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French Open 2021: Novak Djokovic tops Rafael Nadal to reach final match

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Sprinting, sliding and stretching, anticipating each other’s moves for four sets and over four hours, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal produced a masterpiece in the French Open semifinals.

Djokovic halted Nadal’s offered for a fourteenth French Open title and gave the King of Clay simply his third loss in 108 matches at the tournament by returning to win a thrill ride of an semifinal 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 at Roland Garros on Friday night.

In one more display of tremendous tennis between the rivals, the match lasted on for 4 hours, 11 minutes. In the wake of trailing 0-2 in the fourth set, Djokovic rattled off six consecutive games to avenge his loss to Nadal in last year’s final.

“Just one of these nights and matches that you will remember forever,” said the top-cultivated Djokovic, who arrived at his 6th last at the clay-court major tournament to tie Bjorn Borg for No. 2 in the occasion behind Nadal (13).

“Definitely the best match that I was part of ever in Roland Garros, for me, and (one of the) top three matches that I ever played in my entire career — considering quality of tennis, playing my biggest rival on the court where he has had so much success and has been the dominant force in the last 15-plus years. And the atmosphere, which was completely electric.”

The 34-year-old Djokovic will look for his second prize at Roland Garros and a nineteenth significant title generally speaking when he plays in Sunday’s last against fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is only 22.

It will be the 29th career Grand Slam last for Djokovic, and the first for Tsitsipas, who beat Alexander Zverev in five sets in an semifinal match prior Friday.

Nadal had won the past four titles in Paris, part of his assortment of 20 Slams, attached with Roger Federer for the most by a man in tennis history.

Nadal, a 14-time winner of the French Open who turned 35 last week, fell to 105-3 in his profession at Roland Garros. His first loss came against Robin Soderling in 2009; the following against Djokovic in 2015.

“Each time you step on the court with him,” Djokovic said, “you know that you have to kind of climb Mount Everest to win against this guy here.”

Nadal and Djokovic truly riled up the group at Court Philippe Chatrier.

Halfway through the third set, Djokovic won a 23-stroke point with a forehand winner and windmilled his arms about half-dozen times, earning a standing ovation and chants of “No-vak! No-vak!” On the following point, Nadal produced a forehand winner and screamed, prompting chants of “Ra-fa! Ra-fa!” and a wave in the stands.

Nadal said the defining moment came when Djokovic saved a set point while down 6-5 in the third.

“Anything could happen in that moment,” Nadal said. “I make a double fault and then [miss on] an easy volley in the tiebreak. … These kinds of mistakes can happen. But if you want to win, you can’t make those mistakes. That is it. Well done for him. A good fight out there. I tried my best and today was not my day.”

The third set alone endured 60 minutes, 33 minutes, and a 11 p.m. nationwide curfew in time set up due to COVID-19 was drawing closer. Djokovic’s past match had been deferred over 20 minutes while the audience – limited to 5,000 individuals under Covid limitations – was gotten out of the arena, yet a declaration was made Friday to tell everybody the public authority consented to allow them to remain until the finish of the match.

Prior drones in French of “We won’t leave! We won’t leave!” were replaced by choruses of the national anthem and cheers of thanks for President Emmanuel Macron.

Nadal recovered from the dropped third-set tiebreaker to steal a break at the start of the fourth.

Neither would surrender or yield, yet Djokovic crushed spirit to 2-all and was on his way.

“Something clicked,” Djokovic said.

Nadal noted thereafter that playing in the cooler night air implied balls bounced lower, lessening the impact of his lefty forehand’s heavy topspin.

“That’s more favorable for him, the conditions,” Nadal said. “By the way, doesn’t matter. That’s tennis. The player who gets used to the conditions better is the player who deserves to win. So no doubt, he deserved to win.”

The intensity was palpable from the beginning of the evening, and Nadal zoomed to a 5-0 lead on the way to winning the main set. It was reminiscent of last year’s final, which he won 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. That was just the fourth shutout set lost by Djokovic in 341 vocation Grand Slam matches up to that point – and the first in a major final.

Nadal tumbled to 259-7 in majors in the wake of winning the first set; as per ESPN Stats and Information research. Two of those seven misfortunes presently have been to Djokovic.

There wouldn’t be another Friday, on the grounds that Djokovic made two key tactical adjustments – moving a lot further back than expected to return serve and choosing to zero in on serving toward Nadal’s strike – and quickly made clear this would be an exemplary between two of the best ever at what they do.

They defended in ways rarely seen. Tracked down the right blend of force and contact. Conjured up impossible-at-first-glance winners that nobody else would attempt, not to mention effectively utilize. Returned just as anybody, combining to generate 38 break points.

