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    Tennis Players Want a Choice About Vaccination; Tours Encourage It

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

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

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

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    What to Watch Monday at the U.S. Open

    Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas meet for the first time, and the spotlight shines once again on defending champion Naomi Osaka.How to watch: From noon to 6 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN; 7 to 11 p.m. on ESPN2; and streaming on the ESPN app.Matches to keep an eye on.Because of the number of matches cycling through courts, these times are estimates and may fluctuate based on when earlier play is completed. All times are Eastern Standard.Grandstand | 11 a.m.Simona Halep vs. Camila GiorgiSimona Halep, the 12th seed, pulled out of the Western & Southern Open earlier this month citing a tear in her right abductor. The two-time major champion is a tough competitor when healthy, but multiple injuries this year kept her out of the French Open and Wimbledon.Camila Giorgi, ranked 36th, is on an upswing, having won her first Masters 1000 event at the National Bank Open in August. Giorgi has an aggressive baseline game that will put Halep on defensive footing, and for both players it will be a proper test of their capabilities to make a deep run at the U.S. Open.ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM | 2 p.m.Andy Murray vs. Stefanos TsitsipasAndy Murray, who won the U.S. Open in 2012, has struggled with injuries since 2018, playing on the tour intermittently between surgeries. Still, Murray has been able to compete well enough, reaching the third round at Wimbledon in July.Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 3rd seed, crashed out of Wimbledon in the first round after a charge to the finals at the French Open. His consistency is often challenged by experienced players and the Greek star will be in for a grinding match against the three-time major tournament champion in their first meeting.ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM | 7 p.m.Naomi Osaka vs. Marie BouzkovaNaomi Osaka, the 3rd seed, won the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020, and will be looking to start her title defense with a convincing first round victory. Osaka lost in the third round of the Olympics to the eventual silver medalist, Marketa Vondrousova. The disappointing result in Tokyo can surely be put behind her as she returns in front of the adoring crowds of New York.Marie Bouzkova reached her second career WTA final in February on the hard courts of Melbourne leading up to the Australian Open. The 23-year-old Czech won the Girls’ U.S. Open title in 2014 but has not replicated that success on the pro tour. An upset against Osaka would be her biggest win.Daniil Medvedev returns the ball during a practice session prior to the start of the U.S. Open.Sarah Stier/Getty ImagesARTHUR ASHE STADIUM | 9 p.m.Daniil Medvedev vs. Richard GasquetDaniil Medvedev, the 2nd seed, will face off against Richard Gasquet, a veteran of the ATP Tour, to cap the night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Medvedev won the National Bank Open earlier this month, and is a favorite to make the final on Sept. 12. Gasquet has not been past the third round of a major tournament since 2016, and an upset seems unlikely as Medvedev will look to repeat or better his finals run from 2019.Sleeper match of the day.Court 8 | 11 a.m.Mayar Sherif vs. Anhelina KalininaBoth Mayar Sherif and Anhelina Kalinina cracked the top 100 this year after career best performances at Grand Slam tournaments. Sherif became the first Egyptian woman to win a main draw match at a major tournament in Australia this year, and Kalinina reached the second round at the French Open. These promising players are well matched opponents. Kalinina won their only matchup when they met on clay in July, but Sherif is well suited to hardcourts and should be the slight favorite going into today’s match. More

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    Can Novak Djokovic Be Invincible Again?

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

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    A Relaxed Ash Barty Is Still No. 1

    She stepped away from the game and came back stronger, winning four tournaments this year, including Wimbledon.In a year when mental health has often been a headline in sports, it is fitting that Ash Barty of Australia is the No. 1 women’s player in the world. Barty had the self-awareness to walk away from tennis for more than a year in 2014 to seek a more normal existence (though she also took up professional cricket).In 2019, when she stumbled at Wimbledon, losing in the fourth round, she took a few weeks to return home and rejuvenate. And after staying off the tour for nearly a year during the pandemic, she has won four titles this year, including Wimbledon.Barty discussed her approach to tennis and life as she prepared for the United States Open. The following interview has been edited and condensed.Are you someone who has always gone your own way?I grew up with values from my mom and dad that you make the right decisions for the right reasons, and they are not dependent on tennis. When I do that, regardless of what that means for my tennis, I’m a happy person. Certainly, you can’t please everyone, but that’s all I need to do.Do you get frustrated when people attack Naomi Osaka or Simone Biles for making decisions based on their mental health?I haven’t followed those stories too closely, but based on the headlines, I hope that they are making the right decisions for the right reasons. It shouldn’t matter to Simone and Naomi what the rest of the world thinks.Barty serving to Angelique Kerber during the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open on Aug. 21 in Mason, Ohio. She went on to win the tournament.Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesIn 2019, after reaching No. 1, you fell at Wimbledon, took three weeks off and then fell in the second round of your next tournament. Did you feel pressure as the new No. 1?It was really exciting — this was something I’d worked towards. It certainly didn’t add any pressure, if anything it took it off because I had absolutely nothing to prove to anyone.After Wimbledon, it was really important for me to go home and take stock. I arrived in the U.S. knowing I was probably not going to be playing my best tennis in some of those tournaments. But I had a solid end of the year. [Barty reached the finals of the China Open and won the year-end WTA Finals.]This year, was it easy to find your footing right away?I just take each week as it comes. Each match is an opportunity to do the best that I can on that given day. Whether that’s a win or loss is quite irrelevant. It’s more about going out there with the right attitude regardless of the result.As an athlete you need to be able to separate and not place your self-worth on those wins and losses — that’s certainly a false way to determine whether you’ve had a successful career. It’s more about the way you go about it and how much you enjoy that journey.Were you confident before Wimbledon or worried about lingering injuries?I always trust in my tennis. If I play well, I’ll be very hard to beat. But at Wimbledon, my team and I had no idea how my body was going to respond, so we were on edge. I would wake up each morning to see if I felt all right. Getting through the tournament physically was massive, so I was able to relax and play some of my best tennis when it mattered most.The U.S. Open has proved your biggest challenge. You’ve never gotten past the fourth round. Is there a specific challenge to playing there for you?I love playing in New York, and I love the conditions. Making the fourth round a couple of years in a row is not terrible — being in the second week of a Slam is where you want to be — and I’ve lost to some quality opponents. We just keep chipping away. I just go there and try to put my best foot forward. More

