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      For Djokovic in Australia, a Complicated Road Has a Familiar Destination

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Australian OpenOsaka vs. BradyWomen’s Final PreviewDjokovic’s RideWilliams’s Future?AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyFor Djokovic in Australia, a Complicated Road Has a Familiar DestinationThe reigning champion and world No. 1 will play in his ninth Australian Open final. He has yet to lose one.Novak Djokovic earned a spot in the Australian Open final by beating Aslan Karatsev, a qualifier, in a semifinal.Credit…Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesFeb. 19, 2021Updated 6:04 a.m. ETMELBOURNE, Australia — Everything changed for Novak Djokovic in a split-second explosion during the third set of his Australian Open quarterfinal this week.With the match tied at a set apiece, Alexander Zverev of Germany, one of the top young players in the world, was serving with a 3-2 lead. Djokovic could not convert his chances to tie the set, failing on a key point to get one of Zverev’s signature 135-mile-an-hour serves back over the net.There was no shame in that. But Djokovic thought otherwise and took the frustration out on his racket. He slammed his Head Pro Stock to the ground with three violent whacks, smashing the frame and spraying shards across the back of the court. The sound of the destruction, like a bone snapping, echoed through the empty stadium.[embedded content]It was the sort of outburst that usually signals the beginning of the end for most players. For Djokovic though — this time, at least — there was a rebirth, as he seemed to release all the tension that had been building for weeks.First, quarantine restrictions wreaked havoc on preparations for the Open, the year’s first Grand Slam event. Then an injured abdominal muscle nearly forced Djokovic out of the tournament. And at that moment on Tuesday, one of the game’s most dangerous players had him in a high-octane fight.Yet Djokovic, the top-ranked player in the world, grabbed a replacement racket, won four straight games to take that third set, then pushed through a tooth-and-nail fourth to advance.“I wouldn’t recommend this kind of relief channeling,” Djokovic said a few hours after the match.He said he wasn’t proud of his behavior. But tennis forces a journey through many different emotions, and Djokovic has demons to fight, he explained, the tension building with every lost point and game. Eventually the pressure has to find a release.“I just kind of let it go,” he said. “Poor racket.”Every tennis player who assumes the top ranking in tennis endures special pressures. The ones who survive over the long term generally work hard to minimize their stress by avoiding anything that might distract them from the pursuit of continued success.Perhaps more than any of his predecessors, though, Djokovic, 33, goes toward the heat. He knows the hazards that may bring. But he is willing to manage the consequences of his behavior, which could involve trying to stage a tennis event in the first months of the pandemic; on-court outbursts, including one that led to his disqualification at the U.S. Open; or pressuring the Australian Open tournament organizers on behalf of 72 players who ended up confined to their hotel rooms for 14 days after arrival in Melbourne because on their flights they had been exposed to people with the coronavirus. His recommendation for an early end to their lockdown and access to tennis courts at private homes, among other impossible-to-meet demands, garnered widespread ridicule.“I think Novak feels an obligation as the top-ranked player in the world to be a voice for the players,” said Craig Tiley, who is the chief executive of Tennis Australia, which runs the Open, and who fielded those demands, rejected nearly all of them, then did his best to carry out Djokovic damage control.In spite of it all, this tournament has given Djokovic what he so often finds when he plays in Melbourne — the chance to right his ship and jump start his tennis year.In the final on Sunday, he will play Daniil Medvedev of Russia, who has not lost a singles match since October. “He’s the man to beat,” Djokovic said of Medvedev. A victory then would give Djokovic a third consecutive Australian Open singles championship and a record ninth over all. He has never lost in a final here.The script this year has hardly followed its traditional form.Djokovic angered local residents with his pretournament demands, and the rowdy support he often receives from fans here nearly disappeared, except from pockets of native Serbians who faithfully show up each year to watch their compatriot. He injured an abdominal muscle during his third-round match and appeared on the edge of elimination before he prevailed in five sets.Djokovic has used the injury and those of other players to ignite another controversy, citing them in his criticism of the people who run professional tennis and insisting that special arrangements are going to have to be made for the tours to continue amid all the travel restrictions and fears related to the spread of the virus. He raised the possibility of a series of bubbles, like the one the N.B.A. created last year in Florida, arguing that travel-related quarantines would compromise players’ safety because they would have to compete after getting limited training time.