-gradient(270deg,rgba(255,255,255,0),#ffffff);height:80px;width:100%;position:absolute;bottom:0px;pointer-events:none;}.css-uf1ume{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:justify;-webkit-justify-content:space-between;-ms-flex-pack:justify;justify-content:space-between;}.css-wxi1cx{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;-webkit-align-self:flex-end;-ms-flex-item-align:end;align-self:flex-end;}.css-12vbvwq{background-color:white;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;width:calc(100% – 40px);max-width:600px;margin:1.5rem auto 1.9rem;padding:15px;box-sizing:border-box;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-12vbvwq{padding:20px;width:100%;}}.css-12vbvwq:focus{outline:1px solid #e2e2e2;}#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-12vbvwq{border:none;padding:10px 0 0;border-top:2px solid #121212;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg);-ms-transform:rotate(0deg);transform:rotate(0deg);}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-eb027h{max-height:300px;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition:none;transition:none;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-5gimkt:after{content:’See more’;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-6mllg9{opacity:1;}.css-qjk116{margin:0 auto;overflow:hidden;}.css-qjk116 strong{font-weight:700;}.css-qjk116 em{font-style:italic;}.css-qjk116 a{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-color:#326891;text-decoration-color:#326891;}.css-qjk116 a:visited{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration-color:#326891;text-decoration-color:#326891;}.css-qjk116 a:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}“I don’t see any reason for someone of my age to do it,” said Tsitsipas, 23. “It hasn’t been tested enough and it has side effects. As long as it’s not mandatory, everyone can decide for themselves.”Giannis Oikonomou, a spokesman for the Greek government, said Tsitsipas “has neither the knowledge nor the studies nor the research work that would allow him to form an opinion” about the necessity for vaccination, and added that people like athletes who are widely admired should be “doubly careful in expressing such views.”The top-ranked Novak Djokovic has drawn scrutiny for his approach to health issues throughout the pandemic, and has declined to disclose his own vaccination status. Djokovic said it was a “personal decision” when asked about vaccine protocols on Friday. “Whether someone wants to get a vaccine or not, that’s completely up to them,” Djokovic said. “I hope that it stays that way.”Andy Murray, a member of the ATP player council, said that “there’s going to have to be a lot of pretty long, hard conversations with the tour and all of the players involved to try and come to a solution” on the high number of players holding out on vaccination. He said he appreciated the privileges New York City regulations afforded him as a vaccinated person, such as eating indoors in restaurants.“I feel like I’m enjoying a fairly normal life, whereas for the players that haven’t, it’s different,” Murray said. “I’m sure they’ll be frustrated with that.”Murray said he believes players have a duty to others.“Ultimately I guess the reason why all of us are getting vaccinated is to look out for the wider public,” he said. “We have a responsibility as players that are traveling across the world, yeah, to look out for everyone else as well. I’m happy that I’m vaccinated. I’m hoping that more players choose to have it in the coming months.” More

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      Putting the ‘Open’ Back Into the U.S. Open

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      The Grand Slam tournament that signals the end of summer in New York welcomes fans who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 to pack the house when the main draw begins Monday.It has been two years since tennis fans queued for $25 lobster rolls at the United States Open, 24 long months since tipsy spectators could shout from the upper deck of Arthur Ashe Stadium during rowdy night sessions.But starting on Monday, the U.S. Open will pulsate with fans again, proceeding close to normal with people packing the stands and spending at the concession stands as if it were 2019 all over again.But just as New York has sputtered toward a frustrating and uneven reopening due primarily to the highly contagious Delta variant, New York’s signature two-week summer sporting event returns with full spectator capacity, amid a mixture of hope and anxiety.City leaders expressed shock and concern that the tournament in Flushing Meadows was initially prepared to allow roughly 55,000 people per day to enter the grounds with almost no protections against the coronavirus. But players generally seemed delighted that, unlike last year when no fans were allowed to watch in person, throngs of tennis enthusiasts will be back on hand with all their famous New York zest and vigor.“I’m just happy there’s a crowd in general,” said Naomi Osaka, who won last year’s women’s singles title inside a ghostly empty and echoing Arthur Ashe Stadium.But the crowds will now be required to show proof of vaccination after a hasty retreat on policy by the United States Tennis Association late last week. It was the first, but likely not the last, hiccup for New York’s annual curtain call for summer — a highly attended, two-week tennis festival that straddles Labor Day and by the end signals the first cool hints of fall.On Wednesday, five days before fans were expected to arrive en masse, tournament officials announced that no proof of vaccination or recent negative coronavirus test would be required for fans entering the grounds, and there would be almost no mask mandates.The announcement stunned and alarmed city officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, who pressured tournament officials to beef up the restrictions. After a series of discussions over the next two days, the U.S. Open announced that all fans would need to provide proof of at least one Covid vaccine shot.Although it would have been better to make the decision weeks ago to give ticket holders fair warning, the announcement still pleased the tournament’s early critics, like Mark Levine, a City Council member from Manhattan who chairs the health committee and condemned the tournament’s initial lax coronavirus protocols as a dangerous health risk.