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CAROLINE WOZNIACKI

Does Djokovic's next foe have hope? 'I was wondering that'

Serbia's Novak Djokovic serves against Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis in the second round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)PARIS – At the mere mention of Novak Djokovic’s name, at the mere thought of sharing a court with a 17-time Grand Slam champion and the French Open’s No. He used these phrases: “really, really excited” and “really, really happy” and “really, really special.”Galan is, after all, ranked 153rd and never had won so much as one main-draw match at any major tournament until this week. Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champ, plays 87th-ranked Paula Badosa, who arrived in Paris with a 1-5 Grand Slam record. “Well,” came Galan’s reply, “I was wondering that, to be honest.”And then he launched into a story about how he was “really, really nervous” before playing former top 10-member David Goffin in the Davis Cup Finals last November.

Mladenovic pins French meltdown on US Open lockdown, no-call

France's Kristina Mladenovic plays a shot against Germany's Laura Siegemund in the first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)PARIS – Kristina Mladenovic blamed her French Open meltdown on her U.S. Open lockdown — and she wasn’t too pleased about a no-call on a double bounce that helped her opponent avoid ceding the first set Wednesday, either. Mladenovic was furious that chair umpire Eva Asderaki didn’t spot the extra bounce that came during a 10-stroke exchange. “If she would have done it, she would have all my respect and be super fair play,” Mladenovic said. “It’s brutal for the body when you (have) eight days (of) lockdown in a hotel room,” Mladenovic said Wednesday.