It has been quite the month of June so far for tennis sensation Iga Świątek. The 23-year-old Polish star won her third straight French Open on June 8, losing just one set through the entire tournament. Świątek is the world No. 1, occupying that top spot for over 100 weeks now.
On June 13, Świątek was in attendance for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour show in Liverpool. The incredibly talented tennis pro is a longtime Swiftie, proclaiming folklore and evermore her favorite albums. On top of finally getting to see the show, Świątek got an extra bonus treat as the 14-time Grammy winner hand wrote a note to her and had it delivered to her VIP tent.
“I’m dead” Świątek tweeted with a selfie of her holding the note. “Yes, I cried many times during the show. Yes, it was incredible. You are amazing @taylorswift13.”
Goooood morning, folks! Welcome to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time here.
There are obviously at least two games left in the NBA Finals between the Mavericks and Celtics. But, man. I’m sorry, Dallas fans. This one feels over.
I’m confident the Mavericks haven’t given their best punch in this series yet, but I’m just as confident that the Celtics gave their worst punch on Sunday. Boston shot 10 of 39 from 3-point range and Jayson Tatum shot 6 of 22 from the field. That’s not a game you’re supposed to win in today’s NBA.
A large part of why the Mavs couldn’t crack the Celtics is that excellent defensive backcourt. Jrue Holiday and Derrick White are nuts, man.
During the broadcast, someone on ESPN’s team called them one of the greatest defensive backcourts ever. I can’t remember who it was because I recoiled so hard when I initially heard it.
I mean, one season together and we’re already showering these two with hyperbolic praise? Come on. What’s going on here? Do we always have to take things this far?
As it turns out, yes we do. Because, with the way those two have been shutting things down, they probably are one of the best defensive backcourt we’ve ever seen.
I don’t know if there can ever be a co-Finals MVP. But if there was ever a circumstance where it was possible, I think this should be the one. Those dudes have been unreal. They deserve it.
There’s still plenty of time left in the series and the Celtics just did what they were supposed to do at home. As over as this thing feels, it’s not done yet. Dallas protecting their own homecourt makes this interesting again.
But the thing about defense is that it always travels. That’s why Boston is so good on the road (27-14 during the regular season). Dallas is going to be in for a couple of tough games. We’ll see how they respond.
Why is Caitlin Clark the only one being normal about Caitlin Clark?
Whenever you think #TheDiscourse about Caitlin Clark is finally starting to die down, her fan base finds a way to rile things back up. And then everyone else pushes back so hard on her fanbase hyping things up. It creates so much chaos every single time.
People debated whether she should’ve been added to a list the entire weekend. It was ridiculous. The roster is chock full of star players — excluding Clark was not a crime. It was a normal occurrence blown up into something it should never have become.
“Honestly, no disappointment. It just gives me something to work for,” She told reporters when asked about it. “It’s a dream. Hopefully, one day I’ll be there. I think it’s just a little more motivation. You remember that and hopefully in four years, I can be there.”
You know what that is? A reasonable response to a reasonable situation. Shoutout to Clark for doing what nobody else seems able to do these days — give a normal, measured response to something involving her.
Hopefully, everybody can learn from her example here.
Carlos Alcaraz’s road to greatness
Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
Carlos Alcaraz has a long, long way to go before he is ever considered in conversations with all-timers like Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic.
But he’s already done something those dudes couldn’t do at just 21 years old.
Alcaraz beat Germany’s Alexander Zverev to win his first French Open title on Sunday, which is already an impressive feat. But it’s even more impressive when you consider it in the scope of his career.
Alcaraz has now won at the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He’s the youngest player to win a Grand Slam on each surface (hard court, clay and grass). He’s also just one Australian Open win away from having his first career Grand Slam and, again, the dude is only 21 years old.
I have no idea how his career turns out from here or where things go. But he’s already reached such enormous heights at a young age. It should only get better from here.