“Now we can get back to enjoying great tennis without worrying that there will be a superspreader event,” he said.But while the fans are finally back, many top players will not be. Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Venus Williams, Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem, last year’s men’s champion, are skipping the tournament because of various injuries. Together, they have won 19 of the last 42 U.S. Open singles titles.Novak Djokovic has won another three. If he raises the trophy in two weeks, he will become the first player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to win the Grand Slam — all four major tournaments in the same calendar year — and the first man since Rod Laver in 1969.Djokovic’s quest will be the primary tennis theme of the tournament, as long as he doesn’t get disqualified for testing positive for the coronavirus, or some other reason. Last year, Djokovic was tossed from the tournament in the fourth round after he hit a ball in frustration off his racket and it struck a line judge.Since that ignominious exit he has won the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon, and although he lost at the recent Olympics, he is the strong favorite to make this U.S. Open memorable for something other than the coronavirus and a somewhat hectic reopening.“I know how big of an opportunity is in front of me here in New York where historically I’ve played really well over the years,” Djokovic said. “It’s probably the most entertaining tennis court that we have and the crowd will be back in the stadium.”Unlike the fans, the players are not required to be vaccinated. But they will be tested upon arrival and every four days after that. If they test positive, they must withdraw. And any unvaccinated player who is in close contact with someone who is found to have contracted the coronavirus will have to isolate for 10 days, thus ending their tournament, too. So, fans who come to see a favorite player might go home disappointed if that player, or their opponent, is forced to pull out.But several players noted that the presence of fans has a clear impact on play, whether intimidating or motivational.“I played a lot of brutal matches here over the years,” said Andy Murray, the 2012 champion. “The crowd always helped. They like people that fight, give their all, show their heart and emotion and energy and stuff on the court.”Those attending should see things as close to normal as they were in 2019, the last time spectators were permitted. The concession stands, restaurants, bars and shops will be open and fans can mill about freely — unlike last year when a smattering of devotees tried to absorb some of the feel of the tournament from outside the gates.Last year Dominic Thiem beat Alexander Zverev in the men’s final in a mostly empty stadium.Jason Szenes/EPA, via ShutterstockBut some experts remain concerned about the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, including Charles Branas, a physician and the chair of the epidemiology department at Columbia University’s School of Public Health. Dr. Branas said he is worried about people with only one shot of vaccines that require a double dose. He said they are considered under-vaccinated and do not have the full protective benefit of the vaccine.“I understand this is a big event and a lot of money and jobs are at stake and severe restrictions can be costly,” he said. “But if there is an outbreak at the event, or somewhere else that can be traced back to the event, that has a cost too in a lot of different ways. You have to balance it.”Dr. Branas was also concerned about the roofs and the ventilation of Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong stadiums when they are closed. He noted the “three Vs” that experts focus upon regarding the current situation: Vaccinations, the variant and ventilation.“A closed roof, even if there is some opening on the side, is not optimal,” he said.Similarly, Mayor de Blasio had insisted that either a vaccine mandate be imposed for the two stadiums, or the roofs on both would have to remain open, even in rain. The U.S.T.A., which spent more than $150 million on those roofs, was loath to see the costly structures sit idle in wet conditions, gumming up the tournament’s scheduling and frustrating ESPN, the main broadcaster.So it opted for the vaccine solution, and took it even further than the mayor recommended, mandating vaccines for all fans, not just those with tickets to Ashe or Armstrong. The U.S.T.A. exceeded the mayor’s requirements because about 90 percent of ticket buyers this year hold tickets to Ashe, anyway, according to the U.S.T.A., and doing the screening on the outside the grounds was seen as more efficient than doing it inside.Louis Marciani, the founder of the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience, which focuses on the safety and health of fans at sporting events, applauded the tournament’s ultimate protocols, even if they were hastily reconfigured.“We as an organization support their decision because it is based on scientific evidence and local conditions,” he said. “Let’s face it, this might not be such a good idea in a place like Las Vegas that does not have as high a vaccination rate.”Brian Hainline, a physician and a member of the U.S.T.A.’s medical advisory board, said the goal was not to prevent a single infection, but to prevent an outbreak.After that, it’s all about the tennis and the $25 lobster rolls, the end of summer and the whisper of autumn in New York. And maybe a Grand Slam, too. More

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      Can Novak Djokovic Be Invincible Again?

