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      How Is Nikola Jokic This Good Again?

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      With his seamless passing and box-score-busting offense, Jokic, the superstar Denver Nuggets center, is showing why his coach calls him a “generational talent.”DENVER — Nikola Jokic didn’t look like himself in some ways. He was missing layups and had been called for a technical foul. He made silly turnovers, was late on several defensive rotations and tallied just two assists in the first half.But by the time that game against the Charlotte Hornets was over, Jokic had amassed an eye-popping stat line: 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists. It was the first time a player had compiled at least 35 points, 25 rebounds and 10 assists since Wilt Chamberlain did so in 1968. Jokic set a Denver Nuggets record by grabbing 20 rebounds in the first half alone, amid all of his miscues.That’s the level Jokic is at nowadays: Even his off games are record-breaking.“I didn’t know it was a 40, 27 and 10 night,” Nuggets Coach Michael Malone said after the game Sunday. “But I knew that he was having just another Nikola Jokic stellar performance.”The next game was Tuesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, the only team standing between the Nuggets and the best record in the Western Conference. Jokic meticulously dismantled Memphis by tossing out 13 assists, feeding his teammates as if he were Mary Poppins among birds, as part of a triple-double in a 14-point win.The almost routine dominance of Jokic — Malone called him “a generational talent” — is bolstering his case to become the first N.B.A. player to win three straight Most Valuable Player Awards since Larry Bird, who won from 1984 to 1986 with the Boston Celtics. The only other players to do so were Wilt Chamberlain (1966 to 1968 with the 76ers) and Bill Russell (1961 to 1963 with Boston).But it’s not just awards that set Jokic apart from other stars.Some players seem to defy the laws of physics with their athleticism. Jokic is not fast. His vertical is more of a horizontal. He isn’t particularly muscular and often looks winded, with his shoulders sagging. When he shoots 3-pointers, he slowly winds up and casually flicks his wrist, as if basketball is interrupting his day.Yet Jokic, 27, makes flashy passes look effortless and punishes opponents with brute force at the basket. Alex English, a Hall of Famer who won a scoring title for the Nuggets in 1983, said Jokic makes it seem like he “doesn’t have to work so hard.”“His footwork is just unbelievable,” English said. “Guys, they don’t know what he’s going to do because he’s got such great footwork. He is just the total package.”Early in the third quarter against Memphis on Tuesday, Jokic caught the ball near the perimeter, instantly tossed the ball between his legs without looking and found a cutting Bruce Brown for a dunk, drawing oohs and aahs from the crowd. That was the amuse-bouche for minutes later, when he coolly tossed a blind over-the-head pass from the low post to Aaron Gordon for another dunk.“You just have to be ready for the ball, no matter where you are or where he is on the court because he can find you,” Zeke Nnaji, a third-year reserve forward for the Nuggets, said in the locker room on Sunday.When Jokic is on the court, the Nuggets’ offense is on par with the league’s best teams. When he sits, it is the worst, a remarkable swing. This year, teammates like Gordon, Brown and guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are having great years, in part because of the open shots Jokic has created. In the case of Brown, roughly half his shots have been “open” or “wide open,” according to the league’s tracking numbers. Last year, when Brown was with the Nets, that number was only 38.3 percent.One of the most effective plays the Nuggets run involves Jokic catching the ball around the free-throw line, leaving the entire court at his disposal. If a double team comes, Jokic casually finds shooters or cutters. If he is single-covered, Jokic simply backs down the defender or shoots over him. He doesn’t move quickly. He gets to where he needs to go, or makes sure the ball does.Jokic, for the third straight season, is leading the league in multiple advanced statistical categories, in large part because of his ruthless efficiency. He’s averaging 24.7 points a game, and his true shooting percentage (a measure of scoring efficiency that factors in free throws) — is 68.8 percent. No one has ever averaged 20 points per game with at least 69 percent true shooting for a season. (During the 1981-82 season, Artis Gilmore averaged 18.5 points a game on 70.2 percent true shooting.)And Jokic does have shortcomings: He’s not a strong defender, even though he’s the only center in the league’s top 20 in steals. Opposing teams with quick guards often look to attack him when he’s on defense. In the two games this week, Hornets and Grizzlies guards sought Jokic out in transition and stepped right around him for easy layups.Quick guards, like Charlotte’s Terry Rozier, center, often can zip past Jokic.Isaiah J. Downing/USA Today Sports, via ReutersHis matchup against Memphis guard Ja Morant on Tuesday was a battle in contrasts. Morant is a high-flying speedster who seems to have an internal joystick set to turbo at all times. Jokic, listed at 6-foot-11, has nine dunks on the year. Morant, at 6-foot-2, has 19. Though the Grizzlies lost, Morant’s output was certainly that of a superstar — 35 points and 10 assists — and he, like Jokic, could be in the conversation for the M.V.P. Award.Several players have won twice in a row, including Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo immediately before Jokic. But few have won the following year, even if, like Jokic, they continued to play well. Michael Wilbon, the ESPN broadcaster and longtime M.V.P. voter, said that voter fatigue is “probably” a real factor in voting, though “not consciously.”“You just start to examine your own judgment and you’re saying, ‘Wait a minute, is this person so dominant that he should be installed in this position in a league that has great stars every year?’” Wilbon said.Whether Jokic wins again or not is almost besides the point. He is one of the best shows to watch — not just in the N.B.A., but in all of professional sports. Even though he’s won individual honors, he does not seem to get the attention that other top stars get. Maybe it’s because he plays in a smaller market like Denver. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t do many commercials and isn’t active on social media. Maybe it’s because he hasn’t won a championship.But this month will mark only the third time in Jokic’s eight-year career that the N.B.A. will showcase the Nuggets on Christmas, a day the league typically reserves for the league’s marquee players. Last year, despite Jokic being the reigning M.V.P., the league snubbed the Nuggets when deciding the holiday’s schedule.That’s on the league for depriving viewers of a unicorn: a slow-footed, lumbering big man who manages to awe on a nightly basis in a way no one of his size and physique has before dribbling a basketball. More