“There’s too many injuries,” Djokovic said. “A majority of the players just don’t want to go ahead with the season if we are going to have to quarantine before most of the tournaments.”That may or may not be true, and plenty of players cannot afford to forgo a season. Djokovic, who has collected nearly $150 million in prize money plus many lucrative endorsements, has no such worries.Rafael Nadal, Djokovic’s (usually) friendly rival, has taken a different tack, arguing that the first priority is for everyday people to be safe and that there are bigger problems in the world right now than where and how he can compete.“We need to be grateful to life that we can keep doing what we are doing,” Nadal said after his heartbreaking, five-set loss in the quarterfinals to Tsitsipas.Djokovic has never lost an Australian Open final.Credit…Alana Holmberg for The New York TimesAmid it all, on the court Djokovic is rounding into form at the perfect time, pressuring his opponents on their serve as no one else can.“It’s one of the most difficult things in our sport, holding your serve against Novak,” Zverev said.In the semifinals, Djokovic mostly had his way with little-known Aslan Karatsev of Russia. No surprise there: Karatsev, who had to go through qualifying rounds, is the world’s 114th-ranked player. But he pushed Djokovic to within a point of coughing up a 5-2 lead in the second set and had the crowd pulling for him throughout.On his magical run to the final four, Karatsev knocked off the eighth-seeded Diego Schwartzman; Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, a rising star and the No. 20 seed; and Grigor Dimitrov, the No. 18 seed, who had back spasms after winning the first set. Djokovic, Karatsev said, was on another level entirely.“A huge difference,” Karatsev said. “He does not give you any points, even on my serve, long rallies.”Whatever frustration Djokovic felt during the match, and it appeared he had little, he expressed it during his usual one-way discussion in Serbian with his support team.When it was over, he pointed to the sky and to all four sides of the arena, performing his ritual gesture of giving his heart to everyone in the crowd.Another win would give him an 18th Grand Slam singles title, pulling him within two of Roger Federer and Nadal, who share the men’s record. It would also be sweet vindication after this long, turbulent journey.“It took a lot out of me,” Djokovic said of this Australian Open. “I was exhausted, especially after Zverev’s match, but I was thrilled to overcome those huge challenges. I knew that once I triumphed over Zverev that things will be better, will get better for me. I just had that kind of inner feeling and proved to be right.”In Australia, he often is.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Novak Djokovic Beats Taylor Fritz but Is Hurt at Australian Open

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Australian OpenWhat to Watch TodayHow to WatchThe Players to KnowTesting Australians’ VIrus AnxietiesAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyNovak Djokovic Escapes but Is Hurt at the Australian OpenThe defending champion and eight-time winner battled a sore muscle on his right side in a five-set win over American Taylor Fritz.Novak Djokovic appeared to slip during his third-round match against Taylor Fritz at the Australian Open. He was bothered by an injury but still won.Credit…Andy Brownbill/Associated PressFeb. 12, 2021, 9:38 a.m. ETMELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic, the reigning champion at the Australian Open and the top-ranked player in the world, escaped an upset on Friday night to Taylor Fritz of the United States after hurting the right side of his midsection.Djokovic, who has not lost at this tournament when seeded No. 1, was injured in a bizarre match during which thousands of spectators were sent out of Rod Laver Arena as midnight approached because of a government-imposed coronavirus lockdown in the state of Victoria.Djokovic appeared in control of the match when he won the first two sets. Then he faltered badly as he battled what he described as a torn muscle in the right side of his abdomen but somehow sneaked past Fritz, 7-6 (1), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2.“I was just trying to focus on what is going on with an injury,” Djokovic said after it was over. “It’s a tear of the muscle. I don’t know if I am going to recover. I don’t know if I am even going to step onto the court.”Djokovic is scheduled to face Milos Raonic of Canada in the fourth round on Sunday. Raonic will bring one of the biggest serves in tennis to a match that could present Djokovic, if he plays, with one of his biggest challenges since he started dominating on the hardcourts in Australia.For Djokovic, a 17-time Grand Slam champion, a loss would have brought a third straight major tournament that ended in disappointment. He was defaulted out of the United States Open in September when he swatted a ball that accidentally hit a line judge. In October, he lost badly to Rafael Nadal in the French Open final.He came to Australia in search of his championship form, though he pulled out of an exhibition in Adelaide with bad blister on his hand. Still, he breezed through his first-round match against Jeremy Chardy of France in 91 minutes.In the second round though, he was pushed to the limit against