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      For months, the Serbian champion was unbeatable at the sport’s biggest tournaments. Then came the Olympics.For months and months this year, at the most important tennis tournaments, it seemed as if Novak Djokovic was invincible, as if he simply could not be beaten.With the biggest titles on the line, professional tennis threw everything it had at Djokovic for the first seven months of 2021. In Australia in February, he overcame a debilitating abdominal tear, snap Covid-19 lockdowns and the hottest player in the game. In Paris in June, he neutered the most dominating player a Grand Slam tournament has ever known and then staged an epic comeback to win the French Open title. At Wimbledon, he managed some of the best young players in the game as if they were hopeless children.Arriving in Tokyo for the Olympic Games, he quickly became the toast of the athletes’ village, and the gold medal — perhaps two of them — appeared to be little more than a formality.Nenad Lalovic, a fellow Serb and a member of the executive board of the International Olympic Committee, snagged the honor of presiding over the medal ceremony, certain that he would be delivering gold to a man who had become a deity in their homeland.Djokovic’s first victim, Hugo Dellien of Bolivia, asked for Djokovic’s shirt as a souvenir and told him that merely being on the court with him had been a dream come true. After matches, Djokovic headed to the weight room for nighttime training sessions. Can he lose? the rising Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was asked after Djokovic had dismantled him, 6-3, 6-1, in the round of 16 in Tokyo. “I don’t think so,” he said.Djokovic beat his first two opponents handily during the Olympic tournament.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesBut invincibility in sports can be as fleeting as it is powerful. For Djokovic, who traveled to Tokyo to collect the fourth jewel in his quest for a Golden Slam — the four Grand Slam titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year — the magic dissipated during a shocking 11-game span that lasted roughly 45 minutes, as Alexander Zverev of Germany stormed back from a set down and conquered the king.An hour later, Djokovic was back on the court, flubbing easy shots in the sweltering night during a mixed-doubles semifinal with Nina Stojanovic. They lost to a vastly inferior duo from Russia. When it was over, he sniffed back his tears and leaned on the shoulder of a teammate as he walked to the locker room.The next afternoon, he flung his racket into the stands and whacked it against the net post as he failed to find the answers against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in the bronze medal match.It all seemed so un-Djokovic, so not 2021. Djokovic has not played a competitive match since the Olympics and has remained largely silent, citing a need to rest and nurse an aching shoulder. That has left everyone to wonder which version of Djokovic will take the court this week at the U.S. Open as he tries to become the first man to win a Grand Slam since Rod Laver did so in 1969.“I can’t wait,” Djokovic said in a news conference Friday. “I’m very motivated.”Making an argument against Djokovic is nearly impossible. The U.S. Open is played on hardcourts, the surface on which Djokovic has won 12 of his 20 Grand Slam tournament titles. Djokovic’s chief rivals throughout his career, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, have pulled out as they battle advancing age and injuries. The defending champion, Dominic Thiem, also withdrew because of an injury.As in all Grand Slam tournaments, matches are best-three-of-five sets, which makes upsets less likely. At the Olympics, Zverev was on the edge of defeat and then got remarkably hot for 11 games, which was all he needed to win the match. Could he have sustained that level for another set? Perhaps, but history suggests it would have been very hard.Djokovic during his Australian Open win.Alana Holmberg for The New York TimesDjokovic is also likely to play several of his U.S. Open matches at night so that he can be featured in the prime time telecast. He is nearly unbeatable under the lights, when the afternoon heat that can be his kryptonite has subsided.John McEnroe, the seven-time Grand Slam champion and ESPN commentator, said the only person who could beat Djokovic was Djokovic. Last year, Djokovic famously lost his temper in the round of 16, accidentally swatting a ball into the throat of a line judge, resulting in an automatic disqualification.“I think he’s ready for the moment,” McEnroe said of Djokovic during a pretournament conference call on Tuesday.And yet, after Tokyo, the idea that no one can topple Djokovic on the sport’s biggest stages is no longer absurd.