Quick hits: Coco Gauff wins doubles on a whim … The Mystics are down bad … and more
Good morning, Winners! Thanks so much for tapping in with the Morning Win today. We appreciate you for taking the time here.
For the bulk of his career, Novak Djokovic has been superman on the court. He’s played through nagging injury after nagging injury. There was a time we thought his wrist would sideline him. Nope. Maybe that sore elbow? Nuh-uh. How about an abdominal injury? It’s fine.
He’s always been able to power through and come out on the other side victorious. That’s why how he got to where he is today. That’s why he’s arguably the greatest tennis player of all time.
Seeing him go down with a torn meniscus on Tuesday at Roland-Garros was a shock to the system.
He injured his right knee during his French Open match with Francisco Cerundolo. He played through the pain and won, but it’s unclear if any further damage was done. ESPN reports he will reportedly undergo surgery on Wednesday.
This makes the all-time Grand Slam leader’s future murky in both the long term and the short term.
Djokovic will miss Wimbledon, which begins July 1. There’s hope he’ll make it back for the Olympics, which is a big deal for him but he’ll be less than two months removed from a knee surgery at 37-years-old. We’ll see.
That’s exactly why his long-term outlook is questionable, too. He’s 37 years old! He’s still incredible, but it already felt like he lost a step this season when he lost to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open earlier this year. He’ll lose his No. 1 ranking to Sinner, who now has a good chance at winning the French Open with Djokovic sidelined.
It’s hard to forecast how this will go for Djokovic. But it’s around this age when all the greats begin to struggle. We’ve seen how it’s gone for Rafael Nadal with injuries. Roger Federer was marred by injuries late in his career, too. Tennis is a grueling game. It takes a lot and it’s hard to do for such a long time.
Djokovic has been tough. He’s also been really lucky. At some point, that luck was probably going to run out.
I hate to say it, but there’s a good chance we’ve reached that point here.
JJ Redick plays it coy
(Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
All signs seem to point to JJ Redick becoming the Lakers head coach after he finishes calling the NBA Finals with ESPN this year. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that LA is “zeroing in” on Redick as the guy.
Redick, though, is not giving any hints. He appeared on the Gojo and Golic show and said his focus is on the NBA Finals. That’s it and that’s all.
"My focus is on the NBA Finals. In terms of Shams, that will be addressed once the season is over. I'll just say that." @jj_redick addresses the elephant in the room — the rumors of the Lakers' interest in him as their new Head Coach pic.twitter.com/6OwYnG5iHQ
“My day-to-day right now is consumed with calling games, the 19 different podcasts I feel like I have, my obligation to all of our partners. So, my focus is on the NBA Finals. In terms of Shams [Charania], that will be addressed once the season is over. So, I’ll just say that.”
That’s a great answer from JJ. On one hand, yeah, it definitely sounds like a guy who is headed for LA after this season is over. On the other? There’s plausible deniability there! We’ll just have to wait and see.
But let’s not kid ourselves here. This is happening. The two names that came up the most in the Lakers coaching search have been Redick and Ty Lue. One of those dudes just signed an extension with the Clippers. The other is still offering up boilerplate answers to speculative coaching questions. The math isn’t that hard to do here.
The Chicago Sky rookie got two back-to-back technical fouls and an ejection for … seemingly nothing? Reese appeared to tell the official that a call was BS initially, which she got an initial tech for. But then she immediately got another one for simply waving the official off.
“While it’s possible she also said something to anger the ref after the first call, this is still an absurd way for Reese to be thrown out of the game … especially after, y’know, that whole hard foul situation went down over the weekend between Sky guard Chennedy Carter and Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark.”
Be better, refs. Please. I’m begging you.
Quick hits: Please stop talking, Pat McAfee … An awesome Mariners rally video … and more
Iga Swiatek is enjoying so many lovely bagels lately.
