Twenty20 you say? England ODI call-up you say? Combined figures of 6 overs, 6 wickets for 20 runs with 20 dot balls. Job done. pic.twitter.com/m4OzsP3S4L
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) May 31, 2022
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The United States national team's Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie said they're excited to be reunited with former teammate Haji Wright.
Pulisic and Wright played together at the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup, and seven years later now are playing together with the full team ahead of a quartet of games over the next two weeks.
The U.S. will begin its four-game run on Wednesday against Morocco at Cincinnati's TQL Stadium (watch live at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2). That will be followed four days later with a match against Uruguay at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Then come a pair of CONCACAF Nations League matches, first against Grenada at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, on June 10, followed by a road game against El Salvador four days later.
- Carlisle: U.S. seeks defensive depth after loss of Robinson
- LIVE Wednesday: U.S. hosts Morocco (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2/ESPN+)
Back when they played together at the U17 World Cup, their roles were similar to what they are now, with Pulisic acting as the playmaker for Wright.
"That was the duo back in the day, me and Haji," Pulisic said during a roundtable with reporters. "We played a lot of games together in the youth national teams. And it's cool to have him back in, first of all, seeing him do so well at club level, and having him in here is great.
"So he's gonna get his opportunity and yeah, I'm just so excited for him. And I know he's going to use the opportunity."
McKennie not only crossed paths with Wright at youth level, but they were teammates at Bundesliga side Schalke 04 from 2017-19. And while Wright had the greater success at youth level, McKennie made bigger inroads at Schalke before moving to Juventus.
"I think it's beautiful," said McKennie about Wright's recall. "I didn't have an easy path through the national team, especially in the youth. We had a bit of a different story at the youth age. And just to see that some players would be knocked down, some players would be [where] their spirit is gone, and I think just for him, finding his own path to get back in here is definitely one that's inspirational and something that I can kind of relate to.
"It's wonderful and exciting just to see him in here, and kind of sharing the same story at the same time."
Wright's meandering path saw him move from Schalke to a loan stint with Sandhausen and then to VVV-Venlo in the Netherlands, and he struggled to find the net at all three stops. He saw his fortunes improve with Danish SuperLiga side SonderjyskE starting in 2020, but it was a loan spell last season with Turkish Super Lig side Antalyaspor -- where he scored 15 goals in 35 league and cup appearances -- that got Wright back in the national team frame.
"I really respect people who haven't necessarily had it easy and given to them and everyone's on their own path," said Pulisic. "I've seen it myself. Ups and downs and to come out the other side and be performing like he is now is impressive."
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CINCINNATI, Ohio -- In the moments after Atlanta United and United States men's national team defender Miles Robinson went down with a torn Achilles tendon, international teammate Walker Zimmerman got a text from a friend who was inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium telling him that Robinson's injury "looks bad." Zimmerman then found the video on Twitter and saw the responses, and his "stomach just completely sank."
"You start thinking about the timelines, you start thinking about the math, and while it's not impossible to come back, certainly it's going to be an uphill battle," Zimmerman told members of the media on Monday. "I just immediately reached out to [Miles]."
Zimmerman then called up Aaron Long, who almost a year earlier had suffered the same injury as Robinson, and let him know what happened.
"It was a weird feeling I got," the New York Red Bulls defender said upon hearing the news. "It was like heartbreak and instantly, like, 'I need to be the one that that reaches out to him as fast as possible to let him know that I've been through this, and I will help him through this process.'"
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Both players have stayed in steady contact with Robinson since, with Long saying he's called Robinson once a week, the better to answer questions and talk timetables. It helps that Robinson, at age 25, is three years younger than Long was when he was injured, but it's a long process, one that will be filled with ups and downs. Long stressed the best thing Robinson can do right now is be patient.
"There's certain ways you can speed up the rehab process, but you've got to listen to your body," Long said. "I'm just trying to tell him that now's not the time to speed things up. You've got to let it heal for that first month or two."
Every player is different, although for Long, the mental hurdles were the toughest to get over.
