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The year the Big Four stood down – The Globe and Mail

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Vasek Pospisil, right, and Félix Auger-Aliassime of Canada look on during their first round doubles match against Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin of France at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament in Montreal, Aug. 5, 2019.

Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

After finally putting an end to the whole idea of the Big Four in men’s tennis, Félix Auger-Aliassime was still showing a respect that is no longer due.

“In the back of your mind, you know you’re facing Andy Murray,” the 20-year-old Montrealer said after winning his second-round match at the U.S. Open on Thursday night. “You never know what tricks he has in the back of his pocket.”

No tricks, as it turns out. I’m not sure the man has pockets any more.

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A large part of Murray’s reputation was based on his ability to return serve. He’s one of the greats in that regard. Against Auger-Aliassime, Murray had no break points and no break opportunities. He went down 2-6, 3-6, 4-6.

That isn’t losing. That’s being wiped out.

Murray is in the midst of a comeback no one really wanted. He’s tottering around out there on a metal hip, trying to reassert himself in a game that has passed him by.

A generation ago, the Scot would have had the sense to quit. He’s 33 years old and already half-bionic.

Thirty-three used to be ancient in men’s tennis terms. Pete Sampras quit at 31. Boris Becker was the same age when he called it a day, and he hadn’t mattered much in years.

Maybe recency bias is to blame here. The Roger Federers, Serena Williamses and Tom Bradys of the world have convinced Murray that it is quite reasonable for humans to operate at their physical peak until 40.

As anyone who has ever been 40 will tell you, that is a dirty lie.

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At this U.S. Open, we are finally beginning to see the reality of time reassert itself.

By Friday, the oldest remaining player in the men’s singles draw was reigning champion Novak Djokovic. He’s 33 and a half. But I understand he can turn bilge water into vitamins using only the power of his brain, so he has an advantage.

Federer is MIA because of knee surgery. Rafael Nadal is taking a pass because of COVID-19.

This was the year the old guard stood down. We are left wondering what they’ll look like whenever they decide to stand back up.

Men’s tennis has spent years waiting for the situation at the top to change. It finally is, if incrementally. Murray’s done. Federer is on his way out. Nadal has to be close behind. It just stands to reason. (And, yes, that one has been written before. Many times.)

On a nice, local note, Canada is a major storyline in whatever change is occurring. Three Canadian men (Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil) made it through to the U.S. Open’s third round this week. That had never happened before.

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It might’ve been four had Pospisil not advanced via some Canadian-on-Canadian crime, making Milos Raonic look old and creaky.

Raonic’s only finish line now is a major title. The only one left to play is the French. Which means Raonic’s season is effectively over.

He’ll be 30 when they start up again. Just last year, you’d have said, “Thirty? Is that all?” But 30 is starting to feel like the other side of the mountain again. Especially when you are a spindly 6-foot-5 and playing a sport that puts more G-forces on your joints than a rocket launch.

Raonic is no longer mid-career. He is well into the second half of his tennis journey. His time no longer seems like ‘right now’. It feels as though it was the Wimbledon final in 2016, the one in which he ended up being overcome by the moment against Murray.

Imagine where Canadian tennis would be now if that match had gone the other way?

Instead, the breakthrough was left to Bianca Andreescu, who won the women’s title at the U.S. Open last year. We are about to see if tennis majors are like four-minute miles – you have to see that it can be done in order to be able to do it yourself.

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Regardless, Auger-Aliassime is now always going to be the most obvious threat. He was shaky in his opener, then dominant against Murray. Within a few days, if it gets that far, he’ll likely have to get past Dominic Thiem.

Thiem has been tennis’s No. 1 contender for what seems like a hundred years now. The Austrian is 27 and hasn’t won anything that matters. By that age, Bjorn Borg had already been retired for a year.

Like so many of his cohort – Raonic being one of them – Thiem seems scarred by his unlucky place in the tennis timeline. He is consistently brilliant right up until he convinces a few people that he’s finally figured it out. Then he plays as though the point is to put the ball through the net, rather than just over it.

Someone on Auger-Aliassime’s side of the bracket is going to get their chance against Djokovic. You’d like to make that last sentence conditional, but you know in your bones it isn’t. Djokovic may be a bit of a wing-nut, but he is also as guaranteed as government bonds.

It’s got to the point where you don’t admire the Serb’s consistency so much as you are confused by his ability to keep himself interested. Surely, even he must get bored by how good he is.

That’s all you’re hoping for now – some change, something a little different. This U.S. Open is an advance look at what men’s tennis will look like in its next iteration. And so far, that’s not very compelling. It’s a bit of a battle royale out there – a whole bunch of guys swinging chairs at each other.

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We still need to figure out the rivalries, the must-see encounters, the running feuds. The women’s side has Serena Williams and her march to 24 Grand Slam titles. What does men’s tennis have? Djokovic plowing over the field like this is a monster truck rally.

It’d be a nice change if someone found a new script, never mind flipping this one. And it would be something special in an otherwise desultory sports year if that someone wore the Maple Leaf.

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Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

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With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

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TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

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Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

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Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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