Daniil Medvedev goading the crowd and Nick Kyrgios getting hot under the collar in a sport comically perfect for rebels, what’s not to love?Purely in terms of tournament sass, it was predictable Novak Dojokovic would be booed off court after retiring from injury at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday night after once again deciding to graciously gift an opponent a win. The US Open is operating at Liberace levels of theatrics and is highly watchable for it.Djokovic had already sworn at the crowd and threatened a spectator during one practice session. “I’ll come find you after the match,” he glowered. “Trust me, I’ll come find you.” Retweeting the footage, Nick Kyrgios added the words “I’m scared” and an emoji suggesting...
Few would bet against Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Rafa Nadal triumphing again this year as thirtysomethings march onThe three names at the top of the betting for the men’s singles at Wimbledon this year are so familiar that they can almost be taken for granted. Between them, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal have won 14 of the 16 slam titles in SW19 since Lleyton Hewitt lifted the trophy in 2002 and their odds imply a 75% chance that one of them will make it 15 from 17. Or, to put it another way, the other 125 players in the main draw have a 25% chance of winning between them, versus three men with a combined age of...
The ousting of the ATP chairman will leave a vacuum at the top of the sport at a time when strong leadership is requiredThis is the story of a pointless coup. Engineered by Novak Djokovic and facilitated by a small group in the ATP players’ council, it has delivered up the head of the association, Chris Kermode, one of the most innovative administrators in sport, leaving tennis in a perilous limbo at the very time it needs strong leadership.There has been animus between the world No 1 and the executive chairman for years, which soured their working relationship to the point of collapse in Indian Wells, California, on Thursday, when three representatives each of the players and the tournament owners...
The Serb moves into another area of excellence in winning the Australian Open and sets his sights on the ‘ultimate challenge’ of beating Nadal on clay in ParisNovak Djokovic is the best tennis player in the world: now, and for the foreseeable future, perhaps until he chooses to retire, which looks to be a few years away yet, he hinted on Sunday night. What the 31-year-old Serb can achieve in the remaining days of a career that began more than a thousand matches and 72 titles ago is difficult to gauge but less so than it was before the final of the Australian Open.What he did to Rafael Nadal in the Rod Laver Arena turned what had been a keen...
From Chris Froome’s breakaway in the Giro d’Italia to an epic Wimbledon showdown, my year featured a number of breathtaking highlightsWhen the New York columnist Jimmy Cannon was starting out in journalism, the playwright Damon Runyon gave him some impeccable advice: “The best way to be a bum and make a living is to write about sport.” The game has changed in the intervening 80 years, but Runyon’s words still hold true. So as 2018 comes to an end, here is this bum’s favourite memories of the sporting events he witnessed at first hand … Continue reading...