"I think more than anything, it's just trying to get your calf and your brain just to be on the same page, and to almost trust yourself in certain moments of like exploding or backpedaling, things like that," he said.
The irony is that Robinson's ascension was aided in part by Long's injury. The Red Bulls defender had been a mainstay under U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter during the first two years of his tenure. With friendly matches against Morocco on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN2) and Uruguay on Sunday, followed by CONCACAF Nations League games against Grenada and El Salvador, the door has been opened for Long to take on a greater responsibility than the substitute role he had in the final qualifying window.
Robinson's injury is the latest to strike a core U.S. player in what has been a year beset by them. Borussia Dortmund midfielder Giovanni Reyna missed most of World Cup qualifying with multiple hamstring injuries. Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie missed the last qualifying fixture window with a broken foot, and has just recently made it back.
But the U.S. team's depth helped carry it to World Cup qualification. When Reyna went out, Timothy Weah and Brenden Aaronson stepped in and produced some dynamic displays on the wing. The same happened when McKennie was injured, with Kellyn Acosta and Luca de la Torre picking up the slack. Now the same will likely have to happen at the World Cup. Long is among those poised to step in, as is Chris Richards, although the latter suffered through ankle and thigh injuries during the latter half of the club season with TSG Hoffenheim.
The center-back position is of critical importance, and this was evident during qualifying. Even on the days when the U.S. didn't play well, the center of defense was usually solid, evidenced by the team's 10 goals conceded in 14 qualifiers. It didn't seem to matter who was on the field either, be it Zimmerman, Robinson or Richards.
Yet chemistry is important, and there will need to be some retooling in this regard during the current camp, as well as in the last international window in September. When asked what traits they would like to see in a center-back partner, both Long and Zimmerman cited good communication as a critical attribute.
"It's more of a mental connection than like anything physical, or like a guy that's fast, or a guy that's strong, or good in the air or anything like that," Long said. "I think it's more just trust in being on the same page in not only like tactical moments, but big defensive moments, like putting out fires. I know where my other center-back is going to be in a moment where we can't talk and we can't discuss things. We know what we're going to do in those moments together."
Zimmerman added, "I love when I have that [communication] on my back shoulder. You know, when I'm getting the instruction, consistently, constantly, that's huge. And when you get games with other center-backs, you kind of develop that almost without them even talking sometimes. You know exactly where they're going to be."
The coming months will reveal the extent to which that familiarity can increase.
Center-back isn't the only area of the field where depth will be tested in the coming months. In fact, while there are plenty of options at the striker position, none have performed with the kind of consistency to make the position their own. That's why Antalyaspor's Haji Wright -- fresh off a 15-goal season in all competitions -- will be the latest to get a look from Berhalter and his staff.
"I think generally being called into camp, it's always an opportunity for you to show yourself and take hold of your position, whatever it may be," Wright said. "I do think it's an opportunity for me and I'm ready to take it."
Left-back has been a position cited by Berhalter as one where there aren't many options behind presumed starter Antonee Robinson. Joe Scally looks to be a candidate given his ability to play outside-back or wing-back on either side -- during the past season with Borussia Monchengladbach he even had a brief spell at center-back -- but so far (and yes, it's early in camp) Scally has lined up on the right side of the U.S. defense. That leaves George Bello as the only alternative to Robinson.
The hope is that the U.S. will enjoy a greater degree of health than it's had in the first five months of 2022.
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Michael Pepper 75* seasons straightforward Essex win over Hampshire
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Cricket
Tuesday, 31 May 2022 14:35
Essex 152 for 2 (Pepper 75*) beat Hampshire 150 for 6 (McDermott 38) by eight wickets
Michael Pepper smashed his T20 best as Essex Eagles demolished Hampshire Hawks by eight wickets in their Vitality Blast clash at the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford.
Pepper dispatched four sixes to go alongside eight fours to crash a 42-ball 75 - bettering his previous best of 55 not out. Matt Critchley pummelled 45 in a 100-run stand with Pepper as the Eagles chased down Hampshire's below-par 150 with 37 balls to spare to secure their first home T20 victory over Hampshire since 2017.