To say Iga Świątek loves playing at Roland-Garros would be a massive understatement. In fact, with the Polish world No. 1’s latest dominant win over Markéta Vondroušová on Tuesday, Świątek has now firmly established one of the greatest runs we’ve ever seen in women’s tennis.
Just days after recording a dominant double bagel over Anastasia Potapova — a bagel is when a set finishes 6-0 — Świątek did it again to Vondroušová during their first set. That means Świątek has now recorded an unfathomable three bagels during the second week of a major.
It is something only nine women have ever done, with Serena Williams in 2013 being the only other star to have achieved it since 1989.
That is positively mind-boggling:
Iga Swiatek is just the 9th woman in the Open era to record three (or more) bagels in the second week of a major. Only Serena Williams had done so since 1989. pic.twitter.com/sNnaUuXqCA
None of this dominance is particularly surprising from Świątek. In her young career, the French Open has turned out to be the Polish player’s bread and butter. Świątek is vying for her third straight singles title at Roland-Garros and her fourth win in five years. Talk about a dynasty.
Next up? The world No. 3, Coco Gauff, in the semifinals. If Świątek somehow records a bagel and beats Gauff convincingly, well, it might be time to start a well-earned coronation.
Iga Swiatek really outdid herself during Sunday’s French open match.
When you’re the world No. 1 like Iga Swiatek, it can seem like there’s nothing all that notable to accomplish. Even when you make incredible comebacks, the expectation was that you were supposed to win in the first place anyway.
But Sunday’s fourth-round 2024 French Open win was a marvel even for the best women’s tennis player in the world.
In defeating Russia’s Anastasia Potapova, Swiatek really flexed her muscles. The 23-year-old Polish star won the match 6-0, 6-0 in 40 minutes (!) and lost just a total of 10 points to advance to the quarterfinals. It was the shortest match of her already illustrious career by far.
That is absolutely astonishing, especially at this level of world-class tennis.
Iga Swiatek after beating Potapova 6-0 6-0 in 40 minutes to reach Roland Garros QF:
“I was just really focused and really in the zone.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 2, 2024
Swiatek’s performance was so dominant that it even shocked Coco Gauff, the current world No. 3. Gauff — who also advanced to the quarterfinals — had expected Swiatek to quickly dispatch her opponent. But not that fast!
You know you’re doing something right when you’re even taking aback your elite peers with your play. It’s worth noting that should Swiatek and Gauff both advance again, they can meet in the quarterfinals next Thursday.
As for Swiatek, the Polish star is pursuing rare air. With another French Open title, the two-time reigning champion would become the youngest woman in the professional era to win four French Open singles titles. Swiatek is an astounding 32-2 Roland-Garros since her debut at the tournament in 2019.
Simply put, Djokovic is one of the greatest tennis players we’ve ever seen.
Novak Djokovic entered a class of his own in the history of men’s tennis on Sunday.
By defeating Casper Ruud in Paris – by a score of 7-6(1), 6-3, 7-5 – Djokovic secured a men’s-record 23rd Grand Slam singles championship. That’s one more than Rafael Nadal, three more than Roger Federer, and more than any other man to swing a tennis racket.
The mark also ties him with Serena Williams for the most Grand Slam singles championships by any tennis player.
Many congrats on this amazing achievement @DjokerNole 23 is a number that just a few years back was imposible to think about, and you made it! Enjoy it with your family and team! 👏🏻
🏆 Forever raising the bar 🏆@DjokerNole masters Casper Ruud 7-6(1), 6-3, 7-5 to win a third Roland-Garros title and an unprecedented 23rd Grand Slam men’s singles title.
Djokovic is now halfway toward a single-year sweep of the four majors. No men’s player has pulled off a calendar Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969. Djokovic came close in 2021, but was upset in the title match of the U.S. Open.
Sometimes, when your opponent makes a jaw-dropping play during competition, all you can do is watch and applaud.
And that’s exactly what Novak Djokovic did Friday during his 2023 French Open semifinals match against Carlos Alcaraz, the 20-year-old player from Spain who’s currently ranked No. 1 in the world.
