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    Novak Djokovic Defeats Cameron Norrie to Get to Wimbledon Final

    Kyrgios is playing in his first Grand Slam singles final, and Djokovic may be playing in his last until next year’s French Open.WIMBLEDON, England — In the last year, Novak Djokovic has experienced the highest of tennis highs, coming within one match of winning a rare calendar-year Grand Slam and the lowest of lows, including detainment and deportation after he arrived in Melbourne in January to try to defend his Australian Open title.On Sunday, he will get a chance to win a seventh Wimbledon singles title against an opponent, Nick Kyrgios of Australia, that few, including Kyrgios himself, thought would ever find the mental strength required to arrive at the biggest stage in the sport.Djokovic earned his spot in the final with a four-set win over Cameron Norrie of Britain on Friday afternoon, overcoming some early-match inconsistency that is becoming a bit of a habit. He withstood both a strong start from Norrie and a raucous hometown crowd on Centre Court to win the semifinal, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.It was the only men’s semifinal played Friday.On Thursday, Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament with a tear in his abdominal muscle. Nadal’s decision not to play after he aggravated the tear in his five-set, quarterfinal victory over Taylor Fritz, allowed Kyrgios to advance without effort into his first Grand Slam singles final. It also ended the hope for a coveted showdown between Djokovic and Nadal, who have won a combined 42 Grand Slam titles but have played each other for the trophy at Wimbledon only once, in 2011. Djokovic won.What the matchup with Kyrgios in the final might lack in terms of historical value — no one, not even Kyrgios, expects him to evolve, at 27, into an all-time great — it may well make up for with drama. It is a duel between two players that many in and around the sport view as villains.Djokovic’s impetuous and contrarian behavior, especially compared with his chief rivals, the gentlemanly Nadal and Roger Federer, has long made him more feared than loved, a crasher of the binary tennis rivalry that Federer and Nadal first created more than 15 years ago.Kyrgios, a temperamental and explosive talent who has spent his career battling the tennis establishment and his own demons, is an uncontrollable and disruptive force who has put himself in the heat of the Wimbledon spotlight since the first days of this tournament.He can explode at any moment, and he has repeatedly in the past two weeks, at chair umpires, opponents, fans or anyone he views as treating him unjustly. Sometimes it is genuine, other times it is merely to shake up and distract his opponent. He has earned $14,000 in fines this tournament but has played to packed stadiums, with fans lusting for his booming serve, or the occasional underhanded one, and his through-the-legs trick shots.On Tuesday, news broke that Kyrgios was due in court on Aug. 2 to face allegations of assaulting a former girlfriend. Chiara Passari told police Kyrgios grabbed her during a domestic dispute in December. On the advice of his lawyers, Kyrgios has declined to comment on the allegations.“There’s going to be a lot of fireworks emotionally,” said Djokovic, a favorite in the match even though he has never beaten or even won a set against Kyrgios.Djokovic and Kyrgios have not played since 2017, and they have never played in a Grand Slam event. But the two sparred verbally at the Australian Open in 2021, a tournament that took place during the height of the pandemic.Djokovic criticized tournament organizers for the restrictions they placed on players arriving in Australia for the tournament. Most players were under a limited two-week quarantine, but many ended up confined to their rooms for 14 days after a handful of people on their special flights into the country tested positive for Covid-19.Kyrgios had remained in Australia for most of the first year of the pandemic, dedicating time to delivering food and other supplies to people who struggled to get them during the country’s strict lockdowns. Djokovic, who has refused to get vaccinated, has been skeptical of the public health community’s management of the pandemic.Long before officials began to give the green light to public gatherings, he staged a tennis exhibition that turned into a superspreader event. Then, shortly after arriving in Australia, he criticized the rules.“Djokovic is a tool,” Kyrgios wrote on Twitter.Djokovic then said in a news conference that he respected Kyrgios’s tennis talents but had no respect for him off the court.Kyrgios hit back, saying he could not take Djokovic’s criticism seriously, given Djokovic’s behavior.