The “You Can’t Stop Us” advert – featuring 53 Nike athletes – is set to debut on US TV screens during the return of the NBA. Rafael Nadal, LeBron James, Serena Williams and Cristiano Ronaldo are among the big names to feature in the 90-second clip.
You can watch the Nike ad below. You’ll see our champ around the 20-second mark.
Rafa will travel to Rome tomorrow, according to Marca.
Eurosport has described the tournament’s “bubble”. Players will stay in one of two hotels (one for men, one for women), with the option of renting their own apartment. They won’t be allowed to go anywhere other than their accommodation and the tournament. The size of the team is limited to two people.
Although the circumstances are not going to be easy, I think Rafa has to resume play now in order to have a chance at RG, as nearly everyone else has already been competing. I’m glad he has at last had the chance to practice with a couple of tour players, Pablo Anduhar a few days ago, and now Grigor Dimitrov. I hope the restrictions and worries don’t affect him too much.
Glad to hear Rafa is off to Rome with plenty of time for prep. He has two coaches and one physical therapist. I wonder how that will work out with a limit of two.
Wow, so Novak Djokovic is the sacrificial lamb for a new GS Champion to emerge. If we go by Greek fables, the lot should fall on PCB being the one the gods used to.bring about the sacrifice.
However, I don’t see Pablo going all the way.
Our new champion will unequivocally be Dominic Thiem. Congrats ahead is in order.. Accept my congratulations, USO 2020 Champion.
But as always, we go game by game, match by match and day by day……..cheers
An organization called “Lancaster on line” has a brief summary of the bubble rules at Roland Garris. The number of fans will be limited to 5000 at each of the two main courts. Masks required.
Players will be limited to two hotels. No indication of a limit on the size of teams. Players will be tested on arrival and then 72 hours. After that tests will be every five days.
New cases in France are running 8000 a day. I have not seen numbers for Paris.
To me it seems inevitable that there will be positive cases among players and coaches.
I’m sure Rafa will obey all the rules and keep safe. Still he can’t be happy with the outlook.
Just to add to that: tournament director Guy Forget announced today that 1,500 fans will be allowed on court Simonne-Mathieu in addition to the 5,000 at each of Philippe-Chatrier and Suzanne-Lenglen for a total of 11,500 per day.
The top 60 players will stay at The Pullman Hotel near the Tour Eiffel. Unlike in N.Y. they will be in the heart of the City but no mention was made whether they would be allowed out other than to travel to the site.
Here is the statement from the USTA
“In accordance with the Grand Slam rulebook, following his actions of intentionally hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with negligent disregard of the consequences, the US Open tournament referee defaulted Novak Djokovic from the 2020 US Open. Because he was defaulted, Djokovic will lose all ranking points earned at the US Open and will be fined the prize money won at the tournament in addition to any or all fines levied with respect to the offending incident.”
Can you imagine if there were fans in the stands? You would have heard boo’s cross country to California!
Let’s hope the lineman is ok.. she was really shaken up …
Too bad there wasn’t also a suspension.
Thanks for the info.
Yes, hope she is okay ❤️
Good luck to Felix and Alex!
Novak has left the complex without doing a press conference, so he’ll take the fine. I hope he’ll reflect and speak to the press soon.
He doesn’t know how to be a good example. Instead of expressing remorse for what he did he’s probably just embarrassed and doesn’t want to give journalists the opportunity to question his many missteps this season.
He apparently will not make any statement tonight. As bad as what Shapovalov did he accepted the default immediately and then faced the press right after and apologized profusely.
On social media Djoko’s fans are saying the lineswoman was faking. When N.D. was pleading his case for all those minutes he said her injury wasn’t serious as she wasn’t taken to hospital and he should not be penalized. My already low opinion of him has sunk even more and his fans are equally obnoxious.
Petulant, arrogant, pretentious, self-serving….Those are just a few adjectives I use to describe Novak. His comment about the line judge not needing to go to hospital and his reference to his grand slam career being affected if disqualified, just shows how egotistical he is.
No one is bigger than the game itself.