“For another player, it’s always good to see the vulnerability of the all-time greats,” said Paul Annacone, a former coach of Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. “It’s reassuring. But in this case, it is a very measured level of reassurance.”Invincibility is a rare commodity in tennis. There are so many matches and so many tournaments in so many countries, it’s virtually impossible not to lay the occasional egg. Martina Navratilova probably came the closest to it in 1983, when she played 87 matches and lost just once. Steffi Graf won the Golden Slam in 1988, a campaign that included a scary, 34-minute 6-0, 6-0 triumph in the French Open final. Graf lost three matches that year, but never when it counted most.As Djokovic begins his quest for perhaps the most hallowed achievement in the game, Zverev figures to be his most likely foe, especially with the memory of Tokyo still fresh.Djokovic took apart three other next-generation stars in Grand Slam finals earlier this year.Djokovic hoisted the French Open trophy in June.Pete Kiehart for The New York TimesHis final against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in Australia quickly turned into a three-set clinic. At Wimbledon, Matteo Berrettini of Italy won the opening set of the final but got no closer.Stefanos Tsitsipas, the young Greek hope, came the closest to an upset, grabbing a two-set lead in the French Open final. He then lost his serve, and his nerve, early in the third set and never recovered.Against Djokovic at the Olympics, Zverev displayed a rarely seen ability to neutralize Djokovic’s most dangerous weapon — the greatest service return in the history of the sport — with his twisting 130-mile-per-hour blasts. As the finish line drew closer, he swung even harder, unleashing strokes with a freedom that had long eluded him in the most crucial moments.Last week, Zverev blitzed Andrey Rublev of Russia in the final of the Western & Southern Open, prevailing in 58 minutes.Like everyone else, Zverev knows Djokovic is a heavy favorite, though perhaps not an invincible one. Djokovic will walk onto the courts in New York on rested legs that have not been taxed in nearly a month. Will he be fresh or rusty?“It’s definitely going to be an interesting U.S. Open,” Zverev said after the Western & Southern final. “I know where I stand. I know how I am playing.”The losses in Tokyo led Djokovic to take a hiatus. He said that he did not regret his journey to the Olympics, especially the opportunity to mingle and dine and stretch and celebrate with thousands of other athletes in the Olympic Village. After, though, he was exhausted, so he decided to skip the Western & Southern Open, which he had planned to play.Djokovic returns the ball during a practice session on Saturday ahead of the U.S. Open.Sarah Stier/Getty ImagesHe said that he could feel the pressure and the expectations mounting and that he expected fierce challenges to come from Medvedev and Zverev, but that he was trying to approach the challenges one ball at a time.“There is a slight difference in terms of what is at stake, but I don’t give it too big a significance on a daily basis,” he said.After nearly a month without competition, Djokovic has most likely put Tokyo in his rearview mirror, chalking up the experience to extreme heat and the precariousness of the best-two-of-three format. But he may need a match or three to find his rhythm and recapture that aura of inevitability he carried onto the court all year, a weapon that can be far more potent than the special drinks and energy bars he packs in his tennis bag.During her dominant run, Navratilova said, she could see in the eyes of her opponents before the first ball was hit that they knew how slim their chances were. The idea that the match might not go her way defied logic.“Your best is better than their best, your medium is better than their medium, so why would you lose?” she said.Amazingly, Djokovic has been at this level, or very close to it, twice before. In 2011 and in 2015, he won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments and dominated his chief rivals, Federer and Nadal. For long stretches, it appeared as though he might never lose.And then, eventually, he did. Nothing lasts forever, in tennis or in life, even when it somehow seems impossible that it won’t. More

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      U.S. Open: Draw Reveals Novak Djokovic’s Path to a Grand Slam

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      The only men besides Djokovic who have won Grand Slam singles titles are Marin Cilic and Andy Murray, but the women’s draw is brimming with major singles champions.Novak Djokovic has chased down all manner of records on his way to becoming one of the greatest tennis players ever. But he has never been on a tennis treasure hunt quite like this.Win the U.S. Open, which begins Monday in New York, and he will break his tie with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and take sole ownership of the record for men’s Grand Slam singles titles with 21. Win the U.S. Open, and he will also complete the Grand Slam by winning all four major tournaments in the same calendar year. No man has done it in singles since Rod Laver in 1969, including Djokovic’s career-long litmus tests of Federer and Nadal. No player has done it in singles since Steffi Graf swept the four majors in 1988, rarely losing a set along