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      in Soccer

      The U.S. World Cup Team Is Notably Diverse, but the Pipeline Needs Help

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      In some ways, things haven’t changed much in American soccer.You may well have never heard of him, but Desmond Armstrong is a pioneer. In 1990, he became the first African American to represent the United States in a World Cup game.Never mind that the United States, then returning to the World Cup after a four-decade hiatus, was humbled by Czechoslovakia in a 5-1 loss. By starting as a defender for the Americans that June day in Italy, Armstrong signaled that his home country could produce elite players who weren’t white.Sadly, with a few exceptions, his trailblazing role did not get much attention in the press that day. Nor did it in the run-up to the tournament, or when the American team played Italy to a near draw in group stage play days later. Another talented Black player, Jimmy Banks, also broke ground on the 1990 U.S. team, subbing in for his initial action during the game against the Czechs. Banks’s part as a breaker of norms was similarly overlooked.Color Armstrong unsurprised.“The disregard was commonplace from the media back then,” Armstrong told me this week when we discussed the omissions. He is 58 now, still fit and trim, and running a grass roots youth soccer club in Nashville.“It was sort of like, Jimmy and I are on the team, but aside from the team making history since the U.S. hadn’t been in the Cup in 40 years, we are also making history,” he said. “It’s just that what we were doing was something that didn’t go acknowledged by many people.”“We were recognized as a footnote, if at all.”Armstrong, right, vying for the ball during the FIFA World Cup match between Italy and the United States in 1990.Chris Smith/Popperfoto via Getty ImagesArmstrong and Banks, who died in 2019 after battling pancreatic cancer, deserve our acknowledgment, respect and appreciation.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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      in Tennis

      Federer on His Exit and Holding Nadal’s Hand: ‘It’s Maybe a Secret Thank You’

