Sports
Is Novak Djokovic’s first tennis season without a Grand Slam title in seven years a sign?
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NEW YORK — It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Twenty-six days after Novak Djokovic won Olympic gold in Paris, he finished off his second-least profitable Grand Slam season since 2009 with a stunning third-round defeat to Alexei Popyrin at the U.S. Open. With a few months remaining on the 2024 tennis calendar, he could end the year without a Tour-level title for the first time since 2005, while simultaneously securing what he describes as the “greatest achievement of his career”.
When has it ever been a case of either/or for Djokovic? The 24-time major winner is generally only satisfied when he is winning everything. Settling for anything less has generally been anathema to the man who has dominated tennis, with a blip or two, since the start of 2011.
As it so often goes in this sport, father time is undefeated. At 37 , perhaps the moment that was always coming has finally arrived. Not in a steep decline, nor an end to his relevance at Grand Slam tournaments. Just his becoming a player that can still hit the heights on occasion, but not all the time and not all season long.
Players who have beaten him include Alejandro Tabilo, Tomas Machac, Luca Nardi, and now Popyrin. His defeats at the majors to his two biggest rivals, Jannik Sinner in Australia and Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon, were both desperately one-sided. That Djokovic reached that Wimbledon final just six weeks after surgery on the medial meniscus of his right knee is testament to the fact that he can still be a force at Grand Slams. That Alcaraz cut him down so easily in that final is testament to the feeling that his defeats now, after so long, have the capacity to become ugly very quickly.
Novak Djokovic left New York without a Grand Slam title to his name this year. (Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images)
It happened against Popyrin, in front of 24,000 on Arthur Ashe. Djokovic has been in recovery for months, slowly upping his physical exertion, and in that time, his game has necessarily suffered. His ball-striking and tactical nous are still there, and he has even added a turbo boost when he needs it, most memorably ripping two forehands past Alcaraz in the second-set tiebreak at the Olympics.
His thoughts after his defeat to Popyrin didn’t account for any of that.
“I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, honestly, serving by far the worst ever,” Djokovic told reporters in a short post-match press conference as Friday night ticked into Saturday morning.
Ever since he returned from surgery, his service motion has been ungainly, particulary on the follow-through. He has looked unsteady as he lands, often stumbling into the court. But the ball has still gone in the box. Not so across this tournament, where he made 52 percent of his first serves, against a career average in the mid-60s. He hit 32 double faults in 38 service games across three rounds.
He also acknowledged that it had been difficult coming here so soon after the high of the Olympics, and that he wasn’t really in the right state to compete. “I spent a lot of energy winning the gold, and I did arrive to New York just not feeling fresh mentally and physically,” he said.
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“But because it’s the U.S. Open, I gave it a shot and I tried my best.”
All of this is totally understandable — it’s just, this is Djokovic. Aside from the 2016 to 2018 comedown after he completed the career Grand Slam, what’s been so remarkable about him is his ability to always go again, even as he’s ticked monumental achievement after monumental achievement off his list.
That wasn’t the case against Popyrin. He looked lifeless, struggling to rouse himself in the way he normally does, and he was strikingly quiet — barely making a sound as he struck the ball — even in moments of high exertion and stress. The crowd play was half-hearted. The tight games invariably went against him, rather than for him. The familiar first-set rope-a-dope that turns into a dominant four-set win never came.
In the third set and the early part of the fourth, when Popyrin was collapsing into serves, missing and lambasting himself, it looked as if the inevitable was coming. But it wasn’t the inevitable of the last 20 years that arrived. It was the inevitable of the last eight months.
Alexei Popyrin overcame a wobble midway through the match to seize control in the fourth set. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
As his Grand Slam season ends, the phenomenal achievement of winning Olympic gold increasingly looks like a shiny distraction, in analytical terms. Nothing can diminish the scale of doing that at 37, not least Djokovic’s reaction as he collapsed to the clay and shook with tears, but it has still been a pretty disappointing year for him. There are mitigating circumstances — not just Djokovic’s knee, but being struck on the head by a metal water bottle in Rome — that have made achieving his usual heights even more challenging.
He will be back for the Australian Open, desperate to wrestle the title he has won 10 times back from Jannik Sinner, but what happened on Friday wasn’t a blip. It was not an earth-shattering result, like when he lost to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon in 2016, which turned the tennis world upside down. Losing to Popyrin, who ran him close at this year’s Australian Open and at Wimbledon too, was in keeping with many of his defeats this year.