I’m even more annoyed now that Stef Tsitsipas losts after being 2 sets to 1 and 5-1 up – I’d like to have seen im win it. Dominic? Sascha? Medvedev? Felix A-A? Frances Tiafoe? This is crazy. It even shut Greg Rusedski up for a few minutes, although unfortunately he’s started drivelling again now.
The Covid stuff is very confusing. Mannarino played 2 matches and everyone was OK with it, but then there was a 4 hour delay before his third match. If they didn’t want him to play, why wait until the 3rd round?
Ha ha! Greg Rusedski drivelling again – so funny, so true!
Novak praises his opponents for good shots when he is winning, but as soon as he’s under pressure and losing points he gets very emotional and frustrated. I think Novak was too cock sure in the match and he must have thought that Pablo CR was a push over, but he thought wrong. Pablo wasn’t intimidated and was going toe to toe with him.
The incident was a terrible thing for Novak or anyone to have to deal with, but Novak needs to take stock and apologise to all concerned.
So there’ll be a first time grand slam champion. Who’s your pick for the title now folks?
Is it bad Karma? Djokovic out for bad sportsmanship. He is forever tarnished. Can’t really ever be favorably compared to Rafa or Roger for conduct on the court.
Lorna, any feelings of schadenfreude I could have had were dampened by what Djokovic has done to men’s tennis. At this time in his career one would think he has learned a thing or two but I guess not. You did get him right which is a sign that the old Djokovic is still present.
Novak OUT!!! He needs to calm his a— down… I understand he meant no malice but his agitation issues are problematic…
That leaves a first time Grand Slam champ up for grabs! My monies on Dominic Thiem!
Finally! Just heard that Novak has been defaulted.
What Lorna? I didn’t see. He hit someone in anger?
Typo sorry. Yes, he hit al ball in anger and it hit a lineswoman in the throat. She collapsed to the floor and had breathing difficulties.
It was clearly accidental, but a ball travelling at speed can be dangerous. He had 3 set points on Carreno Busta’s serve and missed them all, and was frustrated and lost his temper. You can’t do that.
He’s been annoying all week. Apparently he was threatening to ring the Governor of New York over the row about the Zverev-Mannarino match. It’s not up to him to tell the authorities how to deal with the virus risk.
Sorry typo. He hit a ball in anger abd it hit a lineswoman in the throat. She collapsed to the floor choking…
A reminder to all players not to lose their temper on court, because this can be the result. Djokovic has not represented the sport well this year.
And there will definitely be a new slam winner.
OK Lorna. Just read the article. Some turn of events, huh? WOWWOOWEEEEE
As I said a few months ago, the USOPEN is an opportunity for a first time SLAMMER.
Not happy that someone was struck in the neck by a tennis ball. WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM?
What does he have to be angry about! Luxuriating in a private residence, plenty of indoor and outdoor space, not among the other players in their “tiny” rooms.
HE WILL NEVER LEARN. He makes me sick. All that meditation he does hasn’t stamped out that volatile temper of his.
NOVAK MAKES ME SICK. He can play tennis but that’s all he has. It’s all about him. Perhaps that’s why he is disliked by so many.
The TV commentators are tripping all over themselves to explain how wonderful Novak usually is. Plus how this is devastating for the tournament. Not so. Happy not to have to watch how he uses fake mto’s to throw off his opponent’s momentum. The other contenders will seize this opportunity to shine. There are many exciting talents still in it.
Awaiting a serious apology from N.D. Wishing a full recovery to the poor lineswoman.
Novak has just hit a ball invanger and it hit a lineswoman in the throat. Why hasn’t he been defaulted? The officials are taking so long to deliberate just because it’s Novak. Even Novak himself said he should be defaulted. Shapovalov got defaulted when he hit a ball and it struck the umpire in the eye. Nalbandian git defaulted at Queens fir kicking a sign which hit a linesman. The rule is the rule for heavan’s sake!!!
Eric Salliot, a French tennis journalist, claims that it has been confirmed that players at R.G. will be required to stay in one of two official hotels. No private residences will be allowed as in N.Y. Djokovic has expressed concern over this restriction.
It all depends of course whether the event actually goes forward two weeks from tomorrow. As of today it is still on even with fans expected in. That is an absurd proposal in my view.
If Rafa plays the Italian he should leave by the middle to the end of this coming week. He put out a video message congratulating Hamburg on their renovations and mentioning how he enjoyed their City saying he would see them soon. Wonder if he is considering attending their tournament instead of Rome as a warm up the week before the French. Wouldn’t have as high a level of competition but would still help him shake off the lack of play rust and get his rhythm down.
Correction: the F.O. starts in three weeks.
Pauline,
Let him express concern. So what! He can hang out with the rest of the players or go home as far as I’m concerned. He’s a sniveling, complaining, whiny jerk. The youngsters deserve better than what he has to offer.
Agree Margo but the powers that be tend to accede to his requests whenever he speaks up. This is the case in NY regarding the number of team members permitted to accompany players(originally was only supposed to be one) and enhanced accommodations for those with deep pockets.
Am tired of him putting his desires above everyone else’s. Hope the suits at Roland Garros stick to their plan and don‘t allow any exemptions. I’m sure the designated hotels will be a come down from the Plaza Athenee where Rafa stays but can’t imagine that he will complain.
Pauline, in response to yours @ 1:56AM [no link]
I hope the French don’t buckle down. From what I have read they seem pretty darned adamant that there will be NO EXCEPTIONS to the guidelines. Let’s see what happens if it is held.
Have you seen his statement… it’s typical Djokovic, “This whole situation has left me really sad and empty.”
THE FIRST SENTENCE IS ABOUT HIM.
Is this what he pays his PR people for? They should be fired unless he insisted on writing that nonsense. Lorna has his number 100%.
Yet another change in rules for players who were exposed to Paire who tested positive for the coronavirus caused the top women’s doubles team to be defaulted.
Mladenovic and her doubles partner were ousted from the tournament. She will be in quarantine until she leaves for Europe. Her doubles partner has already left the US [before the rules could be changed again] and the trainer returned to Florida. The hotel where Mladenovic is staying is in another county which has its own rules regarding quarantine for those who have been in contact with someone who tests positive. It looks as if the USTA didn’t confer with the county’s protocols.
Mannarino was told he couldn’t play his match against Zverev but was eventually allowed to play after a prolonged delay. Mannarino, who lost his match, will be in quarantine until he leaves for Europe. He was required to pay a fine because one of his team was observed maskless.
There were earlier reports attributed to Zverev that Medvedev had been in prolonged contact with Paire but both Daniil and his trainer dispute that saying the only time Paire and he were in contact was once in an elevator.
Correction: Second paragraph, last sentence
confer with the county’s Health Dept. about their protocols.
Margo, as a New Yorker perhaps you can answer this: Are there no suitable hotels in Queens that players could have stayed at? This would have prevented this mess by not having them travel back and forth to Nassau County which has different protocols. Mannarino was allowed to play as he was already at the stadium when the ruling came down. Thanks.
Hi Pauline, I live in Manhattan and admit I never visit Queens. What little I know about it it’s not much about hotels. I believe there is a much higher density of private homes and rentals. A lot of restaurants. I am at a loss here. There is another fan here who may be familiar with Queens. She said she gets tickets every year. I forgot who it is. HELP ANYONE?
What I will volunteer is I don’t think it’s about the USTA simply finding a hotel for players. There are plenty of hotels in Manhattan located close to a bridge that could take players to the stadiums.
I would want to know what was the USTA looking for in choosing accommodations for players and their entourages. Why was Nassau County chosen.
Also, Queens had worse of an outbreak than Manhattan. That could have been a factor to reject Queens.
We don’t know what really happened, is my view.
Did the USTA simply ignore Nassau’s protocols because they were desperate to hold its tournament?
Hid the facts from players to get them to come to NY.
We applaud Slone Stevens show of black solidarity in support of Serena Williams’ long-sought 24th Grand Slam ambition.
That can only explain the give-away of sets 2 & 3 to her “idol” S.W. We understand. Even a child knows how to perform the magic of making a piece of meat dissappear in the mouth. You simply swallow it, innit?
But as always, we go game by game, match by match and day by day . …..cheers.
With the way things are playing out at the USO, I fear it will all eventually come down to one of these 4 guys to stop Djokovic from claiming a 4th title and an 18th GS:
1st choice – Roberto Batistuta- Shut
2nd choice – Dominic Them
3rd choice – Daniil Medvedev (seems to have found his groove)
4th choice – Alexander Zverev
I only hope they can summon the courage when the die is cast!
But as always, we go game by game, match by match and day by day……cheers
We are still in the first week so I will reiterate that this tournament is an good opportunity for a first-time Slam winner.
I was surprised to see your #1 pick. Bautista-Agut wouldn’t make it among my choices simply because I don’t see him as Slam material. My opinion.
I’ve been thinking Medvedev. His ego is probably as big as Djokovic’s and he wants to win it all.
Thiem would be my #2 pick. He has beaten Djokovic on clay and hard. I would like to see him win.
MISSING RAFA
Felix A-A is looking good too- stinging ground strokes and speed. He beat Murray and Moutet comprehensively, but the question is whether his nerve will hold when we get to the business end of the tournament.
I agree that Roberto Agut could have won against Djokovic but today Roberto lost to Pospisil in five sets. I also thiink Goffin would have a chance along with the other three you mention.
According to La Gazetta dello Sport there will be no fans allowed at the Italian Open. Wise decision by them to change their previous plan to have fans present.
Now eagerly waiting to hear whether Rafa will play the tournament.
Measured by the number of recent daily positive cases Italy is doing better than either Spain or France– – by a lot. I fear for Roland Garros. That’s about 25 days away but the authorities in Paris will probably have to make a decision by September 15 or 20. If there is no Roland Garris Rafa will have no reason to go to Rome.
Ooohh Diego Schwartzman…… WHAT HAPPENED. I always root for Diego when he’s not playing against RAFA. He’s out of the USOPEN 😢
He wasn’t having a good day anyway, but he was distracted in the third set by a minor argument with the umpire over Norrie not being given a warning for swearing (Norrie already had a warning for ball abuse), then was given a time violation warning himself. Things went downhill quickly from there. He made a bit of a comeback in the fifth set, but by the end of it he was physically suffering and just couldn’t run for balls anymore. I hope it was cramp or tiredness and not an injury. He had treatment on his hand during the match and also slipped and fell twice. So disappointed for him, Diego is one of my favourites, too.
Subsequent to your comment I read that Diego was fighting cramps. That’s a shame. I thought he could go deep in the tournament.
I was rooting for Diego too, but he threw away the match. He was out of sorts for much of the match and just didn’t look like he wanted to be on court. The lack of a crowd and atmosphete definitely affected him.
He was fighting cramps according to some reports. He’s usually an up guy.
Whenever I think of him I am reminded of the time he, during a break, was trying to get his female umpire to agree with him that Kevin Anderson should shut up because he was being rude when Diego had to serve. Talking too much. Diego was being so charming to try to convince her to take his side. She was mostly being non-committal but at the end she smiled and he said good, you agree with me.
I thought the exchange between them was the sweetest. After that he really had me on his side. LOL
Rafa saying my name is not Big Four. LOL
Me, trying to stay positive.
Hi Margo, I like Diego too, and thanks to you, I enjoyed the video you are referring to🙏
USTA are allowing 11 players who had close contact with Paire to take part in the US Open. It appears that other players have not been told who these people are. Although I don’t agree with the new association, if ever there was a time for players to stage a boycott, this has to be it. I’m wondering if Djokovic and Pospisil will use this to promote their venture.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that not all the precautions that have been spoken about are being taken. There are people watching the matches who are not social distancing or not wearing masks. Players have clearly had prolonged close contact with each other, which they were not supposed to do. I now read that there are other guests staying at the hotels apart from the players and staff are allowed to go home at night.
I am very glad that Rafa had enough sense and enough courage to say no.
After Pair’s positive result the USTA said 30 people were named by Paire as possible close encounters. Not all of the 30 will be tested and a good number of French players were among them.
A female player and her brother are also being monitored.
Aren’t monitors supposed to make sure guidelines are being followed.
Paire and a group of players were seen playing cards including Medvedev.
I hope no one else gets sick because it would be awful. If that happens only a doubles player will be permitted to play in a singles spot if a singles player is quarantined. No allowances are permitted for a new player to enter the bubble.
A new restriction is in place which forbids players from going to the stringers.
A formal announcement was made on Twitter August 29:
@VasekPospisil
After today’s successful meeting, we are excited to announce the beginning of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA). The first player only association in tennis since 1972. #PTPA
Dominic Thiem’s coach, Herwig Straka, may have a much better insight into how the ATP works. I just found the following on Essentially Sports.
“It’s not quite understandable” – Herwig Straka on Novak Djokovic’s new players association…
On this issue of the split, Dominic Thiem’s manager Herwig Strata has a different take. He’s Not convinced with the decision and questioned the authority and power the new association will have.
“We are convinced that it does not make sense to do something like this, because the players in the ATP are so represented by the structure as in no other sport any athlete. If you’re employed by a team, you can strike and form a union, but you have no other rights. At ATP, the players are 50 percent part of the organization, they contribute 50 percent to all decisions, so it’s not quite understandable.” Straka said in an interview DerStandard.
Straka finds the creation of the new association bizarre because the player’s makeup 50% of ATP and have a 50 percent influence on the decisions, so creating a new player’s body isn’t something that encourages him.
“I was in contact with Dominic yesterday and we talked about the situation. That’s his decision. I just told him in a very neutral way that I wouldn’t understand if you gave up such a good position.” Straka said.
“We are currently working on a plan for the future, which ironically makes the players even better than they already are.” he added
Interesting development within men’s tennis. Clearly, some players aren’t happy with the current structure in place at the ATP. So let’s see how things shape up and how many players join Djokovic and co in the new player’s body.
Pauline, no reply link.
The good news is that Pella and Dellien will play on Tuesday.
I hope Djokovic is not leading players to lose hard-fought gains. He and Pospisil have elected themselves co-presidents[?] of the PTPA.
The plan is to represent the top 500 singles and tip 200 doubles players.
No female players. Some male players purportedly said females don’t deserve equal pay.
There will be a membership fee.
HOWEVER, the letter put out in support of the ATP is backed by the four Slams, the WTA, ATP, and ITF. What can this PTPA do if all of these signatories ignore them? Seems to me that those who signed on to the new group have no representation.
The move by Djokovic and Pospisil is no surprise. The two of them have been talking about this openly for a couple of years. The idea of a players Union is the main reason that Roger and Rafa got back on the ATP Players Council- to slow down Nole on this idea.
Under the labor laws of most countries it is extremely difficult to organize a real Union in this circumstance because the players are not employees of the tournaments. (I work in labor law in the U.S.). The only way they could develop real leverage would be to “strike” or rather boycott the the tournaments until their demands are met. More likely they will simply try to influence the tournaments through the media. I understand Isner has said he will join. Other male players likely will also.
The ATP structure will of course continue. Roger and Rafa’s term on the Council was supposed to end with this years Wimbledon. I don’t know what has happened with that. I wonder if Roger or Rafa will want to take over as President of the Players Council. If one or both of them step forward I bet they could get things done on behalf on the lesser compensated players just so the tournaments could thwart Nole.
I think Roger and Rafa have the high ground in wanting to include women within the ATP structure. That route has potential to benefit all of the players.
In better news the Tour de France has begun. I hope that is a good sign for Roland-Garris.
In response to Maria, I think Rafa would be successful in any profession he might choose. In sports he would probably have made pro as a soccer (football) player like his Uncle. In my view, Rafa is simply looking for balance in his life. I’ve commented before that he may in fact be looking forward to retiring from the Tour but I hope he gives us this years French Open and a great 2021.
Rafa’s childhood friend Marcel Granollers has replaced Paire in the singles draw. They had to choose the highest ranked doubles player on site.
The contact tracing should be interesting. An unconfirmed report had Medvedev playing video games with Paire the last couple of nights. Will he test positive too?
Hard to decipher the real story here as some claim Paire was sick and others say he is asymtomatic. C’mon US Open be honest and transparent.
Hi Pauline, the news from the ATP changes quicker than a blink.
Granollers wants to focus on doubles and has declined to play for Paire. Escobedo of the US will play against Majchrcak instead.