Attention shifts to Alcaraz
For the first time in a year, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are both entered in a major tournament — and, somehow, most of the buzz heading into the French Open is about Carlos Alcaraz, a teenager without one Grand Slam title to his name.
There's plenty of reasons to keep tabs on Djokovic and Nadal when play begins Sunday. They're two greats of the game who have played each other more than any other two men in the Open era.
Thanks to Thursday's draw, they would meet in the quarterfinals this year, if at all, with a possible matchup against Alcaraz awaiting in the semifinals.
Nadal is a 13-time champion in Paris, owner of a men's-record 21 Slam trophies overall and only recently returned from a rib injury while also dealing with chronic pain in his left foot.
Djokovic, meanwhile, is ranked No. 1, is the defending champion on France's red clay, is tied with Roger Federer at 20 majors, and sat out January's Australian Open (which Nadal won) because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19. The French Open and Wimbledon are allowing him to compete.
Yet it's Alcaraz — 28-3 with a tour-leading four titles in 2022, and already ranked No. 6 — who has generated so much fascination.
“So far, he's the best player in the world, no question, this year,” Djokovic said.
That's been building for a while now, reaching a crescendo after Alcaraz beat Nadal, then top-seeded Djokovic, then Alexander Zverev to win the Madrid Open in early May.
TENNIS
The women's and men's professional tennis tours say they will not award ranking points for Wimbledon this year because of the All England Club's ban on players from Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine. The WTA and ATP announced their decisions two days before the start of the French Open and a little more than a month before play begins at Wimbledon on June 27.
The All England Club said in April it would not allow Russians or Belarusians to compete at the Grand Slam grass-court tournament. Russian athletes have been prevented from competing in many sports since the country began attacking Ukraine in February. Belarus has aided Russia in the invasion.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team has named Jose Winston as an assistant coach, head coach Bart Lundy announced Friday.
Winston had been the boys basketball head coach at Brown Deer High School since 2019. He was also a star player for Milwaukee Vincent in the mid-1990s when he led the team to the state championship in 1996, '97 and '98. He was the state player of the year as a senior in 1998 and then played three years at Colorado before playing one final season at UW-Milwaukee.
“It's been my absolute pleasure getting to know Jose since coming to Milwaukee,” Lundy said in a statement released by UWM. “In the short period of time I have been around him, he has impressed me with not only what he knows basketball-wise, but his integrity, his demeanor, and his ability to relate to all types of people.”
Winston has also been a development coach with Nike Phenom University, and was head coach at Kenosha St. Joseph before joining Brown Deer.
NHL
Ross Colton scored with just under four seconds remaining, giving the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The stunning finish puts the Lightning up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series that heads to Tampa for Game 3 on Sunday.
Blues even series with 4-1 win: David Perron scored twice, Jordan Binnington made 30 saves and the St. Louis Blues beat the Colorado Avalanche, 4-1, to tie their second-round series at a game apiece.