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		<title>Latest Tennis News &amp; Videos from FOX Sports</title>
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			<title>Latest Tennis News &amp; Videos from FOX Sports</title>
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			<link>https://www.foxsports.com/tennis/atp</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2026 16:18:49 -0400</pubDate>
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					<![CDATA[2026 CBK, Heisman, Tennis Odds: Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica’s Expert Picks, Best Bets]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-basketball/2026-college-basketball-heisman-tennis-odds-chris-the-bear-fallicas-expert-picks-best-bets</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-basketball/2026-college-basketball-heisman-tennis-odds-chris-the-bear-fallicas-expert-picks-best-bets</guid>
				<category>college-basketball</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[“The Bear" is back with a few futures best, as well as a wager on one of his favorite sporting events, the Australian Open.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Fri, 30 Jan 2026 18:14:34 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[The Super Bowl is next weekend, the first tennis Grand Slam is nearing its conclusion, and college hoops season is inching closer to March Madness. I'm a happy man. Now, let's get into a few of my best bets for this week and beyond. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports. Aryna Sabalenka/Elena Rybakina Over/Under 4 double faults combined in Australian Open women’s final Elena Rybakina has been a machine on serve so far in Melbourne and has a great chance to knock off Aryna Sabalenka, who is the best hard-court player in the women’s game right now. Despite the previous three meetings being straight-sets (Rybakina winning twice), I’m expecting a long, tight match here, which means pressure-packed service games. If we can get to three sets, this bet should win, considering in the four three-set matches the two have played, there have been seven, eight, seven and 22 combined doubles. Even if we don't see a third set, it's not the end all, as two matches ago, there were a combined six. While Sabalenka has overcome double fault issues from earlier in her career, in a match of this magnitude, there could be a few nervy moments for her, and Rybakina, who is looking for her second career slam. PICK: Over 4 double faults combined Illinois to reach Final Four Prices on this aren’t as good as they were prior to the Illini’s upset win in West Lafayette, but we’ll still back an Illinois squad that has all the ingredients for a deep tournament run. The top-rated offense by KenPom has multiple 3-point shooters, a ton of size and a player in Keaton Wagler who can take over a game. Illinois should also get guard Kylan Boswell back for March, making this a side you’ll want to have a piece of moving forward. Big game this Sunday at Nebraska, which is coming off its first loss of the season. PICK: Illinois (+400) to reach Final Four Gonzaga to reach Final Four One always has to be a tad skeptical of Gonzaga, as the WCC isn't exactly a league that can sharpen you for the rigors of March. But Santa Clara and Saint Mary’s are top-40 teams this year and that should help the Bulldogs. Getting through the stint without Graham Ike and Braden Huff can only help develop depth and confidence, which is a plus. Yeah, there's an ugly November loss to Michigan, but there are still wins over UCLA, Alabama and Kentucky on the résumé. There will be far less buzz around this team entering the NCAA Tournament and that might be a good thing as well. PICK: Gonzaga (+360) to reach Final Four CJ Carr to win 2026 Heisman Trophy Notre Dame will enter 2026 in the top five and really has one losable game on its schedule — at home against Miami in November. That means CJ Carr will likely be a win there from leading Notre Dame to an undefeated season and a CFP berth. Coming off a great freshman year when he threw 24 touchdowns and just six interceptions, Carr has the potential to put up monster numbers in 2026 and take home Notre Dame’s first Heisman Trophy since Tim Brown in 1987. PICK: CJ Carr (+800) to win Heisman Trophy]]>
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					<![CDATA[2025 Wimbledon Odds: Can Jannik Sinner Overcome Carlos Alcaraz?]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/2025-wimbledon-odds</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/2025-wimbledon-odds</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Two players remain in tennis' grandest tournament. Who will emerge victorious on the men's side? Check out the odds heading into the final.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Sat, 12 Jul 2025 22:52:43 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[Tennis' greatest tournament is down to its final match — Sunday's men's championship. Let's look at the odds for the world's most prestigious tennis tournament, as of July 11. Wimbledon men's winner 2025 Carlos Alcaraz: -105 (bet $10 to win $19.52 total)Jannik Sinner: -115 (bet $10 to win $18.70 total) Carlos Alcaraz is the two-time defending champion at Wimbledon, having defeated Novak Djokovic in both the 2023 final and 2024 final. However, he's never faced No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the final at the All England Club. Alcaraz and Sinner have won each of the last six grand slam tournaments, and that streak will continue after the two face off in Sunday's championship. In terms of this season, Sinner won the 2025 Australian Open and Alcaraz won the 2025 French Open. In that French Open final, Sinner led two sets to none and had three match points in the fourth set before Alcaraz made a mircalous comeback and defended his Roland Garros title in five sets. Head-to-head, the two top men in tennis have faced off 12 times. Alcaraz is 8-4 against Sinner, and has won their last five meetings. Each of those meetings has gone to either five sets in best-of-five matches, or three sets in best-of-three matches, except for the championship match in Rome this season, which Alcaraz won in two sets. Still, after Alcaraz opened as the favorite, Sinner is now slightly favored to win his first Wimbledon title. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!]]>
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					<![CDATA[2025 Best Bets, Predictions for the Week by Chris 'The Bear' Fallica]]>
				</title>
				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nhl/2025-best-bets-predictions-week-chris-the-bear-fallica</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nhl/2025-best-bets-predictions-week-chris-the-bear-fallica</guid>
				<category>nhl</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA["The Bear" is back with his favorite wagers for the Stanley Cup Final, Wimbledon and MLB. Find out where he is putting his money.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jun 2025 16:44:50 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA["Bear Bets" are real wagers that Chris "The Bear" Fallica is actually making. The Stanley Cup Final returns to Florida on Tuesday for Game 6 between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers. Sports fans will be eagerly watching as the Panthers have a chance to win the trophy again. But who will win the Conn Smythe Trophy ? In addition to the finals, fans will keep an eye on one of the world’s most prestigious tennis tournaments: Wimbledon. Baseball also remains a hot topic as the MLB season progresses. While the action on the ice is heating up, the excitement at the All England Club in London is still a few weeks away and the MLB season has months to run. Let’s jump into the action. Brad Marchand to win the Conn Smythe Trophy The series obviously isn’t over, but I don’t know why Brad Marchand isn’t the favorite to win the Conn Smythe. Yes, Sam Bennett has 15 goals, and that's great. But Marchand scored the two biggest goals of the playoffs for Florida. Without his Game 3 overtime goal against Toronto, when the Panthers were down 2-0 in the second round, they likely wouldn’t be here. Marchand also netted the OT winner in Game 2 in Edmonton, keeping the Cats from falling to 2-0 in the series — and who knows what might have happened in Games 3 and 4 if the Oilers had taken a 2-0 series lead. Marchand has 10 goals and 10 assists, along with superior penalty killing (including a short-handed goal) and an insanely good +18 plus/minus rating for the playoffs. For the Stanley Cup Final series alone, Marchand scored six goals, including a power-play goal, one short-handed goal and two game-winners. He’s a big-moment player, and if the voters are doing their jobs and not just seeing "15 goals," Marchand is an obvious choice to win the Conn Smythe at this point if the Panthers repeat as Stanley Cup champions. As many of you know, I mentioned Marchand at 60-1 to win this on May 29, so I’m a tad invested, but the numbers and production back my thoughts up. PICK: Brad Marchand (+410) to win the Conn Smythe Trophy Ben Casparius to win NL Rookie of the Year Casparius has been a savior to the injury-riddled Dodgers staff this year. He’s appeared in 23 games, starting twice — a role that manager Dave Roberts says he will now continue — going 5-1 with a 3.02 ERA. However, a deeper look shows six of the 16 runs he’s allowed came in a 16-0 loss to the Cubs. He has a 5-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a .217 batting average against opponents and has very good numbers in both the hard-hit and ground ball percentages. If Casparius is a mainstay in the Dodgers rotation now — even as a five-inning guy — he could put up a solid W-L record for a team which might have the best record in baseball, which will attract voters' attention. The four players ahead of Casparius — Drake Baldwin (+220), Agustin Ramirez (+450), Matt Shaw (+800) and Jacob Misiorowski (+1000) — seem like placeholders at this point in what should be a volatile market the rest of the way. This award is pretty much there for the taking, and I wouldn't bet on any of those guys who have single digit odds. PICK: Ben Casparius (+1100) to win NL Rookie of the Year Madison Keys to win Wimbledon Keys has had the best year of her career, capturing her first slam title in Melbourne, and also winning the warm-up event in Adelaide. But her first slam title also could have come last year at Wimbledon, where Keys was arguably playing the best tennis of her career. She was likely headed towards a win in the Round of 16 against Jasmine Paolini, but suffered an unfortunate hamstring injury, forcing her to retire in the third set. Keys has won a couple of times at Eastbourne, so her grass pedigree is not surprising, given her power and style of play. No reason to worry about her grass buildup events — a semifinal loss in Queens to Tatjana Maria and a loss in Berlin to 2023 Wimbledon champ Markéta Vondroušová. It’s hard to play either Coco Gauff or Iga Swiatek here. I also think the price on Aryna Sabalenka is too short — remember she didn’t play Wimbledon last year because of injury. Mirra Andreeva? Who knows. The only other player I would consider betting to win is Elena Rybakina, who won in 2022. But the price on Keys is too good to pass up, and we’ll await the draw to see what some of the derivative prices offer. PICK: Madison Keys (+1600) to win Wimbledon Chris "The Bear" Fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. While college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, MLB, NHL and Horse Racing, with an "occasional" wager on such events. Chris recently won the inaugural Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He's a multiple-time qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember, "The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!" Follow him on Twitter @chrisfallica. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!]]>
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					<![CDATA[Carlos Alcaraz pulls off comeback to take down Jannik Sinner in French Open thriller]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/carlos-alcaraz-pulls-off-comeback-take-down-jannik-sinner-french-open-thriller</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/carlos-alcaraz-pulls-off-comeback-take-down-jannik-sinner-french-open-thriller</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Carlos Alcaraz had a comeback for the ages in the French Open men's singles final, rallying from a two-set deficit and battling back from a triple championship point to take down Jannik Sinner.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jun 2025 16:42:43 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[The 2025 French Open men's singles final wound up being one of the greatest matches in tennis history. No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz took down No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner in five sets (4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6) to win his second straight title at Roland Garros. Alcaraz's comeback in Sunday's championship was one for the ages. Not only did he come back from a two-set deficit, he also faced a triple championship point when Sinner was ahead 5-3 in the fourth set. The Spaniard wound up winning the set on a tiebreak. Alcaraz appeared to be in control in the fifth set, but Sinner stormed back to take a 6-5 lead in the decisive fifth set. However, Alcaraz won the 12th game in order to force a tiebreak, which he won 10-2. The match took five hours and 29 minutes, making it the second-longest match in a men's singles championship final at a Grand Slam event. It was also the longest-ever French Open final. At the time he faced triple championship point in the fourth set, Alcaraz held +6500 odds to win Sunday's match, via DraftKings Sportsbook. That gave him an implied probability of 1.5%. Sunday's victory marked Alcaraz's fifth Grand Slam title and his fifth straight win over Sinner. "I’m just proud. I’m just really, really happy," Alcaraz said before praising Sinner. "I know how hard you are chasing this tournament. You’re going to be champion, not once, but many, many times. It’s a privilege to share the court with you in every tournament, making this story with you." It was the first time that Sinner had lost a Grand Slam final. Sinner could not find a way back and Alcaraz won the tiebreaker and the match with a superb forehand pass down the line and then fell onto his back to celebrate. Then he rushed over to dance and hug the team members in his box. "I’m very happy for you, and you deserve it, so congrats," the 23-year-old Sinner told Alcaraz. "It’s an amazing trophy, so I won’t sleep tonight very well, but it’s okay." Sinner may not sleep at all if he thinks about the ninth game of the fourth set, which turned into a nightmare. Serving to stay in the match at 5-3 down, Alcaraz trailed 0-40 to give Sinner three match points. Sinner may particularly regret the second match point when, with Alcaraz on second serve, he hit a hurried backhand which landed just out. He then hit a forehand into the net for another unforced error, making it deuce. The crowd chanted "Carlos, Carlos," in delight and roared when Alcaraz hit an ace, then gave him a standing ovation when his audacious forehand down the line went in — to win that game — and again when he broke Sinner’s serve to level at 5-5. Despite having just lost a chance to win another major, Sinner showed great sportsmanship to give Alcaraz the point for a 30-0 lead in the 11th game. Alcaraz’s forehand landed at the back of the court and, as the chair umpire prepared to come down and inspect the mark, Sinner told her to go back because he saw the ball was in. The crowd applauded him for that, but was rooting clearly for Alcaraz and the noise level erupted when Alcaraz won the fourth-set tiebreaker to level the match. By now, the fans had what they wanted — an Alcaraz comeback — and fans showed their unbridled delight when he won points with astounding drop shots from deep or leapt to bang cross-court forehands with astonishing power and accuracy. Alcaraz hit 70 winners, compared to 53 for Sinner, who might have been feeling like it was a case of déjà vu. Alcaraz beat Sinner in the French Open semifinals last year, coming back from 2-1 down in sets. He beat Sinner last month in the Italian Open final — the tournament where Sinner returned from his doping ban. Perhaps Alcaraz was even the favorite considering he owns the best record on clay this year — which is now 22-1 — and that Sinner had never played in the final at Roland-Garros before. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!]]>
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					<![CDATA[2025 French Open odds: Can Novak Djokovic win 25th major title?]]>
				</title>
