Novak Djokovic on Friday won his 800th career match to reach the Queen’s Club semi-finals and suggested that he could play on past his 40th birthday.
The 31-year-old Serb has been in the doldrums since winning the French Open in 2016 and has been nursing an elbow injury for 18 months.
However, the spring in his step on the London grass-courts was evident as he dispatched Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-1 to set up a semi-final against another in-form Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy, who yesterday defeated Frances Tiafoe of the US 6-4, 6-4.
“Fifty, 60, 70, I don’t know, and I don’t want to put any limit or any number to it,” Djokovic told reporters when asked if he could still be playing at 40. “I’m 31 on the paper, but I’m 19 in the real sense.”
Djokovic is only the 10th man in the professional era to reach 800 match wins, and while Jimmy Connors’ 1,256 — not to mention Roger Federer’s still-growing 1,156 — is still a long way off, those who were beginning to write off the former world No. 1 and dominant force might need a rethink.
Top-seeded Marin Cilic also advanced with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 win over Sam Querrey.
Cilic now is to face Nick Kyrgios, who eliminated defending champion Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/3).
GERRY WEBER OPEN
AFP, HALLE, Germany
Roger Federer on Friday stepped up his grass game as Wimbledon looms, holding off Australian Matthew Ebden 7-6 (7/2), 7-5 in their quarter-final at the Gerry Weber Open.
With his world No. 1 ranking on the line, the Swiss is sparing no effort to make sure he lifts a 10th title at the event today.
He will next play US qualifier Denis Kudla, who beat Yuichi Sugita 6-2, 7-5.
The victory was the 19th in a row on grass for the 36-year-old Federer, who last lost on his favorite surface in an opening match in Stuttgart a year ago, although the 20-time Grand Slam champion atoned last weekend, winning that tournament for the first time.
The other semi-final is to pit Roberto Bautista Agut against Borna Coric.
Fourth seed Bautista Agut defeated Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, while Croatian Coric eliminated Italy’s Andreas Seppi 7-5, 6-3.
“I felt I had to push myself today,” Federer said. “It didn’t come as easy as it did in other matches, but you can’t allow that to be frustrating. I can take away a lot of positives.”
Kudla, ranked 109th, had never been past a quarter-final on grass, which he achieved at Queen’s Club five years ago.
Kudla improved to 17-14 on grass over his career as he put out Sugita, the No. 52 who stunned third seed and Roland Garros finalist Dominic Thiem in the second round.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
RSS