Early in the match after No. 3 Djokovic — who’s currently in a two-way tie with Rafael Nadal for most men’s Grand Slam wins at 22 — won the first set, the second set was tied, But Alcaraz was up in the third game, and then he pulled off some magic.
As the pair were going back and forth, Alcaraz was forced up to the net, leaving 36-year-old Djokovic with a wide-open court for a seemingly easy point. But Alcaraz showed off some incredible speed, running from the net to the baseline before returning for a jaw-dropping point.
Seriously, how did he do this?! How did he get back fast enough? The agility and body control! How did he manage to even hit the ball — and at that angle?!
Just look at where the ball is on the return, where Alcaraz is and the direction they’re both heading. Winning this point is outrageous.
Screenshot: @rolandgarros
But afterward, Alcaraz’s smile and Djokovic’s raised hands and applause say it all.
UPDATE: Though Alcaraz won the second set, he began to cramp up and struggle significantly. Djokovic ultimately won (6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1) and advanced to Sunday’s final.
When the 2018 Masters champion joined LIV Golf, he insisted he was sick of the constant grind of the PGA Tour.
As a means of deflecting talk that they were making a jump from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf for financial reasons, numerous players insisted a reduced workload was the reason they chose the upstart league backed by Saudi financing.
But with a slip in his Official World Golf Ranking as well as an open window in his schedule, Patrick Reed has been announced as a participant in the upcoming Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, one of the more lucrative events on the DP World Tour.
Reed was ranked No. 25 on Jan. 2, then dipped to No. 38 when he announced he was leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf on June 11. With no chance to accumulate OWGR points on the LIV circuit, Reed has dropped to No. 50, a position he has maintained for three straight weeks.
With his inclusion in the Dunhill — a pro-am event played on three courses in Scotland: St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns — Reed will have played in five consecutive weeks.
Reed’s September has included:
• LIV Boston (T-31)
• BMW PGA Championship (T-5)
• LIV Chicago (T-12)
• This week’s Cazoo Open de France
• Next week’s Dunhill
When the 2018 Masters champion and nine-time winner joined LIV Golf, however, he insisted he was sick of the constant grind of the PGA Tour.
“It wears on you as an athlete, wears on you as a person, as a father, and this is for me, I feel like this is the best decision ever,” Reed said at the time. “Now I can compete at the highest level, but also prepare and get ready for every single event and be able to be home, and even though I’ll be grinding at home getting ready, I’ll be able to spend time with the kids.”
Yasir Al Rumayyan, Governor of the Public Investment Fund, reacts after a putt on the fifth green during the pro-am before the LIV Golf Invitational – Chicago at Rich Harvest Farms on September 15, 2022, in Sugar Grove, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/LIV Golf via Getty Images)
In the calendar year 2021, Reed played 22 PGA Tour events, including the Olympics. So far in 2022, he played in 16 PGA Tour events, four LIV events, and now two DP World Tour events. With three LIV events left on the schedule and next week’s Dunhill on his docket, Reed will have played 26 events this calendar year, barring injury.
With Reed’s addition, the Dunhill field will have 17 LIV Golf players as well as PGA Tour stars Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Billy Horschel and Shane Lowry.
As for his round Thursday at the French Open, Reed shot 73 and was eight shots behind early clubhouse leader Paul Barjon.
Reed was displeased with the organizers of the event, who he thinks have snubbed him because of his LIV Golf ties. Reed was not invited to play in the pro-am before the tournament and believes he was left off the marquee pairings due to the LIV connection.
“It’s a slap in the face not to invite me to the press conference, or not to have me play the pro-am and all those things,” Reed said to Journal Du Golf.
“At the end of the day, it’s just my golf that I have control over. I’m here to support the tour, France and all the people who are here. But I don’t see why we can’t move from the LIV to the European Tour (DP World Tour) like we usually move from the PGA Tour to the European Tour.”