“He’s a very strange cat, Novak is,” he said. “A heck of a tennis player but unfortunately someone who’s partying with his shirt off during a global pandemic, I don’t know if I can take any slack from that man.”They have since reached a détente of sorts. It began earlier this year, when Kyrgios spoke up on Djokovic’s behalf after Djokovic was detained in Australia during the controversy over his vaccination status, which ultimately led to his deportation.Kyrgios even described it Friday as a kind of “bromance.” Djokovic would not go that far.“I think everyone knows there was no love lost for a while there,” Kyrgios said. “I think it was healthy for the sport. I think every time we played each other, there was hype around it.”Djokovic said relations were far better than they had been.“When it was really tough for me in Australia, he was one of the very few players that came out publicly and supported me and stood by me,” he said. “That’s something I truly appreciate.”Djokovic remains unvaccinated, and unless the United States and Australia change their rules, Sunday’s final may be his last Grand Slam match for nearly 11 months, and he does not expect it to be easy.“He plays lights-out every time he steps out onto the court,” Djokovic said of Kyrgios. “Just a lot of power in his serve and his game. So I’m sure he’s going to go for it.”Djokovic struggled to go for it initially Friday on a sun-splashed, 80-degree day that meteorologists in London were calling a heat wave. Norrie, a steady, never-say-die lefty, was the better player early and into the first games of the second set, going toe-to-toe and trying to out-rally the best rallier in the world.Djokovic struggled with his serve and to find his trademark precision on his groundstrokes. He also doesn’t much care for playing in the heat. Midway through the first set, with Norrie pushing ahead, Djokovic settled into his chair and draped a towel over his head as the packed Centre Court crowd roared for a countryman with a home just up the road.Norrie, who lives so close to the All England Club that he cycled to the grounds earlier in the tournament, smacked an ace to win the set, pumped his fist and basked in the sound. In addition to the crowd inside the stadium, there were thousands more picnicking and downing beers and Pimm’s on Henman Hill as they watched the match on a big screen.But Djokovic is so good at taking an opponent’s best — and the chiding of a crowd — and biding his time for an opening to appear. He did so when he dropped a set in the fourth round to the hot, Dutch unknown, Tim van Rijthoven, and in the quarterfinals when he dropped the first two sets to Jannik Sinner of Italy, one of the world’s great young players.Djokovic put a baseball cap on to protect himself from the heat of the sun, and midway through the set he stopped giving free points to Norrie. Suddenly, Norrie found himself fighting off break points every time he served. In the eighth game of the set, Norrie sent a forehand long to give Djokovic a 5-3 lead. Djokovic turned to his box and clinched his fist, as if to say, “Don’t worry, I got this.”There was never any doubt. Djokovic sprinted through the third set as Norrie’s game slipped, and he grabbed an early service break in the fourth. Norrie battled to keep it close, but ultimately that was all he could do. A small victory but not the one he wanted.On the final point, Djokovic, who has played 68 Grand Slam tournaments and made the finals 32 times, crushed a serve down the middle, then turned to bait a fan who had yelled to try to disrupt his last stroke. He later claimed with a smile that he was blowing kisses to one that had supported him.Now he faces Kyrgios, a player he said he and others had long seen as among the most dangerous in the world if he could ever get control of his emotions and be committed to the sport, which he has, at least for now.“For the quality player that he is,” Djokovic said of Kyrgios, “this is where he needs to be, and he deserves to be.” More

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    2021 French Open: What to Watch on Saturday

    Iga Swiatek, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic feature on Court Philippe-Chatrier on the second day of third round action.How to watch: 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern time on the Tennis Channel, noon to 2 p.m. on NBC and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Peacock; streaming on the Tennis Channel+ and Peacock apps.It is difficult to ignore the fact that Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will all be playing on Saturday afternoon in Paris. As appealing a draw as they might be, against three unseeded players, there are minuscule chances for upsets as the “Big Three” march forward.Direct your attention to the women’s draw; packed with exceptional matches from dawn on the East Coast until dusk in Paris. Although last year’s champion, Iga