				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/2025-french-open-roland-garros-odds-mens-womens</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/2025-french-open-roland-garros-odds-mens-womens</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Can Djoker make it 25? Can Iga Świątek win her fourth Roland Garros in a row? Check out the odds for the French Open now that we've reached the quarterfinals.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Mon, 02 Jun 2025 17:29:21 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[Some are going for their first major title, and one is going for his 25th. The French Open, or Roland Garros, is currently taking place in Paris, France. It is the second major tennis tournament of the year — after the Australian Open, and before Wimbledon and the US Open. Both the men's and women's fields are down to eight players, including 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic on the men's side. Can Nole make it 25? And on the women's side, can Iga Świątek make it four straight wins at Roland Garros, giving her five French Open titles overall? Let's check out the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook as of June 2 (seeding in parentheses). French Open 2025 men's winner Carlos Alcaraz (2): +100 (bet $10 to win $20 total)Jannik Sinner (1): +140 (bet $10 to win $24 total)Novak Djokovic (6): +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)Alexander Zverev (3): +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)Lorenzo Musetti (8): +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)Tommy Paul (12): +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)Alexander Bublik: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)Frances Tiafoe (15): +13000 (bet $10 to win $1,310 total) French Open 2025 women's winner Iga Świątek (5): +220 (bet $10 to win $32 total)Aryna Sabalenka (1): +220 (bet $10 to win $32 total)Mirra Andreeva (6): +370 (bet $10 to win $47 total)Coco Gauff (2): +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)Qinwen Zheng (8): +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)Madison Keys (7): +1800 (bet $10 to win $190 total)Elina Svitolina (13): +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)Lois Boisson: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total) Djokovic, 38, already owns the most grand slam titles in men's tennis history with 24. His last major win came at the 2023 US Open. In 2024, Carlos Alcaraz (French Open, Wimbledon) and Jannik Sinner (Australian Open, US Open) each won two major titles, and Sinner won the Australian Open at the start of this season. Alcaraz, 22, has four majors to his name, while Sinner, 23, has three. Djokovic will face Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The two have faced off 13 times, with Djoker winning eight times. However, they've split their last six meetings, with Zverev winning two of the last three (Djokovic retired after the first set of their 2025 Australian Open semifinal matchup). Djokovic is the -120 favorite in that match. On the women's side, Świątek has won four of the last five French Opens, including four in a row. She is riding a 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros. Świątek will face Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Świątek has won three of their four all-time matchups. Świątek is the -350 favorite in that tilt. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!]]>
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					<![CDATA[2025 Futures wagers, best bets by Chris 'The Bear' Fallica]]>
				</title>
				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/2025-futures-wagers-best-bets-chris-the-bear-fallica</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/2025-futures-wagers-best-bets-chris-the-bear-fallica</guid>
				<category>nfl</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[From college baseball to the NFL, Chris "The Bear" Fallica is delivering his latest futures wagers. Check out his latest best bets.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Thu, 29 May 2025 19:51:44 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA["Bear Bets" are real wagers that Chris "The Bear" Fallica is actually making. It's an exciting time of the year for a handful of sports, from college baseball to the NFL, NHL and even tennis. With plenty of sporting events happening, there are numerous wagers I like. Having your money on some future bets makes watching even more fun. With a few events just around the corner, let's dive into it. Mississippi State CWS Regional win (50-1) The Diamond Dogs have gotten hot at the right time of the year. Mississippi State finished the regular season 9-1 after naming pitching coach Justin Parker interim manager. The Bulldogs have plenty of bats, including 3B Ace Reese (the SEC Newcomer of the Year), along with Noah Sullivan and Hunter Hines. The biggest question surrounds pitching depth after Pico Kohn, but they do average 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings as a team, allowing a lot of easy outs. It's a good test for their bats in the opener against a Northeastern pitching staff that's riding a 27-game winning streak. MSU has made a College World Series (CWS) via Tallahassee in the past, and Florida State historically hasn't been rock solid at this point in the season. It feels like this has been a house-money type of season for Link Jarrett’s Noles. Despite returning Jamie Arnold, this was a team that lost three of its top four arms and top four bats from last year. Why not take a chance and see if the team from Starkville has some magic in it like Ole Miss did a few years back? PICK: Mississippi State 50-1 (+300) CWS Regional win Jonathan Gannon to win Coach of the Year (20-1) Arizona was 8-9 last year, and the NFC West might be in a bit of transition. The Cardinals certainly have a chance to win it or at least make the playoffs as a wild card. Take a look at the first seven games: at Saints, Panthers at home, at Niners, Seahawks at home, Titans at home, at Colts and lastly, at home against the Packers. Arizona could be 5-2 heading into the bye week, and any juicy price will disappear if that's the case. If you want to play Over 8.5 wins, you could do that, too, and potentially look for a middle opportunity at this point. The defense adds Josh Sweat, Will Johnson and Walter Nolen, among others, but this team clearly goes as far as Kyler Murray can take it. The Cardinals showed up every week last year for Gannon when people didn’t think they would be very good, and I’d expect them to be very competitive again this year. PICK: Jonathan Gannon (+2000) to win Coach of the Year Brad Marchand to win the Conn Smythe award (60-1) This is a bit of a dart throw, but Marchand has 14 points and a +11 plus/minus in the playoffs. If he hadn't scored the game-winner in OT against Toronto in Game 3, the Cats could have faced a 3-0 deficit and probably wouldn’t be back in the Cup Final. I know Florida has a bunch of viable candidates, but Marchand will be his usual antagonistic self in the Cup Final against Edmonton or Dallas and could be a big reason why or if the Panthers repeat. Maybe some recency bias would affect voters? I’ve certainly made worse wagers! PICK: Brad Marchand (+6000) to win the Conn Smythe award Qinwen Zheng to win her quarter Zheng should beat the young Canadian Victoria Mboko on Friday, and then face Dayana Yastremzka or Liudmila Samsonova in the Round of 16 prior to a probable showdown with Aryna Sabalenka in the quarters. But remember, this is not Sabalenka’s best surface and Zheng has won an Olympic gold here, granted the Roland Garros clay plays a little differently at that time of year. Zheng had a slow start to the year, but has gotten better and better as the weeks have gone on. She has a great shot at capturing her first slam here (+900 to reach the final, +1800 to win the title for those feeling a bit more frisky). PICK: Qinwen Zheng (+275) to win her quarter Chris "The Bear" Fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. While college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, MLB, NHL and Horse Racing, with an "occasional" wager on such events. Chris recently won the inaugural Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He's a multiple-time qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember, "The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!" Follow him on Twitter @chrisfallica.]]>
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					<![CDATA[What To Bet Today: Jimmy Butler's return to Miami]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/what-bet-today-jimmy-butler-returns-miami</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/what-bet-today-jimmy-butler-returns-miami</guid>
				<category>nba</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Jimmy Butler makes his return to Miami (gulp), the NHL's best teams face off, and more. Here's what to bet today.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Tue, 25 Mar 2025 15:07:16 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[Sports are an everyday thing — meaning there is always an opportunity to throw down a few bucks. Currently, we're in the midst of the men's and women's NCAA Tournaments, with the NBA and NHL playoffs approaching, and the new MLB season set to begin. Like we said, a lot of wagering options. With that, each weekday, FOX Sports will discuss a few big games and matches on tap, and the individual performances to potentially keep an eye on. Here's what to bet for March 25, with odds via DraftKings Sportsbook. NBA: Golden State @ Miami7:30 p.m. ET, TNT/MaxGSW -6, ML: GSW -205, O/U 216.5 What to know: Jimmy Butler makes his return to Miami after his relationship with Pat Riley and the Heat turned contentious. Since joining Golden State, the Warriors are 16-3 in games in which Butler has played. On the other side of the equation, since the Feb. 7 trade, the Heat are 5-17. The odds: Butler's Over/Under point total is set at 21.5. NHL: Washington @ Winnipeg8 p.m. ET, ESPN+ WPG -1.5, ML: WPG -148, O/U 5.5 What to know: Alex Ovechkin has 888 career regular-season goals, meaning he is just six away from tying Wayne Gretzky's all-time regular-season record, and seven away from breaking it. The Capitals and Jets also have the two best records in the league. The two teams have faced off once this season, with the Jets winning 5-4 in overtime on Feb. 1. Ovi had one goal in that game. The odds: Winnipeg is the -142 favorite, and Washington is the +120 underdog. Ovechkin is a -120 favorite to break Gretzky's record this season. WTA: (1) Aryna Sabalenka vs. (9) Qinwen Zheng7 p.m. ETML: Sabalenka -330 What to know: Sabalenka is the top women's tennis player in the world, but after winning the Brisbane International, she lost in the final of the Australian Open and BNP Paribas Open. In short, she's due for another big title, which she could grab at the Miami Open. Sabalenka and Zheng — the gold medal winner at the 2024 Paris Olympics — have faced off five times, with Sabalenka sitting at 5-0. In those five matches, she's only lost one set to Zheng. The odds: Zheng is the +260 underdog. Sabalenka and Iga Świątek have the shortest odds to win the tournament at +130. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!]]>
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					<![CDATA[Nike's first Super Bowl commercial in 27 years celebrates the best of women's sports]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/wnba/nike-super-bowl-commercial-2025-women-athletes-caitlin-clark</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/wnba/nike-super-bowl-commercial-2025-women-athletes-caitlin-clark</guid>
				<category>wnba</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Nike's Super Bowl comeback featured top athletes like Jordan Chiles, Caitlin Clark, Sha'Carri Richardson and A'ja Wilson,]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Mon, 10 Feb 2025 22:48:44 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[The Super Bowl doesn't just bring out the biggest names in sports and entertainment every year. It also brings out the biggest brands. Well, most of them. Nike, however, had surprisingly sat out on the sidelines since 1998, until it finally returned with a commercial during Super Bowl LIX. After a 27-year wait, the ad needed to deliver — and it did. The minute-long "So Win" spot is an all-female commercial that celebrates nine of the top athletes in the sports world: Grammy Award winner Doechii narrates the ad, which challenges all the things women are told they can't do in sports. "You can't be demanding. You can't be relentless … so be relentless," Doechii says, as the athletes defiantly show off their skills. "You can't be confident … so be confident." Then it ends with the clincher: "Whatever you do, you can't win. So win." Winning is something those nine women know how to do. And it's what Nike did with its first Super Bowl commercial in almost 30 years. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!]]>
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					<![CDATA[Best non-Super Bowl 2025 bets, predictions by Chris "The Bear" Fallica]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/best-non-super-bowl-lix-bets-predictions-chris-the-bear-fallica</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/best-non-super-bowl-lix-bets-predictions-chris-the-bear-fallica</guid>
				<category>nba</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Chris "The Bear" Fallica doesn't just bet on football. He likes tennis and golf and soccer and the NBA! See what other wagers he has in his back pocket nowadays.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Thu, 30 Jan 2025 16:28:52 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[With a little over a week until Super Bowl LIX on FOX, let’s take a step away from football and see what other betting possibilities exist out there. Here are a few wagers I have in my pocket right now. French Open Iga Swiatek was a loser to eventual Australian Open winner Madison Keys in a classic semifinal, but now comes the time of the year when Swiatek excels — the post slam hardcourt and clay seasons. She’s won the French Open four times already, including each of the last three, and it will be hard for anyone to beat her on her best surface if she continues to get better — and stay healthy — under new coach Wim Fissette. Some might be thinking, "Didn’t she get beat at Roland Garros in the Olympics last summer?" Yes, she did, but the court plays so much differently at that time of the year than it does in late May/early June. This price will certainly not get any shorter between now and the start of the tournament. PICK: Iga Swiatek (-175) to win French Open NBA Western Conference What’s this? An NBA bet from me? Yes! The Thunder have the best record in the West by five games (as of Jan. 30) and will only get better with the return of Chet Holmgren from injury. While the West is considered deeper than the East, which of those teams can you see beating a deep Thunder squad in a seven-game series? The only thing one might worry about is the fact OKC has never done it before, but this feels more like a situation where it has been building for a couple of years and this is where it reaps the benefits of the roster building, finally reaching the Finals once again. PICK: Thunder (+110) to win Western Conference Premier League and League Cup Liverpool are -450 or so to win the Premier League and are in the semifinals of the League Cup — so why not take the plus money that the Reds win both? It would be a near historic collapse for a team with this big of a lead at this point of the season not to win the Prem. Liverpool have a six-point lead over Arsenal with a game in hand, as well as a healthier side than their closest competitors. Liverpool has already earned a point at Arsenal and host the Gunners on May 10. The price on Liverpool to win the Prem could jump even shorter pending this weekend’s results. Liverpool goes to Bournemouth, who is competing for a top-four spot, while Arsenal hosts Man City. A Liverpool win and anything less than an Arsenal win would make Arsenal’s task even less likely. Liverpool are down 1-0 to Tottenham entering the second leg of their EFL semifinal clash, but that is essentially nothing. The Reds did everything but score in the first leg at Tottenham and should easily win the second leg at Anfield over a team in shambles right now. Arsenal or Newcastle would await in the final. PICK: Liverpool (+125) to win Premier League and League Cup Masters Tournament Will Zalatoris’ last couple of years have sadly been lost due to back and hip injuries, but he’s shown glimpses this year that he’s getting back to the player that has three top-tens, including a runner-up, at the Masters. His game is almost tailor-made for Augusta National, and while his putting will always be a question, it has improved and putting is always the streakiest, most random part of a player’s game. See Wyndham Clark’s putting exhibition in his U.S. Open win. It’s always going to be hard to beat Scottie Scheffler at Augusta, but a healthy Willy Z — who lost to Hideki Matsuyama by a stroke in 2021 — is as good a stab as any, especially at a price close to 50-1. PICK: Will Zalatoris (46-1) to win Masters Chris "The Bear" Fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. While college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, MLB, NHL and Horse Racing, with an "occasional" wager on such events. Chris recently won the inaugural Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He's a multiple-time qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember, "The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!" Follow him on Twitter @chrisfallica. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!]]>
