NAMES & FACES

Sophia Smith

The Stanford forward was selected first overall Thursday by the Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League college draft in Baltimore.

Smith, who declared her eligibility for the draft on Wednesday, had 17 goals and nine assists this season as a sophomore for the 2019 College Cup champion Cardinal. Stanford won the NCAA title on penalty kicks after a scoreless draw with North Carolina. “I just felt that this was the best time for me to take the next chapter of my life and my career,”

Smith said on the draft broadcast. “I think there’s no better time to do it than now. So I went for it and followed my heart.” Smith is in training camp with the U.S. national team.

Roger Federer

The tennis great says he thinks both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will surpass his men’s record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles, and he’s OK with that. “I think the way it’s going, obviously, Rafa and Novak will win more,”

Federer said, “because they’re that good.” Federer is 38, an age at which no one has won a Slam title in the professional era;

Nadal, with 19 majors, is 33, and Djokovic (16) is 32 as the Big Three enter the

Australian Open. Federer remembers when he passed Pete Sampras’ old standard of 14 a decade ago. “I looked up to him so much that I felt, also, uncomfortable maybe, sometimes, breaking his records. It’s not something

I ever wanted to do. It just happened to be like this.

Now, at the end, if somebody else would pass you, I mean, I guess it’s OK, because that’s what sports is all about.” Federer’s most recent Grand Slam triumph arrived at Melbourne Park in 2018.