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Medvedev brings simmering rivalry with Djokovic to the boil again in final

Published

1 year ago

September 9, 2023

The fourth round of the 2019 Australian Open would prove a far more significant event in recent tennis history than anyone present could have foreseen. As Novak Djokovic continued his attempts to regain the title that had evaded him for two years, he came across a 22-year-old Russian named Daniil Medvedev.

While most players step on to the court with Djokovic wary of his defensive and physical capabilities, Medvedev, then ranked 19th in the world, was merely curious. He wanted to see just how far he could push those strengths, how much he could make Djokovic hurt. From the beginning he deliberately forced his opponent into endless, excruciating exchanges, breathlessly defending the baseline and refusing to miss. Countless 30-40 stroke rallies followed, with both players frequently reduced to gulping in air from behind the baseline with hands on knees.

After one of the most exhausting three-hour, four-set matches either had ever played and a near-1am finish, Medvedev had a simple question as they shook hands at the net: “He asked me whether he made me sweat at all tonight,” said Djokovic. “I just laughed. I think the answer is obvious.”

At that time, the Russian had only recently begun to take a step forward in his career. But that was the moment that he showed his heart, a quality that has sustained his rise to greater heights.

They will meet again in Sunday’s US Open final with everything on the line. Since that meeting in Australia, this match-up has morphed into one of the premier rivalries on the ATP Tour, with Medvedev the only player of his generation to compete with Djokovic as an equal. It has evolved from that attritional battle into one of the most tactical, cerebral rivalries on the circuit. Like Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic has adopted serve and volleys, dropshots, angles and ample variety in order to counter Medvedev’s return position. Medvedev, meanwhile, has found himself essentially serving two first serves at times just to remain unpredictable.

The pair have faced each other 11 times since, with Djokovic narrowly leading 6-5. In completed matches, they are tied at 5-5 during this period.

Among those meetings is a landmark moment in recent tennis history. Two years ago Djokovic chased immortality as he arrived in the US Open final with a 27-0 record in the majors, only one win away from becoming the first man in the Open era to win a sweep of grand slam titles. Instead Medvedev produced the statement performance of his career, giving a full reflection of his mental strength and self belief by shutting out the Serb in straight sets, refusing him the opportunity of a second wind or inspiration from the crowd.

It has been some road back for Medvedev since that clash. He followed up the US Open by reaching the 2022 Australian Open final against Rafael Nadal, leading Nadal by two sets before falling in five. Just as it seemed that he had reached the top table though, he fell apart. He was a shadow of himself for most of 2022 and by February this year, from scaling the No 1 ranking, he had fallen out of the top 10. He has gradually found his way back to the top of the game and Friday’s incredible win over Alcaraz suggested that he may have surpassed previous heights.

It may not be quite the same challenge as a few years ago when winning a major inevitably required a player to go through two of the big three players, but Medvedev is now charged with pulling off the toughest achievement in men’s tennis this year. Two days after that incredible win over Alcaraz, in which he was spotless for four sets, he must now elevate his level again and beat a 23 time grand slam champion in a major final. Asked what he believes he can take from that victory two years ago, Medvedev said that Djokovic’s loss there will only make him greater.

“I think the only way I can use it is, as I say, thinking that Novak, when he loses, he’s never the same after,” he said. “So he’s different. It’s just a different mentality. That’s why he has 23 grand slams, whatever Masters 1000s, weeks at No 1. So I have to use it knowing that he’s going to be 10 times better than he was that day. And I have to be, if I want to still beat him, 10 times better than I was that day. That’s what I’m going to try to do.”

As Medvedev tries to become a multiple grand slam champion, Djokovic is again in pursuit of 24. Should he win, he will be the oldest player to win the US Open in the Open era. After so many years of success, he says he is in a different mental space now, more conscious of the significance of these moments and aware that he does not know how long the good times will last.

“I probably value these occasions and opportunities to win another slam as more than I have maybe 10 years ago, because 10 years ago I felt like: ‘Hey, I still have quite a few years ahead of me,’” he said. “I don’t know how many I have ahead of me now, or I don’t know how many of the years where I play four slams in the whole season do I have in front of me. So of course I am aware of the occasion. But I try to approach Sunday’s match as basically any other match with intention to win, and I’ll play my opponent.”

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Red Wings sign Raymond to 8-year, $64.6 million contract

Published

4 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.

Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.

The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.

Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.

Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.

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Cousins caps winning drive with TD pass to London as Falcons rally past Eagles 22-21

Published

4 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.

Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.

The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.

Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.

Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.

The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.

And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.

Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.

Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.

Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.

Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.

Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.

With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.

Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.

Questionable call

Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.

Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.

Running wild

Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.

Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.

Foles honored

Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”

Injuries

The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).

Up next

Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.

The Eagles play at New Orleans on Sunday.

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Fernandez and Dabrowski headline Canadian lineup for Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Published

16 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.

The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.

Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.

Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.

“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.

“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”

Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.

Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.

Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.

Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.

Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.

Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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