Frances Tiafoe of the United States, who stretched him to four sets over three-and-half-hours on a steamy afternoon, even though Djokovic served 26 aces. Like a prize fighter jabbing at a cut, Tiafoe saw Djokovic struggling to reach wide forehands and continually forced him to stretch to his right.Still, he gave no hint that he was in any kind of significant distress after the match and entered the night against Fritz, who is from San Diego, as a heavy favorite.Djokovic predicted he might be in for a long night, however, especially on a court he described as the fastest he has ever played on at the Australian Open against a young player with a big serve and a powerful forehand.Djokovic received medical attention and frequently massaged his right side throughout the match after his injury.Credit…Kelly Defina/ReutersEarly in the third set, he appeared to slip, irritating the muscle on his right side. He said he felt a tear.He took a medical timeout and took the maximum allowable amount of anti-inflammatory medication.As the match continued, it was clear he was still having trouble changing direction or stretching for balls that were far away. Djokovic began massaging his side during every game and changeover. He said near the end of the fourth set, the medication began to work and somehow he became comfortable enough for a final push in the fifth set. He stayed aggressive on his second serve and began whipping his signature angled forehands.When Fritz’s last ball sailed long, Djokovic hollered in exultation, his voice echoing through the empty arena.“I honestly don’t know how I won this match,” he said. “I am very proud and at the same time sad and worried because there is definitely something serious happening with my injury and I don’t have much time to recover.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      The N.B.A. Misses Klay Thompson

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The NBA SeasonVirus Hotspots in the N.B.A.Will the Harden Trade Work Out?The N.B.A. Wanted HerAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyThe N.B.A. Misses Klay ThompsonThompson, the Golden State Warriors’ All-Star guard, is a great shooter, for sure. But his absence, for a second consecutive season because of injury, leaves a hole that goes beyond basketball.Because of injuries, Klay Thompson hasn’t played in a game since the 2019 N.B.A. finals. Warriors General Manager Bob Myers described Thompson as a “corner piece” of Golden State’s puzzle.Credit…Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press, via Associated PressFeb. 1, 2021, 3:00 a.m. ETKlay Thompson could have re-entered the game for the Golden State Warriors, but he knew his work was done. It was Jan. 23, 2015, and Thompson had spent the third quarter scoring a record 37 points without missing a shot against the Sacramento Kings.Early in the fourth quarter, after finishing with 52 points for the game, he grabbed a box score and a seat on the bench.“He probably could’ve broken even more records,” James Michael McAdoo, one of Thompson’s former teammates, recalled in a telephone interview. “But it wasn’t even a thought for him: ‘Nah, man. I’m cool.’ And he treated the rest of the game like he would any other: always engaged, cheering for guys like me when I was getting those garbage minutes.”At the time, the Warriors were just beginning to assert their dominance. They were still a few months from making the first of five straight appearances in the N.B.A. finals, a run that produced three championships. But while Warriors guard Stephen Curry was scripting drama on nearly a nightly basis, it was Thompson and his molten third quarter against the Kings that seemed to signal to the basketball-watching world that the Warriors — officially, undeniably — were different.“It was ridiculous,” Bob Myers, the team’s general manager and president of basketball operations, said in a telephone interview. “Honestly, it’s a blur. That whole season, man, that’s the one where I should’ve just ridden off into the sunset. That’s the one where you’re saying to yourself, ‘Wow, this is a dream.’ Everything was perfect.”Clips of that perfect quarter in that perfect season recently circulated on social media, marking the game’s sixth anniversary while offering a reminder of Thompson’s absence. It has been nearly 20 months since he last appeared in uniform for the Warriors, who have won 26 games without him.After tearing up his left knee in the 2019 N.B.A. finals, Thompson experienced a calamitous setback in November, when he tore his right Achilles’ tendon in an off-season workout. All told, Thompson is expected to miss two full seasons. And in this strange, largely spectator-free period for the league, an endlessly drab atmosphere somehow feels just a bit gloomier because of his absence.“It’s too bad for the league, for us, for everybody,” Myers said. “But mostly, for him.”Thompson, who will turn 31 on Feb. 8, has yet to play a game since re-signing with the Warriors for five years and $190 million in July 2019. The psychological toll has weighed on him. Two seasons of his prime: gone. His teammates hurt for him, too. Curry told The Undefeated that he cried when he learned that Thompson had been injured again. “A lot of tears,” Curry said.Thompson, center, Stephen Curry, right, and Draymond Green, left, were the core of Golden State’s team as it made five straight trips to the N.B.A. finals.Credit…Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesThe jarring part, McAdoo said, was that Thompson had seemed fairly indestructible, rarely missing games through his first eight seasons.