Essex have won two from three in the competition, while the Hawks are winless. The only other time they have lost their first three Blast fixtures they finished second from bottom in the South Group.
Will Buttleman was caught and bowled off his glove and Adam Rossington was starved of the strike before Nathan Ellis kissed his leg stump. But Pepper dominated from then on.
He showed power with conventional shots but mixed it with some inventive flicks. The shot to bring up his half-century, however, was the combination of the two - a ramp shot with some added wrist to take the ball the distance.
Pepper, Eagles' top run-scorer in the Blast last season, wasn't finished at a fifty as he dispatched Liam Dawson for back-to-back sixes over midwicket and then into the Hayes Close End gardens. Mason Crane was his victim in the following over with another straight six, while Critchley went somewhat under the radar for his 24-ball 45 - which included two huge maximums.
Earlier, Essex won the toss and elected to bowl first - their previous six victories all coming when chasing in this format - and after a 25-minute delay due to rain they stifled Hawks in the powerplay. The visitors only managed to get to 33 with the departure of Aneurin Donald, yorked by Sam Cook.
Cook was the main architect of the strong start with a boundary coming off his first delivery and then 11 dot balls - with his second over a wicket maiden.
James Vince and Ben McDermott - on his 100th T20 appearance - both fell as Hampshire laboured to 59 for 3 after 10.1 overs, but Joe Weatherley, Ross Whiteley and James Fuller made sure they had a total to defend. Weatherley swept both sides of the wicket in his 37, while Whiteley and Fuller used brute force to clear the shot boundaries; both striking two sixes each.
Curiously Essex's two best bowlers Cook and Simon Harmer only bowled three of their allocation, both with identical figures of 2 for 16. Critchley's miserly 1 for 20 was also exemplary.
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Wayne Madsen steers Derbyshire past Yorkshire in rain-reduced thrash
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Cricket
Tuesday, 31 May 2022 14:57
Derbyshire 84 for 1 (Madsen 39*) beat Yorkshire 83 for 3 (Malan 50) by nine wickets
Wayne Madsen's unbeaten 39 off 21 balls saw Derbyshire to a nine-wicket victory over Yorkshire in his 400th appearance for the county as Falcons chased 84 in an eight-over Vitality Blast fixture at Headingley.
Australian overseas allrounder Hayden Kerr set Derbyshire on their way to a second North Group win in three games with two wickets in the first over of the match, which started at 8.35pm following rain, and the left-arm seamer was excellent in returning 2 for 18 from two overs as the Vikings were restricted to 83 for 3.
Having been inserted, opener Dawid Malan's 50 off 23 balls underpinned their innings. But the England left-hander's second successive half-century was given little support, and that was key to a second defeat in four games.
Madsen, 38, is the 14th Derbyshire player to play 400 games across all formats. He came to the crease at 15 for 1 at the start of the third over, hit his first ball for four and top-scored. He shared an unbroken second-wicket partnership of 69 with Shan Masood as victory was secured with three balls remaining.
Play was delayed by two hours and five minutes due to rain. Derbyshire then made the perfect start when Adam Lyth chipped the first ball of the match, from Kerr, to mid-off before Shadab Khan was caught behind trying to scoop five balls later as the score slipped to 2 for 2.
But Yorkshire recovered to reach the end of the powerplay - 2.2 overs - at 21 for 2, including Malan pulling Sam Conners into the Western Terrace for six. Shortly afterwards, he pulled Kerr over midwicket for a flat six as the score moved to 36 for 2 in the fourth over.
Malan's innings was more muscle than finesse, though he did cheekily ramp Scotland left-arm spinner Mark Watt for four as he closed in on a fifty off 22 balls. However, Watt had him caught at deep midwicket next ball as the score fell to 65 for 3 in the seventh over.