It was the 58th matchup between the opponents, more than some other two men in the game’s proficient time. Djokovic currently drives 30-28, however he trails 10-7 in Slam meetings and 7-2 at the French Open.

Djokovic won the French Open in 2016 and could join Rod Laver and Roy Emerson as the lone men to win every one of the four Grand Slam tournaments twice.

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Caitlin Clark declined a larger offer and invested in the team ownership bid despite earning a five-figure WNBA salary

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The investment group for FC Cincinnati stated that Caitlin Clark is contributing to a bid for a Cincinnati-based National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) expansion team.

“The NWSL Cincinnati bid team is thrilled that Caitlin Clark has joined our ownership group in pursuit of bringing women’s professional soccer to our city,” the announcement read.

“Her passion for the sport, commitment to elevating women’s sports in and around the Greater Cincinnati region and influence as an athlete and a role model for women and girls around the world make her a vital part of our compelling bid to become the 16th team in the NWSL.”

Cincinnati joins Cleveland and Denver as the third finalist for an expansion bid.

The amount that Clark contributed to the proposal has not been made public.

According to 2024 Sportico data, the average NWSL team is worth $104 million. At $250 million, Los Angeles’ Angel City FC is the league’s most valuable team, while the Chicago Red Stars are the least valuable at $53 million.

Clark’s investment would certainly surpass her whole yearly WNBA pay if it were even close to 1% of the average franchise’s total worth.

The Impact Of Caitlin Clark On Men’s Basketball In Detail

In the first year of her rookie deal with the WNBA, Clark earned $76,535 in salary. She will earn $78,066 next year.

Joining the new Unrivaled 3-on-3 league, which will take place during the WNBA summer, gave Clark the opportunity to augment her basketball revenue. Clark was apparently being offered more than $1 million by Unrivaled. Clark, however, declined. Like other WNBA players, she declined chances to play professional basketball in Europe.

This offseason, Clark played a little amateur golf, but she has mostly been going to Taylor Swift concerts and other athletic events, such as Butler University college basketball games, which are coached by her boyfriend.

It will be April 2025 before she reports to training camp for her second WNBA season.

Clark is thought to have numerous more sources of income from endorsement deals, though.

Over the course of eight years, Clark’s endorsement contract with Nike is worth roughly $28 million. This contract covers Nike marketing initiatives, product endorsements, and promotional appearances.

She also has agreements with Goldman Sachs, Wilson Sporting Goods, Gatorade, Bose, State Farm, Buick, H&R Block, Topps, and Shoot-A-Way.

Hy-Vee even makes a cereal that she calls “Caitlin’s Crunch Time.”

Since Clark keeps her spending habits under wraps, not much else is known about her lifestyle. However, if the city wins the expansion franchise, everyone will know if she is responsible for her investment in the Cincinnati FC proposal. Clark’s involvement as an investor might influence the choice.

Swift and Clark were recently featured on the cover of Time magazine’s Inspiring Women special edition issue, which highlighted eight women in leadership roles, including several athletes.

Clark appeared in all 15 of the WNBA’s most watched games from the previous season.

The willingness of Cincinnati residents to support a professional women’s soccer club might therefore have a significant impact on her financial future if that secures her investment group the NWSL team.

In 2023, Cincinnati’s median household income was $54,314. In 2022, the median household income in the Cincinnati metro region was $75,062, which is somewhat higher than the median for the entire country. Women make up more than half of Cincinnati’s population.

The WNBA does not have a team in Cincinnati. It does, however, have FC Cincinnati, a men’s professional soccer team in Major League Soccer. The city’s only professional sports teams are the Reds of Major League Baseball and the Bengals of the NFL.

Since turning pro, Clark’s fiercest WNBA competitor has already acknowledged having financial difficulties.

In an October social media post, Chicago Sky star Angel Reese acknowledged that she is unable to use her WNBA earnings to cover her rent. Reese earned $73,439 as a rookie with the Sky, but her annual rent of $8,000 is $96,000.

Reese said to her audience, “I just hope y’all know,” that “the WNBA don’t pay my bills at all. I don’t even think that pays one of my bills. Literally. I’m trying to think of my rent for where I stay at. Let me do the math real quick.”

“I’m living beyond my means!” Reese said with a laugh after realizing her pay and what she was paying.

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Some ‘telekinesis’ helps the Utah Jazz defeat the Mavericks 115-113 for their first home victory

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To be honest, after the 3-pointer he had just made, that was the only suitable reaction. Clarkson almost double-dribbled, almost ran out of time, and then almost committed a backcourt violation. His shaky running 3-pointer from the wing instead went in.

At the end, he could have done the same.