“I don’t think I ever even saw him getting therapy,” said McAdoo, who spent three seasons with the Warriors, from 2014 to 2017, and now plays in Japan. “Dude was a tank.”McAdoo, though, recalled how Coach Steve Kerr would often say that teams needed to be good, and they also needed to be lucky. Thompson is coping with his share of bad fortune.“He has faith that he’s going to come back 100 percent,” his father, Mychal Thompson, said in an interview. “He knows he needs to be patient.”Mychal Thompson, a former N.B.A. center, added that his son had been encouraged by the high-level play of the Houston Rockets’ John Wall and the Nets’ Kevin Durant, both of whom missed significant time because of Achilles’ tendon injuries before returning this season. The Warriors are planning/hoping/yearning for Thompson’s return before the start of next season.On Saturday night, Thompson made his first public comments of the season when he joined the NBC Bay Area’s broadcast crew for a stretch of the Warriors’ 118-91 win over the Detroit Pistons.“Just a little bored at times,” Thompson said. “But I’m feeling good. I’m happy to be back with my teammates. Unfortunately, I’m not playing. It kills me every day, but I plan on playing for a long time, and I don’t want to have any mishaps come this rehab.”Thompson, who remains in a walking boot, added that he had been reluctant to make his cameo, but then he saw that the network had produced a branded “Reporter Klay” backdrop for him to use.“Someone went through great lengths to make that happen,” he said, deadpan, “so I felt bad not fulfilling my end of the deal.”Myers likened his job as general manager to assembling a jigsaw puzzle: Say the puzzle is missing a random piece toward the right. Though the missing piece might be noticeable, Myers said, the general idea of the puzzle would still be intact.Now say the puzzle is missing one of the corners.“If you walked into the room and looked at it, you’d say, ‘Where’s the corner piece?’” Myers said. “And I’d say, ‘Well, I can’t find it.’ And you’d say, ‘Well, the puzzle looks screwed up.’ And I’d say, ‘It didn’t come in the box!’ But I know it stands out. Klay is a corner piece.”The Warriors were missing two corner pieces last season. Curry was sidelined for all but five games because of a broken left hand. Thompson split his time between San Francisco and Los Angeles as he focused on rehabilitating his knee. He watched from a remove as the Warriors finished with the worst record in the league.“It’s pretty abrupt to go from five straight finals to just out for the season,” Myers said, “and I think he was just working through how to manage that mentally. I can’t speak for him, but I think he was trying to figure out where to be, and it was challenging.”This season, Curry has returned to his familiar form, and the Warriors — with multiple new pieces — have been mostly competitive after a rocky start. At the same time, Thompson has been a much more consistent presence around the team, taking up residence on the bench at home games — something he did far less often last season.“I think it’s much better for him to be around the guys and feel like you’re a part of it,” Mychal Thompson said. “It helps the time go by faster.”Klay has picked his spots to counsel teammates, like the first-year center James Wiseman, who received several tips from Thompson during a recent game against the Minnesota Timberwolves: Stay aggressive, take care of your body and be a great teammate.“I just love to listen,” Wiseman said in a conference call, “and he can tell.”Thompson was electric against the Sacramento Kings on Jan. 23, 2015, scoring 37 points in the third quarter and 52 points for the night.Credit…Ben Margot/Associated PressThompson has long kept his approach simple. He loves his dog, a bulldog named Rocco, spending time by the water, playing chess and shooting a basketball. His demeanor has not changed since he entered the league in 2011, which is no small feat. He is as popular among his peers as he is with fans. Few players, if any, are less polarizing.“I think what’s most endearing about Klay is that what you see is what you get,” Myers said. “And that is so hard in the N.B.A. It’s such a hard place to not be affected by the money, by the celebrity, by social media, by the fans — who the heck knows? But he’s always put himself and the N.B.A. in the proper place. He’s maintained his center.”The public got a quirky glimpse of that in 2017, and it had nothing to do with his 3-point shooting or his defensive prowess. The Warriors were in New York to play the Nets when Thompson was randomly stopped on the street by a television news reporter who was interviewing people about the dangers of faulty scaffolding. Thompson proceeded to do an on-camera interview in which he explained his mental calculation about whether he walks under scaffolding or around it.“I usually observe if the piping and stuff is new,” he said.When Thompson was later asked about his cameo on the local news, he told reporters that he had wanted to offer his thoughts as a “concerned citizen.”“There are a lot of layers to Klay,” Myers said, “and all of them are good. When you peel them back, you just get more authenticity with him.”McAdoo said he was always struck by Thompson’s pregame ritual of reading the newspaper at his locker. (Thompson has said that it helps him relax.)“And he actually reads it,” McAdoo said. “I just found it so odd: ‘Bro, who still reads the newspaper?’”Myers daydreams about Thompson’s eventual return, he said, and about what it will mean for Thompson and for his teammates. In the meantime, another season lurches along without him. The wait continues.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      When the Removal of 2 N.F.L. Stars From Playoff Games Is Progress

