Novak Djokovic’s Brexit from Wimbledon

July 7, 2016

Novak Djokovic has lost to Sam Querrey, who’s having a helluva Wimbledon. So no Grand Slam, and I can’t pretend that I’m not disappointed even though I’m not entirely surprised. Nole had won 30 Slam matches in a row. Though there’s no Law of Averages, the longer you win the closer you are to losing.

No one wins forever, but the good news is that no one loses forever. “Anyone can be beaten on any given day,” former New York Football Giants’ coach Tom Coughlin said after his “mediocre” Giants beat the “perfect” New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. “It’s not important to be the best, it’s only important to beat the best,” John McEnroe said in his pursuit of Björn Borg. Querrey must’ve been repeating these as mantras – or words to these effects. Whatever he did, he’s come through on a big stage, so congrats to him. ...

Will Nyquist conquer a soggy Preakness?

May 21, 2016

Well, experts like Joe Drape and aficionados like Thomas DeChiara will be rooting for Exaggerator – the Andy Murray of Thoroughbred racehorses. But I’m sticking with Nyquist for the Preakness Stakes Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland (5 p.m., NBC), where the forecast is for rain.

That shouldn’t bother Nyquist. You gotta love a horse that simply will not let anything or anyone get in front of him for too long, a horse that has the will, the sheer grit, the heart to propel himself to the front of the pack. Some animals – some people – simply must be first. ...

The ‘arrival’ of Novak Djokovic

November 17, 2015

Whatever happens at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London – where Novak Djokovic is scheduled to play Roger Federer Tuesday, Nov. 17 as part of the round-robin format – Nole has had one helluva season. Three Slam titles, again. Six Masters 1000 titles (the first man to do so in a season.) No. 1, again. ATP Player of the Year, again. A nomination for Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, again.

Now it appears that others outside the tennis community are taking notice of a year that surpasses his dream season of 2011. Christopher Clarey’s “Novak Djokovic Ascends Ever Higher, With No Clear Landing in Sight” appeared Nov. 13 online in The New York Times, also known as the Roger Federer Gazette. Ah, that must’ve hurt. But Nole’s “relentless perfection,” as former Fed and Pete Sampras coach Paul Annacone described it in the article, can no longer be denied. ...