Swiatek, will be the main focus, plenty of other contests are sure to entertain.Here are some matches to keep an eye on.Because of the number of matches cycling through courts, the times for individual matchups are estimates and may fluctuate based on when earlier play is completed. All times are Eastern.Suzanne Lenglen Court | 8 a.m.Sofia Kenin vs. Jessica PegulaSofia Kenin, the fourth seed, has had a pair of tough matches to start at Roland Garros. The former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko was an early test in the first round. Kenin reached the final last year but lost at the Australian Open in the second round earlier this year. Now, with a couple of wins under her belt, it seems that Kenin is regaining the confidence necessary to push into the second week of the French Open.Jessica Pegula, the 28th seed, has had an excellent run of form this year. She reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in February, recording a pair of upsets over Victoria Azarenka and Elina Svitolina along the way. In the past few months, she has also recorded multiple victories over Karolina Plíšková and Naomi Osaka. With this in mind, Pegula will feel she is well matched to challenge Kenin, even though Kenin came out victorious in their match earlier this year.Rafael Nadal returns the ball to France’s Richard Gasquet during their second round match.Anne-Christine Poujoulat/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesSuzanne Lenglen Court | 10 a.m.Rafael Nadal vs. Cameron NorrieCameron Norrie, ranked No. 45, has had a breakout year. He has reached the third round of a Grand Slam event in three of his past four attempts and reached the final of two clay court events in May. This run will push him into the top 40 for the first time in his career, but Rafael Nadal is likely to end Norrie’s French Open.Nadal, the 13-time French Open champion, has won 102 of his 104 matches played on the grounds of Roland Garros. It’s a stunning statistic, even without considering the caliber of players that he has battled against throughout the years. He has once again looked dominant, not dropping a set on his way to the third round. For the time being, there doesn’t seem to be any challenger worth discussing as a successor for Nadal, and it makes his march to the final an almost foregone conclusion.Coco Gauff playing a forehand during her second round match.Adam Pretty/Getty ImagesSuzanne Lenglen Court | 1 p.m.Coco Gauff vs. Jennifer BradyJennifer Brady, the 13th seed, needed steely determination to push through her second round match against Fiona Ferro. Brady was down a break on two occasions in the final set, but she managed to fight back, using her powerful forehand strokes to force Ferro around the court. The match took over two hours, and it will be interesting to see whether Brady can bring that same energy into her next challenge against talented Coco Gauff.Gauff, the 24th seed, has slowly been establishing herself as a serious contender on the WTA Tour. After breakout performances at the U.S. Open and Wimbledon in 2019, Gauff had a quiet 2020 season, but she is now working her way up the rankings. Although she has lost her only match against Brady, Gauff’s game has progressed well since then, and she will be confident that she can edge out an upset in this competitive matchup.Court 14 | 7 a.m.Jannik Sinner vs. Mikael YmerJannik Sinner, the 18th seed, is at the lead of an Italian renaissance in tennis. The 19-year-old reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2020, and the finals of the Miami Open, a masters level event, earlier this year. Although he has looked slightly inconsistent on clay over the past few months, there have been shining moments, even in defeat to some of the best players on the tour. If he can settle into matches early and try to control them from the start, anything could be possible.Mikael Ymer, ranked No. 105, upset the 14th seed, Gael Monfils, in the second round over four sets. Ymer has begun to show serious results in 2021, reaching the third round at the Australian Open and now again at Roland Garros. Ymer’s hard-striking baseline game is not particularly well suited to clay, but his athleticism can help him overcome deficiencies in his play on any given day.Here are a few more matches to keep an eye on.Sloane Stephens vs. Karolina Muchová; Simonne-Mathieu Court, 5 a.m.Elina Svitolina vs. Barbora Krejčíková; Philippe-Chatrier Court, 6 a.m.Novak Djokovic vs. Ričardas Berankis; Philippe-Chatrier Court, 8 a.m.Ons Jabeur vs. Magda Linette; Court 14, 10 a.m.Iga Swiatek vs. Anett Kontaveit; Philippe-Chatrier Court, 11 a.m.Roger Federer vs. Dominik Koepfer; Philippe-Chatrier Court, 3 p.m. More

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    Making Week 2 of a Grand Slam Is a Leap. And Not Just for an Extra $80,000 in Australia.