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      In an interview, Roger Federer opens up about the emotions of his goodbye at the Laver Cup and about the future of men’s tennis. “Nobody needs to play like me, by the way,” he said.Roger Federer, newly retired, was back in Switzerland on Monday night after flying home from London, where he wrapped up a whirlwind farewell to his competitive career with one last match at the Laver Cup.He partnered with his friendly rival Rafael Nadal in doubles for Team Europe, losing a close match to Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock of Team World, which also went on to win the Laver Cup for the first time in five attempts.But the defeat was secondary to the occasion — an intense, emotional goodbye for Federer and those surrounding him, including his wife, Mirka, and their four children, plus his friendly rivals Nadal and Novak Djokovic.Federer, 41, established himself long ago as one of the greatest players in tennis history, but after breaking Pete Sampras’s men’s record of 14 Grand Slam singles titles in 2009, he chose to play on for 13 more years. He won five more majors and at age 36 became the oldest men’s No. 1 since the advent of the ATP rankings in 1973.His departure marks the beginning of the end of a golden age in the men’s game in which Nadal, Djokovic and Federer have developed rich and long-running rivalries, lifting each other and their sport. Federer, for all his longevity and tennis genius, now ranks third in the Grand Slam singles titles chase behind Nadal with 22 and Djokovic with 21. I first interviewed Federer in February 2001, in his home city of Basel, Switzerland, when he was still a teenager and had yet to win his first major. On Monday night, we spoke by telephone about the 21 years since and his goodbye to competition:This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.So, how do you feel now that it’s really over?I think I feel complete. I lost my last singles match. I lost my last doubles match. I lost my voice from screaming and supporting the team. I lost the last time as a team. I lost my job, but I’m very happy. I’m good. I’m really good. That’s the ironic part, is everybody thinks about happy fairy-tale endings, you know? And for me, actually it ended up being that but in a way that I never thought was going to happen.Federer partnered with his friendly rival Rafael Nadal in doubles for Team Europe at the Laver Cup.James Hill for The New York TimesRafa Nadal clearly made a big effort to be part of the event on Friday, given his wife’s pregnancy. What did it mean, knowing all that you knew, for him to be there for you for the doubles?I called him after the U.S. Open — I waited for him to finish that tournament — just to let him know about my retirement.Roger Federer’s Farewell to Professional TennisThe Swiss tennis player leaves the game with one of the greatest competitive records in history.An Appraisal: “He has, figuratively and literally, re-embodied men’s tennis, and for the first time in years, the game’s future is unpredictable,” the author David Foster Wallace wrote of Roger Federer in 2006.A Poignant Send-Off: Wimbledon may have been more fitting. But the Laver Cup, which Federer helped create, offered a sensible final act for one of the greatest players of this era.Two Great Rivals: When players retire from individual sports like tennis, their rivalries go with them. Here is a look at some of the best matches that pitted Federer against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.Tennis After Federer: The Swiss player, along with Nadal and Djokovic, helped define a remarkably durable period in men’s tennis history. Following behind is a new generation of hungry players, ready to muscle their way into the breach.And I just wanted to let him know before he started making some plans without the Laver Cup at all. I told him on the phone that I was probably 50-50 or 60-40 on making the doubles. I told him, “Look, I’ll keep you posted. You let me know how things are at home. And we’ll reconnect.”But it very quickly got clear on the phone, and Rafa told me, “I will try everything I possibly can to be there with you.” And that felt obviously incredible for me. And it showed again how much we mean to one another and how much respect we have. And I just thought it would be just a beautiful, amazing story for us, for sports, for tennis, and maybe beyond that as well, where we can coexist in a tough rivalry and come out on top and show that, hey, again it’s just tennis. Yes, it’s hard, and it’s brutal sometimes, but it’s always fair. And you can come out on the other side and still have this great, friendly rivalry. I just thought it ended up even better than I ever thought it would. So, an incredible effort by Rafa, and I’ll obviously never forget what he did for me in London.Those raw emotions after the match were powerful for a lot of people around the world, particularly the scenes with you and Rafa. Do you think you maybe changed the way people view male athletes?I think I have always had a hard time keeping my emotions in check, winning and losing. In the beginning, it was more about being angry and sad and crying. And then, I was happy-crying about my wins. I think on Friday, this was another animal, to be honest, because I think all of the guys — Andy [Murray], Novak and also Rafa — saw their careers flashing in front of their eyes, knowing that we all in a way have been on borrowed time for long enough already. As you get older, you get into your 30s, you start knowing what you really appreciate in life but also from the sport.Have you seen the photo of you and Rafa sitting on the bench crying and holding hands?I have seen it.“I was sobbing so hard, and, I don’t know, everything was going through my mind about how happy I am to actually experience this moment right there with everybody,” Federer said.Ella Ling/Shutterstock What’s it like to look at that image?Well, I mean, it was a short moment. I think at one point, I was sobbing so hard, and I don’t know, everything was going through my mind about how happy I am to actually experience this moment right there with everybody. And I think that’s what was so beautiful about just sitting there, taking it all in while the music was playing, and the focus was maybe more on her [the singer Ellie Goulding]. So, you almost forgot that you’re still being taken pictures of. I guess at one point, just because obviously I couldn’t speak and the music was there, I guess I just touched him, and I guess it’s maybe a secret thank you. I don’t know what it was, but for me, that’s maybe what it was and how it felt and some pictures came out of it. Different ones. Not just that one but other ones, too, that were just completely crazy, you know, so with different angles, and I hope to get those because they mean a lot to me.That moment when you’re talking to your kids and telling them, I’m not crying because I’m sad. I’m crying because I’m happy. I think any parent could relate to that.I didn’t know that people could hear that. They looked so sad to me, and when I told them I was retiring, also three of them were crying, because they think that I’m sad about it, but I’m truly not. And, of course, a moment like this is so powerful in the arena. It was hard not to cry at some point, and not just hard for them.You dehydrated the world.We’ve got to recharge on those tears.“I ultimately said, look, it’s OK, I accept it. Because I left it all out there. Nothing more to prove,” Federer said.James Hill for The New York TimesYou’ve said, “It’s time to stop. I can feel it.” Is that mostly based on feeling you just can’t move the way you need to move on tour anymore to compete?That’s part of it. It’s also the age, let’s be honest. And going to the very end of it, I don’t see the point. I tried so long the last few years that it’s fine. You know, it’s all good. And you get to a point where, you know, when I did the surgery last year I knew it was going be a long road back. And it was going to take me probably a year.So, of course, in my dream, I saw myself playing again, but I was very realistic about the comeback. Number one, I did it for my personal life. I knew it was the right thing to do: Let’s get this leg fixed and all that. For that, I had to do a proper rehab. If I just retire, I know I will not do my rehab correctly. So, if I stay active and I’m still a professional tennis player, I know I will do it 100 percent right. And I keep the options open to hopefully maybe return to exhibition tennis at least, 250s hopefully, 500s and 1000s if things really go super well. And Grand Slams if, you know, magic happens.As time went by, I could feel less and less chance as the knee was creating problems for me as I was struggling to power through. And that’s when I ultimately said, look, it’s OK, I accept it. Because I left it all out there. Nothing more to prove.You rarely showed it, but what percentage of your matches did you play over the years in some kind of pain?I think we all play sick and hurt. I was always of the impression that I can play through some pain, a lot of pain, like we all have to. But I think I always felt my body very well. I knew when I could power through and when I had to be careful. And I was always of the opinion that I’d rather take the rest at some point: give myself the extra week, the extra day, the extra hour, the extra month, whatever it is, and take it easy, go back to training and then come back strong again. That’s why I tried to avoid any sorts of injections and operations for the longest time until I had to have surgery in 2016.Team World, in red, won the Laver Cup for the first time in five attempts.James Hill for The New York TimesI know you were joking with your teammates in London about your lack of mobility, but are you confident now after playing the doubles that your body will allow you to play exhibition tennis?I have to go back to the drawing board now and just see after this incredible weekend, what I should do next.I think it would be beautiful to somehow have a goodbye exhibition game, you know, and thank the fans, because obviously Laver Cup was already sold out before I knew about retirement. A lot of people would have loved to get more tickets and couldn’t, so I just feel maybe it would be nice to have one more or several goodbye exhibitions, but I’m not sure if I could or I should do that now. But obviously I would love to play exhibitions down the road, take tennis to new places or take it back to fun places where I had a blast.As you step away, do you see anybody out there who plays the game like you do?Not right now. Obviously, it would have to be a guy with a one-handed backhand. Nobody needs to play like me, by the way. People also thought I was going to play like Pete Sampras, and I didn’t. I think everybody needs to be their own version of themselves. And not a copycat, even though copying is the biggest sign of flattery. But I wish all of them to find their own selves, and tennis will be great. I’m sure I’ll always be the No. 1 fan of the game. And I’ll follow, sometimes in the stands, sometimes on TV, but of course, I hope for enough one-handers, enough attacking tennis, enough flair. But I’m going to sit back and relax and watch the game from a different angle.Meanwhile, your rivals play on. You said it was important to retire first as you are the oldest. Were you worried Rafa would beat you to it this spring when he was considering retirement because of his foot problems?I got a scare with Murray, too. I remember vividly when I saw him in the locker room in Australia in 2019 after his Bautista match [referring to Roberto Bautista Agut]. I remember he said, “I might be done.” We were asked to do farewell videos; I had a chance to go. I went up to him and asked him, “Are you like seriously done?” And I remember him telling me, “Well, with this hip, I can’t play anymore.” So, he knew he was at a huge crossroads in his life. But yeah, I’m happy I could go first, because I also am supposed to go first. So, that’s why it’s felt good. And I hope they can all play as long as possible and squeeze that lemon out. I really wish the best for them. More

