The two players have at least addressed the situation but going ahead with December’s game in Jeddah given the global outrage over Jamal Khashoggi’s death is a mistakeOf the many withering put‑downs John McEnroe uttered in his playing career, a favourite remains his response to why he refused to play Björn Borg in apartheid South Africa: “I’ve got better ways to earn a million dollars.”In nine words McEnroe told the world he did not need to compromise his values or expose himself to ridicule – even for a million dollars. He was worth more than that. He was good enough to make up the slack somewhere else. He and Borg were at the height of their celebrity, having just played...
The Serb could secure the top spot for the first time in two years at the Paris Masters and the odds have shortened on him again holding all four major titles at the same timeFor all that the slams and Masters dominate the game and the headlines, the ultimate judgment of who is the best tennis player in the world boils down to the end-of-year rankings, one of the most rigorous tests of consistency and staying power in any sport.At the moment Novak Djokovic lurks at No 2 – fully seven years after his annus mirabilis, when he looked unbeatable on all surfaces, and a little over 18 months since his career was in freefall. Related: Nadal and Djokovic need...
The two players appear to have remained deaf to growing clamour over seeming endorsement of Saudi Arabia amid outrage over disappearance of Jamal KhashoggiRafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, men of conscience and integrity, continue to risk their good name by accepting an invitation to play in a meaningless exhibition in Saudi Arabia, a regime under critical scrutiny for the disappearance of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.The kidnap-and-murder story has led news bulletins around the world – alongside Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the conflict that has contributed to the famine engulfing Yemen – yet efforts this week by the Guardian to elicit a response from either player over playing in Jeddah on 22 December have proved fruitless. Related: Manchester United takeover tale...
Leading players must take responsibility for guiding the sport through good times and bad during this period of changeMany fine things happened at the 50th US Open, none better than Naomi Osaka’s dignified arrival and Novak Djokovic’s mighty return, none worse than Serena Williams’s meltdown. Nevertheless the sport overall is in rude health on court, even if some of the people who run it would struggle to get a start organising lifeboats on the Titanic.There were many surreal moments at Flushing Meadows – as there invariably are in this crazy business – from the way umpire Mohamed Lahyani got down from his chair to comfort Nick Kyrgios in full tank mode to the composure of his colleague, Carlos Ramos, who...
Coach tempted out of retirement by prospect of working with 21-year-old German while creaking Murray returns to US Open as an almost invisible former championWhen Andy Murray hooked up with Ivan Lendl seven years ago, he seemed convinced that, after several experiments with other coaches, he and old Rock Jaw would be together for the rest of his career. Within a year, he had broken through for an Olympic gold medal and his first grand slam title at the US Open. Two Wimbledon titles would follow – then injury, struggle and no little angst.When Murray arrived this week in New York to prepare for the US Open, the last major of the season, he may have experienced a shiver of regret, or...