To be honest, after the 3-pointer he had just made, that was the only suitable reaction. Clarkson almost double-dribbled, almost ran out of time, and then almost committed a backcourt violation. His shaky running 3-pointer from the wing instead went in.

After catching Dallas in a preswitch, Clarkson zipped a pass under the rim to a wide-open John Collins. With 6.4 seconds left, he made an uncontested two-handed slam that proved to be the game-winning basket as Utah defeated the Mavericks 115-113.

During that last possession, Luka Doncic was on Collins down low. Doncic had his sights set on the corner, and Quentin Grimes started to cheat up the wing to meet Collins, who seemed to be expecting him to run up to set a pick for Clarkson.

The issue? He was left alone in the most hazardous area of the court when Collins chose not to go up.

“I’m just happy me and John had some, like, telekinesis action going on,” Clarkson stated. “I mean, he just read my eyes and knew what I was looking for.”

“Me and JC were just like looking at each other: ‘You gonna be open?'” Collins grinned as he spoke. “You can see JC saying (with his eyes), ‘No stay, Here you go.’ And it was just like a great play that shows our chemistry. We always had a JC-to-JC connection. JC made a great read, finished the play, and we finally got a home win.”

Collins completed a 28-point evening with the final dunk, maintaining his impressive recent play.

After it appeared that the home team was losing the game, he scored Utah’s final two baskets. Utah led by 16 points early in the fourth quarter after a solid third quarter, which has been unusual for the Jazz this season. Doncic then guided Dallas to victory.

The Dallas star finished the game with nine assists and 37 points. With 1:33 left, he helped Derrick Lively, giving the Mavericks a two-point advantage.

At that moment, Utah appeared to have no answer for a Mavericks team on the rise and was without Lauri Markkanen, who was hurt in the eye and missed the end of the game.

Collins and Clarkson supplied one.

“JC and John were unbelievable down the stretch,” Hardy stated. “Their poise really stood out. JC, made big plays. John made big plays all night. His energy is infectious for us.”

Clarkson finished a 3-point play on the other end after he was knocked down by a bucket. Then, with 36.7 seconds left, Collins dunk after rebounding a rejected Clarkson jumper to put Utah ahead 3 points.

Klay Thompson’s wing three to tie the game only served to set up the last play by Clarkson and Collins.

“They got confused on whether they were switching or not—sort of two guys went back out towards the corner and JC threw him a dart,” Hardy recalled. “But that’s JC and John understanding the moment together.”

Collin Sexton ended with 16 points and five rebounds, while Clarkson finished with 20 points and four assists. Kyle Filipowski scored 11 of his 14 points in a dominant second quarter, and Lauri Markkanen added 14 points before he left.

Six of the Jazz’s players were in double figures.

“Tonight’s not about like the X’s and O’s piece, the tactical piece. It was about the mental and the physical toughness the team showed throughout and really stuck with it against a good team tonight. That’s what we’re looking for,” Hardy stated.

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Dodgers Unveil Plans for Friday Parade and Stadium Celebration

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The Dodgers announced Wednesday night that they would celebrate their World Series victory on Friday with a parade in Downtown Los Angeles and a special ticketed event at Dodger Stadium. The full broadcast of both tournaments will be available on AM 570, local television stations, and Spectrum SportsNet LA. Fans will not be able to attend both events due to scheduling conflicts, transportation, and logistical issues.

The parade will start at Gloria Molina Grand Park on Spring Street in front of City Hall at 11 a.m. PT. The procession will begin with an official kickoff by Mayor Karen Bass and go for 45 minutes from 1st Street to Grand Avenue to 5th Street, ending at the corner of 5th and Flower Street. Dodgers players will ride double-decker buses during the parade. Due to extensive street closures and a shortage of public parking, those who desire to join the parade are strongly recommended to use public transportation.

At around 12:15 p.m., a special ticketed event at Dodger Stadium will start after the procession. The stadium’s entrance gates will open at 9 a.m., and parking gates for attendees will open at 8:30 a.m. There will be food and merchandise for sale. Before the team arrives, there will be entertainment inside the stadium, including DodgerVision scoreboards that will show the parade. This event will be subject to all Dodger Stadium policies and procedures, including the reminder that signs, bags, and other objects that are prohibited by our policies are not allowed.

At 9:30 a.m., SportsNet LA and local networks CBS 2, NBC 4, KTLA 5, ABC 7, KCAL 9, and Fox 11 will start airing coverage of every event on Friday. On AM 570, there will be radio coverage.

The Los Angeles Dodger Foundation, which is working to address the most important issues confronting Los Angeles with a mission to enhance social justice, health care, education, and homelessness for all Angelenos, will get a part of the stadium event’s earnings.

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