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					<![CDATA[What are the 10 best individual rivalries in sports history?]]>
				</title>
				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/what-10-best-individual-rivalries-sports-history</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/what-10-best-individual-rivalries-sports-history</guid>
				<category>nfl</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes will renew their rivalry in the AFC title game. Is it one of the 10 all-time greatest rivalries in sports?]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Sun, 26 Jan 2025 17:59:56 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes will battle again in the postseason when the Kansas City Chiefs host the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday. The matchup will be the fourth in the playoffs between the two teams, making it the NFL's top quarterback rivalry since the turn of the decade. The previous three battles have mostly been filled with excitement, as both signal-callers played near-perfect games in the 2021 AFC divisional-round title. However, Mahomes' miraculous 13-second drive to force overtime and ensuing game-winning touchdown pass on the opening possession of the extra period gave him an edge over Allen. Mahomes got the next laugh over Allen in the postseason as well, with the Chiefs defeating the Bills in the 2023 playoffs. Entering Sunday, Mahomes is undefeated (3-0) all-time against Allen in the postseason, but Allen has the upper hand in the regular season, going 4-1 in those games. The most recent of those wins came in November 2024, with Allen helping the Bills defeat the Chiefs in their only loss that Mahomes started during the regular season. The Allen-Mahomes rivalry is certainly exciting, but it's far from the only individual rivalry that's brought juice in the NFL world over the years. That said, let's take a look at the best individual rivalries in sports history. 10. LeBron James vs. Steph Curry The NBA icons became unlikely rivals in the mid-2010s, with Curry leading the Golden State Warriors to prominence, while James gave his teams an NBA Finals floor from 2011-18. That set up a run of four consecutive years of James and Curry meeting in the NBA Finals. Curry got the first punch in that set, helping the Warriors take down an injured Cleveland Cavaliers team in 2015. James ultimately got the biggest rivalry punch a year later. After Curry led the Warriors to a record 73-win season to unanimously win MVP, James did something that had never been done in NBA history. He led the Cavs back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series, putting on remarkable performances in the final three games en route to winning Finals MVP. The individual rivalry might have lost some of its luster when the Warriors signed Kevin Durant in 2016, but the stars still delivered, with James putting up some memorable performances in both Finals losses to the Warriors. James and Curry notably became closer as the rivalry continued, and the duo have actually sparked rumors of possibly teaming up in the future. They got the chance to do that in the 2024 Summer Olympics, leading Team USA to a gold medal in possibly one of their final iconic basketball moments. 9. Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby Taken with the first overall pick in consecutive drafts (2004-05), Ovechkin and Crosby quickly became the faces of the NHL. And with their teams being in the same division, they were set up for some epic battles over the years. The duo have gone head-to-head in the postseason four times over their respective careers. They each scored a hat trick in the same game in their first postseason head-to-head series in 2009. Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins dominated Ovechkin's Washington Capitals to win Game 7 of the 2009 conference semis that year. That win set the stage for the initial narratives surrounding the rivalry. Ovechkin typically won more individual accolades between the two, while Crosby led his team to more success, winning the Stanley Cup in 2009. Their next postseason battles also preceded championship years for the team that won the series. The Penguins got the better hand of the Capitals in the second in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons en route to winning the Stanley Cup. Finally, in 2018, Ovechkin got over the hump, making a pair of big plays to help bury the Penguins in Game 6 of their second-round matchup that season before winning his first Stanley Cup. 8. Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova Arguably two of the best tennis players of all time, Evert and Navratilova met 80 times over their respective careers. They nearly split the all-time series, with Navratilova holding a 43–37 edge. Navratilova won 14 of the 22 grand slam matches between the two. The elder Evert had the edge in the rivalry at first, winning the first three grand slam matches between the two, but Navratilova won nine of the next 11 grand slam matches, with eight of those wins being a championship match. Evert was able to win just her third grand slam title at the 1985 French Open in a match widely considered as one of the best women's tennis matches of all time. Both players bounced back from deficits before Evert won the deciding set, 7-5, in one of the last grand slam matches between the two. 7. Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning Before there was Allen-Mahomes, there was Brady-Manning. The duo actually began their careers as division rivals, with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts playing in the AFC East through 2001. As the two had polar opposite paths to NFL success, Brady won his first career start against Manning in 2001. Not long after, the two became the best at their position. Manning won co-MVP in 2003, but he wasn't able to play a clean game in the Colts' loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. A year later, Brady and the Patriots took down Manning &amp; Co. in the divisional round after his record-setting season en route to their third Super Bowl win. As Brady enjoyed team success early on, Manning won everything but a Super Bowl throughout the first seven years of his career. In 2006, Manning was able to change that, leading the Colts back from a 21-3 deficit to take down Brady's Patriots in the conference title game en route to winning his first Super Bowl. Brady began to match Manning's individual achievements after the game, as the duo had some more epic regular-season games. The rivalry continued when Manning joined the Denver Broncos in 2012, with the star quarterbacks meeting twice in the postseason. Denver won both of those games, including the 2015 AFC Championship Game, to get the last laugh over Brady as he won the Super Bowl in his final NFL game two weeks later. 6. Wayne Gretzky vs. Mario Lemieux Gretzky and Lemieux never met in the postseason, but they defined the NHL in the late 1980s through much of the 1990s. Many regard Gretzky as the best player in NHL history, setting some marks and records that have become unobtainable. However, Lemieux was able to go toe-to-toe with Gretzky in the prime of their careers. He led the NHL in scoring four times between 1987-93, edging out Gretzky by a few points in some of those years. He also led the Penguins to two Stanley Cup titles over that time. Gretzky still has the majority of the most noteworthy scoring records in NHL history, but Lemieux was able to finish slightly behind him in points per game (1.921 to 1.883) and a consecutive streak for games with a point (51 to 46). 5. Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal Federer and Nadal met 40 times over their respective careers, with Nadal winning 24 of the matches and 10 of their 14 matches in grand slam tournaments. While Nadal got the best of Federer, that was always the case in the rivalry. Nadal won the French Open final over Federer twice, in 2006 and 2007, while Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon final those years. In 2008, Nadal held serve on his dominant surface, beating Federer on clay to win the French Open final over him again. However, he was able to defeat Federer on his dominant surface later that year, defeating him on grass to win the Wimbledon final in a match that's widely considered the best in tennis history. Nadal needed extra games in the fifth set and nearly five hours to beat Federer to win his first Wimbledon title. 4. Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo The two soccer icons have been the faces of the sport since nearly the start of the century. In fact, either Messi or Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or every year from 2008 to 2017. Furthermore, those two made up the Ballon d'Or winner in all but two years between 2008 and 2023. While there hasn't been a major international match between the two, Messi and Ronaldo's peaks aligned when the former was at Barcelona and the latter was at Real Madrid. Over their 37 career matches against each other, they've each scored 23 goals, but Messi's teams went 17-11-9 over span, which included the 2008 Champions League final. Messi also helped Argentina win the World Cup in 2022, giving him the edge over Ronaldo in international accomplishments. But Ronaldo's 919 career goals are more than Messi's 850, arguably making him the greatest goalscorer of all time. 3. Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier What happens when two of the best boxers of all time meet? Three of the greatest boxing matches in history. Ali and Frazier were undefeated ahead of their first meeting in 1971, with each staking a claim as the World Heavyweight Champion before going head-to-head in a match billed the "Fight of the Century." Frazier won that match in 1971 by a unanimous decision, but that just set the stage up for two bouts between the iconic boxers. In 1974, Ali got his revenge on Frazier. He won the same way that Frazier defeated him three years prior, winning by unanimous decision in a 12-round bout. The duo met again in 1975 in a match billed as the "Thrilla in Manilla," which Ali won due to Frazier's corner retirement in Round 14. 2. Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain Russell and Chamberlain emerged as basketball's dominant forces in the 1960s, with each dominating the MVP vote while one of them dominated in the title count. The two accounted for eight of the nine MVPs from 1959 to 1968, signifying that they were the two best players in the game. But when the postseason arrived, Russell's teams usually got the best of Chamberlain's. The Boston Celtics defeated Chamberlain's squads in the first five times the duo met in the postseason before the Philadelphia 76ers took down the Celtics in 1967 to end their eight-year title streak. Russell got the last laugh over Chamberlain, though. Russell helped the Celtics take down the Sixers in 1968, coming back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series and reach the NBA Finals. A year later, Russell's Celtics outlasted Chamberlain's Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. In Game 7, Chamberlain departed early as Russell was able to lift Boston to a title in what wound up being his final game. 1. Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson If there was an individual rivalry that transcended sports, it was Bird-Magic. Seemingly everyone picked a side in the battles between the two sides in the 1980s. Before they made their mark in the NBA, the two went head-to-head in the 1979 national championship game. Johnson led Michigan State to a title over Bird's Indiana State squad. That set the rivalry up for when the two reached the NBA, forming a rivalry that helped re-energize the league. They each won titles early in their careers, but they never met head-to-head in the NBA Finals in 1984. Bird's Celtics won in seven games that year, with things notably getting heated in their Game 4 win. A year later, Johnson got his revenge, leading the Lakers to a six-game series win. Johnson also helped the Lakers beat the Celtics in 1987, with his junior sky hook to win Game 4 being a key moment in the rivalry. The bitter rivals admitted that they disliked each other for years, but they were able to form a bond when they filmed a commercial in between their NBA Finals matchups at Bird's mother's home. Check out all of our Daily Rankers. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!]]>
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					<![CDATA[Australian Open: Alexander Zverev loses to defending champion Jannik Sinner]]>
				</title>
				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/australian-open-alexander-zverev-loses-defending-champion-jannik-sinner</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/australian-open-alexander-zverev-loses-defending-champion-jannik-sinner</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[The Australian Open men's final ended with defending champion Jannik Sinner holding the trophy after defeating Alexander Zverev.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Sun, 26 Jan 2025 12:49:49 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[Alexander Zverev described himself as "quite down" and "quite emotional" after once again coming within one win of earning his first Grand Slam title. And unlike his first two defeats in major finals — both of which he led, and both of which went five sets — Zverev did not come close to reaching the finish line Sunday in the Australian Open final, which ended with defending champion Jannik Sinner holding the trophy after his 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory. "I’m doing everything I can," said Zverev, a 27-year-old from Germany who is ranked No. 2 but did not seem anywhere near No. 1 Sinner on this occasion. "I’m working as hard as I ever did. I think I’m doing all the right things off-court. I think I’m practicing the right things. But I lost in straight sets today. I mean, those are facts. That is a fact. I lost to Jannik in straight sets today." "I mean, I don’t want to end my career as the best player of all time to never win a Grand Slam, that’s for sure," added Zverev, whose post-match speech was interrupted by someone in Rod Laver Arena calling out the names of two women who have accused him of physical abuse in the past. "I’ll keep doing everything I can to lift one of those trophies." He is the seventh man in the Open era, which dates to 1968, to start a career with an 0-3 record in title matches at one of the sport's four most important events. Five of the other six went on to win at least one major championship. The only member of the group who hasn't is Casper Ruud, who is also the only one still active. [Read more: Australian Open: Madison Keys upsets defending champ Aryna Sabaleka in women’s final] Sinner offered support to Zverev during the trophy ceremony Sunday. That came in the form of an arm around the shoulder — and with his words. "Keep believing in yourself," Sinner told Zverev. "Keep working hard, because we all believe that you can lift one of these very, very soon." Simone Vagnozzi, one of Sinner’s coaches, said about Zverev: "I really hope, sooner or later, he wins a Slam, because he deserves it." Zverev's previous trips to the brink of achieving what he very badly wants came at the 2020 U.S. Open, where he built a two-set lead and even held a match point against Dominic Thiem before faltering, and at the 2024 French Open, where he led Carlos Alcaraz two sets to one before letting that slip away. This one never got to that sort of stage, and Zverev frequently showed his frustration by cracking rackets. The nearest Zverev came to really making it close was when he was two points from taking the second set, but Sinner took the next four points — and that, basically, was that. "That was a massive point. I think whoever wins that set, kind of can get a little bit of momentum," Zverev said. "Being down two sets to love, especially, then his confidence goes up, mine goes down. It’s a long way back then against someone like Jannik. If it’s one set all, maybe I have a chance. But ... I didn’t stop fighting. I didn’t stop believing. Then, in the third set, I thought he outplayed me more than in the other sets." Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!]]>
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					<![CDATA[Australian Open: Madison Keys upsets defending champ Aryna Sabaleka in women’s final]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/australian-open-madison-keys-upsets-defending-champ-aryna-sabaleka-womens-final</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/australian-open-madison-keys-upsets-defending-champ-aryna-sabaleka-womens-final</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Madison Keys upsets two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final to claim her first major title.]]>