the way, and then topping it off by winning the Olympic gold medal in Seoul.That was called the Golden Slam, and Djokovic missed his chance at shining as brightly as Graf when he lost to Alexander Zverev in the semifinals of the Olympic tournament this month. Djokovic left Tokyo without a medal, citing a shoulder problem as he withdrew from the bronze medal mixed doubles match. He has not competed since leaving Japan but arrived early in New York from Europe to recover from the jet lag and prepare himself to pursue what could be the highlight of his career.After the U.S. Open draw on Thursday, the top-seeded Djokovic now has a clearer idea of what awaits him, but hardly full clarity. He will face a qualifier in round one (the qualifying tournament is not yet complete) and would then face Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany or Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in the second round. Djokovic is 6-0 against Struff and defeated him in the second round of the Olympics in straight sets. Djokovic has yet to face Griekspoor, who is ranked 110th.After that, Djokovic’s path becomes more a matter of conjecture. His third-round opponent could be Kei Nishikori, David Goffin or Mackenzie McDonald, the former U.C.L.A. star who is having a solid season. Djokovic’s fourth-round opponent could be Alex de Minaur or Aslan Karatsev, the Russian who made a surprise run to the Australian Open semifinals in January before losing to Djokovic, and then upset Djokovic in his home city of Belgrade on clay in the semifinals of the Serbia Open in April.But Karatsev has struggled to win a singles match lately and top form will presumably be required to derail Djokovic in New York. He is a man on a mission and has proved through the years that he can handle the pressure that goes with daunting assignments. He has defeated Nadal twice on clay at his stronghold of Roland Garros, and toppled Federer three times on grass at his stronghold of Wimbledon.Neither Federer nor Nadal will be in his way in New York. Both are out for the season (or beyond) with injuries. So is Dominic Thiem, the reigning U.S. Open men’s singles champion, who has been slow to recover from a wrist problem. Other than Djokovic, the only men in the U.S. Open draw who have won Grand Slam singles titles are Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion who has dropped to 36th in the rankings, and Andy Murray, who is No. 114 and still chasing his past form after hip resurfacing surgery.Even with Serena Williams’s and Venus Williams’s withdrawals from the tournament, the women’s draw is brimming with major singles champions. There are 13 in all, including the No. 1-seeded Ashleigh Barty and No. 3 Naomi Osaka, a two-time U.S. Open champion who is in the same eighth of the draw as the past U.S. Open champions Sloane Stephens and Angelique Kerber. Stephens, now unseeded, will face Madison Keys in the first round in a rematch of their all-American 2017 U.S. Open final. The winner is likely to face Coco Gauff, 17, if Gauff can get past her tough first-round opponent, the 51st-ranked Magda Linette.History argues against Djokovic having a cakewalk to the Grand Slam. The most recent player to come close — Serena Williams — was shocked in the semifinals of the 2015 U.S. Open by Roberta Vinci, an underpowered but resourceful Italian who was able to embrace that bright-spotlight moment with far more free-swinging panache than Williams.“Serena was two matches away from the Grand Slam, and you never would have thought she would lose to Vinci, but that’s the greatness of the challenge,” said Brad Gilbert, a former top-five player who is now a coach and ESPN analyst.Strange twists can occur with so much on the line, and Djokovic certainly can speak to strange twists in New York. He eliminated himself in the fourth round last year by inadvertently striking a lineswoman in the throat with a ball he hit after losing his serve in the opening set against Pablo Carreño Busta. Djokovic was defaulted and then lost to Nadal in last year’s French Open final. But Djokovic has not been beaten in Grand Slam play since then, and the biggest threats in New York are likely to be the leaders of the new generation: Zverev and Matteo Berrettini, who are in Djokovic’s half of the draw; and Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who are in the other half.All four have reached Grand Slam singles finals in the last 12 months. None has yet broken through. Medvedev lost in straight sets to Djokovic in the Australian Open final in February. Tsitsipas lost in five sets to Djokovic in the French Open final in June, and Berrettini lost to Djokovic in four sets in the Wimbledon final in July. They are all gifted, taller than the 6-foot-2 Djokovic, and hungry. They all have big-match experience against him, so if Djokovic does not bring his best down the stretch at Flushing Meadows, it is hard to see him winning.But though Medvedev, Tsitsipas and Zverev have each beaten Djokovic multiple times, none has yet beaten him in a best-of-five-set match. At age 34, Djokovic remains the best long-form player and most reliable closer in tennis. He is just seven matches away from standing alone in the men’s major count and joining a very exclusive club with a Grand Slam.That double quest would make headlines in any year, but without Nadal, Federer and the Williams sisters in this U.S. Open, it deserves our attention right from the start. More