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      in Tennis

      Who’s the Best Men’s Tennis Player? It Depends on How You Measure.

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      Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic all have credible claims to be considered the best. Here are a few ways to consider their gaudy stats.When Roger Federer announced his retirement this week, he was showered with hosannas befitting one of the greatest men’s tennis players of all time.But was he merely one of the greatest? Or was he the greatest of them all?It’s not hard to declare a favorite player the best ever and then seek out statistics to justify the argument. Let’s come at it from the other direction and look at numbers first to see where they lead.Grand Slam WinsIf any single number has been widely accepted as the ultimate measure of a tennis great, it is the number of Grand Slam tournaments won. And there is certainly plenty of logic behind that.A Grand Slam title is the ultimate goal for most players: The Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open draw the most attention and the strongest fields and shower their winners with prize money and visibility. In men’s tennis, they are also known for a best-of-five-set format, a lengthier test than those in regular tour events.This simplest of measures is the one most tennis fans know:

      By The New York TimesThe Big Three (Federer, Nadal and Djokovic) tower over the rest of men’s tennis history as they do in so many categories.Both Nadal and Djokovic are still playing, too, and could increase their totals; the two between them won three of the four Grand Slam singles titles this year.Grand Slam PerformancesReducing Grand Slam performances to a binary — did he win or not? — is something of an oversimplification. Winning matches and advancing deep into a tournament are important, too, no matter what Vince Lombardi might say.The scoring system might be debatable, but what if we awarded 6 points for a Grand Slam win, 3 for a runner-up finish and 1 for making a semifinal?Now the players stack up this way:

      Note: Under this scoring system, a Grand Slam title is worth 6 points, an appearance in the final is worth 3 and an appearance in the semifinals is worth 1. Djokovic scores 170 points because 21×6 + 11×3 + 11×1 = 170.By The New York TimesIf anything, it’s just as close. And a slightly different scoring system could easily change the order.For example, plenty of fans consider the Olympics, in which tennis is staged every four years, to be a Slam or a near-Slam-caliber tournament in importance. Each of the players won one Olympic singles medal. Add 6 for Nadal’s gold, 3 for Federer’s silver and 1 for Djokovic’s bronze and you get a laughably close race: 171-171-170, with Nadal trailing by just a point.Federer beat Rafael Nadal in the 2006 Wimbledon final. But Nadal holds the edge in their head-to-head record, 24-16.Anja Niedringhaus/Associated PressAll three men also lost the bronze medal match at an Olympics, and Djokovic did it twice. That’s the equivalent of a semifinal, which would push Djokovic a point ahead.Grand Slams From Another AngleCounting only Grand Slam wins, finals and semifinals doesn’t account for early round performances, nor does it factor in that Federer got his start earlier than the other two players and has had more opportunities in Grand Slams. A simple won-lost record in Grand Slam events accounts for both of those factors. By this measure:

      By The New York TimesFederer’s longevity counts against him here; some early- and late-career losses bring down his win percentage. The same could happen in the twilight of Nadal and Djokovic’s careers, if they stick around.VersatilityWinning on a variety of surfaces is important to a player’s legacy. That’s why Federer’s lone Grand Slam win on clay, in the 2009 French Open, mattered so much to tennis fans.So — and stick with us here — what if instead of adding up the Grand Slam titles, we multiplied them? This would give more points to players who won a variety of Grand Slams and penalize the specialists. It would also give a score of 0 to anyone who didn’t win all four, but luckily each of the big three did.

      Note: Singles titles in the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open are shown. Under this scoring system, Djokovic scores 378 points because 9×2×7×3 = 378.By The New York TimesDjokovic’s comparative versatility gives him the edge here. Federer is hurt by winning only once in Paris, while Nadal’s amazing 14 French Open wins have diminishing returns by this method.Other TournamentsTennis is not just the Grand Slams, and the totality of the men’s careers should probably be looked at as well.In terms of won-lost record in all official events, they stack up:

      By The New York TimesBy winning percentage, it’s Nadal, Djokovic, Federer. By total wins, it’s Federer, Nadal, Djokovic.Here’s more to consider: Djokovic spent 373 weeks ranked at No. 1 and ended seven different years there. Federer was on top for 310 weeks and five times at year’s end, and Nadal 209 and five.Federer won 103 tour singles titles, Nadal has 92 and Djokovic 88. (For once, another player beats the triumvirate: Jimmy Connors, playing in a much different era, won 109 titles, something for those who want to make a very contrarian case for the best ever.)While some players and fans dismiss the Davis Cup, others see it as a critical part of the tennis calendar. Nadal has a stunning 29-1 record in Cup play, for a .967 percentage. Djokovic is 38-7, .844, and Federer is 40-8, .833.The Nuts and BoltsMaybe gaudy stats such as wins and Grand Slams are too results oriented. The ATP Tour compiles plenty of others to examine the players at a hyper-granular level.But there’s little clarity here either. Who has the best serve? Federer won 77 percent of his first serve points, with Djokovic at 74 and Nadal at 72.Best returner in the clutch? They rank in the opposite order. Nadal has won 45 percent of break points, with Djokovic at 44 and Federer at 41.Head-to-HeadMaybe it’s time to throw out all those matches against Tomas Berdych and Diego Schwartzman. How did the Big Three fare when they faced off against each other?Here, Djokovic gets the nod, if slightly. He holds a 30-29 edge over Nadal and 27-23 over Federer. Nadal leads Federer, 24-16.And in Conclusion …There are probably a million ways to figure it. And every time you figure it, someone won’t like the way you figured it.In our little experiment, Nadal led in five categories, Djokovic in four and Federer in three. But most of the categories were extremely close. And if we had picked a few different ones, there would have been a different result. Unless you stubbornly decide that only one statistic matters, there doesn’t seem to be any way to clearly separate the three.Maybe you have a favorite. If so, we have given you some ammunition to make your argument while you are waiting for the next match at Rod Laver Arena or Arthur Ashe Stadium.But no matter who your choice is, it is clear that Federer’s retirement is the beginning of the end of a Golden Age for men’s tennis. Maybe young Carlos Alcaraz will scare some of these numbers in 20 years or so. Or maybe we will never see the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, at least all at the same time, again. More