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				<pubDate>Sat, 25 Jan 2025 13:07:37 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[When Madison Keys stepped into Rod Laver Arena at 7:37 p.m. on Saturday night ahead of the Australian Open final, she strode right past the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, the trophy that goes to the women’s champion and was placed on a pedestal near the entrance to the court. Keys didn’t break stride. Didn’t stop to stare. That bit of hardware then was placed near the net for the pre-match coin toss, close as can be to where the American stood. Close enough to touch. Close enough to feel real. Also right there was her opponent, No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion at Melbourne Park, who would not make things easy on this cool, breezy evening. Exactly 2 and a half hours — and one 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory over Sabalenka — later, there was Keys, smiling the widest smile while holding that silver trophy with both hands, a Grand Slam champion for the first time at age 29. Keys was considered a future star before she was a teen, and this was her second chance to play for a major title: The first ended in a lopsided loss at the 2017 U.S. Open, an experience that taught her she would need to be able to play through nerves. It was only after accepting she might never capture a Slam title, and would be fine with that — a change that came after years of therapy — that Keys actually got there. "From a pretty young age, I felt like if I never won a Grand Slam, then I wouldn’t have lived up to what people thought I should have been. That was a pretty heavy burden to kind of carry around," said Keys, who reached her first major semifinal a decade ago in Australia . "So I finally got to the point where I was proud of myself and proud of my career, with or without a Grand Slam. I finally got to the point where I was OK if it didn’t happen. I didn’t need it to feel like I had a good career or that I deserved to be talked about as a great tennis player," she said. "I feel like finally letting go of that kind of internal talk that I had just gave me the ability to actually go out and play some really good tennis to actually win a Grand Slam." Sure did. Keys, born in Illinois and now based in Florida, is the oldest woman to become a first-time Slam champ since Flavia Pennetta, who was 33 at the 2015 U.S. Open. This was the 46th Slam appearance for Keys, the third most before winning a women’s major title, behind only Pennetta’s 49 and Marion Bartoli’s 47 when she won Wimbledon in 2013. Keys didn’t take an easy path, either. Before this three-set victory came one against No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, saving a match point along the way. Not since Serena Williams in 2005 had a player defeated both of the WTA’s top two women at Melbourne Park. "Winning that match the other night against Iga was really kind of a big hurdle," Keys said. "I always believed that I could do it, but to do it that way — really I thought to myself after the match that I can absolutely win on Saturday." To do that, though, Keys, who is ranked 14th and seeded 19th, needed to prevent Sabalenka from earning what would have been her third women’s trophy in a row at the Australian Open — something last accomplished by Martina Hingis from 1997-99 — and her fourth major title overall. When it ended, Keys covered her face with her hands, then raised her arms. Soon, she was hugging her husband, Bjorn Fratangelo — who has been her coach since 2023 — and other members of her team, before sitting on her sideline bench and laughing. Sabalenka chucked her racket, covered her head with a white towel and briefly left the court, before returning for the post-match ceremony. "I just needed ... that time for myself to kind of switch off and forget and ... be respectful," Sabalenka explained later. Keys broke three times in the first set, helped in part by Sabalenka’s four double-faults and 13 total unforced errors. But don’t think this was merely an instance of Sabalenka being her own undoing. Keys had a lot to do with the way things were going. For a stretch, it seemed as though every shot off the strings of Keys’ racket — the one she switched to ahead of this season, at Fratangelo’s urging, to protect her oft-injured right shoulder and to make it easier to control her considerable power — was landing precisely where she wanted. Near a corner. On a line. Out of the reach of Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus. Also important was the way Keys, whose left thigh was taped for the match, covered every part of the court, racing to get to balls and send them back over the net with intent. Never one to hide her emotions, Sabalenka kicked a ball after netting a volley and dropped her racket after missing an overhead. She went to the locker room before the second set, and whether that helped clear her head or slowed Keys’ momentum — or both — the final’s complexion soon changed. Keys’ first-serve percentage dipped from 86% in the first set to 59% in the second. Sabalenka raised her winner total from four in the first set to 13 in the second and began accumulating, and converting, break points. When she sent a backhand down the line to force an error by Keys for a break and a 2-1 lead in the second, Sabalenka shook her left fist and gritted her teeth. The action in the third set was tight and tense, without so much as a single break point until the final game, when Keys came through with one last forehand winner. Here’s how close this was: Keys won just one more point than Sabalenka, 92-91. Both finished with 29 winners. Keys had to wait for this moment, yes, but it did arrive. "I didn’t always believe that I could get back to this point," she said after sipping Champagne at her news conference. "But to be able to do it and win, it means the world to me." Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!]]>
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					<![CDATA[Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift and Patrick Mahomes attend US Open men's final]]>
				</title>
				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/travis-kelce-taylor-swift-patrick-mahomes-attend-us-open-mens-final</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/travis-kelce-taylor-swift-patrick-mahomes-attend-us-open-mens-final</guid>
				<category>nfl</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Taylor Swift was in attendance at the US Open men's final along with Chiefs stars Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes on Sunday.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Sun, 08 Sep 2024 17:39:59 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[Taylor Swift was in attendance at the US Open men's final along with Travis Kelce on Sunday, four days after watching her boyfriend's Kansas City Chiefs open their NFL season with a victory. The singing superstar was wearing a red-and-white checkered dress when she arrived for the match between American Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner of Italy. Kelce was dressed in a white shirt and sweater, looking dressed more appropriately for Wimbledon. Sinner beat Fritz in straight sets to claim his second Grand Slam title this year. The couple sat in a box at Arthur Ashe Stadium along with Patrick Mahomes, Kelce's teammate with the Super Bowl champion Chiefs, and his wife, Brittany. Reporting by The Associated Press. [Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]]]>
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					<![CDATA[American men finally winning Olympic gold medals after women opened 9-0 lead]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/olympics/american-men-finally-winning-olympic-gold-medals-after-women-opened-9-0-lead</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/olympics/american-men-finally-winning-olympic-gold-medals-after-women-opened-9-0-lead</guid>
				<category>olympics</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[The American men are finally matching the women, who jumped out to a 9-0 lead in individual gold medals, at the Paris Olympics.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Sun, 04 Aug 2024 18:18:54 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[The American men are finally matching the women at the Paris Olympics, where the female athletes went into the halfway mark with a 9-0 lead in individual gold medals for the United States. The men wearing red, white and blue found a groove on Sunday — Day 9 of the Games. Bobby Finke set a world record in the 1,500-meter freestyle on the final night of swimming, Scottie Scheffler delivered the best performance of his greatest year by rallying from four shots behind to win the men’s golf tournament, and Noah Lyles became the first American to win the men’s 100 meters in 20 years. That all came a day after the American men started to claw their way into the standings when Vincent Hancock made his final two shots to win gold in the men’s skeet, and Ryan Crouser followed with his third straight gold in shot put. American women still made their mark on Sunday: Kristen Faulkner won the women’s road race to become the first U.S. rider in 40 years to win a medal in the event, the 4x100 medley relay team set a world record while winning gold in the pool, and gymnast Sunisa Lee won her third medal of these Games with a bronze on bars. A look at what happened on Day 9 of the Games: Lyles at last gets his gold Lyles has officially cemented himself as "The Fastest Man in the World" with a win in the 100 meters that was decided in a photo finish. The 27-year-old Lyles is the first American to win the event since Justin Gatlin at the 2004 Athens Games. His lean at the finish line was enough to give him the gold by just .005 seconds over Kishane Thompson of Jamaica. Fred Kerley won the bronze as the United States put two sprinters on the podium. Lyles ran a career best 9.784 seconds to earn the gold and will seek a sweep later this week in the 200 meters. Thompson’s silver is his first Olympic medal, and Kerley took bronze in 9.81 seconds. It was the closest 100-meter since at least Moscow in 1980 — or maybe even ever. Back then, Britain’s Allan Wells narrowly beat Silvio Leonard in an era when timing didn’t go down into the thousandths of a second. Lyles will be a favorite later this week in the 200 meters — his better race — and will try to join Usain Bolt as the latest runner to win both Olympic sprints. Defending champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy made the final but did not medal. Meanwhile, Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson pulled out of the women’s 200 meters and will not race for an individual medal in Paris. She had already pulled out of the 100 meters to focus on the 200. Americans set two world records as swimming ends The giddiness over Finke's world record was short-lived as the Americans lost the men’s 4x100 medley relay at the Summer Games for the first time. China stunned the U.S., which had won gold in the event at every Olympics other than the boycotted Moscow Games in 1980. The medley relay was added to the program in 1960. The Americans had to settle for silver, with France taking bronze to give Léon Marchand his fifth medal of the games to go along with four individual golds. The Americans closed the swimming portion of these Games with two gold and two world records Sunday. The second medal came in the women's 4x100 medley relay. Lilly King made up for a disappointing showing in her individual events by powering the Americans to the lead in the breaststroke segment, then it was Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske, two of the biggest U.S. stars at these Games, bringing it home in 3:49.63 to break the record of 3:50.40 set by the U.S. at the 2019 world championships. Regan Smith led off in the backstroke leg, finally earning her first career gold. Scheffler comes back to take gold in golf Scheffler is already a six-time winner on the PGA Tour this year — his tally includes his second Masters title — and now he's Olympic champion. The world's No. 1 player won with a 9-under 62 in a thriller at Le Golf National. Although he matched the course record, Scheffler still needed help. Jon Rahm of Spain had a four-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood of England when he stepped on the 11th tee. Fleetwood caught him in two holes as Rahm had a stunning collapse. Six players then entered the chase, including Victor Perez of France, who came within one shot of the podium. But it was Scheffler who charged to the front with four straight birdies down the stretch. He set an Olympic record for 72 holes at 19-under 265. Fleetwood won the silver medal and the bronze went to Hideki Matsuyama of Japan. U.S. women roll in basketball The Americans continue their domination in women's basketball as they chase an eighth consecutive gold medal. The United States beat Germany, 87-68, to extend their record winning streak to 58 consecutive games dating to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The team clinched the top seed in its pool as it moves into the quarterfinals. Novak Djokovic finally wins gold Djokovic came to the Paris Olympics determined to fill the gap in his resume with a gold medal. He did it by beating Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in an enthralling men’s tennis singles final. The victory gave the 37-year-old Serbian the last significant win he was missing in his storied career. Djokovic already had a men’s-record 24 Grand Slam titles and the most weeks spent at No. 1 in the rankings by any man or woman. And although he won an Olympic medal in the 2008 Beijing Games, it was a bronze. He'd lost to the eventual gold medal winner in three semifinals: Rafael Nadal at Beijing in 2008, Andy Murray at London in 2012, and Alexander Zverev in Tokyo three years ago. To finally get the gold, Djokovic had to beat Alcaraz in a rematch of the Wimbledon title match three weeks ago that Alcaraz won to follow up his French Open title in June. Djokovic is the oldest man to win the singles gold in his sport since 1908 — and prevented Spain’s Alcaraz, who is 21, from becoming the youngest. Reporting by The Associated Press. [Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]]]>
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					<![CDATA[Pin-demonium hits Paris: Inside the 2024 Olympics' pin-trading market]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/olympics/pin-demonium-hits-paris-inside-2024-olympics-pin-trading-market</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/olympics/pin-demonium-hits-paris-inside-2024-olympics-pin-trading-market</guid>
				<category>olympics</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[The quest for trading pins has become an integral part of the Olympics, adding another layer of excitement to the 2024 Games.