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Australian OpenWhat to Watch TodayHow to WatchThe Players to KnowFans in Virus LockdownAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyMaking Week 2 of a Grand Slam Is a Leap. And Not Just for an Extra $80,000 in Australia.The prestige and difficulty of reaching the round of 16 in a tennis major means many players need multiple tries to break through.Filip Krajinovic, right, lost to Daniil Medvedev in the third round of the Australian Open.Credit…Jaimi Joy/ReutersFeb. 13, 2021, 10:12 a.m. ETMELBOURNE, Australia — Filip Krajinovic was closing in on the fourth round when, in the fifth set of his match on Saturday against Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open, he retreated as if zapped by an invisible electric fence.Krajinovic had pushed the fourth-ranked Medvedev around the court at Rod Laver Arena while winning the third and fourth sets. But instead of his momentum carrying him into his first Grand Slam round of 16, Krajinovic won only 12 points in the decisive set as Medvedev prevailed 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-0.What happened?Krajinovic hit the tennis equivalent of the Olympic marathoner’s 20-mile wall. His higher-ranked opponent shifted into a higher gear and a tight, tired Krajinovic lost his nerve.“He was the guy who was going for his shots at the end,” Krajinovic said, referring to the fourth-ranked Medvedev, who has won 17 consecutive matches dating to the ATP finals last November in London.For Krajinovic, a Serbian player ranked 33rd, a lot was riding on the outcome of his fourth third-round appearance in his 17th Grand Slam. From the third round to the fourth round is a huge leap in class, akin to moving up in a jumbo jet from the 32 seats in coach to the 16 in first class, with $245,920 — an $80,692 increase over third-round money — stuffed in the zipped goody packet on the seat.At 28, Krajinovic is three years older than Medvedev, a Russian with nine ATP titles to Krajinovic’s zero.“I feel I’m improving, and that’s the most important thing,” Krajinovic said, adding, “I need to go back to work. If I work and I’m focused, I deserve it. I’m sure that someone upstairs is watching.”Medvedev had twice gotten as far as the third round in a Grand Slam before pushing through to the fourth on his third try. Against Krajinovic, he said, “for sure experience is a key.”He added: “I stayed calm. Maybe that’s why in the fifth set he started to do just a little bit more mistakes, just playing a little bit slower.”Medvedev likened the draw in the four majors to the steepest of all tennis ladders. “You need to make step by step,” said Medvedev, who added of Krajinovic, “I feel like if he will reproduce what he did today on the court, he can be in top 20 for years to come.”The 22-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud, like Krajinovic, was also playing in the third round of a Grand Slam for the fourth time. He’ll never forget his first time: It was at the 2019 French Open and he lost 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (8) to Roger Federer, the men’s career Grand Slam titleholder who is now tied with Rafael Nadal at 20 majors each. “You kind of think more of the experience of being in the third round than thinking about actually winning the match,” Ruud said.This time was different. Ruud, a former world No. 1 junior who has been ranked as high as No. 25, saw an opening against the 85th-ranked Radu Albot, who upset the No. 12 seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round.“I’ve had some tough draws, but I also really felt that this was a chance for me to break through,” said Ruud, who turned back Albot of Moldova, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, in two hours, 58 minutes.“I’m happy to have broken the barrier,” said Ruud, who became the second Norwegian after his father, Christian, in 1997, to reach the round of 16 in this tournament.Shelby Rogers beat the No. 21 seed Anett Kontaveit to reach the fourth round. “I think there is this little bit of aura around the second week of a slam,” she said.Credit…Quinn Rooney/Getty ImagesOn the women’s side, three Americans advanced to the fourth round on Saturday. Jessica Pegula set the pace, beating Kristina Mladenovic in the first match at John Cain Arena. She passed the baton to Jennifer Brady, who beat Kaja Juvan in the second match on the same court.Shelby Rogers, the 57th-ranked player from South Carolina, saw that her friends had advanced and, not wanting to be left behind, went out and beat the No. 21 seed Anett Kontaveit on the first night match at Rod Laver Arena.“I think there is this little bit of aura around the second week of a slam,” said Rogers, 28, who has reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam twice, at the 2016 French Open and the 2020 United States Open. Her fourth-round opponent will be the world No. 1, Ashleigh Barty of Australia.Pegula, 27, is the only one of the U.S. trio who is breaking new ground by reaching the fourth round in singles. She upset No. 13 Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, in her opening match and has dropped 13 games in three matches. She said the groundwork for her victory on Saturday was laid in her straight-sets defeat to Petra Kvitova, a former world No. 2, in the third round of the U.S. Open last year.“With women’s tennis, I think the depth is so good right now,” said Pegula, whose next opponent is the fifth-ranked Elina Svitolina. “Sometimes figuring out how to scrape by the first week is really important when you’re not playing well. I think the best players find ways to win on their worst days.”Nadal, the world No. 2 who is bidding for a record 21st Grand Slam singles title, has found a way to scrape by during the first week with a balky back. His opponent on Saturday night was his British doppelgänger, Cameron Norrie, a lefthander who hits with a heavy topspin and defends well.Norrie, 25, has never advanced past the third round and his breakthrough will have to wait. Nadal, 34, handed him a 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 defeat at Rod Laver Arena. Norrie described the match as a good experience and said he’ll take “a lot” of positives from it. “I left the court feeling like I want to get better,” Norrie said.He added, “I did everything to try to make the second week. Rafa was too good.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More