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      in Tennis

      At the French Open, Novak Djokovic Aims for His 21st Slam Win

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      The world No. 1 seemed poised to set the men’s record for major titles. Now, after a crushing loss and a vaccine controversy, Djokovic looks to get back on course at the French Open.Novak Djokovic has been here before, nipping at the heels of major title No. 21.He had a chance at the U.S. Open last summer. Winning the men’s singles final against Daniil Medvedev would have been a signal moment in sports. Djokovic would have burst through the logjam he’d shared with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal: 20 titles in majors, then the high-water mark in men’s tennis.And Djokovic would have become the first male player since Rod Laver in 1969 to achieve a Grand Slam, capturing Wimbledon and the French, Australian and U.S. Open titles in the same year.It wasn’t to be.Then he seemed destined to record his 21st victory in a Grand Slam event at this year’s Australian Open, the major where he has emerged victorious nine times. He makes playing in the Melbourne hothouse look like a stroll through a shady summer garden.But we know what happened instead.Djokovic was detained and then deported after a tense standoff over whether he should be allowed to compete in Australia despite having proudly refused to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.Novak Djokovic walking in Melbourne Airport in January, after his visa to play in the Australian Open was canceled.Loren Elliott/ReutersPoint made and the moment lost by both the Australian government and one of the world’s best-known anti-vaccine athletes.With the French Open underway, Djokovic is, at long last, trying again for his 21st major win. By virtue of his No. 1 ranking, he is the top seed in the men’s draw. “I’m going to Paris with confidence and good feelings about my chances there,” he said before the tournament.He said much the same the last two times he reached for the grail of 21 Grand Slam events. But it was Nadal who notched that historic record first, ahead of Djokovic and Federer, when Nadal stepped back into the vaults of greatness and beat Medvedev at the Australian Open in jaw-dropping fashion.Can Djokovic get out of the stall and tie Nadal? If he doesn’t do it soon he may begin drawing comparisons with an equally talented, complex and perplexing champion — Serena Williams, who remains stuck one major behind Margaret Court’s record mark of 24.Like Williams, who at 40 is not playing on the tour and may be heading toward retirement, Djokovic faces snarling pressure to keep up with his peers. It is not getting any easier. On Sunday, he turned 35. His window is closing — the ability to call on match-to-match consistency narrows with each grinding season.Consider all he has faced this year. Global anger over his determination to steer clear of vaccination. The hangover from the crushing loss in the final of the U.S. Open. The months when he looked like a meager facsimile of his old self on the tennis court.After Australia, he was barred from playing in two big hardcourt tournaments, in Indian Wells and Miami, because the United States wisely required foreign visitors to be vaccinated to enter the country. Then came a stretch of choppy, angst-riddled play, which we had not seen from him in years. There were early-round defeats to the 123rd and 46th players in the world. Before adoring hometown fans, he struggled through the Serbia Open and crumbled in the finals. He fell in Madrid to the 19-year-old Spanish upstart Carlos Alcaraz.Can Djokovic win his 21st at the French Open? There was little hint he would be up to the task until this month in Rome, at the last big tuneup before Roland Garros.In Rome, it was all there again for Djokovic: lithe, deep and consistent returns, a pickpocket’s moxie during the tensest moments. Djokovic did not lose a set all tournament. In the final, where he defeated fourth-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas, he took the opening stanza, 6-0.Djokovic returned to form, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Italian Open final two weeks ago.Julian Finney/Getty ImagesHe looked back on Australia and the brutal aftermath in a news conference and spoke of how the experience would not bow him. Djokovic promised to turn the jagged pain of having been barred from play and the pressure he felt from the backlash to his favor. “It will fuel me,” he said, steely eyed, “for the next challenge.”Such a mind-set is as vintage Djokovic as his scythe-like down-the-line backhand.Left unmentioned was how he has been hailed a hero among the anti-vaccine crowd for his refusenik stance, a view that is impossible to fathom when the coronavirus has caused the death of at least six million people across the globe. He has even vowed that if it came between choosing whether to be vaccinated or keep playing professional tennis, he would remain on the sideline.His commitment to that stance is foolish, but his resistance offers a window into what makes Djokovic tick. Enduring stubbornness sets him apart more than his movement, consistency or dart-like accuracy.He is a true believer — on the court and off it — and he has long latched himself to some of the self-help movement’s wildest false claims, everything from telepathy to the notion that loving thoughts can change the molecular structure of water.Now you might think those ideas are pretty ridiculous. I sure do. But for Djokovic, clinging to belief in what may seem impossible has worked in astonishing ways.We’ve seen it countless times on the biggest stages.Remember his great escapes against Federer. The victories after facing two match points against Federer’s serve at the U.S. Open in 2010 and 2011. The marathon final win at Wimbledon in 2019, when he turned Federer away after the grass-court master held yet another pair of match points.Djokovic’s relentless belief in himself helped power some of his greatest victories, as in the 2019 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer, right.Nic Bothma/EPA, via ShutterstockI was there and can still hear the frenzied Centre Court crowd yelling, “Federer! Federer! Federer!” ringing in my ears. But that’s not what Djokovic heard. He said after the match that as the roars rose like a storm for his opponent, he mentally converted the rhythmic chants to something that spurred him on — “Novak! Novak! Novak!”Remember, too, the French Open of 2021, the bruising semifinal win against Nadal, the most recent act in the duo’s 58-match rivalry. The Serb followed that with a comeback from two sets down against Tsitsipas to win the championship.Now the French Open is again underway. Victory at Roland Garros is as intense a journey as exists in sports — especially now, as players deploy a mix of power, touch, bounding topspin and athleticism in ways that not long ago would have been unimaginable.Age and years of leg-churning wear on tour add another layer of difficulty. Look at Nadal, also 35 and currently battling foot and rib injuries severe enough to stir rumors of imminent retirement.These two will again try to fend off a cast of younger stars in Paris. They will have eyes steady on one in particular: Alcaraz, who plays with the limitless élan of a teen and a veteran’s wisdom and strength.All three are in the same half of the draw in Paris, bidding for a spot in the finals. Can Djokovic make it that far and finally win No. 21? I won’t bet against a player so capable of conjuring unshakable magic. More