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Fri, 02 Aug 2024 13:42:51 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[On the other side of the Atlantic from Wall Street, a market — more wholesome than cutthroat — has sprung up at the Paris Olympics. The commodity at the center of it all? Pins. The city has seen an influx of collectors from all over the world, each eager to begin or expand their Olympic pin collection and share their stories. "People are wired to trade," asserts Craig Robbins, a passionate pin collector from Los Angeles. "Human beings, we want to trade. In life, if you cannot exchange, you die." "Do you have any pins?" a Starbucks barista asks every journalist who comes in for coffee at the Palais des Congrès, the Olympics' main press center. From bustling coffee shops to quiet streets, the same question has been echoing all over town, as Olympic volunteers, athletes, media workers, waiters, tourists and more all look for the same prized accessories. "You can really feel the craze this year," says French pin collector Laurent Facy. The quest for pins has become an integral part of the Olympics, adding another layer of excitement to the Games. "It’s become a game; we trade a little bit like we used to at the playground," he says. Where did the pin craze start? The tradition can be traced back to the first modern Olympic Games, revived by Pierre de Coubertin in 1896. In Athens, little cardboard badges were sported by athletes, coaches and reporters for identification. More than a century on, the badges have stretched and evolved into extremely detailed, intricate and, at times, technological pins, customized to participating countries, news organizations, brands and even people. "They’re like little pieces of art," passionately declares Nicholas Wolaver, a dedicated American collector and trader. Los Angeles 1984 was pivotal, according to the many pin traders on the streets — that’s where many of them started collecting. "You had media pins, sponsor pins, athlete pins, mascot pins," Wolaver says of those Games. "They found a way to really monetize pins for the public, and people were going crazy." The Paris 2024 pins After two Olympics held without spectators amid the coronavirus pandemic, the pin pandemonium has resurged. "Paris has been very good for pin collecting because after the pandemic, where you could not trade pins so much in Tokyo and Beijing, people are very excited," Wolaver explains. The pins' popularity has been boosted by social media and the fact that Olympians themselves are getting in on the game. Serena Williams, a former Olympian, described herself as a "first-class pin collector" in a video on the Olympics’ official Instagram account. She even has her favorites: "There [are] a few Thailand ones I’ll never trade. I finally was able to nab the North Korean pin." Britain's Andy Murray, the tennis player who just retired in Paris, is also all-in pin trading, according to former tennis player Laura Robson on Eurosport. "There’s one athlete from Liechtenstein and (Andy) was searching the village high and low for him to try and find this poor man," she said. One of the buzziest pins at these Olympics is Snoop Dogg’s, which features the rapper-turned-NBC correspondent blowing smoke in the shape of the Olympic rings. "What’s really cool is that Snoop Dogg made the youngests interested in pins too," Robbins says. How to qualify for Olympic pin trading The appeal of pin trading lies in its accessibility and inclusiveness. While the official Olympic competition is confined to stadiums, pin trading takes place everywhere — even online. Wearing clothes seems to be the sole condition for participating. Traders and collectors adorn themselves — their badges, their shirts, their hats — with mosaics of multicolored pins, sparkling in the Paris summer light. Traders can spot each other from a distance, admiring each other’s weighty collection. The sight of a fellow collector’s vibrant display is often more than enough to spark a conversation. "Pins break down the walls where people can start talking to each other," explains Robbins. "It was just a nice way to meet people," adds Arr Alansod, sitting next to him in the street. And it doesn't just facilitate conversation with fellow enthusiasts. The pins serve as a draw for curious tourists and Olympics newcomers. "You get to meet a lot of people," says Paul Ians, another American visitor and collector. "It’s not so much the other pin traders, it’s the regular people who are coming to the Olympics." All seem to agree pins are a bridge between people, creating a platform for interesting encounters: "A lot of the time these strangers will tell you something you don’t know," Ians says. Sometimes those strangers are a little higher-profile: In his 40 years of trading, French President Emmanuel Macron and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach are some of Wolaver's proudest exchanges. In essence, each pin holds a story, and through trading, people become storytellers, handing out pieces of their own personal, often Olympic tale. Reporting by The Associated Press.]]>
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					<![CDATA[Coco Gauff excited to meet LeBron James at Olympics but won't pester him]]>
				</title>
				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/coco-gauff-excited-meet-lebron-james-olympics-wont-pester-him</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/coco-gauff-excited-meet-lebron-james-olympics-wont-pester-him</guid>
				<category>nba</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Coco Gauff plans to avoid pestering LeBron James when they share flag-bearing duties during Friday’s Olympics opening ceremony.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 17:29:12 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[Coco Gauff plans to avoid pestering LeBron James when they share flag-bearing duties for the United States during Friday's Olympic opening ceremony along the Seine River. Yes, the reigning U.S. Open champion said Thursday, she will heed her tennis teammates' request that she ask the NBA's career leading scorer for some commemorative pins from the 2024 Olympics. No problem there. But what Gauff doesn't want to do — excited as she is to meet James — is be a bother. "I don’t want to ask him too much about advice or anything like that," the 20-year-old tennis star said about the 39-year-old basketball star in an interview with The Associated Press, "because I feel like he’s trying to probably enjoy the experience as much as possible, too." Accomplished as she already is, Gauff sounds like any wide-eyed fan when describing some of her interactions in the athletes' village. She met swimmer Katie Ledecky and gymnast Simone Biles and looks forward to running into Sha’Carri Richardson and Gabby Thomas of track fame. "I am thriving in the village," Gauff said at a news conference. "I feel like a little kid, like trick or treating on Halloween." She is the youngest flag bearer for her country at a Summer Games and the first tennis player to receive the honor. As someone who grew up watching and admiring the Williams sisters — and whose first Olympic memory is following along on TV at age 8 while Serena won gold at London in 2012 — Gauff found it a bit hard to believe she is the first American athlete from her sport to get this prominent role. "I almost feel like I’m having a little bit of impostor syndrome," she said at the news conference, "but I am going to try to just take it in and be happy for myself." Gauff, who is based in Florida, missed the Tokyo Games three years ago after testing positive for COVID-19 right before she was supposed to board a plane to fly to Japan. Once tennis begins Saturday on the clay of Roland Garros, site of the French Open, she'll be participating in three events at these Olympics: singles, in which she is seeded No. 2 behind Iga Swiatek; women's doubles with Jessica Pegula; and mixed doubles with Taylor Fritz. First things first, though. Gauff said she cried when she first heard about the flag job from teammate Chris Eubanks — but went off to a corner when the tears came, so as not to have everyone else on the U.S. roster see — and cried again when delivering the news to her mom over the phone (both of her parents arrived in Paris on Thursday and will be watching the opening ceremony in-person). "I know this will be a memory I will remember for the rest of my life," Gauff said. Eubanks, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist last year, has been a friend of Gauff's for years — "basically a brother," she said — and nominated her to carry the flag. "The way that she's kind of handled all of the variety — the success, the ups and downs of the tour, that she's kind of experienced — she's handled it all with class, and I think people are starting to see her as more than just a tennis player," Eubanks said. "That's one of the major things that being a flag bearer represents. Not just your accomplishments on the court; what you kind of bring to the world." Like a champion athlete scouting a future opponent, Gauff did some research online to try to figure out what she needs to know about flag bearing, but didn't come up with much, other than realizing that instead of two flags — one for her, one for James — they will share the duties Friday. She was eager to hear more about what it will all entail. Her biggest concerns? "Well, I just hope I don’t drop it," Gauff said. "And I hope it’s not too hot. Those are the two things I think I’ve been thinking about the most." Reporting by The Associated Press. [Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]]]>
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					<![CDATA[Carlos Alcaraz defeats Novak Djokovic in 2023 Wimbledon final, betting upset]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/carlos-alcaraz-defeats-novak-djokovic-in-wimbledon-final-betting-upset</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/carlos-alcaraz-defeats-novak-djokovic-in-wimbledon-final-betting-upset</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Carlos Alcarez was an underdog against seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic prior to the men's singles final. Read here for his odds coming into both the tournament and the final match.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Sun, 16 Jul 2023 15:26:17 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[There may be a changing of the guard in men's tennis as Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in five sets, 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon on Sunday in England. The 20-year-old Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title at the 2022 US Open and was ranked No. 1 in the world and the top seed coming into Wimbledon. But Djokovic, the two-time defending champion, was the -190 betting favorite (bet $10 to win $15.26 total) coming into the final match. Alcaraz, the youngest male player in history to be ranked No. 1 in the world (19 years, four months, six days), was a +160 underdog against Djokovic (bet $10 to win $26 total) before the match started. Joker was also the pre-tournament favorite, whereas Alcaraz was +350 coming into the tournament at most sportsbooks. Alcaraz may be the king of Wimbledon but has a ways to go to catch Djokovic, who has won a record 23 Grand Slam men's singles titles. Djokovic, 36, has won Wimbledon seven times and has been ranked No. 1 in the world for a record total of 389 weeks. The next tennis major is the US Open, which begins in late August. Stay tuned to FOX Sports for the latest sports news! Download the FOX Super 6 app for your chance to win thousands of dollars on the biggest sporting events each and every week! Just make your picks and you could win the grand prize. Download and play today!]]>
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					<![CDATA[Serena and Venus Williams reunite for doubles at US Open]]>
				</title>
				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/serena-and-venus-williams-reunite-for-doubles-at-us-open</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/serena-and-venus-williams-reunite-for-doubles-at-us-open</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Serena and Venus Williams will play in women's doubles at the US Open, Serena's final tournament.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Sat, 27 Aug 2022 17:10:32 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[Serena and Venus Williams are getting their Sister Act back together for doubles at the US Open. The American siblings, who have won two of their 14 women’s doubles Grand Slam titles at Flushing Meadows, were given a wild-card entry by the U.S. Tennis Association on Saturday, making it their first tournament as a team in more than four years. Serena announced this month that she is preparing to end her playing career and, while she did not explicitly say the US Open would be her final event, she has indicated it will be. Serena, who turns 41 next month, and Venus, who turned 42 in June, won women’s doubles championships at the US Open in 1999 — the year Serena won her first major singles trophy at age 17 in New York — and 2009. Their other Grand Slam triumphs in doubles: six at Wimbledon, four at the Australian Open and two at the French Open. The most recent came at the All England Club in 2016. They’ve also won three doubles gold medals at the Olympics. That’s all aside from their combined total of 30 major trophies in singles — 23 for Serena, and seven for Venus. The sisters have not competed anywhere in doubles as a pairing since losing in the third round of the French Open in June 2018. Since then, each Williams has entered two doubles events with other partners. For Serena, one was with Caroline Wozniacki in January 2020, and the other with Ons Jabeur this June — that came in Eastbourne, England, in a grass-court tune-up ahead of Wimbledon. That marked Serena’s return to competition after nearly a full year away from the tour. She has gone 1-3 in singles in 2022, including a first-round loss at Wimbledon in June, and said less than three weeks ago that "the countdown has begun" to the close of her time as a professional player so she can focus on having another child and on her business interests. For Venus, the first doubles event since 2018 was with Harriet Dart in June 2019, and the other was with American teenager Coco Gauff at last year’s French Open. In singles, Venus was off the tour for nearly a year until returning at a tournament in Washington this month. Reporting by Associated Press.]]>
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					<![CDATA[Novak Djokovic officially out of US Open due to vaccination status]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/novak-djokovic-officially-out-of-us-open-covid-19-vaccine</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/novak-djokovic-officially-out-of-us-open-covid-19-vaccine</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Novak Djokovic has not received the COVID-19 vaccine, making him ineligible to enter the United States and play in the US Open.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Thu, 25 Aug 2022 12:48:46 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[Novak Djokovic will not play in the US Open, as expected, because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and thus is not allowed to travel to the United States. Djokovic announced his withdrawal from the year’s last Grand Slam tournament on Twitter on Thursday, hours before the draw for the event was revealed. "Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open," Djokovic wrote, wishing luck to his fellow players, and said he would "keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again." Play is scheduled to begin at Flushing Meadows on Monday. Djokovic is a 35-year-old from Serbia who owns 21 major championships, one behind Rafael Nadal for the men’s record. Three of Djokovic’s Slam trophies came at the U.S. Open, in 2011, 2015 and 2018. He also was the runner-up there a half-dozen times, including last season, when his pursuit of the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969 ended with a loss in the final to Daniil Medvedev. Foreign citizens who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 are currently unable to enter the U.S or Canada, and Djokovic has said he won’t get the shots, even if that prevents him from playing in certain tournaments. The U.S. Tennis Association has said all along it will follow government rules about vaccination status for this year’s Open. There is no vaccine mandate at the tournament for players or their support teams — meaning that an unvaccinated American would be allowed to compete — and spectators will not be required to wear masks. "Novak is a great champion and it is very unfortunate that he will be unable to compete at the 2022 U.S. Open, as he is unable to enter the country due to the federal government’s vaccination policy for non-U.S. citizens," said Stacey Allaster, the U.S. Open tournament director. "We look forward to welcoming Novak back at the 2023 U.S. Open." Djokovic missed the Australian Open in January after a protracted legal saga ended with his deportation from that country because he isn’t vaccinated against COVID-19. He also sat out four significant tournaments in North America in 2022, including in Montreal and Cincinnati recently. He did play in the French Open, where he lost in the quarterfinals to Nadal, and at Wimbledon, where Djokovic won the title. After beating Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final on July 10, Djokovic said he "would love" to participate in the last Grand Slam tournament of the year at Flushing Meadows, but he also acknowledged, "I’m not planning to get vaccinated." About three weeks later, Djokovic posted on social media that he was holding out hope of getting the chance to play in the U.S. Open, writing: "I am preparing as if I will be allowed to compete, while I await to hear if there is any room for me to travel to US. Fingers crossed!" Djokovic has spent more weeks at No. 1 than anyone else in the history of the ATP rankings. He is No. 6 this week, in part because no rankings points were awarded at Wimbledon this year. Among the other players who will not be at the U.S. Open for various reasons are No. 2-ranked Alexander Zverev, the 2020 runner-up in New York; 2016 champion Angelique Kerber; 2019 French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova; Gael Monfils and Reilly Opelka. Reporting done by the Associated Press]]>