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyOn Pro FootballWhen the Removal of 2 N.F.L. Stars From Playoff Games Is ProgressLamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes did not return to games over the weekend after exhibiting concussion symptoms, satisfying critics who have long accused the league of turning a blind eye to brain injuries.A trainer checked on Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson after he was injured on Saturday against the Bills.Credit…Adrian Kraus/Associated PressJan. 18, 2021Updated 8:30 p.m. ETIn a season dominated by the N.F.L.’s efforts to play a full schedule during a pandemic, many other health issues have been overshadowed, particularly concussions, an issue that has dogged the league in years past.The topic returned to the forefront over the weekend when two of the league’s best players — the winners of the last two Most Valuable Player Awards, no less — were knocked out of their divisional round playoff games with symptoms consistent with concussions. The N.F.L. received kudos for following its own player safety rules, which were developed after years of criticism that not enough was being done to prevent head hits.Yet as is so often the case, hits to the head that were not penalized garnered just as much as attention. They suggest the league is far from eliminating the helmet-to-helmet hits that have led to so many head injuries.Most spectators, though, are more likely to remember the instances when star players leave games and don’t return, mostly because of their impact on the team’s chances of winning and because they are the reason fans watch the games in the first place.The first star player knocked out of a game came on Saturday in Buffalo when Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson slammed his head on the turf after he was thrown to the ground by two Bills defenders. Jackson grabbed his helmet and lay on his back as trainers rushed out to examine him. He was taken to the locker room for examination and did not return.On Sunday, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had his neck twisted by a Cleveland Browns defender as he was dragged to the ground. Mahomes wobbled as he stood up, and two teammates had to hold him upright until trainers could walk him off the field. Mahomes, too, was taken to the locker room and ruled out of the game. The Chiefs have confirmed that Mahomes is in the concussion protocol, but have yet to say he actually had a concussion.While fans of the Ravens and the Chiefs would vigorously disagree, others — especially the critics of the league who have long accused it of turning a blind eye to head injuries — might consider the removal of Jackson and Mahomes welcome sights.“The handling of Lamar Jackson’s and Patrick Mahomes’s concussions shows progress,” Chris Nowinski, chief executive of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, wrote on Twitter. “15 years ago: They may not miss a play. 10 years ago: Smelling salts on the bench & return. 5 years ago: 4th quarter comeback. Today: 2 top QB’s treated responsibly.”Indeed, the N.F.L. has focused more on head hits in recent years. The league has strengthened rules against hitting quarterbacks and players who lower their helmets to initiate contact. There were 125 roughing-the-passer penalties called this season, a 40 percent jump compared to 2016, according to the N.F.L. Penalties website, which tracks infractions. This season, there were 37 fouls called for illegal use of the helmet, one more than in 2019, the N.F.L. said.There were 224 reported concussions last season, a decline of 4.7 percent compared to 2018. The league has not yet reported complete concussion figures for this season, but they are likely to decline again because there were no preseason games and many teams canceled some practices to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus.Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was helped off the field after being taken down in the second half on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.Credit…Charlie Riedel/Associated PressMany concussions, though, go unreported, either because doctors and neurologists at the game failed to spot them or because the players masked their symptoms.Then there are the cases in which players smack helmets, no penalty flag is thrown, and no doctors intervene. That’s what happened late in the first half of the Chiefs-Browns matchup. Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield threw a long pass to receiver Rashard Higgins, who ran a few strides and dived for the pylon on the goal line. Just as his outstretched arms and the ball were about to reach the goal line, Chiefs safety Daniel Sorenson launched himself at Higgins.Replays showed Sorenson lowered his helmet and crashed it into Higgins’s head. Higgins fumbled the ball out of bounds in the end zone, a touchback, ending the Browns’ chance for a touchdown and giving possession to the Chiefs at their 20-yard line.Sorenson was not penalized for leading with his helmet, and the Browns were unable to challenge the play because helmet-to-helmet hits are not reviewable. But the noncall, and others like it, did not escape notice by football insiders.“The number of ‘player safety’ penalties not being called by @NFL officials this entire weekend is concerning & unsettling,” Scott Pioli, a former director of player personnel for the New England Patriots and an analyst for CBS and NFL Network, wrote on Twitter. “A LOT of leading with head penalties not being called on defenders AND ballcarriers all weekend. Why have we abandoned the rules for the playoffs?”With the Chiefs advancing to the A.F.C. championship game, Mahomes’s recovery will remain a topic of interest. After Sunday’s game, Coach Andy Reid said his quarterback “got hit in the back of the head and kinda knocked the wind out of him and everything else with it.” But he added that Mahomes was “doing great” and passed some tests, without specifying what they were.According to N.F.L. guidelines, Mahomes must rest until his symptoms are gone and his performance on neurological exams is normal. He can then gradually increase the amount of exercise and stretching. Assuming he has no setbacks, Mahomes can then resume some activities, including strength training. That would lead to noncontact football activities like throwing and running. If all those hurdles are passed, he could be cleared by an independent neurologist to participate in the next practice or game.Players, though, can pass these tests and not report lingering symptoms, like memory loss or headaches. “It’s tough as a player to know what to report,” Nowinski said.In the past five seasons, the median number of days it took a quarterback to return from a concussion was seven. With that in mind, Mahomes could be back on the field when the Chiefs play the Bills on Sunday.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie Out Indefinitely With Torn A.C.L.

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The NBA SeasonThe Warriors Are StrugglingVirus Upends Houston RocketsMarc Stein’s Fearless PredictionsThe Reloaded LakersAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyNets’ Spencer Dinwiddie Out Indefinitely With Torn A.C.L.Dinwiddie, who started at guard alongside Kyrie Irving, hobbled off the court Sunday in the third quarter with what was initially called knee strain.Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who partially tore his right anterior cruciate ligament on Sunday, also tore his left A.C.L. in college.Credit…Michael Dwyer/Associated PressDec. 28, 2020Updated 3:20 p.m. ETThe Nets’ first loss of the season Sunday night at Charlotte has proved especially costly, with the team announcing on Monday that Spencer Dinwiddie, who has been starting at guard alongside Kyrie Irving, partially tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and is out indefinitely.Early in the second half of the Nets’ 106-104 loss to the Hornets, Dinwiddie fell to the floor clutching his right knee after an awkward step in the paint as he passed the ball to Kevin Durant. The team said more details about Dinwiddie’s recovery are expected after surgery next week.Dinwiddie averaged 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 21.4 minutes per game in the Nets’ 2-1 start. The Nets routed Golden State at home and Boston on the road in its first two games before slumping to defeat against the Hornets, who had started 0-2 and are not expected to contend for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. The Nets will be without Dinwiddie, Durant and Irving on Monday night against Memphis at Barclays Center, with Durant and Irving being held out for rest on the second night of a back-to-back.Dinwiddie, 27, averaged 20.6 points and 6.8 assists per game last year while Durant was sidelined for the entire season while recovering from an Achilles’ tendon tear and with Irving limited to just 20 games by various injuries. But Dinwiddie did not join the Nets in the bubble at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., in July, missing the N.B.A. restart while recovering from Covid-19.He earned a spot in the starting lineup this season when the new Nets coach, Steve Nash, decided to deploy Caris LeVert as a sixth man, only to be felled by the second knee injury of his career. Dinwiddie tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during his junior season at Colorado.The injury Sunday occurred on a drive to the basket against Charlotte’s Bismack Biyombo. Dinwiddie hobbled to the Nets’ bench and, after some treatment, was soon ruled out of the game for what was initially termed a right knee sprain.“When Spencer is going, he can’t be stopped — his offensive game when he’s going downhill creating shots for others,” Jarrett Allen, Dinwiddie’s teammate, told reporters after the game. “And even off the court, everyone loves having Spencer around. His energy, just his personality, is great in the locker room.”Playing on what is regarded as one of the N.B.A.’s most attractive contracts, Dinwiddie can become a free agent at season’s end or invoke a $12.3 million player option for the 2021-22 season.Despite Nash’s lack of coaching experience and uncertainty about how Durant and Irving would mesh after injuries prevented them from playing together in their first season in Brooklyn, the Nets are widely billed as a championship contender — in part because they have one of the league’s deepest rosters.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Roger Federer Will Skip the Australian Open