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      Herb Turetzky, Nets’ Official Scorer for 54 Years, Dies at 76

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      He recorded the statistics of more than 2,200 home games for the team in both New York and New Jersey, and in both the American and National Basketball Associations.Herb Turetzky, a passionate basketball fan who was the official scorer for nearly every home game played by the nomadic Brooklyn Nets franchise from its inception in 1967 until his retirement last year, died on Monday at his home in Whitestone, Queens. He was 76.His wife, Jane, said the cause was primary lateral sclerosis, which causes nerve cells in the brain that control movement to fail. In recent years, he attended games in a wheelchair.Over 54 years of meticulously keeping statistics, Mr. Turetzky recorded the field goals, rebounds, assists, fouls and free throws of Nets stars like Julius Erving, Rick Barry, Buck Williams, Jason Kidd and Kevin Durant. He became a forever Net, the team’s de facto historian and a gregarious friend to players and the news media.He took his seat at center court with his scorebook for more than 2,200 Nets home games, first when the team was in the American Basketball Association and later in the National Basketball Association, after the leagues merged.“He brought so much class and care to the scorer’s table, not a place where you necessarily look for that,” said Mr. Erving, who led the New York Nets to A.B.A. championships in 1974 and 1976. “The job is drudgery for some people, but not for Herb. He cared so much for it, and his reputation preceded him everywhere.”Mr. Turetzky was a senior at Long Island University in Brooklyn in 1967 when he took his future wife, Jane Jacobs, to the Teaneck Armory in New Jersey to see the first game in the team’s history. Then called the New Jersey Americans, they were playing the Pittsburgh Pipers in a matchup of two storied forwards from Brooklyn: the Pipers’ Connie Hawkins and New Jersey’s Tony Jackson, who, like Mr. Turetzky, was from the Brownsville neighborhood.“We had no money and he had free tickets, and we were going to watch the game,” Mrs. Turetzky said by phone.Before the tip-off, Max Zaslofsky, the Americans’ coach and general manager, noticed that the scorer’s table was empty and spotted Mr. Turetzky. He knew Mr. Turetzky from his attending games of an Amateur Athletic Union team that Mr. Zaslofsky had coached. He asked him if he could keep score.“Max, I’d love to,” Mr. Turetzky recalled saying, as quoted in a Sports Illustrated profile last year. “I’m here, so why not?” He added, “I’ve never left that seat since.”After one season in Teaneck, Mr. Turetzky followed the Nets to Long Island, where they played in three arenas, including the Nassau Coliseum; then to three homes back in New Jersey, including the Prudential Center in Newark; and finally to Barclays Center in Brooklyn.Between 1984 and 2018, he scored 1,465 consecutive games.“When I did my 900th straight game, they covered it on NBA TV,” he told the New Jersey newspaper The Record in 2012. “Charles Barkley was on, and when they made that comment to Barkley, all he said was: ‘Nine hundred straight Nets games? Boy, that man’s seen a lot of bad basketball.’”“I have seen some bad games,” he added, “but I’ve seen some great ones.”In 2020, when all the bad and great games — and those in between — added up to 2,206, Guinness World Records certified them as the most by an official scorer in N.B.A. history.Mr. Turetzky was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004.Herbert Stephen Turetzky was born in Brooklyn on Dec. 19, 1945. His mother, Rose (Pearl) Turetzky, was a bookkeeper for the maker of Fox’s U-Bet chocolate syrup. His father, Sam, was a plumber. Herb played basketball at the Brownsville Boys’ Club (now the Brownsville Recreation Center), where he also learned how to run a scoreboard and maintain a scorebook.After he graduated from L.I.U. in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in economics, he was a teacher and then a principal at a Brooklyn elementary school. After that, he worked as a grants writer for the New York City Board of Education and owned a trophy business. He earned two master’s degrees, in education and in administration and supervision.All the while, Mr. Turetzky was traveling to Nets home games. His longest break from his scoring duties began in November 1968, when he was driving to a game in Commack, on Long Island. He lost control of his car on the Long Island Expressway, crossed a grass divider and crashed into an oncoming car. The driver was killed.“I was in a coma for about six weeks and broke my entire left side up, creating some muscular damage, had a concussion, broke my jaw,” he told The Asbury Park Press in 2005.He returned to the Nets the next season and rarely missed a game after that. Along the way, he and his family became part of the fabric of the team.He was pushed, fully clothed, into the showers at Nassau Coliseum and doused with champagne as the team celebrated its 1976 title. His family hosted the guard Levern Tart, known as Jelly, at their Thanksgiving dinners. The team’s mascot, Duncan the Dragon, was a guest at the bat mitzvah of Mr. Turetzky’s daughter, Jennifer. His son, David, was a Nets ball boy.In addition to his wife, Mr. Turetzky is survived by his daughter, his son and two grandchildren.Jennifer Turetzky recalled listening to her father call in the box scores of Nets games to the Elias Sports Bureau, the N.B.A.’s longtime official statistician.“A box score has a certain direction, and he delivered it in the same cadence, with each player on both teams, starting with minutes — say, 37 — then 5-for-12 and 6-for-9,” she said by phone, describing the field-goal and free-throw statistics. “Then the big number at the end, 45 points. He did it all through my childhood.” More