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					<![CDATA[Serena Williams' US Open goodbye will be a swan song to savor]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/serena-williams-us-open-goodbye-will-be-swan-song-to-savor</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/serena-williams-us-open-goodbye-will-be-swan-song-to-savor</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[A run by Serena Williams at the US Open is unlikely, but her Hollywood story has already been written, Martin Rogers writes.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Thu, 11 Aug 2022 16:10:53 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[By Martin RogersFOX Sports Columnist It was impossible to read the essay that amounted to Serena Williams’ goodbye to tennis and not imagine a fitting finale, a triumphant scene at the US Open next month in which she hoists the trophy, equals the all-time Grand Slam singles record, and waltzes off into the rest of her life. For that to happen would require a nostalgic and emotional trip for the ages, seven victories on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows, as the sporting public loses its collective mind. If Williams racks up enough wins to take her into the last weekend of the tournament, a journey filled with escalating anticipation and building in momentum all the while, it will become the story of the New York sports summer, even with Kevin Durant agitating and football season fast approaching. It’s almost certainly not going to go down that way. When sporting greats stick around long enough, we lose a sense of reality about what they’re capable of accomplishing. When they’ve achieved the implausible so many times before, not even the most preposterous of targets seem beyond them any longer. You don’t need to have watched the recent movie "King Richard" to know it was a drastic leap from the established order for a pair of young Black girls from Compton, Calif. — Williams and her older sister Venus — to enter a sport synonymous with country club sheen and collect a ridiculous 30 Grand Slams singles titles between them. Serena Williams is responsible for 23 of that tally, the first coming in a different millennium, at the 1999 US Open. She currently stands one behind Margaret Court on the all-time list, though 11 of Court’s titles came in the Australian Open, during a time when that tournament was not frequently attended by the world’s best. It is where, barring some kind of fantastical miracle, she will remain, combined with the status of the finest women’s player of all time and a trailblazing story to go along with it. As much as the fan base would love one more run, it is too much to ask. Williams will turn 41 next month, has been a mother for nearly five years and has a quarter-century of tennis tiredness in her legs. She’s up against younger, fresher, fitter women, who are able to put in the kind of punishing training schedule that Williams once undertook. Not even her talent, all that knowledge and experience, and her trademark determination are enough to overcome such obstacles any longer. On Wednesday, Williams lost 6-2, 6-4 to Belinda Bencic, the world No. 12, in the second round of the National Bank Open in Toronto. "I am terrible at goodbyes," she told the crowd. "But goodbye, Toronto." A few more weeks, and it will be goodbye to tennis, permanently. Williams is ranked No. 407 in the world, primarily because this is the first ranking point tournament she’s played since last year’s Wimbledon. Her sole victory in that time came against Nuria Párrizas-Díaz in the first round this week. She fights as hard as ever, and you can never utterly dismiss such a champion, but the point of this is to say that what’s happened already is enough. The fantasy of the ideal farewell is ours, not hers. Williams made this much clear in her essay in Vogue magazine. Mentally, she has already moved on. She talks about evolving away from tennis, but the evolution is already well underway. She wishes to have more children and laments that a male athlete at a similar age would not worry that such desires would end his career. She has business interests and big ideas and family things to attack with gusto, because that’s how she lives. She’s already fought the battle with age that every athlete must cope with sooner or later. For the most part, she categorically won it. Starting with the 2014 US Open, right when doubts about her continued viability at the very top were starting to surface, Williams went on a Grand Slam tear, winning six of the next 10 and never failing to reach at least the semis. It will probably remain a source of frustration that she didn’t blast past Court’s number when she had the opportunity. In 2018 and 2019 she reached four Slam finals and was favored to win each of them, but came up short — losing to Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep at Wimbledon and Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu in New York. "The way I see it, I should have had 30-plus Grand Slams," she told Vogue. "I had my chances after coming back from giving birth … but I didn’t get there." That might be the closest we will ever get to Williams admitting she doesn’t expect to win the US Open this year. The best of athletes, in most cases, last for longer these days. At the start of Williams’ career, the mid-20s was seen as a veteran. Along with the men’s Big Three of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, she has defiantly reshaped that perception. She has redefined the sport in ways beyond that, too, making a stand for women athletes and keeping tennis in the American spotlight during a time when the country’s dominance has dwindled. The Hollywood ending is not going to come because the Hollywood story has already been written. At some point over the coming weeks, the final shot will be hit. A career, statistically speaking, will end with a defeat. But will be remembered, forever, as a triumph. Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. You can subscribe to the daily newsletter here.]]>
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					<![CDATA[Quiet period in sports? It depends where you look]]>
				</title>
				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/quiet-period-in-sports-it-depends-where-you-look</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/quiet-period-in-sports-it-depends-where-you-look</guid>
				<category>mlb</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Aside from the MLB All-Star Game, it seems quiet in sports. You have to know where to look, Martin Rogers writes.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Mon, 18 Jul 2022 16:40:11 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[By Martin RogersFOX Sports Columnist One of the joys of this job of writing about sports is having had the ability to travel far and wide over the years, meeting fans from all over the world. The more you do it, the more the realization that those of us who love sports are for the most part cut from the same cloth. Sure, the languages and accents and the actual games we follow might be different. Yes, American fans are used to paying concession prices that would make those from overseas faint. Admittedly, most from these shores will never get their heads around cricket, just as your average Belgian or South African is perplexed by the vagaries of the gridiron. But rest assured we beat to the same tunes, carry the same frustrations, wish for the same outcomes and are touched by the same stories of sentimentality, whether we are an American basketball fanatic, a Brazilian soccer fan, a German motor racing enthusiast, a New Zealand rugby diehard, a Japanese baseball connoisseur, and so on. What does happen though, is that we work to a very different calendar, a fact brought home by the current lull in the American sports cycle. For much of the year, the action here is incessant and occasionally overwhelming. There is a lot of overlap, but from September through to the midpoint of each following year, it always feels there is something of great significance going on. Football season is short enough that every week of NFL action brings multiple games that truly matter in the overall scheme of the campaign. From the Super Bowl, sportive attention turns to the Daytona 500 and to the NBA All-Star Game. From there it is a short hop into March and all the college hoops Madness that ensues. And then to Opening Day and the Masters, and then the long postseasons of both the NBA and the NHL. Since the Golden State Warriors (Jun. 16) and Colorado Avalanche (Jun. 26) hoisted their respective pieces of silverware, however, it has been a bit sleepy on the domestic scene. NBA Summer League has some entertainment value, but that’s mostly restricted to analyzing initial glimpses of the most promising rookies. The MLB All-Star fun provides a welcome interlude, with the unique magnificence of Shohei Ohtani the undisputed highlight Tuesday (8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), plus outstanding talent such as Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, and feelgood legacy picks Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera. Once Tuesday night is through, though, the start of most NFL training camps will still be days away, with still seven more blank Sundays before the journey toward the latest dose of fantasy football heartbreak begins. Although it might seem quiet in the U.S., that's not the case everywhere. Consider what the European fan has had to get stuck into over the past couple of weeks. In tennis, the French Open bled quickly into Wimbledon, respectively won by a pair of men’s legends (Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) and an emerging superstar and a controversial surprise on the women’s side (Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina). In Europe, they pack it in over the summer. Last weekend brought the Open Championship of golf at its most iconic venue and spiritual home, St. Andrews in Scotland. It was a reminder that sometimes the story is one you don’t expect. A final round that shaped up as a head-to-head showdown between crowd favorite Rory McIlroy and emerging star Viktor Hovland turned into an absolute putting masterclass from brilliant Australian Cam Smith, who rolled in birdie after birdie on the back nine to shoot 64 and claim his first major. If Smith defects swiftly to LIV Golf, as looks likely, then the renegade league will have a bona fide young star to add to its ever-strengthening ranks. Next weekend sees the conclusion of the Tour de France, the ever-popular cycling spectacular that has so many central European nations spellbound, and where an epic battle between reigning champ Tadej Pogacar and current leader Jonas Vingegaard beckons over the closing stages. A week after that, soccer will be in full flow once more, with the start of the English Premier League and German Bundesliga on Aug. 5, followed a week later by Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A. Realistically, geography matters less and less in sports. Television and streaming developments mean that if there is a sports event happening somewhere in the world, you can find a way to get a look at it without too much difficulty. However, it is a long-proven fact that viewers like watching things that are taking place in their own country. The UFC found this a few years back, when their pay-per-view figures for U.S.-based shows were far greater than those taking place overseas, despite being designed to start to coincide with American prime time. They were never fully able to work out why. There is no accounting for how sports fans act in the name of their passion. It is a kind of sickness for which, thankfully, there is no known cure. When sports are happening, everything feels right. When it is a quiet period, like the one happening in the U.S. right now and for a little while longer, things seem a bit off. We find ourselves doing weird things, like talking about the weather or buying things we don’t need, or tackling home projects that will never get finished. The good news is that busier times are ahead. That’s something to be thankful for, and I’m glad to remind you of it, but an apology is also due. This column started with the intention of providing a solution for the dead period, but there really isn’t one that we can see. Unless you’d want the NBA’s discussed but still non-existent midseason tournament to be played in July? Or the NFL season to be extended forward three weeks (good luck getting that by the Players Association) or NASCAR to drastically reduce its regular season and begin the playoffs now, neither of which would really work. Mission failed then. Sorry for that, and only the following as an excuse. It’s the quiet days of summer. When the games are off the schedule, we’re all a little off our game. Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. You can subscribe to the daily newsletter here.]]>
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					<![CDATA[Djokovic topples Kyrgios, wins seventh Wimbledon title]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/novak-djokovic-topples-nick-kyrgios-wins-seventh-wimbledon-title</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/novak-djokovic-topples-nick-kyrgios-wins-seventh-wimbledon-title</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Novak Djokovic overcame an early deficit on Sunday to win his fourth-straight Wimbledon and seventh overall.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Sun, 10 Jul 2022 12:52:52 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[Novak Djokovic waited. He waited for Nick Kyrgios to lose focus and lose his way. Waited to find the proper read on his foe’s big serves. Waited until his own level rose to the occasion. Djokovic is not bothered by a deficit — in a game, a set, a match. He does not mind problem-solving. And at Wimbledon, for quite some time now, he does not get defeated. Djokovic used his steady brilliance to beat the ace-delivering, trick-shot-hitting Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Sunday for a fourth consecutive Wimbledon championship and seventh overall. The top-seeded Djokovic ran his unbeaten run at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament to 28 matches and raised his career haul to 21 major trophies, breaking a tie with Roger Federer and moving just one behind Rafael Nadal’s 22 for the most in the history of men’s tennis. Among men, only Federer, with eight, has won more titles at Wimbledon than Djokovic. In the professional era, only Federer was older (by less than a year) than the 35-year-old Djokovic when winning at the All England Club. His comeback on a sun-filled afternoon followed those in the quarterfinals, when Djokovic erased a two-set deficit against No. 10 seed Jannik Sinner, and in the semifinals, when No. 9 Cam Norrie grabbed the opening set. In last year’s title match at Wimbledon, Djokovic dropped the opening set. In the 2019 final, he erased two championship points against Federer. There were two particularly key moments Sunday that went Djokovic’s way, ones that Kyrgios would not let go as he began engaging in running monologues, shouting at himself or his entourage (which does not include a full-time coach), finding reason to disagree with the chair umpire (and earning a warning for cursing) and chucking a water bottle. In the second set, with Djokovic serving at 5-3, Kyrgios got to love-40 — a trio of break points. But Kyrgios played a couple of casual returns, and Djokovic eventually held. And then, in the third set, with Kyrgios serving at 4-all, 40-love, he again let a seemingly sealed game get away, with Djokovic breaking there. The 40th-ranked Kyrgios was trying to become the first unseeded men’s champion at Wimbledon since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001. Ivanisevic is now Djokovic’s coach and was in the Centre Court guest box for the match. Kyrgios is a 27-year-old from Australia who never had been past the quarterfinals in 29 previous Grand Slam appearances — and last made it even that far 7 1/2 years ago. In some ways, he stole the show Sunday. He tried shots between his legs. Hit some with his back to the net. Pounded serves at up to 136 mph and produced 30 aces. Used an underarm serve, then faked one later. Reporting by Associated Press]]>