It was not only the second time in as many games that Malan had fallen for exactly 50 - he did so in defeat against Leicestershire here on Sunday - but also the second time he had departed the ball after reaching his milestone.
Having been 55 for 2 after five overs, the Vikings would have hoped for more. But they only hit two fours and a six in the last three overs, and a four and a pulled six from Will Fraine came with the last two balls of the innings from George Scrimshaw.
In Derbyshire's reply, Luis Reece was run out coming back for two to deep square-leg following a mix-up with opener Masood at the start of the third over. But Madsen was quickly into gear, whipping his first ball for four against seamer Matthew Revis.
Pakistan left-hander Masood crashed Jordan Thompson for six over long-on to take his side to 44 for 1 after four overs and slog swept Adil Rashid over midwicket shortly afterwards.
However, this was milestone man Madsen's night. He sliced Haris Rauf for six over wide third and, with eight needed from the last over, reverse swept Rashid for six with the final over's first ball.
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Notts plummet to heaviest Blast defeat after Keaton Jennings fifty underpins Lancashire
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Cricket
Tuesday, 31 May 2022 14:22
Lancashire 178 for 7 (Jennings 55) Nottinghamshire 91 (Livingstone 3-33) by 87 runs
Lancashire Lightning ended a run of nine consecutive Trent Bridge defeats against Notts Outlaws by dismissing the home side for 91 - equalling the lowest score in their T20 history - and sending them crashing to a 87-run loss in this Vitality Blast North Group match, their heaviest defeat in the competition.
Outlaws felt their bowlers had done enough to give them a chance of taking the points as the visitors, 88 for 1 after 10 overs, finished on 178 for 7, Keaton Jennings top-scoring with 55.
But after a catastrophic start to their reply that saw them 11 for 4 after 11 balls, they were dismissed inside the 15th over. It was only through a late thrash by Luke Fletcher, who cleared the ropes three times in his 22, that they managed to drag their total to level with the 91 that Lancashire dismissed them for at Old Trafford in 2006.
Outlaws lost Joe Clarke to a catch at long-on in left-arm spinner Tom Hartley's opening over and then three in four balls in a calamitous over bowled by Richard Gleeson. The Lancashire seamer, who took a career-best 5 for 33 against Worcestershire Rapids on Sunday, had Ben Duckett caught behind, Samit Patel flicking straight to fine leg before Steven Mullaney was run out by a direct hit from mid-off after setting off for a single that was never there, all in the space of four deliveries.
More trouble followed as Tom Moores was brilliantly caught behind off his former team-mate Luke Wood - called up earlier in the day by England - and the home side stumbled out of the powerplay at 34 for 5.
Alex Hales, scratching around for form so far this season, offered hope of a recovery with three boundaries but managed only to pick out midwicket as he tried to dispatch a poor ball from Liam Livingstone, and after adding 22 with Dan Christian, Matt Carter was leg before to Hartley trying to pick up a second consecutive four.
Christian was caught at deep backward square, Jake Ball holed out to long-on and Fletcher, who clubbed sixes off Matt Parkinson and Livingstone twice, fell victim to a third excellent outfield catch by Steven Croft as the rout was completed.
After being asked to bat first, Lancashire had emerged in good shape from the powerplay at 56 for 1, although it should have been for two, Jennings given a let-off on 27 when Outlaws keeper Moores failed to take what should have been a routine catch after Ball had found the edge.
Clubbed for four and six by Jennings in the same over, Ball could not hide his frustration, sensing he had a second wicket after dismissing Phil Salt via a catch that Moores did take. With Livingstone looking in the mood at the other end, smashing Dane Paterson for six over his head and pulling Fletcher for another, Lancashire were well set at 88 for 1 after 10 overs.
But the second-wicket partnership was broken two balls into the 11th as Livingstone, who has an international T20 century on this ground, tried to clear the ropes again off Paterson but merely sent the ball upwards, Christian making himself rock steady to hold the catch at extra cover.