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      Heading Into the U.S. Open, Novak Djokovic Knows His Role

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      Heading into the United States Open, an opportunity to win all four majors in the same calendar year has not altered his outlook on life and tennis.Novak Djokovic has spent a lot of time thinking about his tombstone. He has even imagined people visiting his gravesite and reading the words.“Ninety-nine percent of the people on this planet, if you ask them what is the most important thing in your life, would say it’s family, love, health, happiness,” Djokovic said during a late-evening video call from Montenegro this month during his family’s vacation. “So I would say those four things and I would add that I want to be the best father and husband that I could possibly be.“And I would also like to be remembered as a person that was a giver and the person that cared about others and left a mark on the world and that inspired others and that lived life to the fullest. That is, for me, the definition of how I would like to look back at my life on the last days of my life.”So, he was asked, he would not want his epitaph to say, “Here lies the winner of the Grand Slam?”“No, no, no,” he said quickly and emphatically. “Somebody coming to visit me there and looking at the tombstone, I wouldn’t want it written like he has been the best, most successful tennis player in history. Of course, that is a very, very important part of my life and something that I’m devoted to. But if I have to put it on a scale and compare what is more important, it’s a no-brainer for me.”Djokovic on his way to defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the French Open final in June.Pete Kiehart for The New York TimesHeading into the United States Open, which begins on Monday, Djokovic is seven match wins away from achieving the most elusive and coveted goal in tennis: the Grand Slam, winning all four majors in the same calendar year. Already he has captured the singles titles at the Australian and French Opens and Wimbledon. A victory at the U.S. Open would equal the feat of just five players — Don Budge in 1938, Maureen Connolly in 1953, Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969, Margaret Court in 1970, and Steffi Graf in 1988. Graf also won an Olympic gold medal that year, earning her a Golden Slam, something that eluded Djokovic when he lost in the semifinals in Tokyo last month.With his win at Wimbledon last month, Djokovic, 34, tied Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with 20 major championships. A win at the U.S. Open would break the tie. Djokovic leads both in head-to-head meetings. He is 27-23 against Federer and 30-28 against Nadal.Djokovic also has been the ATP’s top-ranked player for a record 336 weeks, and he is on track to break Pete Sampras’ record by ending the season ranked No. 1 seven times. He has won 36 ATP Masters 1000 titles and has captured the ATP Finals five times.With the 40-year-old Federer out of the U.S. Open after knee surgery, and with Nadal, 35, also pulling out with a foot ailment, Djokovic’s chances for more records seem increasingly likely. Dominic Thiem, the defending Open champion, has also pulled out with a wrist injury.For all of the head-scratching moves Djokovic has made — such as holding a much-maligned exhibition tour in Belgrade in the middle of the pandemic, hitting a line judge in the throat with an anger-filled swipe during last year’s U.S. Open, upsetting the tennis establishment by trying to start the breakaway Professional Tennis Players Association and even denying his countrywoman Nina Stojanovic a possible bronze medal when he pulled out of the mixed doubles playoff at the Olympics — there is much to like about the guy.He is unfailingly polite, remembers people’s names, says please and thank you a lot, and almost always compliments an opponent’s play whether he wins or loses.Through his foundation, he and his wife, Jelena, have supported about 47,500 children in Serbia. This spring, he put up well over $1 million to host two ATP tournaments and one WTA tournament in Belgrade after other events in the world were canceled because of the pandemic and then ensured their success by being the headliner in both.Djokovic announced that he was playing in the Olympics in a video birthday message to a 6-year-old Japanese boy. He also noticed, during his Wimbledon final against Matteo Berrettini, a young girl sitting courtside and holding up a sign with encouraging words. After his victory, he trotted over and handed the girl his winning racket. In Tokyo, he stayed in the Olympic Village, something most other top players declined to do, and spent time giving fellow athletes tips for success.One of the people Djokovic has encouraged is the 20-year-old Serbian player Olga Danilovic. At the Australian Open in January, Danilovic made her way through qualifying and was locked in a first-round battle with Petra Martic. Suddenly she looked up and saw Djokovic watching her match. The support, she said, helped her upset Martic, the No. 16 seed.