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					<![CDATA[Elena Rybakina wins Wimbledon women’s final for 1st Slam]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/elena-rybakina-wins-wimbledon-womens-final-for-1st-slam</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/elena-rybakina-wins-wimbledon-womens-final-for-1st-slam</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Elena Rybakina, making her debut in a Grand Slam title match, rallied to beat Ons Jabeur at Wimbledon on Saturday.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Sat, 09 Jul 2022 13:45:51 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[Too nervous to wave, Elena Rybakina stepped into the Centre Court sunshine before the Wimbledon final Saturday and kept a firm double-grip on the black-and-red straps of the racket bag slung over her shoulders. No wave. Not much of a look around. Her play early on betrayed some jitters, too, which makes sense considering it was her debut in a Grand Slam title match. Nearly two hours of big swinging and plenty of sprinting later, she had won the championship at the All England Club with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Ons Jabeur — the first singles trophy at a major tournament for her adopted country of Kazakhstan. Even then, Rybakina’s reaction was muted as can be, a little sigh, a hint of a smile. "Happy that it finished, to be honest," the 23-year-old said, "because really, I never felt something like this." She was born in Moscow and has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, when that country offered her funding to support her tennis career. The switch has been a topic of conversation during Wimbledon, because it barred all players who represent Russia or Belarus from entering the tournament due to the war in Ukraine. Since the WTA computer rankings began in 1975, just one woman ranked lower than the No. 23 Rybakina has won Wimbledon — Venus Williams in 2007 at No. 31, although she had been No. 1 and already won three of her five career Wimbledon trophies. Rybakina used her big serve and powerful forehand to overcome the No. 2-ranked Jabeur’s varied style, with its mix of spins and slices, to put a halt to the 27-year-old Tunisian’s 12-match winning streak, which came entirely on grass courts. "You have an amazing game, and I don’t think we have someone like this on tour," Rybakina told Jabeur during the post-match trophy ceremony, then added this one-liner: "I ran today so much, so I don’t think I need to do fitness more, honestly." Jabeur also was participating in her first Grand Slam final. "She deserved this. Hopefully next time will be mine," said Jabeur, whose exuberance on the court and personality off it have earned her the sobriquet "Minister of Happiness." "Elena stole my title," Jabeur joked, "but it’s OK." By the match’s third game, Jabeur was reading Rybakina’s serves and creating fewer inviting opportunities for baseline power. One squash-style forehand drew a forehand into the net to earn a break point, which Jabeur converted to lead 2-1 by putting a 120 mph serve into play then watching Rybakina sail a backhand long. Jabeur turned toward her guest box, jumped and yelled. Rybakina’s miscues mounted. A volley into the net tape with the full court wide open. A netted forehand after Jabeur barely got a short return in. When another forehand went awry, Jabeur broke at love to take the opening set, yelled "Yalla!" — Arabic for "Let’s go!" — and threw an uppercut as she walked to the sideline. Jabeur was trying to become the first Arab or African woman to win a Slam singles title in the professional era, which dates to 1968. "I love this tournament so much. I feel really sad. But it’s tennis. There is only one winner," Jabeur said. "I’m really happy that I’m trying to inspire many generations from my country. I hope they’re listening." Rybakina, who beat Serena Williams at last year’s French Open, finally earned her first break chance to begin the second set and went up 1-0 when Jabeur missed a forehand. After saving four break points over her next two service games, Rybakina broke again and soon led 5-1. Jabeur leads the women’s tour with 13 victories in three-setters this season, but Rybakina came out far stronger in the decider. She broke once more to begin the third, and went up 3-1. Jabeur needed to find a way to cut down on her mistakes and came close to changing the course of things while down 3-2 in the third. She parlayed a pair of points she won via a drop shot and a lob into love-40 on Rybakina’s serve. But Rybakina erased that trio of break points and took the game, aided by a couple of 119 mph serves. The hold there made it 4-2, and Rybakina quickly broke again. Now she was just a game away from the biggest victory of her career — and she got to serve for it. That game began with a 117 mph ace off Rybakina’s red racket. It ended with Jabeur missing a return. Any apprehension, any unease, felt by Rybakina could disappear. Soon she was stepping over the green wall beside front-row seats to go through the stands for hugs with her coach, her sister and others. Now she was, and forever will be, a Wimbledon champion. Reporting by Associated Press]]>
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					<![CDATA[Rafael Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon before semi due to injury]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/rafael-nadal-pulls-out-of-wimbledon-before-semi-due-to-injury</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/rafael-nadal-pulls-out-of-wimbledon-before-semi-due-to-injury</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Rafael Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon ahead of his semifinal match vs. Nick Kyrgios because of a torn abdominal muscle.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Thu, 07 Jul 2022 14:56:40 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[Rafael Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon on Thursday because of a torn abdominal muscle, announcing his decision a day before he was supposed to play in the semifinals. "Unfortunately, as you can imagine, if I am here, it’s because I have to pull out from the tournament," Nadal said during a news conference at the All England Club. The 22-time Grand Slam champion was scheduled to face Nick Kyrgios for a berth in the final on Friday. Kyrgios advanced to his first final at a major tournament. He will meet either Novak Djokovic or Cam Norrie for the championship on Sunday. Related: Wimbledon 2022: Nick Kyrgios, the bad boy of tennis, is on a roll The second-seeded Nadal, a 36-year-old from Spain, is 19-0 in Grand Slam action in 2022, including trophies at the Australian Open in January and the French Open in June. That put him halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam for the first time in his career. Nadal has been bothered by a stomach muscle for about a week, and the pain became nearly unbearable in the first set of his 4-hour, 21-minute victory via fifth-set tiebreaker against Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. After that match, Nadal said he had considered stopping. He took a medical timeout to take painkilling pills and his father and sister motioned from the stands for him to quit. On Thursday’s off day, Nadal went to the All England Club for a light practice session. He was signed up on the official schedule to train on one of the competition courts but did not show up there, instead opting for practice courts to which fans don’t have access. Mostly content to hit forehands and backhands, Nadal did attempt a few serves — the part of his game that revealed the most obvious inability to play with full force and, he said, caused the most discomfort against Fritz. Those practice serves Thursday were generally tapped in, by Nadal’s standards, not with any of the body-torqueing effort he usually uses. It’s not far from what went on with Nadal at Roland Garros, where he took repeated injections to numb the chronic pain in his left foot and insisted he had no idea when he might reach the point of not being able to take the court. Reporting by The Associated Press.]]>
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					<![CDATA[Wimbledon 2022: Rafael Nadal battles injury to win 5-set thriller]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/wimbledon-rafael-nadal-battles-injury-to-win-5-set-thriller</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/wimbledon-rafael-nadal-battles-injury-to-win-5-set-thriller</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Rafael Nadal got past Taylor Fritz in a thrilling tiebreaker to advance to the Wimbledon semifinals.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Wed, 06 Jul 2022 15:48:47 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[Normally so relentless from point to point, Rafael Nadal occasionally would watch as a ball off the racket of Taylor Fritz landed in during the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Wincing from an abdominal issue for which he took a medical timeout, Nadal couldn’t move the way he usually does. His trademark grunts of "Uhhhh!" were rare. He didn’t generate the usual zip on his serves, which dipped from a high of 120 mph to barely above 100 mph. He sought to end exchanges with a quick-strike forehand or a drop shot — sometimes with success, often not. With much of the Centre Court crowd loudly supporting the 22-time major champion, roaring and standing after his best strokes, Nadal figured out a way to hang in there and twice erased one-set deficits against the 11th-seeded Fritz, emerging with 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-4) victory to reach his eighth semifinal at the All England Club. Nadal extended his unbeaten mark in Grand Slam matches in 2022 to 19-0 as he seeks to add a trophy at Wimbledon to his triumphs at the Australian Open in January, then the French Open in June. For everything that he’s accomplished, the 36-year-old Spaniard never has won the first three Slam titles of a season. On Friday, Nadal will meet Nick Kyrgios, a 27-year-old Australian who will be making his Grand Slam semifinal debut after a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory over Cristian Garin of Chile. The other men’s semifinal will be No. 1 Novak Djokovic against No. 9 Cam Norrie. The women’s semifinals Thursday will be 2019 champion Simona Halep against No. 17 Elena Rybakina, and No. 3 Ons Jabeur against unseeded Tatjana Maria. Halep advanced by eliminating No. 20 Amanda Anisimova of the United States 6-2, 6-4, and Rybakina came back to defeat Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Nadal leads Kyrgios 6-3 in their head-to-head series, but they are even at 1-all at Wimbledon: Kyrgios, just 19 and ranked 144th, announced himself to the world by stunning Nadal in 2014; Nadal won the rematch in 2019. Give Kyrgios credit for honesty: Even he did not think this day ever would arrive. Kyrgios became the first unseeded and lowest-ranked man to get to the final four at the All England Club since 2008 by playing what, for him, amounts to a restrained and efficient brand of tennis. "I thought my ship had sailed," Kyrgios said. "Obviously, I didn’t go about things great early in my career and may have wasted that little window. But just really proud of the way I’ve just come back out here." Kyrgios, who is ranked 40th, has garnered more attention for his behavior on and off the court than his skills with a racket in hand. His match against the unseeded Garin, a 26-year-old from Chile, came a day after police in Canberra, Australia, said that Kyrgios is due in court next month to face an allegation of common assault stemming from something that happened in December. "I have a lot of thoughts, a lot of things I want to say, kind of my side about it," Kyrgios said at his post-match news conference Wednesday. "Obviously I’ve been advised by my lawyers that I’m unable to say anything at this time." After his first-round victory at Wimbledon last week, Kyrgios was fined $10,000 for spitting in the direction of a heckling spectator. His third-round victory over No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was as contentious as can be, and Kyrgios was fined another $4,000 for an audible obscenity; afterward, Tsitsipas called him a "bully" and "evil." Worth noting, too, is how well Kyrgios has been playing. His serve, in particular, is among the best in the game, regularly topping 130 mph, and he pounded 17 aces against Garin while getting broken just once — in the very first game, at love. His big forehands are terrific, too, but little else is conventional about Kyrgios. One example: "I don’t have a coach," Kyrgios said with a smile. "I would never put that burden on someone." Reporting by the Associated Press]]>
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					<![CDATA[Wimbledon 2022: Nick Kyrgios, the bad boy of tennis, is on a roll]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/wimbledon-2022-tennis-bad-boy-nick-kyrgios-is-on-a-roll</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/wimbledon-2022-tennis-bad-boy-nick-kyrgios-is-on-a-roll</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Love him or hate him, Nick Kyrgios, the self-styled bad boy of tennis, is appointment viewing, Martin Rogers writes.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Wed, 06 Jul 2022 15:21:40 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[By Martin RogersFOX Sports Columnist It was precisely two minutes before Nick Kyrgios started complaining on Wednesday, and the only surprise was that it took him that long. Kyrgios, the self-styled bad-boy of tennis, kept his Wimbledon campaign going with a straight-set, quarterfinal victory over Chile’s Cristian Garin. As on every step of his angst-filled, tantrum-throwing, snark-laden journey to the last four, he begged the question — is he good for tennis, or bad? It is no straightforward query, for tennis and its troublemakers have a long history. Kyrgios is an unmistakably naughty boy and delights in being so, willingly snarling his way into arguments with, well, almost everyone. Line judges cop his ire for daring to make calls that are outside his favor, umpires hear his disgruntlement for all manner of reasons, and tournament referees receive his blasts because they’re the last line of officialdom. Opponents get taunted and baited with underarm serves, theatrical bows to the stands, sniping remarks, and multi-level mind games, especially if, like world No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas showed in the second round, they’re visibly affected by it. Ballkids get told off for not running "properly." Reporters who dare raise their hands during a press conference risk direct confrontation if they ask him about his antics. His box — including his girlfriend and trainer — are also routinely in the verbal firing line. In his first match in London, Kyrgios spit in the direction of a fan who was heckling him and was fined $10,000 for the effort. After his round-of-16 clash, he claimed that "all publicity is good publicity." A day later, it was revealed he faces charges alleging he assaulted a former girlfriend in his native Australia last year. If you’re not particularly familiar with Kyrgios and all this has you thinking that he’s a pretty unappealing character, you won’t be overwhelmed with conflicting debate. Yet the conundrum for tennis is real and present. For Kyrgios provides compelling theater every time he steps on the court. It is a guilty pleasure for some, but good luck trying to stop watching if you’re tuned in to one of his matches. There’s always something going on, and for a sport that has nowhere near the mainstream popularity in the United States that it used to, watchability is worth its weight in gold. Kyrgios’ game in itself is electrifying. He has a smooth rocket of a serve and tactics that feature extravagant shot-making and quirky drop shots. You never know what’s coming next. In round three, he channeled rope-a-dope tactics (his words), fooling opponent Brandon Nakashima into thinking he was injured, before roaring back to life to take the match in five sets. He's 27, and Friday’s semi against Rafael Nadal will be the first time he has reached this late stage of a Grand Slam. But in many ways, he is a throwback to a time when the likes of John McEnroe and Jimmy Conners would rant and rave and use the crowd to their advantage. For the past couple of decades, the men’s game has been built instead on the excellence of a trio of all-time greats. Roger Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic are generally considered fine sporting ambassadors, but for all their brilliance, even they can’t toy with the emotions of a crowd quite like Kyrgios. You’d think that the genteel lawns and polite ways of Wimbledon might be an ill fit for him, but it’s not the case at all, certainly not this year. Kyrgios’ monster of a serve is even hotter on grass, and the historically upper-crust London crowds appreciate an entertainer more these days, reasoning — with some merit — that bad boys give greater value for your ticket price. Kyrgios has always possessed immense talent. At 19, he beat Nadal at Wimbledon, but he has failed to live up to his early promise for far too long. He is currently situated at No. 40 in the rankings while playing a restricted schedule because he didn’t fancy spending too much time outside Australia. As is always the case with such characters, everyone has something to say. Tsitsipas describes him as having an "evil side" to his persona. Fellow Australian and former Wimbledon champ Pat Cash did not hold back, either. "He’s brought tennis to the lowest level I can see as far as gamesmanship, cheating, manipulation, abuse, aggressive behavior to umpires, to linesmen," Cash told the BBC. "Something has got to be done about it. It’s just an absolute circus. It’s gone to the absolute limit now." Kyrgios’ response? He’s "happy" that his success is making people mad — and he’ll carry on doing "what I want." He is the kind of player who forces strong opinions one way or another, a true love-him-or-hate-him kind of personality. You don’t have to watch him for more than a few minutes to make your mind up, choosing to cast him as a hugely entertaining anti-hero or a Machiavellian pantomime villain. As ever, the truth likely falls somewhere in the middle, leaving us just knowing a couple of things. Kyrgios’ Wimbledon run is continuing on, maybe all the way to the end. As for whether he’s good for tennis or bad for it, the answer is — probably — both. Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. You can subscribe to the daily newsletter here.]]>
