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NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic wrapped up his first Grand Slam season since 2017 without at least one major championship. Does his third-round loss at the U.S. Open against Alexei Popyrin on Friday night hold a deeper meaning? Djokovic lamented the way he played in New York but wasn’t ready to make any grand pronouncements. There was another significant statistic associated with his exit. This marks the first year since 2002 that no member of the Big Three of men’s tennis won a Slam trophy. Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have combined for a total of 66 since Federer won the group’s first at Wimbledon in 2003.

Pato O’Ward blasts IndyCar leadership for not landing race in Mexico ahead of NASCAR

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (AP) — When NASCAR announced this week that it would race in Mexico City next year, IndyCar drivers were stunned that another American series had beaten them into a fertile market that is starving to see their most popular driver. Pato O’Ward is from Monterrey, Mexico, and has steadily built his fan base since his breakthrough 2021 season. He doesn’t understand how IndyCar hasn’t spent the last three years trying to land the deal that NASCAR put together this week and now fears it is too late to get IndyCar into his native country.

Sudden death of ‘Johnny Hockey’ means more hard times for beleaguered Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets officials and fans were ecstatic two years ago when Johnny Gaudreau was persuaded to pass up larger markets to sign with Columbus. Like other players who have come and gone, “Johnny Hockey” said he wanted to be a part of the Blue Jackets and raise his family in Columbus. For Blue Jackets fans, that makes Gaudreau’s sudden death even harder to take. Gaudreau’s death was the second off-ice tragedy in three years for a franchise struggling to get back on its feet. Twenty-four-year-old goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks was killed in a freak fireworks accident in July 2021.

Jordan Spieth has wrist surgery and is eager to hit the reset button on his career

ATLANTA (AP) — Jordan Spieth is on the mend from wrist surgery last week in Colorado. Spieth has been dealing with a torn sheath that holds a major tendon in place near his left wrist. Spieth says he’s relieved the surgery went well and was confident he wouldn’t be dealing with the same nagging pain he’s had for the last 15 months. He also suspects he has been coping with issues in his left hand going all the way back to the end of 2017. The three-time major champion says recovery typically takes about three months. He plans to be ready for 2025.

Pit stops at Ottobock provide just-in-time repairs to Paralympians’ equipment

PARIS (AP) — For many Paralympic athletes, equipment isn’t simply a tool for mobility, but also an extension of the self. Ottobock, a medical technology company, brings technicians from around the world to the Paralympic Games to provide critical repairs and maintenance for this equipment. Technicians operate in-venue workshops that deliver a wide scope of services and balance quick repairs with quality care. To Paralympians, these workshops are the equivalent of Formula 1 “pit stops” that are often game-changers in competition.

US Open: Paolini joins Gauff as the only women to reach the fourth round at every Slam in 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — Jasmine Paolini has joined Coco Gauff as the only women to reach at least the fourth round at every Grand Slam tournament in 2024. Paolini got that far at the U.S. Open for the first time with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 30 seed Yulia Putintseva on Saturday. The fifth-seeded Paolini had never made it past the second round in 16 appearances at majors entering this season. But she reached the fourth round at the Australian Open in January, before being the runner-up at both the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July. Paolini will meet 2023 French Open finalist Karolina Muchova on Monday for a berth in the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows.

Inside the numbers: Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and the WNBA rookie of the year race

WNBA award voters, regardless of who they pick, will be able to say the following when it comes time to choose between Indiana’s Caitlin Clark and Chicago’s Angel Reese in this season’s rookie of the year balloting: “She did things the league has never seen before.” The latest examples of that came Friday night, when Clark and Reese went head to head for the fourth and final time in this regular season. The game, and the individual race, were both one-sided: The Fever won 100-81, with Clark leading the way with 31 points and 12 assists.

NCAA blocks Oklahoma State from wearing QR codes for NIL fund on helmets, saying decals break rule

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — The NCAA blocked Oklahoma State from placing QR codes on its players’ helmets, a moved that would have allowed fans to link to a team fund and donate to the program’s name, image and likeness money pool. The team planned to wear the decals during the Cowboys’ opening game against South Dakota State. The school says the NCAA interprets the QR code stickers as advertising and/or commercial marks, which are not permitted on the helmets. The QR codes are 1.5-inch decals that feature each players’ name and number.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic is shocked at the US Open one night after Carlos Alcaraz’s loss

NEW YORK (AP) — Defending champion Novak Djokovic has lost at the U.S. Open one night after Carlos Alcaraz did. Djokovic bowed out in the third round with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss against 28th-seeded Alexei Popyrin of Australia on Friday night. The No. 2-seeded Djokovic was trying to become the first player in tennis history with 25 Grand Slam singles titles. Instead, he finishes a year without claiming at least one major championship for the first time since 2017. Before that, it hadn’t happened since 2010. The third-round exit equals Djokovic’s worst showing at Flushing Meadows. Alcaraz was beaten by 74th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp on Thursday.

Sabalenka wins latest-starting match in US Open history that finally begins after midnight

NEW YORK (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka finally got rolling after a bad beginning to the latest-starting match in U.S. Open history and beat No. 29 Ekaterina Alexandrova 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 to reach the fourth round. The No. 2 seed didn’t hit the first shot of the match until after midnight Saturday and had dropped the first set barely a half-hour later. But she seized control early in the second set, winning 10 straight games to open a 5-0 lead in the third. The runner-up last year in Flushing Meadows advanced to face No. 33 seed Elise Mertens on Sunday. The previous latest start to a match at the U.S. Open was exactly at midnight on Sept. 2, 1987, with Gabriela Sabatini going on to beat Beverly Bowes 6-3, 6-3.