“People judge a book by its cover and in this case it’s really wrong,” said Danilovic, who cherishes a racket Djokovic gave her. “For me, he is one of the greatest persons in the world. He gives support when you need it and you can always see his fighting spirit.”As a child, Djokovic shunned math and science in favor of more creative subjects like geography and linguistics. (He speaks six languages.) But throughout his career, he has sought a competitive advantage by dabbling in everything from sports psychology and mysticism to quantum physics and electricity. He has been known to travel with an R.V. that he parks outside tennis stadiums and uses to decompress.“Novak is an exceedingly bright man,” said the performance psychologist Jim Loehr, who worked with Djokovic from 2012 to 2014. Djokovic has said his book “The Only Way to Win” is his favorite. “He loves abstract things and his brain likes to dig in for more detailed meanings. He has an inexhaustible curiosity about how the mind and body work together and never wants to leave a single stone unturned in his drive to succeed.”Djokovic arguing with a referee at the Italian Open in 2020.Pool photo by Clive BrunskillDjokovic has struggled to gain the adoration that has followed Federer and Nadal. He is known for smashing rackets and for screaming and cursing in the direction of his player box. In 2007, he angered Nadal by publicly imitating the Spaniard’s idiosyncrasies in a televised interview at the U.S. Open. The next year he was booed as he left the court after he criticized Andy Roddick for accusing him of taking excessive medical timeouts during matches.“I understand him when he’s yelling on the court,” said the Hall of Famer Goran Ivanisevic, a former Wimbledon champion and one of Djokovic’s two coaches, alongside Marian Vajda. “We are from the Balkans so we are a little more emotional than the others.”Djokovic knows that it will be hard to win over the New York crowd, especially after the stadium was empty last year when he was disqualified for hitting the line judge.“One thing I’ve found is that people are not really comfortable with the constant change of me as a player and as a person,” Djokovic said. “But I’m actually proud of that because what is life if it’s not an evolution. We’re all trying to understand ourselves on a deeper level. As a professional tennis player, I’m left out there alone by myself on the court and I have to deal with all of my demons. So if I break a racket and I shout and I curse, don’t think that’s something that I intend to do prior to the match and that I’m proud of. Absolutely not. I’m actually ashamed of that. But I’m not afraid to say: ‘Look, I’m flawed. I made a mistake and I’ll probably make that mistake again.’“Some people would say, ‘You have so many years on the court, you’re wiser, you’re smarter, you’re more experienced, you should know how to behave and send the right message to the kids,’” he added. “And that’s correct. I 100 percent agree with that. But it’s not possible for me to always be like that and I can’t always put myself down for it.”To be Djokovic is to be the hard-to-decipher middle piece in a 1,000-piece puzzle. He is not the easy-to-locate corner or even a colorful edge. He craves love and adoration but makes them as difficult to secure as winning the Grand Slam. And maybe, as he goes for the most important title of his career, they are what he needs most.“I’m not good at convincing people to like me,” Djokovic said with a laugh. “Some people might argue I am trying very hard to be loved. I’m not. I’m just a human being that goes through various intensity levels of different emotions when I’m on the court. It’s all about the game face when I’m playing and about finding a way to win. But if you ask me whether I like to be in a hostile environment to play, I’ll tell you no, I don’t. I would like to be supported all times.”Perhaps winning the U.S. Open, and the Grand Slam, will alter people’s perceptions of Djokovic. If not, he will have to live with that.“I’m not going to try to convince people to like me,” he said just before saying good night. “I’m just going to always be my authentic self.” More

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      Top Stars in Tennis Choose Rest Ahead of the U.S. Open