After a 20-minute stoppage for rain, Tim David had picked out deep midwicket off slow left-armer Patel, and then Paterson picked up another big scalp as Jennings sent one soaring into the air behind square on the leg side, Fletcher watching it swirl around in the floodlights before completing the catch, keeping the ball firmly in his grip despite hitting the ground with a thud.
Although Ball went for 17 in the 17th, the last five overs mainly demonstrated Outlaws' strength at the end of an innings. Fletcher, mauled for 27 in his first two overs, gave over only 14 in his last two, picking up the wickets of Dane Vilas and Croft for good measure, Ball wrapping up with a much better final over as Lancashire finished with fewer runs than they probably anticipated at the halfway stage, although ultimately more than enough.
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Former Sussex and England keeper Jim Parks dies aged 90
Published in
Cricket
Tuesday, 31 May 2022 15:09
Jim Parks, the former Sussex and England wicketkeeper-batter, has died at the age of 90. He had been England's oldest living Test cricketer.
Parks played 46 Tests between 1954 and 1968, although his county career continued for another eight years, into his mid-40s. He later worked for the brewer Whitbread, and as marketing manager for Sussex, where he also served two terms as club president.
Sussex announced that he had died at hospital in Worthing on Tuesday morning, having suffered a fall at his home at the weekend.
Parks was born into a cricketing family. His father, Jim Snr, and his uncle Horace both played more than 400 times for Sussex, while his son, Bobby, kept wicket for Hampshire and Kent.
Having come through as a batter who also bowled legspin, Parks went on to become a mainstay behind the stumps, helping to effect more than 1000 dismissals in first-class cricket. He debuted as an 18-year-old in 1949, playing 739 first-class games and 132 in List A, eventually finishing his career with Somerset.
Parks made his Test debut against Pakistan at Old Trafford as a specialist batter, but might not have played again had it not been for the decision of Robin Marlar, Sussex's captain, to instigate his conversion to keeping wicket after the retirement Rupert Webb. He returned to England's Test XI on the 1959-60 tour of the West Indies and scored a century, cementing his place for much of the next decade.
In all, he scored 1962 runs in Tests, with two centuries, as well as completing 103 catches and 11 stumpings.
Parks was also an integral member of the Sussex side that won the inaugural Gillette Cup in 1963 - top-scoring with 57 in the final - and then retained the trophy at Lord's the following year. He captained the side in 1967 and '68, before moving to Somerset in 1973 after an offer from Brian Close.
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Left is best for Surrey (and England) as Sam Curran, Reece Topley dismantle Gloucestershire
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Cricket
Tuesday, 31 May 2022 14:48
Surrey 129 (Jacks 51, Smith 3-13, van Meekeren 3-32) beat Gloucestershire 92 (Higgins 37, Curran 4-14) by 37 runs
England have gone left-arm crazy in white-ball cricket, picking as many as five left-arm seamers in their 14-man squad for a three-match ODI series in the Netherlands next week. Two of them, Sam Curran and Reece Topley, combined to devastating effect at the Kia Oval on Tuesday night, ripping out Gloucestershire's top order as Surrey comfortably defended 129 in a game shortened to 16-overs-a-side by rain.
Gloucestershire were 14 for 3 after four overs of their chase, split equally between Topley and Curran. They were hugely over-reliant on Glenn Phillips, the New Zealand middle-order batter, in the Blast last season and when he popped a return catch to Curran after failing to pick an offcutter, they never stood much chance on a cold, damp evening in south London.
They managed one boundary, an inside-edged four to fine leg off the final ball, in their 4.5-over powerplay and with Sunil Narine to come against an exposed middle order, Gloucestershire were on the ropes. Ryan Higgins, who made 37, was the main source of resistance before Curran returned to have David Payne caught in the deep, then yorked Higgins as he attempted a reverse-paddle; Topley finished the job, the wicket of Naseem Shah leaving him with 2 for 6 from his three overs.
Gloucestershire's slow start stood in stark contrast to the one Surrey had made. Jason Roy and Will Jacks raced out of the blocks in a stand of 60 in 27 balls for the first wicket, before a dramatic collapse saw them bowled out with one of their 16 overs to spare.