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      Djokovic Is Willing to Skip Wimbledon and French Open to Avoid Vaccine

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      Novak Djokovic said he was prepared to miss the French Open, Wimbledon and other tournaments if he was required to get a coronavirus vaccine to compete.In an interview with the BBC that was broadcast on Tuesday, the Serbian tennis star said he believed the freedom to choose what goes into his body was “more important than any title, or anything else.”Mr. Djokovic said he understood that his vaccination status meant that he was “unable to travel to most of the tournaments at the moment,” but, he added, “That is the price that I’m willing to pay.”Mr. Djokovic’s decision to remain unvaccinated, even after he was unable to compete in the Australian Open, may delay his quest to win more Grand Slam titles than his rivals. (The Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal was able to clinch a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.)The French authorities said last month that players must be vaccinated to compete in the French Open, the next of the four Grand Slam tournaments. Mr. Djokovic might be able to compete in Wimbledon in June, but according to recent guidelines, he may not be able to compete in the U.S. Open in August.Mr. Djokovic told the BBC that he was not against vaccinations generally and that he did not want to be associated with the anti-vaccination movement, but that his decision about the coronavirus vaccine was personal.“As an elite professional athlete, I’ve always carefully reviewed, assessed everything that comes in from the supplements, food, the water that I drink or sports drinks — anything, really anything that comes into my body as a fuel,” he said in the interview, which was recorded on Monday. “Based on all the informations that I got, I decided not to take the vaccine as of today.” More

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      Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee Sets Division I Women’s Single-Game Scoring Record

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      Her 61 points propelled the Wildcats to a 94-65 thrashing of No. 14 Oklahoma on Sunday.Kansas State center Ayoka Lee broke a 35-year-old record on Sunday, scoring 61 points, the most in a Division I women’s college basketball game, while leading her team to a 94-65 victory over No. 14 Oklahoma in Manhattan, Kan. She was 5 points short of scoring more than the opposing team.“It’s crazy,” Lee, a 6-foot-6 redshirt junior, told ESPN after the game. “I thought it was just going to be another Sunday.”The N.C.A.A. Division I single-game scoring record had been 60 points, set by Cindy Brown at Long Beach State in 1987 and tied in 2016 by the University of Minnesota’s Rachel Banham, who now plays in the W.N.B.A. for the Minnesota Lynx.Lee broke the record by going 23 of 30 from the field (76.7 percent), and without attempting a single 3-point basket. She was also 15 of 17 from the free-throw line and notched 12 rebounds and three blocks.“I don’t think anyone thinks, ‘Oh yeah, we’re just going to set a record today,’” Lee told reporters after the game. “You knew it wasn’t going to be easy. But we just executed so well.”Oklahoma has the second-highest scoring offense in Division I women’s basketball and is averaging 87.1 points per game, according to Her Hoop Stats.“We wanted to keep our foot on the gas,” Kansas State Coach Jeff Mittie said after the game.Mittie said the only time he considered taking Lee out of the game was when there were just two and a half minutes left.“We wanted to keep feeding her,” he said. “I was not aware of the record. I did not look at the scoreboard all day to see how many points she had.”Considering how productive Lee has been — she is averaging 25.5 points a game this season — her coach’s nonchalance made sense. She is averaging a double-double with points and rebounds (10.9 a game), as well as 3.5 blocks per game.“You play with her for so long that you’re like, ‘That’s just what she does,’” Jaelyn Glenn, a freshman guard for Kansas State, said after the game. “Getting the ball inside is always a goal for us, because Yokie is just supertalented.”Lee, who goes by Yokie, is originally from Byron, Minn., a small town in the southeastern part of the state. Her dominance at Kansas State has slowly begun to attract national interest; she was recently named to the John R. Wooden Award top 25 watch list for the second consecutive year.Her national profile has been hindered by the fact that despite being a redshirt junior, she has never played in the N.C.A.A. tournament. The last time the Wildcats qualified was in Lee’s freshman year, which she missed entirely after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament.This season, that is likely to change. Kansas State’s record is 15-4, and it is one game out of the top spot in the Big 12. Lee’s contributions on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor are largely responsible for that shift — one that is especially monumental for a team that last appeared in the national tournament’s round of 16 20 years ago.“There’s so much more to her than the 61 points and the 12 rebounds,” Mittie said. “But I sure like that part.” More