Sports
'Inhuman': Rival defends Novak Djokovic after 'clueless' US Open drama – Yahoo Sport Australia
Former US Open champ Dominic Thiem has labelled the pressure Novak Djokovic faced during the US Open final as ‘inhuman’ after seeing the 20-time grand slam champ break down before the match was over.
Russian Daniil Medvedev ended Djokovic’s hopes of a calendar grand slam after a near flawless 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 US Open final win.
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The Russian was in imperious form and momentarily paused Djokovic’s chance of a record 21st grand slam.
From the start Djokovic couldn’t find the answer even if the crowd rallied behind the Serb’s quest for tennis immortality.
However, fans watched around the world as the weight of expectations came crashing down on Djokovic as arguably the greatest ever play broke down in tears.
And he 2020 US Open champ Thiem jumped to the defence of Djokovic.
Thiem missed a chance to defend his title after a wrist injury largely curtailed his 2021 season, but the injured star praised Medvedev for his maiden grand slam title.
However, the Austrian said while Djokovic was thoroughly outplayed it must have been a relief to finish the US Open after the ‘inhuman’ amount of pressure on the World No.1.
“On the other hand, you could see the tension Novak Djokovic was under – especially at the last exchange, where he was in tears,” Thiem said on Eurosport.
“We saw what was going on inside him; also what he had accumulated in the last weeks and months. That is simply inhuman.
“I don’t know him that well, but I think he has a really good heart and has deserved the love of the whole audience here. We don’t need to talk about his sporting achievements anyway.”
Tennis icon Boris Becker also weighed-in on the tension and said he doesn’t remember a time when Djokovic had looked so ‘clueless’ on the court.
“He didn’t want to become one of the best – he wanted to become the best, and he would have underlined that with a victory here today,” he added on Eurosport.
“I have never seen Novak so clueless.”
Novak Djokovic’s relief after US Open final
But despite the straight-sets loss, Djokovic says he was just happy his chase for grand slam perfection in 2021 was finally over.
When asked in his post-match press conference to describe his emotions, the 34-year-old said: “Relief.”
“I was glad it was over because the build up for this tournament and everything that mentally, emotionally I had to deal with throughout the tournament in the last couple of weeks was just a lot.”
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Sports
Sale Of Arizona Coyotes Formally Approved By Board Of Governors – prohockeyrumors.com
The sale of the Arizona Coyotes to Utah has been formally approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli (Twitter link). The vote received unanimous support from the board, shares The Athletic’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link). The NHL has promptly released their first statement on this transition (Web link).
This news brings a quiet end to the long-running saga surrounding the Coyotes search for a home in Arizona. The team has been pushing to build a new arena since their lease ended at Gila River Arena at the end of the 2021-22 season. They searched through many options, ultimately settling on building and sharing a small, 5,000-seat arena with Arizona State University’s hockey teams. The Coyotes played their first game at Mullett Arena in front of a sold-out crowd on October 28, 2022. They’ve since maxed out their attendance in nearly every game since, though the devotion from the fans wasn’t enough to will the team to a new rink. The ownership group, led by Alex Meruelo, ultimately couldn’t find a new parcel of land to build a full-size rink before their timer ran out. After a lot of back-and-forth between the Coyotes ownership and the NHL, it was ultimately decided that the Coyotes will relocate to Salt Lake City for the 2024-25 season.
The decision to relocate has come with a lot of contingencies for Meruelo and the Coyotes brand. Most notably, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski shares that a return to Arizona wouldn’t require approval from the Board of Governors (Twitter link). Meruelo could instead get his team back quickly by building a full-size arena, with NHL Deputy Commissioner telling Wyshynski, “[Meruelo] has already been approved as an NHL owner.” The Coyotes will continue forward as an “inactive” franchise while Meruelo continues searching for a new home.
The disbandment of the Coyotes has been devastating to fans that have supported the impossible – hockey in the desert – for the past 28 years. Arizona only once averaged below 12,000 attendees prior to their move to Mullett – and it wasn’t by much, averaging 11,989 attendees in the 2009-10 season. But they rebounded well, even averaging 14,606 fans throughout the 2019-20 season. The devotion of Coyotes fans was never once in doubt – a passion made clear by the community’s rallying to support the Coyotes’ last home game on Wednesday, April 17th. Watch parties across Arizona came together to witness one more Coyotes win – a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, the same score as their first game as a franchise. The emotions of the evening were captured beautifully by a five-minute sign-off from broadcaster Todd Walsh, who’s covered the team since their 1996 move (Twitter link).
Sports
2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs 1st-round schedule – NHL.com
New York Rangers (1M) vs. Washington Capitals (WC2)
Game 1: Capitals at Rangers — Sunday, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN, SN, TVAS, MSG, MNMT)
Game 2: Capitals at Rangers — April 23, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN, TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNW)
Game 3: Rangers at Capitals — April 26, 7 p.m. ET (TNT, truTV, MAX, SN360, TVAS)
Game 4: Rangers at Capitals — April 28, 8 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV, MAX, SN360, TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNP)
Game 5: Capitals at Rangers — May 1, TBD
Game 6: Rangers at Capitals — May 3, TBD
Game 7: Capitals at Rangers — May 5, TBD
Complete Rangers-Capitals series coverage
Sports
The Bruins' strengths + vulnerabilities, and the path to a series victory for the Maple Leafs – MLHS Playoff Podcast – Maple Leafs Hot Stove
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MLHS has been cited by: ESPN, Sports Illustrated, CBC News, USA Today, Fox Sports, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, TSN, Sportsnet, Grantland, CTV News, CBSSports, The Globe & Mail, The National Post, The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, Global News, Huffington Post, and many more.
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