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Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal ‘disrespected’ by tennis teen player
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal ‘disrespected’ by tennis teen player
After Carlos Alcaraz successfully defended his Madrid Open title in impressive fashion, the tennis world appeared to be united behind one narrative – he is the outstanding favorite to win the French Open.
Yet that view ignores the reality that his two great rivals have yet to take him on in 2023.
Alcaraz’s rise to the top of the ATP rankings will be confirmed after next week’s Italian Open and while the Spaniard is undoubtedly the form player on the tour heading into the second major of the season, two big questions need to be answered.
The teenager has yet to beat Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic in a best-of-five-set Grand Slam match and until he does that, those eager to crown him as the new king of tennis need to be cautious.
It is disrespectful to Djokovic and Nadal to declare their eras of dominance are over before they have had a chance to take on the player who appears to be ready to take their place.
So while there may be huge doubts over the 22-time major champions who are facing a facing against time to get back to their best for the French Open, yet comments like these from 18-time Grand Slam legend Chris Evert suggest some in the game are writing off the living legends of the game a little too hastily.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal ‘disrespected’ by tennis teen player
“When I look at Novak and Rafa, there are question marks about their health,” said Evert at a Eurosport event.
“These two have been the greatest clay court players of the last few years, but as they get older they get a little bit injured and we don’t know what their status will be.
“So I think Alcaraz is primed for this title at the French Open.
“Like everyone else, I am jumping on the bandwagon with Carlos because we have never seen a player with so much passion and so much hunger in such a long time.
“The guy has it all; he’s got the athleticism, the skillset, he knows defense, he knows offence and he has no weaknesses.
“To me, if he keeps himself healthy and hungry, I think the title is his (in Paris).
“If Novak and Rafa were not injured, I would have a different view and when Rafa is 80 years old, I wouldn’t rule him out from winning the French Open!
“So I am not dismissing them, but I just feel their preparation isn’t great, but Novak and Rafa have superior experience.
“They know better than anyone how to navigate their careers and they know how to manage their emotions. They also favour the majors more than anyone.
READ MORE: Iga Swiatek thinks no player should rely on solely their attack or defence as make references to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic
“They could come out of the starting gate playing vintage tennis, but on current form, you would have to slightly favour Alcaraz.”
Like all of us who love the game, Evert has been blown away by the brilliance of US Open champion Alcaraz, but we are all waiting for the first showdown between outgoing world No 1 Djokovic and his possible successor before any defining comments on a changing of the guard can be delivered.
Novak is due to return to action at the Italian Open in the coming days and if his elbow problem has sufficiently healed, he will have all the motivation he needs to knock Alcaraz off his perch.
The great champions don’t know when they are beaten and Djokovic will be eager to confirm as much if he gets his chance to take on Alcaraz in Rome.
Then, if the French Open showdown everyone in tennis is hoping for becomes a reality, we will get the answers to the questions everyone in tennis is now asking.
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Max Verstappen has once again claimed that he is the target of ‘British bias’ in the media after watching the fallout from his battle with Lando Norris. The three-time world champion’s defending was criticised by a number of drivers, including Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen and Norris shared a titanic battle at the Circuit of the Americas last weekend, but the flashpoint came at Turn 12 as the Dutchman deployed a signature tactic, lunging deep into the corner to get to the apex first before running both himself and his title rival off the road.
Norris opted to keep his foot in and overtook the Red Bull driver around the outside, although this decision landed him a five-second time penalty that dropped him back behind Verstappen in the general classification. This sparked a major debate with other drivers – Hamilton included – calling for the FIA to take action and outlaw this style of defending.
Verstappen has been frustrated by this debate. Quizzed by Viaplay in Mexico on whether he’d like to see the rules changed, he replied: “No, not really. But I have the wrong passport.” Asked if he was referring to a British passport, he confirmed as much.
“Yeah, it’s the wrong country, on that aspect… with complaining” he replied. “I love my passport but on that aspect, I should have had a different passport, actually.” The Dutchman also complained of ‘British bias’ earlier this season following comments made by Adrian Newey.
When asked about the debate surrounding Verstappen’s on-track conduct, former title rival Hamilton was quick to point out that the Dutchman has been employing these tactics for some time, dating back to their no-punches-pulled fight in 2021.
“It’s always been a grey area, that’s why he’s got away with it for so long,” Hamilton explained ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix. “They probably need to make some adjustments for sure.
“Also, we do have inconsistencies through rulings, weekend in, weekend out, obviously depending on which years it is. I mean, as a sport, we do need to level up on all areas and if you look at other global sports, they have full-time refs, for example, and I’m sure that wouldn’t be a bad thing for our sport.
“I experienced it many times with Max, you shouldn’t be able to just launch the car on the inside and be ahead and then you go off and still hold your position. So, they need to definitely work on this.”
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$200M Jeff Gordon teams up with Chase Elliott and Co. to decode the HMS driver behind the “Don’t judge me” old tweet
Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon teamed up with Chase Elliott and other HMS drivers in a lighthearted fun exercise for fans where they attempted to solve the mystery behind an old tweet from their current driver.
The anonymous tweet reads, “Don’t judge me, but I can’t wait to see the new twilight movie haha,” and it’s believed to belong to one of the HMS’s driver lineups, which includes Elliott, Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman.
Jeff Gordan, who has a net worth of $200 million (according to Celebrity Net Worth), and HMS drivers tried to guess, but none of them were correct. Bowman and Elliott named Byron, while Byron went with Elliott, but it was Larson. He accepted that it was his tweet in 2011 and revealed that he likes Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight movie.
HMS shared the video of the fun investigative activity on Instagram with a caption:
“Hold on tight, spider monkey”
Watch the Jeff Gordon and HMS’s guesses below:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBjQ7EzP3A7/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=e5182e01-3688-440a-ae00-0bf669973e15&ig_mid=01331E07-1F15-4C86-B3DB-7587302F0125
Three out of four HMS drivers are still in contention for the 2024 NASCAR Cup championship. Larson and Byron are in good position in the playoffs points table, with 35 and 27 points above the cutline.
However, 2020 Cup champion Elliott is in danger of getting eliminated from title contention, as he’s 53 points behind the cutline heading to this weekend’s Homestead-Miami race.
In an interview with NBC Sports earlier this season, Jeff Gordon spoke about the competition between their two best drivers, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, for the regular season championship. Gordan wanted to see both top drivers perform well and race aggressively against each other while maintaining sportsmanship in their chase for the regular season title.
However, neither Larson nor Elliott won the championship; it was Tyler Reddick who clinched the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship. Speaking to NBC Sports, the four-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon said:
“I think it’s pretty clear at Hendrick how we expect teams and drivers to race against one another and how they’ve got to go and compete not only against their competitors but against one another.
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“Kyle Busch is an a**”: Brad Keselowski publicly chastised his fierce NASCAR rival in front of over 150,000 spectators
Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski birthed one of the fiercest rivalries in NASCAR. The duo had multiple run-ins throughout their careers, but the seed of their feud was sown at the 2010 Xfinity Series race hosted by the Bristol Motor Speedway. In the aftermath, Keselowski publicly castigated Busch in front of over 150,000 fans during driver introductions.
Busch kicked off his Food City 250 from third place in his #18 Toyota while Keselowski began in 13th. However, as the 250-lap battle inched closer to its conclusion, the then-Penske Racing driver held the domination while the former #18 Joe Gibbs Racing driver fought hard for the lead.
After struggling to overtake for nearly a dozen laps, Busch, with 31 laps until the checkered flag dropped, lunged ahead of Keselowski, only to be wrecked from behind and lose the spot again.
However, the JGR driver quickly retaliated and spun out Keselowski’s #22 Dodge. The move propelled the #18 Toyota to the victory lane while the Penske driver fell from a potential win to settling in 14th place.
The bitter feeling inside Brad Keselowski surfaced during the Bristol Cup Series race driver introductions the following day. After Kyle Busch introduced himself, his fierce rival took the mic and blasted Busch with his “a**’ comment.
“Brad Keselowski, driver of the Penske Racing Dodge. Kyle Busch is an a**,” he said.
However, when asked why he slammed Busch, Keselowski said that Juan Pablo Montoya challenged that he can’t call the JGR driver an “a**”. It’s worth mentioning that the crowd’s roar on the Penske driver’s introduction notched 104.2 decibels.
“Sometimes you just don’t like a guy”: Kyle Busch publicly slams Brad Keselowski during their 2017 title fight
The bitter rivalry between Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski was such that both made unapologetic comments about the other from time to time. Despite the latter publicly extending an olive branch to the former in 2015, their relationship remained sour.
Max Verstappen addresses ‘British bias’ at Mexican GP after Lewis Hamilton put-down
$200M Jeff Gordon teams up with Chase Elliott and Co. to decode the HMS driver behind the “Don’t judge me” old tweet