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    John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg: A Rivalry That Ended Too Soon

    The two played each other just 14 times but created one of the greatest and still-talked-about rivalries in the history of tennis.Over the last 17 years, Roger Federer has played Rafael Nadal 40 times, including nine times in Grand Slam finals. He has played Novak Djokovic 50 times since 2006, twice in five-set Wimbledon championship matches, both won by Djokovic. And Nadal and Djokovic have played a staggering 58 times, including nine times at the French Open.By comparison, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe played 14 matches from 1978 to 1981. And yet they produced one of the greatest and still-talked-about rivalries in the history of the sport.Forty years ago, as the setting sun cast shadows across Louis Armstrong Stadium, more than 18,000 spectators saw a bizarre ending to a too-short era that involved two of the game’s all-time best. First, they watched in awe as McEnroe, a native New Yorker, won his third consecutive United States Open by beating Borg 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 in 2 hours 40 minutes. But what happened next caused bewilderment, followed by concern, at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens.As McEnroe was hugging his parents, Kay and John Sr., and holding the champion’s trophy aloft, Borg was nowhere to be found. He had skipped the post-match ceremony and obligatory news conference. He had left the stadium with Lennart Bergelin, his longtime coach and confidant, hastily grabbed a shower and hopped in a waiting station wagon, never again to be seen competing at the U.S. Open, or any other major.McEnroe with Borg during the Laver Cup in 2019. McEnroe was the captain of Team World and Bjorg the captain of Team Europe.Julian Finney/Getty ImagesBorg, barely 25 at the time, was a six-time French Open champion and had also won five consecutive Wimbledon titles from 1976 to 1980 before McEnroe beat him in the 1981 final. Through much of the U.S. Open final he remained close with McEnroe, even leading 4-2 after they had split the first two sets. But when McEnroe broke back and evened the third set, Borg seemed to vanish mentally. He lost the fourth set meekly, shook hands and disappeared.“To me, it was bittersweet,” McEnroe said during a phone interview in August from his home in Malibu, Calif. “The way it ended, with a whimper, with him walking out of the court before the ceremony to never play again. So even though it was a tremendous moment for me, winning Wimbledon and the Open back-to-back and taking over the No. 1 ranking, looking back I wish we could have kept playing.“For years, I would see him and say: ‘When are you coming back? This is ridiculous, let’s go,’” McEnroe, who has long been a tennis commentator for ESPN, added. “It just felt like there was a void and it took me a couple of years to accept that. I think it was too bad for the sport as well.”Borg’s manager, Per Hjertquist, did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.What many did not know at the time was that Borg had received two death threats during the Open, both called in to the switchboard at the Tennis Center, though no one has ever said why. One was before his semifinal win over Jimmy Connors. The other was at 4:45 p.m. on Sunday, in the middle of the first set against McEnroe. Borg was not told about that threat until Bergelin alerted him after the match.Many of the fans that day were pulling for Borg, the suave Swede who wore a red, white and blue headband stretched across his forehead to control his shoulder-length mane of dirty-blond hair. Borg was playing in his 10th U.S. Open and fourth final without a championship. He had lost to Jimmy Connors in 1976 and 1978 and to McEnroe in 1980, just two months after beating McEnroe in a five-set Wimbledon final that featured a 34-point fourth-set tiebreaker, and an 8-6 fifth set.Their stark differences were part of the Borg-McEnroe allure. While Borg preferred to quietly stalk the baseline, swinging his two-handed backhand as if it were a pendulum, the left-handed McEnroe was all about disruption, in his game and in his behavior.“We were the perfect yin and yang,” McEnroe said. “You had someone who was naturally aggressive against someone who was a counterpuncher. Everything about us was totally different, the way we looked and the way we played.”Even their fellow competitors saw the value in the matchup.“Bjorn had a certain aloofness to him,” said Rick Meyer, who grew up playing with McEnroe and lost to him in the third round of the 1980 U.S. Open. “He never played doubles, never practiced on site, was basically perfect for the quiet atmosphere of Wimbledon. John, on the other hand, was all about the electricity of New York where people behaved as if it was a boxing match. In the end, that hurt Bjorn.”During the late ’70s and early ’80s, tennis in the United States was exploding. Everyone wanted to play and viewership, in person and on television, was at never-before-seen levels. The day before the 1981 U.S. Open men’s final, 18-year-old Tracy Austin won her second women’s title with a 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1) win over Martina Navratilova. Navratilova, who had beaten Chris Evert in the semifinals, sobbed, not because she lost but because the New York crowd had finally embraced her six years after she had defected from Czechoslovakia.In March 1981, World Tennis magazine ran a cover photo of Borg and McEnroe, standing back-to-back, revolutionary-style guns pointed up, with the headline “McEnroe-Borg: Will Their Duels Become Legend?”In the months and years after the 1981 U.S. Open, Borg made a few attempts to return to the pro tour. He never played another major, but he captained Team Europe to victory in the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Laver Cup competitions (versus Team World, captained by McEnroe). His son, Leo, has followed in his footsteps and reached the third round of the French Open junior tournament in May and the second round at Junior Wimbledon in July. Borg also started a successful fashion line.“There are a lot of reasons that Borg may have stopped playing, whether it was because he lost the No. 1 ranking, or had been doing it a long time and was a little burned out or that he was the first athlete to make enough money to be able to walk away,” McEnroe said. “But I just wanted to know if he was OK, living a happy life, feeling content and not second-guessing himself and wishing 30 years later that he had done things differently. That’s one of those things that we may never know the answer to.” More

