Djokovic says 'pressure is a privilege' that he can handle
Tokyo Olympics Tennis Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, reacts after defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, of Spain, during the third round of the men's tennis competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 28, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) (Patrick Semansky)TOKYO — (AP) — With the topic of athletes’ mental health and pressure being discussed at the Olympics, Novak Djokovic said “pressure is a privilege.”The top-ranked Serb was asked how he deals with the pressure of attempting to accomplish something that no man has done before in tennis: completing a Golden Slam. Steffi Graf in 1988 is the only tennis player to achieve the Golden Slam, winning all four Grand Slam tournaments and Olympic gold in the same calendar year. “Without pressure there is no professional sport,” Djokovic added. “Rio was (a) very tough loss for me,” Djokovic said.
wftv.comOsaka comes back, tops Azarenka at US Open; 3rd Slam title
Naomi Osaka, of Japan, reacts during the women's singles final against Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, during the US Open tennis championships, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, in New York. Surprisingly off-kilter in the early going Saturday, Osaka kept missing shots and digging herself a deficit. By the end, Osaka pulled away to a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 comeback victory for her second U.S. Open championship and third Grand Slam title overall. But Osaka regained control, breaking to start a match-ending run of three games, covering her face when the final was over. Osaka and her coach have said they think the off-court activism has helped her energy and mindset in matches.
AP Was There: Graf beats Navratilova at Wimbledon again
Graf won the match to reach the semifinals of the tournament, where she will meet Chris Evert. One memorable head-to-head rivalry was Steffi Graf vs. Martina Navratilova, who met in three consecutive Wimbledon finals from 1987-89. Graf overpowered Navratilova in the final set to win her second straight womens championship 6-2, 6-7, 6-1 on a history-making day at the All England Club. Last year, Navratilova won the first set and led 2-0 in the second before Graf won 12 of the last 13 games. Trailing 3-1 in the final set, Navratilova had one last chance to get back in the match.
AP Was There: Seles tops Graf in riveting French Open final
If you play 10-8 in the final set, it definitely is special, she said. Seles was up a service break at 3-1, 4-2 and 5-3 in the final set. The two continued on serve until Seles broke for an 8-7 lead as Graf missed on a short forehand. But Graf broke right back, hitting a perfect backhand drop shot on one point. One or two points really decided it.Seles won $372,896, putting her over the $5 million mark in career earnings.