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					<![CDATA[The radical hope of Serena Williams on Centre Court]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/the-radical-hope-of-serena-williams-on-centre-court</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/the-radical-hope-of-serena-williams-on-centre-court</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Even with the odds stacked against her, Serena Williams continues to show up, an inspirational act of perseverance, Charlotte Wilder writes.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jun 2022 16:56:17 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[By Charlotte WilderFOX Sports Columnist Serena Williams hadn’t played a professional match in 364 days when she took to Centre Court on Tuesday at Wimbledon. She is 40 years old, was ranked 1,204th in the world and was coming back from tearing her hamstring in the same tournament this time last year. The same tournament she has won seven times. Before facing Harmony Tan, a French 24-year-old ranked 115th, Williams was asked if she was pleased she hadn’t drawn a more formidable opponent. Tan had never reached the third round of a major. "Every match is hard, every match," Williams said. "You can’t underestimate anyone or any match." Williams’ words proved prophetic, as Tan defeated her 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7) in an exhausting, three-hour-and-11-minute match that probably took years off spectators’ lives. The heart palpitations that the games (some lasting 19-plus minutes) induced were intense, not to mention the last moments of the match, when Williams went up 4-0 in the tie-break before Tan came roaring back to victory. It was an absolute pleasure to watch. There were moments of vintage Williams, such as when she battled back from being down 5-6 in the third set to force the tie-break or when she put Tan away in the second set, giving up only one game. While she didn’t play the suffocating style of tennis that made her the best, she did play with her signature power, and she hustled, never looking like she was out of the running. These two players treated us to one of the most spectacular tennis experiences I’ve ever seen. Williams’ postmatch quote told us everything we needed to know about her headspace. "It was definitely a very long battle and fight," she said afterward. "It's definitely better than last year. That's a start." That’s. A. Start. This is coming from a woman who has played on the professional circuit for 26 years, since she was a 14-year-old from Compton, California, beginning to claw her way into the whitest (well, maybe except for golf), most gate-kept sport. Who, as many are quick to point out, is not at the beginning of the end but probably at the middle of the end, or maybe even at the end of the end. Granted, she could very well win another major because this is Serena Williams we’re talking about. And the end could go on for a long time because so did the beginning and the middle. But this is, statistically, the end of her career. The commentators, which included Williams’ friend and former player Caroline Wozniacki, were saying as Williams walked off the court that maybe this was the last time we see her at Wimbledon. But Williams doesn’t think like that. After her loss, she posted this on Instagram. Onward and up. That does not sound like a woman who is ready to give up. And I’m not talking about tennis, necessarily. Sure, she might never appear on Centre Court again. But she has transcended the game. She started a venture capital fund in which three-fourths of the portfolio’s founders come from underrepresented backgrounds. She’s a mother and won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant (she also almost died after giving birth to her daughter). This is a woman who doesn’t need tennis but keeps competing anyway. There’s peace in that Instagram caption. It gives the impression that Williams knows she’s playing with house money. Those who argue that tying Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles is the one thing left for Williams to accomplish are, well, not looking at all the facts. There is no reason she needs to be out there for her legacy in this sport. She has nothing left to prove. Yet she’s still showing up. Even if it means losing. To be clear, she hasn’t lost often. Between singles and doubles, Williams has won 98 and lost only 29 of the finals she has played in. Over the course of her career, she has won 85.03% of her matches, and she has been ranked world No. 1 in 319 weeks, including a joint-record of 186 consecutive weeks. It takes more mental fortitude to lose than it does to win. Athletes don’t have to work through anything after they win; they’re on to the next test. When they lose, though, they have to battle self-doubt, embarrassment (because even if it shouldn’t, publicly taking an L carries shame for competitive people) and sadness. The greatest athletes are great because they don’t let the ghost of past failure or the specter of future failure stop them from trying. It’s one thing to say something inspirational, or to buy it on a sign from Target, but it’s another thing altogether to live it. Williams has had to battle through much more than her own mind during her career. She has had to exist in the public eye and perform better than everyone else in the world while being bombarded by the racism and sexism that come with being a Black woman. While the physical injuries Williams has bounced back from are mind-boggling, the most impressive resilience she has shown is of the mental variety. She never stops hoping, and she never stops showing up. We are living in a time when it is very easy to give up hope. And perhaps it sounds hackneyed to use sports as an example of perseverance and resistance, of fighting back even when the odds are stacked against you. But much like those Target signs, there’s nothing wrong with taking inspiration where you can find it. There’s a reason athletes have inspired millions of people and women such as Serena Williams have become beacons of what is possible even when, over and over again, they shouldn’t have stood a chance. They overcome the odds because they keep showing up. And it sounds like Williams has no plans to stop doing that. "It’s actually kind of like, ‘OK, Serena, you can do this if you want,’" the greatest player of all time said after her match Tuesday. "Lots of motivation to get better and to play at home." Charlotte Wilder is a general columnist and cohost of "The People's Sports Podcast" for FOX Sports. She's honored to represent the constantly neglected Boston area in sports media, loves talking to sports fans about their feelings and is happiest eating a hotdog in a ballpark or nachos in a stadium. Follow her on Twitter @TheWilderThings.]]>
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					<![CDATA[Is tennis' greatest chapter coming to an end?]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/wimbledon-serena-nadal-federer-djokovic</link>
				<guid>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/wimbledon-serena-nadal-federer-djokovic</guid>
				<category>tennis</category>
				<description>
				    <![CDATA[Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have spoiled tennis fans for the last two decades, Martin Rogers writes.]]>
				</description>
				<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jun 2022 15:01:14 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[By Martin RogersFOX Sports Columnist There was a moment, late in the London evening, when Serena Williams celebrated with as much gusto as she’s sometimes shown to mark a Grand Slam championship triumph. The tennis icon, now 40, a mother, a businesswoman, and – oh yes – a 23-time Major winner, threw her hands to the skies and screamed with delight, emotion welling on her face. It was 5-4 in the third set, and Williams had just broken the serve of France’s Harmony Tan, to set up the opportunity to serve things out. She thought victory was coming, hence the outpouring of ferocity — and relief. Ultimately, victory didn’t arrive, Tan rebounding to win the pair’s Wimbledon first-round match 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7). But this wasn’t a defeat in the normal sense, and it sure as heck wasn’t a failure. It might have been a goodbye. At the very least it was the precursor to one that’s coming. Williams was non-committal in her post-match press conference, but there isn't a lot left in the tank and absolutely zero left to prove. A glorious career is winding toward its end, if not now, then likely very soon. It’s not the only one. Sporting marvels often find the closing steps of their competitive life to be among the loneliest. In this case, Williams is in good company.  Tennis fans have been spoiled, so spoiled, for more than two decades. In that time, greatness has been so ever-present that a couple of generations of the sport’s followers have forgotten what it was like when all-time excellence was something rare enough to be delicately cherished. The 21st century has arguably seen the three best male and the best female player ever to strike a ball carry the sport on their shoulders. Williams won the US Open all the way back in 1999 and has been relentless in her charge toward immortality, while the men’s side of the game has witnessed a trio of legends duking it out simultaneously. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have waged battle on courts around the world, allowing little room for anyone else to breathe the rarefied air at the top of men’s tennis, let alone win with any regularity. Nadal currently sits on 22 Grand Slams, Federer and Djokovic on 20 each. To think that Pete Sampras' previous mark of 14 once looked unassailable. Yes, your quick math was correct, the three have won 62 Grand Slams between them. There have been separate streaks of 18, 14 and 11 consecutive Slams when no one else got a look in. Just when it looked like a new generation was coming, Djokovic surged to the first three Slams of 2021 and Nadal has claimed the first two this year. But the end may be ushered in swiftly. Tennis has gotten used to greatness and dominance, but it will soon need to get un-used to it. Federer, 40, was last seen in action a year ago. He’s still working feverishly to get back into shape from knee trouble. Rumors are spreading, however, that October’s ATP Tour stop in Basel, Switzerland — the region where he grew up — will be the scene of an emotional swansong. There is similar talk about Nadal, despite his success this year, which included winning the French Open a mind-blowing 14th time. It took injections and ceaseless therapy to get him through at Roland Garros this year, and he has admitted in interviews that the rigors of simply getting onto the court are wearing on him. Djokovic is the youngest of the three at 34, which used to be a ripe old number for a tennis player. Yet no longer does the Serbian seem feverishly intent on ending up with the Slams record, and his refusal to get vaccinated for COVID kept him out of the Australian Open in January and will do the same for August’s US Open. He could stick around to try to fend off the young challengers alone, if Nadal and Federer head out the door. But most expect him not to. And then there is Williams. On Monday, she showed why she, and the men’s trio, are a different breed. Because this was one that needn’t have mattered. She could have mailed this one in. Heck, she didn’t have to be at SW19 in the first place, after a year out following an injury on the same Centre Court in 2021. It was the first round of a major, against an opponent ranked No. 115 in the world, and there was Williams, fighting as if her life depended on it. She could have been forgiven for easing off a little. She was rusty as hell and frankly being outplayed by a player 16 years younger and desperate for an opportunity. Williams was getting drop-shotted and flung around the court. Still, she found the reserves of spirit and fortitude to find a winning position, before being unable to finish it off. To be a champion on that kind of scale is about more than just winning all the time. This time it was about leaving it all out there, physically and mentally, despite being clearly restricted and struggling to get her footing. That’s what the greats do. That’s what happens when the hatred of losing is so strong, and so laced within their DNA, that they know no other way. That’s how, when it is combined with outrageous talent and tireless work ethic, an athlete comes along who defies all prior logic. Or, somehow, for the past two decades — four of them. Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. You can subscribe to the daily newsletter here.]]>
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					<![CDATA[Wimbledon: Serena Williams loses first match in a year]]>
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				<link>https://www.foxsports.com/stories/tennis/wimbledon-serena-williams-loses-first-match-in-a-year</link>
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				    <![CDATA[Serena Williams fell to Harmony Tan in the first round of Wimbledon in her first singles match since her injury last year.]]>
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				<pubDate>Tue, 28 Jun 2022 18:49:47 -0400</pubDate>
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				    <![CDATA[Serena Williams began — and ended — her comeback at Wimbledon after 364 days out of singles competition looking very much like someone who hadn't competed in just that long. She missed shots, shook her head, rolled her eyes. In between, there were moments where Williams played very much like someone whose strokes and will have carried her to 23 Grand Slam titles. She hit blistering serves and strokes, celebrated with arms aloft. Returning to the site of her last singles match, which she had to stop after less than a set because of an injury on June 29, 2021, and seven of her major championships, the 40-year-old Williams came within two points of victory. But she could not finish the job against an opponent making her Wimbledon debut and bowed out with a 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) loss to 115th-ranked Harmony Tan of France. "It’s definitely better than last year," Williams said. "That’s a start." Asked whether this might have been her last match, Williams replied: "That’s a question I can’t answer. I don’t know. ... Who knows? Who knows where I’ll pop up?" With her older sister, Venus, jumping out of her guest box seat at Centre Court to celebrate the best of points, Serena Williams was oh-so-close to pulling out a topsy-turvy match that lasted 3 hours, 10 minutes and was contested with the retractable roof shut for the last two sets. "For my first Wimbledon, it’s: Wow. Just wow," said the 24-year-old Tan, who recalled watching Williams on TV as a youngster. "When I saw the draw, I was really scared," Tan said with a laugh, "because it’s Serena Williams. She’s a legend. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, how can I play?’" This is one indication of how things were at the get-go: Of the 24-year-old Tan’s first 11 points, only one came via a winner she produced. Others came via errors by Williams, either forced or unforced. While Williams — who wore two pieces of black tape on her right cheek; the reason was not immediately clear — recovered from dropping the opening two games to lead 4-2, she reversed course again and allowed Tan to quickly climb back into that set. When Tan pulled even at 4-all by striking a down-the-line backhand winner, she celebrated with a yell; that shot was so good that even Williams felt compelled to applaud. Tan came into the day with a 2-6 career record at all Grand Slam tournaments. Clearly enjoying herself — and the setting, the moment, the way it all was going — she broke to lead 6-5 with the help of a cross-court forehand winner, looked at her guest box, raised a fist and waved her arms to ask for more noise from a crowd that was loudly backing Williams. Soon enough, a forehand passing winner gave Tan that set. At that point, it seemed reasonable to ask: Could Tan pull off by far the biggest victory of her career? Might Williams exit a major in the first round for only the third time in 80 appearances (the previous two were a loss at the 2012 French Open and that mid-match retirement at Wimbledon last year)? In the end, the latter is what happened. Williams was two points from advancing while serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set but couldn’t get closer. Williams has spent more than 300 weeks ranked No. 1 but currently is 1,204th on account off all of that time off and thus needed a wild-card invitation from the All England Club to enter the bracket. "If you’re playing week in, week out, or even every three weeks, every four weeks, there’s a little bit more match toughness," she said. "But with that being said, I felt like I played pretty OK on some of ’em. Not all of ’em. Maybe some key ones I definitely could have played better. You’ve got to think if I were playing matches, I wouldn’t miss some of those points." Still, Tan was a point from victory at 6-5, but Williams erased that with a forehand winner — beginning a seven-point run that not only sent the match to a tiebreaker but put her ahead 4-0 in it. Yet Tan would not go gently. She grabbed five points in a row for a 5-4 lead in the new final-set tiebreaker format adopted this year by all four tennis majors: first to 10 points, win by two. At crunch time, when Williams has excelled so often on so many big stages, she faltered. Tan came through. "I feel very sorry for him," Nadal said about Berrettini, "because he was playing fantastic." Reporting by Associated Press]]>
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