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    U.S. Open Tightens Protocols, Fans Must Provide Proof of Covid Vaccination

    Under pressure from the New York City mayor’s office, the U.S.T.A. reversed its rules for fans attending the tournament, which will have full capacity.Under pressure from Mayor Bill de Blasio and other city leaders, the United States Tennis Association reversed its lax coronavirus protocols for the upcoming U.S. Open tournament, which opens to thousands of fans on Monday.Originally, the tournament did not require any proof of vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test for fans to enter, and there were no mask mandates, either. But the mayor’s office stepped in over the past two days and demanded stricter protocols.On Friday evening, the tournament announced on its Twitter account that proof of at least one vaccine shot would now be required for entrance to the grounds for all fans age 12 and older. No masks are required.The mayor’s office was adamant that fans entering Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest venue on the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, be vaccinated. But the U.S.T.A. took it a step further and made it a requirement for all fans entering the grounds of the tournament.“Today, the U.S.T.A. was informed that the New York City mayor’s office will be mandating proof of Covid-19 vaccination for entrance to Arthur Ashe Stadium,” the statement said. “Given the continuing evolution of the Delta variant and in keeping with our intention to put the health and safety of our fans first, the U.S.T.A. will extend the mayor’s requirement to all U.S. Open ticket holders 12 years old and older.”De Blasio was not the only city official concerned about the potential for a large coronavirus outbreak. After the tournament announced on Wednesday that no vaccines or masks would be required, Mark Levine, a City Council member from Manhattan and chair of the health committee, said he was “alarmed” that the U.S. Open could become a super spreader event, especially with so many visitors from around the world and the country visiting the tournament in Queens, and also going into Manhattan during their visits.Reached after the tournament reversed course on Friday, Levine was pleased by the reversal.“I feel enormous relief,” he said, “and it’s just in the nick of time with crowds due to arrive on Monday.”Levine pointed out that because ticket holders were only required to get one shot, they had time before the tournament started, if they were motivated to get it.“No fan is excluded unless they want to be,” he said. “This is not a draconian measure.”Tournament organizers said they would add “extra measures” to expedite the process of checking vaccination records at entry points to the grounds.The U.S.T.A. said it had developed its original protocols for fans within guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the city’s Department of Health and the mayor’s office. But since then, it said, the mayor has introduced the Key to NYC Pass, requiring patrons and employees of indoor dining, entertainment and recreation to prove that they have received at least one dose of the vaccine.The mayor was particularly concerned about fans filling up Arthur Ashe Stadium with the roof closed. The U.S.T.A. claims that the ventilation inside the stadium is sufficient for it to be considered an outdoor venue — like one of New York’s two baseball stadiums — even when the roof is closed.The mayor insisted that the U.S.T.A either mandate proof of one dose of a Covid vaccine, or keep the roof open at all times, which could have caused scheduling headaches in the event of rain.Players are not required to be vaccinated, but they are tested upon arrival at the tournament and every four days after that. If they test positive, they must withdraw from the tournament.Ticket holders who do not wish to provide proof of vaccination may seek a refund.“I feel like that should be always a personal decision, whether you want to get vaccinated or not,” said Novak Djokovic, who enters the tournament looking to become the first player, man or woman, to win a Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988. “So, I’m supportive of that. Whether someone wants to get a vaccine or not, that’s completely up to them. I hope that it stays that way.” More