Winning in Paris was the outlier, and while a Grand Slam final; semifinal; and quarterfinal is a year that the vast, vast majority of players would retire on at any age, that isn’t how Djokovic thinks. Until 2024, he had won a major title every year since 2010, but for 2017.
“Sitting from a larger perspective, of course I have to be content,” Djokovic said when asked to take a longer-term view himself. Seeing whether Djokovic has the ability to reset his goals in the next year or so, and whether he is happy to do so, will be one of the defining stories in tennis in 2025.
(Top photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
Sports
Teenage golfer Miles Russell delivers his dad an all-time Father’s Day experience during US Open final round
America 250: Bobby Jones
Bobby Jones was born on March 17, 1902, in Atlanta, Georgia, and became one of the greatest amateur golfers in history. As a teenager, he reached the third round of the U.S. Amateur at age 14, showing early promise. He went on to win 13 major championships, all as an amateur, a record that still stands. In 1930, Jones achieved the
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Miles Russell is the youngest player in the 2026 U.S. Open field at just 17 years old. Teeing it up in a major championship at that age, let alone making the cut as he did at Shinnecock Hills, made for an already unforgettable week for him and his family.
The young man had one final surprise up his sleeve for Sunday’s final round, however, that not only his family will cherish forever, but made plenty of golf fans watching the moment unfold a bit misty-eyed.
After hitting his approach shot into the par-4 18th, Russell’s caddie made his way over to the gallery. He proceeded to take off his caddie bib and hand it and Russell’s golf bag over to Russell’s father, Joe.
Miles Russell plays his tee shot on the 11th hole during the second round of the UNC Health Championship at Raleigh Country Club on May 29, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jordan Bank/Getty Images) ((Photo by Jordan Bank/Getty Images))
TEENAGE PHENOM MILES RUSSELL MAKES ENTIRE GOLF WORLD FEEL OLD WITH EYE-POPPING QUOTE AHEAD OF US OPEN DEBUT
According to the NBC broadcast, the entire thing was Russell’s idea. He approached USGA rules officials before teeing off on Sunday to ask them if it was okay to have his dad take over caddying duties for the final hole, and they gave him the green light.
Talk about a Father’s Day gift that may never be topped.
“It was pretty cool,” Russell said after Sunday’s final round. “Just there walking up 18, that’s when he stepped in. It was kind of a fun Father’s Day gift. Kind of cool since it was my first one. Hopefully it’s something he’ll remember for a long time.”
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Amateur Miles Russell of the United States walks across the 16th hole during the first round of the 126th U.S. OPEN at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 18, 2026 in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Russell shot 3-over in the opening two rounds of the U.S. Open to make the cut by two shots. During Saturday’s third round, he struggled a bit en route to a 74, but backed it up with a final round score of even par.
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Miles Russell on the seventh tee during the first round of 126th U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 18, 2026 in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images) (Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
Russell qualified for this week’s U.S. Open after advancing in the final stage of qualifying in a three-man playoff vying for two spots in the field. He had Charlie Woods, Tiger’s son, on the bag as his caddie during the qualifier. Both Woods and Russell have committed to play college golf at Florida State.
In 2024, Russell became the youngest player in Korn Ferry Tour history to make the cut in a tournament, eventually finishing T-20
The Lakers will seek to use their 25th pick in Tuesday’s first round of the NBA draft on a player who fills a need on a roster that could have up to nine free agents this summer. Yet the Lakers also are aware that picking that late in the round could leave them selecting the best player available.
They probably will be in search of a center who can be a lob threat or an athletic wing who can play defense and knock down three-pointers, two positions the Lakers crave as they try to build a team around star Luka Doncic that fits best with his style of play.
Names that NBA executives and mock drafts attached to the Lakers are Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance, Texas forward Dailyn Swain and Duke wing Isaiah Evans.
The Lakers spent time in Spain looking at 20-year-old guard Sergio de Larrea, but many NBA scouts see him going later in the first round or even in the second. According to people not authorized to speak publicly, the Lakers were impressed by their workout with Purdue point guard Braden Smith. But he’s on the smaller side (6 feet) and played four years in college, leading scouts to believe his upside is not that high and that he’ll be drafted in the second round.