Jacks, the sixth man out for 51 thanks to a searing Naseem yorker, was the only batter to temper his attacking style against Gloucestershire's change-up bowlers in the middle overs; Kieron Pollard, making his first Blast appearance since 2011, holed out for 14 off 15 balls while Curran's own 6 off 2 underlined the frenetic nature of the night.
Curran has been gradually eased back to fitness after suffering a lower-back stress fracture at the IPL in October, an injury which ruled him out of England's extensive winter programme. He was frustrated that the ECB did not allow him to enter this year's auction but conceded that it would be unwise to push himself and risk a recurrence, and had bowled only 24.5 overs across formats this season before Tuesday night's game.
But he has gradually ramped up his workload to the extent that England were happy to pick him in their squad for the Amsterdam trip, where he could theoretically bowl 30 overs in six days. He did not concede a boundary in his opening burst, hitting a hard length and nipping the new white ball about; he was rewarded with the wickets of Phillips and James Bracey, chipping to mid-off.
Topley, meanwhile, had his own frustrations around the IPL. He was approached by a franchise about the possibility of a replacement deal in mid-March but according to ECB regulations, he was unable to take up the offer, with county-contracted players only permitted to sign IPL contracts before the end of February.
Topley was unimpressed and pleaded double standards - players with central contracts are allowed to sign at any stage - but has instead had to plug away in the Championship, taking nine early-season wickets to help Surrey to the top of the table. T20 nights are when Topley thrives: his first two overs cost only two runs and included the dismissal of Miles Hammond, stumps rearranged while swinging to leg.
"We bowled really well according to the pitch," Jacks said. "We used our skills and bowled brilliantly up top. Sammy and Toppers were brilliant. There was a bit of zip and they're bowling with good pace and on the length that suited the wicket - any time you got too full, it was easier to hit."
Surrey's T20 side this season has a Harlem Globetrotters feel, with enough quality and depth to leave out Gus Atkinson, Rory Burns, Jordan Clark and Dan Moriarty, even with Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes away on England duty. In Pollard and Narine, they have two undisputed greats of the format, and should have few issues coping when Curran, Topley and Roy leave for the Netherlands tour.
Narine was characteristically frugal, conceding 17 runs and a single boundary - a reverse-swept four by Tom Smith - in his four-over spell. He turned the ball sharply in both directions, none more so than an offbreak which cut Benny Howell in half from a length and crashed into the top of his leg stump.
Howell and Smith had been the protagonists of Gloucestershire's fightback with the ball, Smith benefitting from Surrey's all-guns-blazing approach to pick up the first three wickets, those of Roy, Curran and Laurie Evans. Howell, like Narine, was the one bowler entrusted with a full four-over spell by his captain; like Narine, he took one wicket and conceded a solitary boundary.
Gloucestershire's own England left-arm seamer, Payne, had a more expensive night than his Surrey counterparts, returning 2 for 30 from his three overs thanks to two cheap tail-end dismissals. Twice an unused member of an England white-ball squad, Payne is likely to make a long-awaited debut next month but with Topley and Curran ahead of him, he may have to wait his turn.
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
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Donald 'at peace' with career if no deal reached
Published in
Breaking News
Tuesday, 31 May 2022 17:31
Star defensive tackle Aaron Donald says he'd be "at peace" with his career if he and the Los Angeles Rams can't agree to a new contract.
The Rams have acknowledged that they are working on a new contract with Donald, who is signed through the 2024 season but has no guaranteed money left on his deal. At the annual league meeting in March, Rams coach Sean McVay said that he was relieved that Donald had decided to return for the 2023 season. However, on the "I Am Athlete" podcast, Donald indicated that his return is contingent on getting a new deal.
"It ain't about the money, it's a business at the end of the day," Donald, 31, said on the podcast hosted by former NFL players Brandon Marshall, Adam "Pacman" Jones and LeSean McCoy. "That's what you've got to see. For me, it's about winning. I don't want to play football if I can't win anyway, so I feel like ... if I got a real opportunity to win another Super Bowl, then it makes sense to play. But again, it's still a business. We've got to handle the business side of things, and if that wasn't to get handled then, you know, it is what it is type of situation. I'll be fine regardless."
Last season was Donald's eighth in the NFL, and he said on the podcast that he had always discussed retiring after eight seasons. He said winning a Super Bowl has nothing to do with his decision.
"But me talking about retirement, that was happening way before we won a Super Bowl. I've been saying that since I got into the league that I was going to play eight years and be done. That's just what I've been saying. It just came out and then everybody think that, 'Oh, he said if he wins a Super Bowl he's going to retire.' Nah, I got teammates, coaches, my family who know about this. I said I'm going to play eight years, and I'm going to probably be done playing football," he said.
"But winning a Super Bowl, you get kind of a little addicted to it. I want to feel that again. I ain't going to lie, that experience is like none other. If I was to play, it's just to win another Super Bowl, but at the end of the day, it's still a business and it got to make sense to me and my family."
Donald, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, said on the podcast that he doesn't "need to play football to be fine."
"I was blessed to play this game, to make the money I made, the accomplishments I made in eight years is, like, I'm complete. If I can win another one, that's great. But if not, I'm at peace," he said.
Donald said he and the Rams "probably" will work out a deal, but if one can't be reached, he won't walk away "mad."
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Nadal tops Djokovic in 4-hour quarterfinal thriller
Published in
Breaking News
Tuesday, 31 May 2022 17:31
PARIS -- Rafael Nadal insists he can't know for sure whether any match at Roland Garros might be his very last at a place he loves, a place he is loved.
For now, if he keeps winning and keeps performing the way he did during his monumental quarterfinal victory over longtime rival Novak Djokovic that began in May and ended in June, Nadal will have more chances to play.
With a mix of brilliant shot-making and his trademark resilience, Nadal got past the top-seeded defending French Open champion Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) to move a step closer to his 14th championship at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament and what would be a 22nd major trophy overall, adding to records that he already owns.
"One of those magic nights for me," Nadal said.
For anyone lucky enough to be there, too -- provided they were able to stay awake -- or even anyone watching from afar. The match began a little past 9 p.m. Tuesday and concluded more than four hours later, after 1 a.m. Wednesday.
"TV decides,'' Djokovic said about the late start. "That's the world we are living in.''
The bracket said this was a quarterfinal, yes, but it felt like a final, from the quality of play to the quality of effort, from the anticipation that preceded it to the atmosphere that enveloped it.
The only missing ingredient: There was no trophy handed to the winner.
Nadal turns 36 on Friday, when he will face third-seeded Alexander Zverev in the semifinals. When the subject of Nadal's future was brought up during his on-court interview, he smiled.
"See you, by the way, in two days,'' Nadal said. "That's the only thing that I can say.''
It'll be difficult for any match the rest of the way to live up to this one.
Nary a game, a point, a stroke or, indeed, a step came with a hint of insouciance. Both men gave their all. Nothing came easily.
Nadal's 3-0 lead in the second set did him no good; Djokovic ended up taking it and would say later, "I thought, 'OK, I'm back in the game.'''
But Djokovic's 3-0 lead in the fourth did him no good, even though he served for it at 5-3, even standing one point from forcing a fifth twice. Nadal saved those set points and broke there, then ran away with the closing tiebreaker, seizing a 6-1 edge and and never losing focus after his first three match points went awry.
"I lost to a better player today,'' said Djokovic, who had won 22 sets in a row until the 49-minute opener against Nadal. "Had my chances. Didn't use them. That's it.''
This showdown was their 59th, more than any other two men have played each other in the Open era. Nadal narrowed Djokovic's series lead to 30-29 while improving to 8-2 against his rival at Roland Garros.
Nadal is now 110-3 for his career at the place. Two of those losses came against Djokovic, including in last year's semifinals. This time, Nadal made sure Djokovic remains behind him in the Slam count with 20. Nadal broke their three-way tie with Roger Federer at that number by capturing the Australian Open in January, when Djokovic was not able to play because he had not been vaccinated against COVID-19.
It should come as no surprise they engaged in points so involved, so lengthy -- 57 of at least nine strokes, with one that went 25 -- that before some were concluded, folks in the stands would let out a gasp or an "Aaaah!'' or "Awwww!'', drawing rebuking hisses of "Shhhhh!'' in response.
Chair umpire Damien Dumusois might have set a record, were such records kept, for most times saying "S'il vous plait,'' to plead with spectators to settle down and allow play to continue.
Nadal heard far more support in the form of yells of "Ra-fa!'' or "Vamos!'' or "Te quiero!'' Only once Djokovic began to assert himself in the second set was his nickname "No-le!'' heard with any frequency.
As time passed and the air became colder -- below 60 degrees Fahrenheit -- Nadal and Djokovic embodied the words in clay-colored capital letters in French and English along the facing of the lower level of the arena, attributed to Roland Garros, the World War I fighter pilot for whom the facility is named: "Victory belongs to the most tenacious.''
In the early going, and down the stretch, it was Nadal getting the better of the baseline back-and-forths, pushing and pulling Djokovic this way or that, up and back, until an opening for a clean winner presented itself. Djokovic reacted to his miscues by rolling his eyes, shaking his head or putting his palms out as if to say, "What's going on?''
Nadal showed zero signs of being slowed or bothered one bit by the chronic pain in his left foot that flares up every so often and kept him off the tour for the last half of 2021 and arose again before the French Open.
Nor did Nadal betray a trace of fatigue from his five-set tussle against No. 9 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round on Sunday that lasted 4 hours, 21 minutes, nearly twice as long as Djokovic's matter-of-fact win that day.
"I'm not surprised at all,'' Djokovic said. "It's not the first time that he is able, a few days after he's injured and barely walking, to come out 100% physically fit.''
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Another woman has filed a lawsuit against Deshaun Watson, joining 22 others who have accused the Cleveland Browns quarterback in civil cases of inappropriate sexual conduct during massage sessions.
In this 23rd civil case against Watson, the lawsuit states that the plaintiff had her first massage sessions with Watson during the summer of 2020 and that his "behavior grew worse." During the third and final massage, the lawsuit states that Watson exposed himself to her, touched the woman between the legs and "repeatedly requested" the plaintiff have sex with him.
According to the lawsuit, the woman changed her mind about suing Watson after watching HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" last week. On that show, two other women, Ashley Solis and Kyla Hayes, who have also accused Watson of inappropriate sexual conduct, criticized the Browns for giving the quarterback an NFL-record $230 million guaranteed contract after trading for him in March.
"It's just like a big 'screw you,'" Solis told HBO.
Leah Graham, one of Watson's attorneys, told HBO that Watson has "no regrets because he did nothing wrong."
"In that piece, plaintiff was struck by the courage of the victims willing to step forward and speak and was extremely displeased by Watson and his legal team's mistreatment and revictimization of the plaintiffs," the latest lawsuit states. "But it was Watson himself claiming that even now he has 'no regrets' and has done nothing wrong that solidified her resolve. She brings this case seeking minimum compensation, but to obtain a court finding that Watson's conduct was wrong."
Two grand juries in Texas have declined to pursue criminal charges against Watson, who has denied all wrongdoing. The NFL is investigating whether Watson violated its code of conduct policy and interviewed the quarterback in person two weeks ago as part of its investigation.
At the NFL's spring meeting in Atlanta, commissioner Roger Goodell said he thinks the NFL is nearing the end of its investigation but couldn't give a timeline for when a ruling might be made.
The Browns did not immediately issue comment on the latest lawsuit. Tony Buzbee, the attorney for the 23 plaintiffs, said "other cases may come against" Watson.
"The Watson defense team has vilified these women and this cause," he said in a statement. "Shame on them! We look forward to trying this case in court."
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