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      The year’s final Grand Slam tournament begins in less than three weeks, but players including Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have chosen to skip the usual hardcourt warm-up events.As the tennis tours warm up for the U.S. Open in the summer heat of North America, the sport’s most accomplished players will arrive in New York cold.The five active players with the most Grand Slam singles titles to their names — Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams — are missing from both this week’s National Bank Open in Toronto and Montreal, and next week’s Western & Southern Open in the Cincinnati suburbs. The veterans have all played selective schedules this year, but their wholesale absence from the warm-up to the year’s final major tournament, which begins on Aug. 30, is striking.Djokovic, 34, was the only one of the group to compete at the Tokyo Olympics, while Federer, Nadal, and Serena Williams opted out, and Venus Williams’s singles ranking of 112 did not qualify her for the Olympics.Djokovic’s bid for his first gold medal ended in disappointment. After reaching the semifinals in both singles and mixed doubles, Djokovic lost the singles bronze medal match to Pablo Carreño Busta, and pulled out of the mixed doubles bronze medal match citing a left shoulder injury.Djokovic, who will attempt in New York to become the first man to win all four Grand Slam singles titles in the calendar year since 1969, blamed his withdrawal from Cincinnati on fatigue.“I am taking a bit longer to recover and recuperate after quite a taxing journey from Australia to Tokyo,” Djokovic, the Western & Southern defending champion, said. “Sadly, that means I won’t be ready to compete in Cincinnati this year so I’ll turn my focus and attention to U.S. Open and spend some more time with family. See you in New York soon!”Nadal, 35, is the only one of the group to have played a warm-up event in North America. After withdrawing from both Wimbledon and the Olympics with a left foot injury, he played two matches at the Citi Open in Washington, beating Jack Sock before losing to the 50th-ranked Lloyd Harris.Nadal, who has a longstanding foot problem because his navicular bone did not correctly ossify during childhood, was upbeat about his progress after his loss to Harris.“Best news: the foot was better than yesterday,” Nadal said last week. “I was able to move a bit better, so that is very important, especially for me personally, to keep enjoying the sport and keep having energy, believing that important things are possible.”But after further practices in Washington and Toronto, Nadal withdrew from the National Bank Open on Tuesday.“I was suffering, especially in that first match,” Nadal said Tuesday of his play in Washington. “And I was suffering on the practices, too. But you always expect an improvement or you hope to improve, and that’s why I came here. And this improvement didn’t happen, no? So I really believe that I am not able to compete at the level that I need because the foot won’t allow me to move the way that I need.”Federer, who turned 40 on Sunday, cited the knee injury that forced him out of the Olympics in withdrawing from Toronto and Cincinnati.Serena Williams, who turns 40 next month, cited a leg injury on Tuesday in withdrawing from Cincinnati. Her WTA Tour ranking has fallen to 20th.Naomi Osaka, the defending U.S. Open champion, lost her third-round match at the Tokyo Olympics, but planned to play in Cincinnati.Seth Wenig/Associated PressWomen’s tennis has already had several torch-passing moments on the Grand Slam stage, like Naomi Osaka beating Williams in the final of the 2018 U.S. Open and in the semifinals of this year’s Australian Open.Osaka was already on her way to Cincinnati, her agent Stuart Duguid said on Wednesday. Osaka, 23, is the defending champion at the U.S. Open this year.The men, however, have lacked similar transition moments at the sport’s biggest events. When Dominic Thiem won last year’s U.S. Open at 27, he did so without having to face any of the so-called Big Three. Nadal and Federer both missed the tournament, and Djokovic defaulted from his fourth-round match after hitting a lineswoman with a ball. Thiem has been out of competition since June when he suffered an acute right wrist injury at a tournament in Majorca. He posted on Instagram on Wednesday that he was “swapping the splint for my racket again.”Thiem’s U.S. Open win last year remains the only Grand Slam singles championship won by a man born in the 1990s; 17 Grand Slam titles have been won by women born in that decade, with two more won by women born in the 2000s.Asked about the absence of established stars in the wake of Nadal’s withdrawal, the third-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas pointed out the problem’s upside.“I think there is room for new stars,” Tsitsipas said after his second-round win in Toronto. “It’s been a lot about them in recent years, and I think now it’s showing that things are changing. We see a different generation of players stepping up and showing what they are capable of.“It’s interesting to have this kind of variation and change of thrones, let’s call it,” Tsitsipas added. “It’s interesting for our game. We, ourselves, we have generated our own team of people and fans that support us, give us love, and are there for us in each single match following us.”One fan seemed plenty excited for Tsitsipas in Toronto, begging “please touch me!” as he reached down toward him.There was no physical contact, but the fan left satisfied. “He smiled at me! He literally smiled!” More