The Lakers don’t have a pick in Wednesday’s second round.
After the Lakers were swept by a deep and athletic Oklahoma City team in the second round of the playoffs, president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka outlined what it takes when trying to compete in the uber-tough Western Conference against the likes of the Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, who became the second-youngest team to reach the NBA Finals.
Pelinka looked at how Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell was drafted in the second round and how he flourished in just his second season, especially in the playoffs, in which he averaged 15.1 points and 4.3 assists in 11 games.
“Depth is really important, athleticism and youth. We have a lot of components of that on our roster, but we need to add to it,” Pelinka said last month during his exit interview with the media. “I think those are some of the key North Stars that we need to look at.
“One of the players that they had who played really well, Ajay Mitchell, they got in the second round. So there’s ways to add to your roster if you commit to doing the hard work and commit to the process of adding the right pieces. … We’ll be doing that through the draft and free agency and through trades. We’ve gotta find a way to have a roster that will compete with any team in the NBA. That’s what we do here.”
The Lakers do have three tradable first-round picks — 2026, 2031 and 2033 — but the latter two can’t be moved until after the draft.
Lakers star LeBron James is an unrestricted free agent and is looking for a deal from the Lakers, while Austin Reaves is expected to opt out of his $14.8-million deal so he can sign a contract with them for up to five years and about $241 million.
Still, the Lakers have to proceed with the draft to find a player.
Texas forward Dailyn Swain, left, vies for a loose ball against Purdue guard Braden Smith during an NCAA tournament game in March.
(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
Swain (6-7) and Evans (6-6) are the kind of athletic wings the Lakers could use, but both might be chosen before the Lakers make their pick.
The 6-9 Quaintance could slide to the Lakers because of health concerns. He played in only four games last season at Kentucky because the team was being cautious following knee surgery after he tore an anterior cruciate ligament when he played at Arizona State.
Scouts still view him as mobile, athletic and young enough — he turns 19 next month — to develop. But, Quaintance will need to rehab his knee and probably won’t be ready for the upcoming season. When healthy, scouts said, he can be the lob threat and defender that Doncic yearns to have.
Sports
Bryce Harper hits for cycle, Kyle Schwarber blasts three homers in Phillies blowout win over Mets
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The Phillies’ turnaround following the dismissal of manager Rob Thomson reached a new milestone when two of the franchise’s biggest stars delivered a historic performance.
Kyle Schwarber launched three home runs, including two in the third inning, while Bryce Harper completed the cycle to add yet another achievement to his accomplished career.
The offensive explosion powered Philadelphia to a 15-3 rout of the New York Mets on Saturday, as the Phillies continued their surge and received a signature performance from two of the game’s most recognizable stars.
Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber celebrates his home run with Bryce Harper during the third inning against the New York Mets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 20, 2026. (Chris Szagola/AP)
Schwarber’s first home run traveled 456 feet, while his second blast of the third inning measured 457 feet off Mets reliever Cionel Pérez.
He capped his night with a two-run homer in the seventh inning. Schwarber’s major league-leading home run total climbed to 28, and the performance marked the fifth three-homer game of his career.
Cristopher Sanchez allowed one earned run in six innings to lower his ERA to 1.80.
It’s his 23rd straight start at Citizens Bank Park in which he allowed two earned runs or fewer, the second-most such starts by a pitcher at the same ballpark in MLB history since 1913, trailing only Jacob deGrom’s 24 at Citi Field for the Mets from Sept. 9, 2019 to Aug. 31, 2022.
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Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies leave the field after defeating the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 20, 2026. (Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Schwarber is the 67th player in major league history and second this season with multiple home runs in an inning, joining Houston’s Yordan Alvarez on June 12.
Schwarber is the fourth Phillies player to hit two home runs in an inning, along with Trea Turner (Aug. 19, 2023), Von Hayes (June 11, 1985) and Andy Seminick (June 2, 1949).
Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber hits a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 20, 2026. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Harper hit a solo home run in the first inning, his 16th of the year. He doubled and singled in the third, then hit a two-run triple to the gap in left-center field in the fifth for his first career cycle and the 11th in Phillies history.
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The Phillies and Mets will wrap up their three-game series Sunday night, with first pitch set for 7:20 p.m. ET.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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