adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Sports

Nadal reaches French Open final, closes in on Federer's Grand Slam record – CBC.ca

Published

 on


Novak Djokovic seemed well on his way to yet another ho-hum victory, yet another French Open final, yet another matchup against rival Rafael Nadal. And then, suddenly, what had been a gallop became a grind.

Slightly more than two hours into his semifinal against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday night, Djokovic was serving for the match, one point from ending things in straight sets. Just. One. Point. But a down-the-line backhand veered a tad wide, Djokovic rolled his eyes and, eventually, he was stuck in a serious situation, somehow pushed to five sets.

As is usually the case, though, he was up to the task when it mattered the most. Djokovic got back in gear down the stretch to hold off the much younger, much less accomplished Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1 to reach his fifth title match in Paris.

300x250x1

“Yes, I stayed calm on the surface, but deep down, it was a totally different matter,” Djokovic said. “But I think that when I lost the third set, I stayed mentally strong.”

WATCH | Djokovic escapes Tsitsipas in semis:

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic blew a match point chance in the third set, but rebounded to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets, 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1 and advance to the final of the French Open. 1:25

Standing in the way of No. 1 Djokovic, a 33-year-old from Serbia, on Sunday at Court Philippe Chatier — he is pursuing a second trophy there and 18th from all Grand Slam tournaments — will be, as it’s been so often, No. 2 Nadal, a 34-year-old from Spain.

It will be their 56th meeting, a record between two men in the professional era (Djokovic leads 29-26), 16th at a major (Nadal leads 9-6) and eighth at Roland Garros (Nadal leads 6-1).

“It’s his house, with all the titles he’s won here,” Djokovic said.

In addition to closing in on an unfathomable 13th French Open championship with a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (0) win Friday over 12th-seeded Diego Schwartzman, Nadal now gets a chance to tie Roger Federer for the men’s record of 20 Slam titles.

As has been the case for quite some time, Nadal didn’t want to address the idea of pulling even with Federer, saying it’s fine for others to talk about such matters, but his focus remains squarely on the task at hand.

“I’m playing the most important tournament of the year — that’s what motivates me,” Nadal insisted.

WATCH | Nadal cruises into his 13th French Open final:

Rafael Nadal of Spain is through to a 13th French Open final after beating Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (0) in the French Open semifinals. 0:58 

In the women’s final Saturday, Sofia Kenin of the U.S. faces 19-year-old Iga Swiatek of Poland.

While Nadal only dealt with the slightest tension late in his third set Friday, that’s when everything became more interesting for Djokovic against Tsitsipas, a 22-year-old from Greece in his second Slam semifinal.

Djokovic broke to lead 5-4 in the third and served for the win, holding that match point at 40-30. He would require another 1 hour, 45 minutes to finish the job.

That one misstep left the door a bit ajar, and Tsitsipas barged through. He got his first break all match when Djokovic sent a forehand long, making it 5-all. Tsitsipas then broke again to steal that set and force a fourth when Djokovic netted a forehand. Tsitipas then got things to a fifth.

What changed? Tsitsipas began pushing forward more, taking the action to Djokovic, whose misses began to increase with less time to properly calibrate himself.

And there was a massive swing in who had greater success at key moments.

Djokovic started by converting 4 of 5 break points, then went through a stretch where he was 1 for 13.

Tsitsipas, in contrast, began 0 for 10 on his break chances, then cashed in 4 of 5.

A lengthy changeover after the fourth set — when Djokovic changed socks and shoes, and Tsitsipas got a medical visit for a check of his left leg — offered time to examine their respective histories in such situations.

Djokovic not only was 31-10 in five-setters, but he came into the day with a 215-1 record when taking the opening two sets of a Grand Slam match. Tsitsipas? He was 2-3 in five-setters, his only comeback from two sets down happening last week in the first round.

Maybe it made sense, then, that Djokovic, so reliant on drop shots all match and all tournament, used a perfect one to claim a 10-stroke exchange and finally get his fifth break for a 2-1 lead in the fifth. Then it became 4-1, when Tsitsipas double-faulted.

Djokovic never let up and is now 37-1 in 2020, the only setback coming via a disqualification at the U.S. Open last month.

WATCH | Djokovic defaults from U.S. Open after striking line judge:

Novak Djokovic’s U.S. Open was cut short after he hit a line judge with a discarded tennis ball during his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreño Busta. 4:17

Nadal improved to 99-2 at the French Open — go ahead, read that again — including a combined 25-0 in semifinals and finals, as he seeks a fourth consecutive title in Paris. That would add to his previous streaks of four in a row from 2005-08 and five from 2010-14, to go along with four trophies at the U.S. Open, two at Wimbledon and one at the Australian Open.

He has won all 15 sets he’s played over the past two weeks, making a mockery of the supposed explanations for why this year, so different for so many reasons, might be different for Nadal in the City of Lights.

The shift in dates from May-June to September-October, bringing cooler weather. New, slightly heavier, tennis balls. Nadal’s decision to skip the U.S. Open, leaving him with only three matches since tennis resumed in August. Then there was this: Schwartzman upset Nadal in straight sets on clay at the Italian Open last month.

“He improved,” Schwartzman said, comparing these past two encounters, “and I just played little bit worse.”

The late-afternoon sun at Court Philippe Chatrier created awkward shadows over much of the court and blinding brightness at one end, prompting Schwartzman to flip around his backward baseball hat so the brim could shield his eyes.