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyKnee Problems Prompt Roger Federer to Skip the Australian OpenThe 20-time Grand Slam champion had two knee surgeries in 2020. He wants to come back, but it remains unclear when he will play.Roger Federer last played competitively during the 2020 Australian Open.Credit…Edgar Su/ReutersDec. 28, 2020, 2:40 p.m. ETAs organizers finalized plans to move the Australian Open to February from its usual January start, the top 100 men and women in the world rushed to sign up, yearning to play a Grand Slam in a country with few cases of the coronavirus, even if it meant a two-week quarantine upon arrival.Then, just days after signing on, Roger Federer announced Monday he would not play in Australia after all as he works his way back from knee surgeries.Federer hopes to play again, but will a return take the form of a farewell tour or a legitimate run at championships? Federer turns 40 in August.He has not played a competitive tournament since the 2020 Australian Open, where he made it through two five-set matches before falling to Novak Djokovic, the eight-time champion, in the semifinals. He also played a charity match in South Africa in February, but he announced early during the pandemic that he would shut down for the rest of the season as the sport itself was working out when it might return.As he recovered in Switzerland from his first knee surgery during the initial lockdown, Federer charmed fans by hitting in the snow outside his house. Then came his announcement that he’d had a second surgery in the spring, and he spoke of his slow recovery.“I’ve had two knee surgeries, so it has been dominated by that — by rehabbing, being on crutches, recovering from the surgery and taking it step by step. I must say I feel much better already again,” he said during a sponsor appearance last summer.As expected, he skipped the United States Open and the French Open. Tennis inched toward its next phase, as Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev battled in the U.S. Open final to become the first new men’s Grand Slam winner since 2014, with Thiem coming out on top. (Rafael Nadal skipped the tournament to avoid traveling to the U.S., and Djokovic was ejected for swatting a ball that hit a line judge.)Nadal tied Federer with his 20th Grand Slam at the French Open in October.Federer remained hopeful that he might be able to appear in Australia, especially after it became clear that the tournament would be pushed back three weeks to accommodate strict protocols for international travelers, including players.But in a statement to The Associated Press, Tony Godsick, Federer’s agent, said Federer had decided that despite recent progress, his best chance for success in whatever time he has left in professional tennis would be to return after the Australian Open.“I will start discussions this coming week for tournaments that begin in late February and then start to build a schedule for the rest of the year,” Godsick said.That could include plans for the Olympics, where Federer won a gold medal in doubles in 2008 and a silver in singles in 2012.In a statement, Craig Tiley, the Australian Open tournament director, said: “The Australian Open has always held a special place in his heart — remember it was Roger who first called the Australian Open the ‘happy slam’.”Federer is still the world No. 5. He last won the Australian Open in 2018 at 37. It is his most recent Grand Slam title. After he nearly won Wimbledon in 2019, it seemed as though he might be able to compete at the highest level for several more years.Now it is unclear when he might come back, much less contend against his longtime rivals, Djokovic and Nadal.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Rockets’ Russell Westbrook Traded to Wizards for John Wall

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyRockets’ Russell Westbrook Traded to Wizards for John WallWestbrook and Wall were both unhappy on their teams. Houston is also giving up a future first-round pick in the trade, which will reunite Wall with his college teammate DeMarcus Cousins.Russell Westbrook spent just one season with the Houston Rockets.Credit…Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressBy More

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      Kevin Durant Says He’s Ready to Return. ‘It’ll Come Naturally.’

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesWho Gets the Vaccine First?Vaccine TrackerFAQAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyKevin Durant Says He’s Ready to Return. ‘It’ll Come Naturally.’Durant, the Nets star, said he felt “solid” after missing all of last season with an Achilles’ tendon injury. It has been almost 18 months since his last N.B.A. game.Kevin Durant said he had been training “as hard as I could” to prepare for this season, when he and Kyrie Irving are expected to play together for the first time.Credit…Kathy Willens/Associated PressBy More