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Novak Djokovic embraces pantomime villain act with blockbuster Alcaraz showdown looming
Novak Djokovic embraces pantomime villain act with blockbuster Alcaraz showdown looming
Novak Djokovic baited the Roland Garros crowd again on Sunday, as he eased into the last 16. But this time, by contrast with his ill-tempered showing in the previous round, he did it with a sense of humor.
Djokovic was briefly booed by the fans during the first set of his comfortable 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas. The barracking came as he was beaten by a flashing backhand winner and he responded by holding out his arms towards his support team in a gesture of exasperation.
But the mood of these notoriously mercurial Parisian spectators would turn on a sixpence, with the jeers suddenly becoming cheers.
Just two points later, Djokovic pulled off one of the feats of escapology that he is famous for, chipping back a series of Varillas attacks until his opponent yielded. Now he held his hand up to his ear, before waving at the crowd as if to say – Delia Smith-style – “Let’s be ‘avin you!
To be clear, he was very much in pantomime-villain mode and wore a broad grin rather than the glare we had seen on Friday.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Djokovic played down his previous criticisms of the local spectators, and described the crowd – which chanted his name during his on-court interview – as “great”.
“I didn’t say [on Friday] that the crowd is disrespectful, that’s not true,” explained Djokovic, whose complaints after his previous win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina had instead been aimed at certain individuals “who love to boo every single thing you do”.
Novak Djokovic embraces pantomime villain act
“[Today] I thought they were great, especially in the end. They gave me a very nice chanting and support. As a player, you always want to receive that love from the crowd.”
Varillas is a total newbie at this level, having only played in the main draws of two previous slams and losing in the first round both times. As such, he was a much more comfortable opponent for Djokovic than Davidovich Fokina, which probably explains the difference in Djokovic’s demeanor.
On Friday, Djokovic had roared aggressively at the fans on seizing the key second set – a response he later justified because “99 percent of the time I will stay quiet [but] sometimes I will oppose that because I feel when somebody is disrespectful, he or she deserves to have an answer.”
This time, Djokovic needed only 1hr 57min to overcome Varillas, maintaining his perfect record of dropping no sets in the tournament. His reward was a 17th visit to the French Open quarter-finals, which – amazingly – is one more than the “King of Clay” Rafael Nadal has managed.
This result also left Djokovic tantalizingly close to a first best-of-five-set meeting with Carlos Alcaraz, the man he has been exchanging the world No1 ranking with for the past nine months.
This would be a big moment for the sport because the two biggest beasts of the men’s tour (at least, since Nadal began his injury-related decline) have never actually faced each other during that time. Indeed, they have only ever shared a match court on one occasion. That came in Madrid 14 months ago and delivered a close and thrilling victory for Alcaraz.
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As it happens, Alcaraz won through on Sunday by the same scoreline as Djokovic – the only difference being that he was facing an opponent with a real pedigree on this surface. Lorenzo Musetti, the 17th seed from Italy, might have despatched British No1 Cameron Norrie in ruthless style on Friday, but he was completely outclassed by Alcaraz in 2hr 8min.
Now both these heavy hitters need to come through their quarter-finals to set up that dream match on Friday. All the evidence suggests that it will decide the eventual champion, as the early exits of Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner have left the bottom half of this draw looking short on clout.
Djokovic was asked on Sunday whether he ever looks beyond his next opponent – in this case, the burly Russian Karen Khachanov – to a match further down the line. “You always follow the top guys in your half or whatever,” he replied. “Of course, you’re looking, you’re analyzing everyone’s game.”
So far, statistics suggest that Djokovic and Alcaraz stand well clear of the pack. After four rounds, they are respectively winning 46 and 54 percent of their opponent’s service games – both of which are outrageously high figures for the men’s tour.
The only other man lighting up the leaderboards after week one is an unexpected name: Chile’s Nicolas Jarry, who is due to play last year’s runner-up Casper Ruud on Monday. Having played three rounds, the 6ft 6in Jarry has dropped serve only three times – an intriguing anomaly at an event where most male players are broken at least once per set.
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Mick Schumacher coming to America. Mercedes F1 reserve linked with exciting new project
With the door seemingly closing for Mick Schumacher to join the F1 2025 grid, the Mercedes reserve is being linked with a move across the pond.
Schumacher spent two years on the Formula 1 grid with Haas off the back of winning the Formula 2 title, but was dropped at the end of 2022 as Haas opted to bring in veteran presence Nico Hulkenberg.
Schumacher has looked outside of Formula 1 as part of his 2024 racing programme, balancing his Mercedes reserve duties with the World Endurance Championship as part of the Alpine team, but now he is being linked with a new project over in the United States.
Prema Racing, a team which has achieved vast success in the junior categories – including Schumacher’s F2 title which was claimed with the Italian team – has announced that it will join the IndyCar series in 2025, with speculation now swirling that a Schumacher reunion is on the cards.
Auto Hebdo’s Gonzalo Forbes is widely reported to have made the claim that Schumacher could join Prema’s IndyCar charge, the French publication stating that Prema wants an experienced IndyCar racer and a fresh face from the European scene to form their line-up.
“He has never hidden his ambition to return to single-seaters,” Gonzalo Forbes reported. “The German could unite with the [team boss Rene] Rosin clan again for a possible return to service in IndyCar in 2025.”
For Schumacher, the ambitions to race in F1 again have not fizzled out, but his former team boss at Haas Guenther Steiner feels that if Schumacher does not land a seat for 2025, then his chances of a comeback are likely over.
He told German publication BILD: “If it doesn’t work out next year, it will probably never work out again.
“He has to perform well in the WEC this season – then it can be a stepping stone.
“If he doesn’t race in Formula 1 next year, it will be three years without a cockpit.
“Sure, he was there for two years and is part of the new generation – but what use is that then? It would be extremely difficult if he was completely out for three years.”
Mercedes do have an F1 2025 seat up for grabs with Lewis Hamilton heading for Ferrari, though Schumacher has not been name-dropped among contenders such as Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
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“We use it as a tool” – Bubba Wallace joins owner Denny Hamlin in NASCAR latest rational decision
“We use it as a tool” – Bubba Wallace joins owner Denny Hamlin in NASCAR latest rational decision
Ahead of the qualifying in Talladega, Bubba Wallace reacted to NASCAR’s divisive decision to take down the old pylon board. The reason why the governing body decided to take it down was because it was old, so fans could focus more on the big screens facing the grandstand to be informed.
However, Wallace believes that the pylon board served a bigger purpose than just giving information. When asked about his thoughts on this decision from NASCAR, the #23 driver said that even though he didn’t find himself looking for the board last weekend, it’s still important for them and the fans.
“I mean, we use it as a tool to see what we’re running, how many laps we’ve left and gives fans something to … you see qualifying, that number, your favorite driver’s number jumps to the top. I think it’s exciting,” Wallace said.
Before Wallace, it was his boss Denny Hamlin who took to his social media account to react to NASCAR deciding to take away the scoring pylon board at Talladega.
Reacting to a post by journalist Bob Pockrass, Hamlin wrote:
“Well upgrade it then, like every other sporting facility in the world is doing. No-one is taking visual displays away.”
Being one of the most unpredictable racetracks in NASCAR where a driver’s fortunes can change within seconds, Talladega poses a interesting challenge for drivers in terms of how they approach the
race.
For Bubba Wallace, who has won on this racetrack, it’s wise to not get too excited.
“It’s more so just coming in with a calm mindset, just how chaotic it can get, right? Not trying to overdo it, not trying to overstep it, not trying to be a hero. Like I’ve wrecked on lap 10 with a fast car back at the #43. So I know how it feels to be too confident,” Wallace said.
He insisted that for Sunday’s race, he’s trying to come in and not get “too excited.” Previously Wallace has, apart from his historic first win in 2021, zero finishes inside the top-10 and six inside the top-20 at Talladega.
However, despite his past record on the racetrack, Wallace could be a contender to win the upcoming race. The start to the 2024 season has been the best he has ever had in his Cup career, with three finishes inside the top-five and four inside the top-10. He stands ninth on the
points tally.
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Mercedes boss “guilty of talking Kimi Antonelli up too much” after a poor start for the potential Lewis Hamilton replacement
Mercedes boss “guilty of talking Kimi Antonelli up too much” after a poor start for the potential Lewis Hamilton replacement
Toto Wolff feels ‘guilty’ about hyping up Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli after the latter’s poor F2 debut. The Mercedes team principal has also stated that he is in no hurry to find Lewis Hamilton’s replacement.
Antonelli recently started his F2 career with PREMA, alongside Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman. Unfortunately, they suffered badly during both the Sprint and Feature races at Sakhir. Though Antonelli finished ahead of Bearman in both races, he was still far below expectations, especially considering the team’s prowess in the feeder series.
Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, the Mercedes team boss stated that a top F2 team like PREMA should not be finishing in the second half of the grid.
“Yeah, a championship-winning team 17th and 18th in Formula 2, that’s not at all where they should be. I think you can look against a Toto Wolff later admitted feeling guilty for heavily ‘talking up’ Kimi
Antonelli as a potential Lewis Hamilton replacement.
He also declared that he is in no hurry to find a new driver for Mercedes team-mate as one of the comparisons. I think Ollie Bearman is a top driver,” Wolff said
“But I think, like I’ve always said, I’m almost guilty of talking [Antonelli] up too much. We’ll see how the next few races pan out. I’m in no hurry for us to take a decision on drivers. I’ve been rushed in a hurry by Lewis, so this time around I’m going to take it easy and evaluating the market.”
After Lewis Hamilton’s shocking move to Ferrari was announced, many drivers has emerged as his replacement, including Kimi Antonelli.
F1 pundit Alex Jacques dismissed suggestions that Kimi Antonelli could replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes after the latter moves to Ferrari in 2025.
Speaking on the Feeder Series podcast, Jacques stated that the Italian youngster would have to dominate the F2 Championship in 2024 to have a small chance of making it to F1 with Mercedes.
“Antonelli would have to completely dominate the [F2] championship to have a chance of starting the 2025 season in that Mercedes team. I just don’t see Wolff putting someone, no matter how good they are, in that situation,” said the F1 pundit.
“You need something to lift that team. That’s either going to have to be a massive name of huge calibre or a mega talent, but I still don’t see Antonelli starting [the season with Mercedes],” added Jacques.
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Mick Schumacher coming to America. Mercedes F1 reserve linked with exciting new project
“We use it as a tool” – Bubba Wallace joins owner Denny Hamlin in NASCAR latest rational decision