With the 5-foot-7 Schwartzman jumping to reach for two-handed backhands in reply to his formidable foe’s high-bouncing topspin forehands, Nadal was content as ever to engage in long, energy-sapping exchanges. The opening game required 14 minutes to complete merely 14 points, six of which lasted at least 10 strokes, with a high of 28, before Nadal held.

That established how things would go in that set: 22 of 69 points included double-digit shot counts. And Nadal’s 16-6 advantage in total winners in that set made the difference; the numbers were 38-24 by match’s end.

Only 1,000 spectators are being allowed on the grounds daily, owing to the rising COVID-19 cases in France, and the sparse crowd on hand was cheering for Schwartzman late in the third, likely not so much because they really were invested in a victory for him but because they wanted to watch more tennis.

By the end, fans were chanting, “Ra-fa! Ra-fa!” as they have so many times in the past.

“It’s important to go through all the process. You have to suffer. You can’t pretend to be in a final of Roland Garros without suffering. That’s what happened there,” Nadal said about the tight third set. “But I found a way, no?”

So, too, did Djokovic.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Vasilevskiy stops 23 as surging Lightning beat Bruins – Sportsnet.ca

Published

 on


* public_profileBlurb *

* public_displayName *

300x250x1

* public_name *
* public_gender *
* public_birthdate *
* public_emailAddress *
* public_address *
* public_phoneNumber *

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Shane Pinto has a goal, three assists as the Senators roll over the Sabres – Sportsnet.ca

Published

 on


* public_profileBlurb *

* public_displayName *

300x250x1

* public_name *
* public_gender *
* public_birthdate *
* public_emailAddress *
* public_address *
* public_phoneNumber *

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Here’s what we know about the allegations against Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara

Published

 on

LOS ANGELES –

Only a week has passed since the Los Angeles Dodgers abruptly fired Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter and constant companion of their new $700 million slugger, Shohei Ohtani.

But the biggest story of baseball’s spring is still murky — and shocking — as the regular season begins in earnest Thursday.

The scandal encompasses gambling, alleged theft, extensive deceit and the breakup of an enduring partnership between the majors’ biggest star and his right-hand man. Investigations are underway by the IRS and Major League Baseball, and Ohtani publicly laid out a version of events Monday that placed the responsibility entirely on Mizuhara.

300x250x1

Here are the basics as Ohtani and the Dodgers prepare for their home opener against St. Louis on Thursday:

Why was Ippei Mizuhara fired by the Dodgers?

Ohtani claims his close friend repeatedly took money from his accounts to fund his illegal sports gambling habit. Ohtani also says he was completely unaware of the “massive theft,” as his lawyers termed it, until Mizuhara confessed to him and the Dodgers last week in South Korea, where the team opened its regular season against the San Diego Padres.

Mizuhara has given more than one version of his path to this trouble, which was catalyzed by the IRS’ investigation of Mathew Bowyer, an alleged illegal bookmaker. Mizuhara has consistently said he has a gambling addiction, and he abused his close friendship with the Dodgers superstar to feed it.

Did Shohei Ohtani ever bet on sports?

That’s the biggest question to be answered in Major League Baseball’s investigation, and the two-time AL MVP emphatically says he has never gambled on sports or asked anybody to bet on sports for him.

Further, Ohtani said Monday he has never knowingly paid a bookie to cover somebody else’s bets. Mizuhara also said Ohtani does not bet, and Bowyer’s attorney said the same.

Mizuhara told ESPN on March 19 that Ohtani paid his gambling debts at the interpreter’s request, saying the bets were on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football. If that were true, Ohtani could face trouble even if he didn’t make the bets himself — but ESPN said Mizuhara dramatically changed his story the following day, claiming Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to bookmakers.

MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from wagering — even legally — on baseball. They also ban betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.

What’s next for Ohtani?

Ohtani has played in every Dodgers game since the story broke, and he is expected to be their designated hitter in most regular-season games this season while baseball’s investigation continues.

Ohtani says his legal team has alerted authorities to the theft by Mizuhara, although his team has repeatedly declined to say which authorities have been told, according to ESPN.

Ohtani’s new interpreter is Will Ireton, a longtime Dodgers employee and fluent Japanese speaker who has filled several jobs with the team in everything from game preparation and analytics to recruiting free-agent pitches. But Ireton won’t be Ohtani’s constant companion, and manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday he’s optimistic that Ohtani will become closer to his teammates without the “buffer” provided for years by Mizuhara.

What don’t we know?

MLB’s investigation of Ohtani’s role in the events could last weeks or months, and it’s unlikely to be publicized until it’s complete. No one outside of Ohtani’s inner circle knows what it will find or how serious any repercussions could be, and nobody outside the circle is making informed speculation about the process.

One major question looms: How did Mizuhara have enough access to Ohtani’s bank accounts to get the alleged millions without Ohtani knowing? Is the slugger overly trusting, or is he wildly negligent in managing his vast fortune, which includes years of lavish endorsement deals in addition to his baseball salaries? Why didn’t the team around him, including his agent, do more to prevent the possibility of the theft he claims?

Finally, where is Mizuhara? Anybody who knows isn’t saying. He was fired in South Korea and apparently didn’t travel home with the Dodgers. Japanese media have visited his home in Southern California to look for him. Although he was born in Japan, Mizuhara’s life is in the U.S. — but his life will never be the same.

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending