Novak Djokovic behaved better Wednesday in his first match since being defaulted from the U.S. Open.
The top-ranked Serb was mostly courteous with the chair umpire and had no interaction with the line judges during a 6-3, 6-2 win over local wild-card entry Salvatore Caruso in his opening match at the Italian Open.
Also Wednesday, nine-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal made a solid return to competition after a seven-month absence by beating U.S. Open semifinalist Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1, 6-1.
Nadal had not played a match since winning a title in Acapulco, Mexico, in February — having decided not to play the U.S. Open over travel concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Djokovic’s performance came in sharp contrast to the scene in New York 10 days ago, when Djokovic was disqualified for unintentionally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball. Djokovic said earlier this week that the incident taught him “a big lesson.”
“I was actually looking forward to (playing again) as soon as possible after what happened in New York,” Djokovic said. “Because I feel like the sentiment on the court needs to be positive, and I need to kind of remove anything that can possibly cause any kind of issues to me — if there is something.”
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic advances to the 3rd round of the Italian Open with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Salvatore Caruso. 0:43
When the umpire came down to inspect a ball mark on the red clay early in the first set and made an overrule in Caruso’s favour, Djokovic just replied, “Yup,” and rubbed out the mark with his red sneaker.
When Caruso impressed him — the Italian hit 13 winners to Djokovic’s 12 — Djokovic said, “Bravo.”
“It was a hot day against Caruso who already played three matches here, a clay court specialist. It was a very good test for me,” Djokovic said. “I’m very pleased with the way I handled myself in important moments.”
Bothered by ‘crowd’ noise
Djokovic’s only testy moment came during the third game of the second set, which went to deuce seven times before Djokovic finally broke Caruso’s serve. As the game wore on, Djokovic appeared bothered by crowd noise, even though the Foro Italico is empty of fans this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The only people inside the stadium were coaches and others working at the tournament.
“Which ones?” the umpire asked Djokovic, trying to figure out who was bothering him.
Djokovic replied curtly: “There’s 10 people in the stands.”
Afterward, Djokovic explained: “It was very, very quiet, which is very unusual to what we are used to here in Rome, which has one of the loudest and most energetic crowd atmospheres on the tour. But there was somebody in the corridor of the stadium that was talking — about five, six people.”
WATCH | Novak Djokovic hits line judge with ball at U.S. Open:
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
After winning, Djokovic laughed to himself as he performed his usual on-court celebration, waving his arms toward all four sides of the Campo Centrale stands.
“I miss the crowd,” he said. “Italy has a nice tennis tradition and this tournament has been around for many years. It’s a little strange.”
Djokovic, a four-time Rome champion, next faces fellow Serb Filip Krajinovic, who beat Italian qualifier Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 6-1.
“Filip is someone that I am very close to for many years. I was trying to kind of mentor him in the last seven, eight years,” Djokovic said. “I’m just very, very pleased that he’s doing well.”
World No. 2 Simona Halep defeats wildcard Jasime Paolini, 6-3, 6-4, in the 2nd round of the Italian Open. 2:10
Nadal was in control from the start and closed out the first set with two straight aces, one out wide and one down the T. The match ended in 73 minutes.
The 19-time Grand Slam champion even found a solution to the ban on service from ball kids by bringing not one but two towels to the back of the court on each changeover — placing one large bath-size version on the box set up for players and the other on an empty line judge’s chair.
In other second-round matches, Italian teenager Jannik Sinner upset third-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-1, 6-7 (9), 6-2 in a matchup of the last two Next Gen ATP Finals champions; and Rome resident Matteo Berrettini defeated Argentina Federico Coria 7-5, 6-1.
Also, Marin Cilic beat sixth-seeded David Goffin 6-2, 6-2, and Italian wild-card entry Stefano Travaglia eliminated U.S. Open quarterfinalist Borna Coric 7-6 (2), 7-5.
No. 12 seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., faces Spanish qualifier Pedro Martinez, while No. 13 seed Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., meets Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic in the second round on Thursday.
In first-round doubles play Wednesday, Raonic and Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime beat American Austin Krajicek and Croatia’s Franko Skugor 7-5, 6-4 on Wednesday.
Shapovalov and India’s Rohan Bopanna downed Argentina’s Guido Pella and Chile’s Cristian Garin 6-4, 6-4.
Top-seeded Halep wins 1st match
In the women’s tournament, top-seeded Simona Halep beat Italian wild-card entry Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-4, last year’s semifinalist Kiki Bertens defeated Polona Hercog 6-2, 6-4, and Montenegrin qualifier Danka Kovinic eliminated sixth-seeded Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-1.
Playing four days after her runner-up finish in the U.S. Open, Victoria Azarenka dispatched 1999 Rome champion Venus Williams 7-6 (7), 6-2 in the day’s only first-round match.
Afterward, Williams consoled herself by taking her dog for a walk around the empty grounds.
This event, which was rescheduled from May because of the pandemic, is an important warmup for the rescheduled French Open, which starts in 11 days.
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
