Today in Sports - Week Ahead, March 28
April 1
1930 — American golfer Bobby Jones starts his Grand Slam season by winning the Southeastern Open.
1938 — Joe Louis knocks out Harry Thomas in the fifth round in Chicago to retain his world heavyweight title.
1940 — Governor Herbert Lehman of New York signs the Dunnigal bill, which legalizes pari-mutuel wagering and outlaws bookmakers at the state's racetracks.
1954 — Detroit Red Wings right wing Gordie Howe scores 2 goals and an assist, and sets a Stanley Cup playoff record for fastest goal from the start of a game (:09).
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1972 — The first collective player's strike in major league history begins at 12:01 a.m. The strike lasts 12 days and cancels 86 games.
1973 — Boston's John Havlicek connects on 24 field goals and finishes with 54 points the Celtics defeat Atlanta, 134-109, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
1978 — NY Islanders RW Mike Bossy becomes first NHL rookie to score 50 goals in a season.
1981 — Edmonton C Wayne Gretzky has an assist (his 103rd) to break Bobby Orr's 10-year mark for most assists in a single NHL season.
1984 — Southern Cal beats Tennessee 72-61 for the NCAA women's basketball title.
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1985 — Villanova shocks Georgetown with a 66-64 victory to win the NCAA basketball title. The Wildcats, led by Dwayne McClain's 17 points, shot 79 percent from the field, making 22 of 28 shots, and added 22 of 27 free throws.
1989 — Jim McAllister of Glassboro State hits four home runs and drives in nine runs in four at-bats in a 21-5 five-inning rout of Delaware State.
1990 — Betsy King holds on for a two-stroke victory over Kathy Postlewait to win the LPGA Dinah Shore tournament.
1991 — Duke ends years of frustration with a 72-65 victory over Kansas for its first national title in five championship game appearances and nine trips to the Final Four.
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1992 — A week before the Stanley Cup playoffs are set to begin, the NHL players strike for the first time in the league's 75-year history. The strike lasts 10 days.
1996 — Kentucky wins its first national title in 18 years with a 76-67 victory over Syracuse.
1999 — Detroit Pistons G Joe Dumars becomes 10th player in NBA history to play 1,000 games with the same team.
1999 — Philadelphia 76ers head coach Larry Brown wins his 900th pro game.
2000 — Michelle Kwan wins her third World Figure Skating title by pushing through all seven triple jumps. The triple toe-triple toe lifts Kwan above Russians Irina Slutskaya and last year's champion, Maria Butyrskaya.
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2001 — 20th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Notre Dame beats Purdue, 68-66.
2002 — With Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter leading the way, Maryland wins its first national championship with a 64-52 victory over Indiana.
2007 — Morgan Pressel becomes the youngest major champion in LPGA Tour history with a game well beyond her 18 years, closing with a 3-under 69 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Pressel plays her final 25 holes over Mission Hills without a bogey as Suzann Pettersen blew a four-shot lead with four holes to play.
2007 — American super swimmer Michael Phelps smashes his own world record in the 400m individual medley (4:06.22) to win his record 7th gold medal at the World Championships.
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2011 — Jarome Iginla scores his second goal of the game with 5:03 left to reach 1,000 points and help Calgary rally to beat St. Louis 3-2.
2016 — Golden State Warriors consecutive home winning streak ends at 54 games.
2018 — Arike Ogunbowale hits a 3-pointer with a tenth of a second left to give Notre Dame a 61-58 win over Mississippi State and its first women's national championship since 2001. Notre Dame, trailing 30-17 at halftime, pulls off the biggest comeback in title game history, rallying from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter and a five-point deficit in the final 1:58.
2020 — All England Lawn Tennis Club cancels Wimbledon for the first time since World War II because of the COVID-19 pandemic; entire grass-court season abandoned.
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April 2
1939 — Ralph Guldahl beats Sam Snead by one stroke to capture the Masters golf tournament.
1969 — Toronto center Forbes Kennedy sets a Stanley Cup playoff record for most penalties in one game with 8.
1978 — Czech tennis star Martina Navratilova wins her first WTA Tour Championship.
1980 — Wayne Gretzky becomes the youngest player to reach 50 goals at 19 years and 2 months of age.
1983 — New York Islander Mike Bossy becomes the first player to score 60 or more goals in three consecutive seasons.
1984 — Georgetown, led by junior center Patrick Ewing and freshman forward Reggie Williams, beats Houston 84-75 to win the NCAA championship in Seattle. Houston becomes the second team to lose in two consecutive finals.
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1985 — Edmonton C Wayne Gretzky sets an NHL record with his 34th career hat trick.
1986 — The 3-point field goal, at 19 feet, 9 inches, is adopted by the NCAA.
1989 — 8th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Tennessee beats Auburn, 76-60.
1990 — UNLV pounds Duke 103-73 to win its first NCAA championship and extend the Blue Devils' streak to eight Final Four appearances without a title. The Runnin' Rebels become the first team to score more than 100 points in a championship game and the 30-point margin is the largest ever.
1995 — Connecticut caps an unbeaten season by defeating Tennessee 70-64 for the NCAA women's championship. The Huskies, 35-0, become the winningest basketball team for one season in Division I.
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2000 — Connecticut wins its second women's national championship with a 71-52 victory over Tennessee. The top-ranked Huskies beat No. 2 Tennessee for the second time in three meetings this season.
2001 — New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens becomes American League all-time strikeout leader.
2001 — Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki has 2 hits and becomes first Japanese position player to play in a regular season MLB game.
2001 — 63rd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Duke beats Arizona, 82-72.
2003 — At 27 years, 249 days Texas Rangers infielder Alex Rodriguez becomes the youngest MLB player to hit 300 home runs.
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2005 — Bubba Stewart becomes first African-American to win a major motor sports event when he takes out the Monster Energy AMA Supercross C'ship event in Irving, Texas.
2007 — The Florida Gators keep their stranglehold on the college basketball world with an 84-75 victory over Ohio State for their second straight national championship. The Gators are the first team to repeat since Duke in 1991-92.
2010 — Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant signs a three-year contract extension with the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers worth $87 million.
2011 — The Detroit Red Wings clinch their 20th straight playoff berth with a 4-3 victory over Nashville. The Red Wings extend the longest active playoff streak among North America's four major professional sports and extend their NHL record with 11 straight seasons with 100 points.
2012 — Doron Lamb scores 22 points as Kentucky wins its eighth men's national championship, holding off Kansas for a 67-59 victory.
2013 — Shoni Schimmel scores 24 points and giant-slaying Louisville claims another big upset, beating second-seeded Tennessee 86-78 and earning the school's second trip to the Women's Final Four.
2014 — The Sacramento Kings beat the Los Angeles Lakers 107-102 to give the Lakers their 50th loss of the season. The last time the Lakers had 50 or more losses was 1974-75 (30-52).
2016 — Villanova advances to the national championship game with the biggest margin of victory in Final Four history, overwhelming Oklahoma in a resounding 95-51 victory. The margin topped 34-point Final Four wins by Cincinnati over Oregon State in 1962 and Michigan State over Penn in 1979.
2017 — 36th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: South Carolina defeats Mississippi State, 67-55.
2018 — Pernilla Lindberg makes a 30-foot birdie putt on the eighth extra hole to win the ANA Inspiration for her first professional victory. Lindberg finishes off Inbee Park on the par-4 10th, the fourth playoff hole at Mission Hills.
2018 — Villanova wins its second men's national championship in three years after a 79-62 victory over Michigan. Donte DiVincenzo comes off the bench to score 31 points for the Wildcats. Villanova wins all six games by double digits over this tournament run, joining Michigan State (2000), Duke (2001) and North Carolina (2009) in that company.
2019 — OKC guard Russell Westbrook becomes 2nd player in NBA history to have 20+ points, rebounds and assists in a game; records 20-20-21 in 119-103 win over LA Lakers.
2023 — Caitlin Clark scores 41 points in the Final Four for Iowa against South Carolina.
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April 3
1923 — 'Black Sox' sue White Sox (unsuccessfully) for back salary.
1930 — The Montreal Canadiens win the NHL Stanley Cup with a two-game sweep of the Boston Bruins.
1933 — Ken Doraty's overtime goal gives the Toronto Maple Leafs and 1-0 victory over the Boston Bruins in semifinals of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The goal comes at one hour, 44 minutes and 46 seconds of the overtime beyond the one-hour regulation game.
1966 — P Tom Seaver signs with the NY Mets.
1975 — Bobby Fischer stripped of world chess title for refusing to defend it, title awarded to Russian Anatoly Karpov.
1977 — Jean Ratelle of the Boston Bruins scores his 1,000th point with an assist in a 7-4 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
1982 — Buffalo's Gil Perrault scores his 1,000th point with an assist in a 5-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
1983 — 2nd NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: USC beats Louisiana Tech, 69-67.
1987 — Chicago Cubs trade Dennis Eckersley to Oakland A's.
1988 — Louisiana Tech wins the NCAA women's basketball championship with a 56-54 come-from-behind victory over Auburn.
1988 — Amy Alcott shoots a 1-under 71 to win the Dinah Shore by two shots over Colleen Walker.
1988 — Mario Lemieux wins NHL scoring title, stopping Gretzky's 7 year streak.
1989 — Michigan beats Seton Hall 80-79 in overtime to win the NCAA basketball championship. Rumeal Robinson hits two free throws with three seconds left for the Wolverines. It's the first time that a first-year coach, Steve Fisher, wins the national title.
1991 — Bo Jackson signs 1-year contract with Chicago White Sox.
1993 — For the first time in its 157-year history, the Grand National steeplechase is declared void because of a false start. Esha Ness crosses the line first, but most of the jockeys are unaware a false start is called and the majority of the 39-horse field continue the 4½-mile race around the Aintree course even though nine stay behind at the start line.
1994 — Charlotte Smith's 3-pointer at the buzzer gives North Carolina a 60-59 victory over Louisiana Tech in the NCAA women's basketball championship game.
1995 — UCLA wins its first national basketball championship in 20 years and record 11th NCAA title, keeping Arkansas from repeating with an 89-78 victory.
1996 — St Francis Fighting Saints scores college baseball run record with 71.
2000 — 62nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Michigan State beats Florida, 89-76.
2004 — St. Louis clinches its 25th consecutive NHL playoff berth, the longest in major league sports, with a 4-1 win over Nashville.
2006 — Joakim Noah dominates UCLA with 16 points, nine rebounds and a record seven blocks to key a 73-57 blowout for Florida's first national title in men's basketball.
2006 — Steve Yzerman scores his final NHL goal (#692).
2007 — After a nine-year title drought, Tennessee and coach Pat Summitt are NCAA champions. The Lady Vols capture an elusive seventh national title, beating Rutgers 59-46.
2010 — Bernard Hopkins wins a brutal unanimous decision over Roy Jones Jr. in their long-delayed rematch, emphatically avenging his loss in the famed champions' first fight nearly 17 years earlier.
2012 — Brittney Griner scores 26 points and grabs 13 rebounds to help Baylor finish off an undefeated season with an 80-61 win over Notre Dame in the women's national championship game. Baylor becomes the first team in NCAA history to win 40 games.
2017 — Justin Jackson delivers the go-ahead three-point play and North Carolina scores the last eight points for a 71-65 win over Gonzaga and an NCAA title that heartbreakingly eluded the Tar Heels last year. It's an ugly game, filled with 44 fouls and 52 free throws. Carolina was down 2 with 1:40 left when Jackson took a pass under the bucket from Theo Pinson, made a layup and got fouled. The free throw made it 66-65, and after a Gonzaga miss on the other end, Isaiah Hicks made a shot to help North Carolina start pulling away to the school's sixth title.
2019 — San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich is ejected after an NBA record low 63 seconds in the Spurs 113-85 loss in Denver; receives 2 technical fouls in a verbal confrontation with a referee.
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Stanley Cup checklist: How do Devils stack up to Panthers and Oilers?
By the end of the regular season, the New Jersey Devils weren't close to the same level as the Florida Panthers or Edmonton Oilers. That wasn't a shock: The Devils were down several of their top players to injury and, because of it, did not go all-in at the trade deadline. The two conference champions are now the standard, though: the level New Jersey must get to if it wants to be a true contender. So, how close are president Tom Fitzgerald, coach Sheldon Keefe and the Devils? Advertisement In 2020, colleague Dom Luszczyszyn created a checklist comprising common elements from the previous decade of champions. That list suggests contenders should aim to have an elite center, winger, defenseman, and goalie, then another top-line center, two top-line wingers and a No. 1 defenseman, plus two more top-six forwards and top-six defensemen. I went through each piece of the checklist and examined how the Devils compared to both the finalists. New Jersey has significant work to do to catch up, but it also has some important pieces already in place. Oilers: Connor McDavid Panthers: Alexander Barkov Devils: Jack Hughes There's only one McDavid, and Barkov-level two-way centers don't come around often either. Still, Jack Hughes is one of the game's most elite players when he's on the ice. Shoulder injuries have ended his past two seasons. The Devils aren't on the hunt for a 1C like some teams, but it's also imperative that the organization and Hughes do everything in their power to have him playing when the games matter most in the coming years. Oilers: Zach Hyman Panthers: Matthew Tkachuk Devils: Jesper Bratt Hyman got hurt in the conference final and won't be available during the Stanley Cup Final, but when he's on the ice, he's a brilliant complementary fit in Edmonton. He's had at least 27 goals each of his four seasons with the Oilers and had 54 in 2023-24. Matthew Tkachuk or Sam Reinhart could fit in this category for the Panthers. Both are core pieces on long-term contracts and are players any team in the league would crave. The Devils have a true elite wing of their own, though. Bratt has been a point-per-game player each of the past two seasons. He has a $7.8 million average annual value cap hit — a great deal for the Devils given his production. Advertisement Oilers: Evan Bouchard Panthers: Gustav Forsling Devils: Dougie Hamilton Though prone to defensive mistakes, Bouchard has blossomed into an elite offensive player: one who can create offense even when playing away from McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Forsling is reliable and is one of the greatest waiver wire pickups in NHL history. Hamilton should currently be considered the Devils' No. 1 defenseman, but if Luke Hughes continues to develop, he could seize that crown (more on him in a bit). Hamilton is a point-producing blueliner who has finished as high as fourth in Norris voting in his career. He's also turning 32 shortly and is coming off two injury-impacted seasons, including the 2023-24 season, in which he played only 20 games. As is the case with Jack Hughes, the Devils need him on the ice and performing well if they are going to be a true contender. Bouchard, Forsling and Hamilton are not quite at the level of Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes and the very best defensemen in the league, but they are all capable of being No. 1s on great teams, especially if there are other strong defensemen on the roster. Oilers: Stuart Skinner Panthers: Sergei Bobrovsky Devils: Jacob Markström At his best, Markström falls into the elite category. The Devils got a good showing from him against the Hurricanes; he had a .911 save percentage despite the series loss. He has one year left on his deal and is 35. The Devils' front office knows it can count on him for now, but it will have to decide how much longer it feels comfortable relying heavily on him when considering an extension this summer. Bobrovsky is almost 37, so it's possible for a goaltender to continue performing well into the latter half of his 30s. Skinner is only 26 and has been streaky at points for the Oilers. Calvin Pickard temporarily replaced him as the starter earlier in the Oilers' run, but Skinner played well after regaining the starter's role. Advertisement Oilers: Leon Draisaitl Panthers: Sam Bennett Devils: Nico Hischier Bennett is about to get a massive raise in free agency. This past season was only his first with more than 50 points (he had 51), but he's a perfect fit on this Panthers' team and has repeatedly shown his game translates well to playoff hockey. He could win the Conn Smythe Trophy if the Panthers capture their second consecutive Cup. Draisaitl might be one of the five best forwards in the world. Having him as the No. 2 center on a team is quite a luxury. New Jersey can't compete with that, but Hischier is a top-line level center. With Hughes and Hischier up the middle, the Devils are in a good position in terms of top-six centers. Fitzgerald will have to address center questions in his bottom six: Could Dawson Mercer fill the 3C role? Should the team re-sign Cody Glass? However, that's far easier than finding answers at the top of the lineup. Oilers: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evander Kane Panthers: Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe Devils: Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer Because the Oilers have so much money tied up in their top two centers, there is a drop-off on the wing. Still, Nugent-Hopkins is a proven top-six player who has one monster season under his belt, a 104-point campaign in 2022-23. Kane missed the whole regular season, allowing the Oilers to dip into long-term injured reserve to supplement their depth. He's been an impact player this postseason, though, with 12 points in 18 games. Meanwhile, Florida is elite at wing. Reinhart is in the conversation for Tkachuk as the team's best wing. He had 57 goals in 2023-24 and then finished second in Selke voting this season. Verhaeghe has averaged more than 30 goals over the past three seasons (96 goals in 238 games) and has five career playoff overtime goals to boot. The Devils are paying Meier like an elite winger ($8.8 million AAV) and New Jersey needs him to play to that level. He had a strong postseason, but his goal total has decreased each of the past two seasons: from 40 in 2022-23 to 28 last season and 26 this season. Mercer is a respectable 3C option but hasn't consistently risen to the level of a top-six winger. For the Devils' top two lines to compare to the Oilers or Panthers, they probably need another top-six forward to round out the group. Advertisement Oilers: Mattias Ekholm Panthers: Aaron Ekblad Devils: Luke Hughes Ekholm is a vital part of Edmonton's team: trustworthy, huge (6 foot 5) and able to chip in on offense. Ekblad fills a similar role for the Panthers. Luke Hughes is a massive part of the Devils' future. The 21-year-old, a restricted free agent, has already demonstrated his ability to produce points and play more than 21 minutes per night at the NHL level. Defensemen sometimes take a while to develop, so the fact that he's already such a productive player with only 155 games under his belt offers plenty of reason for optimism. If he can emerge as a bona fide No. 1 in the coming years, the Devils' ceiling goes up exponentially. Oilers: Adam Henrique, Corey Perry Panthers: Brad Marchand, Anton Lundell Devils: Stefan Noesen, Ondřej Palát The Panthers' depth has shown throughout the postseason. Marchand and Lundell play on their third line, but both have been vital to Florida's success. Noesen is a solid depth player, and Palát brings playoff experience, but New Jersey is a ways away from creating a third line as capable as Florida's. In fairness, few (if any) teams can have as many top-nine options as the Panthers, including the Oilers. Florida will almost certainly lose some of that strength next season. Marchand, a deadline addition, has been a perfect fit, but the Panthers will have a difficult time re-signing him, especially if they are aiming to bring back Bennett. Regardless, the Panthers serve as a lesson that teams need depth to advance far in the postseason. It's an area the Devils will need to address. Oilers: Darnell Nurse, Jake Walman Panthers: Seth Jones, Niko Mikkola Devils: Brett Pesce, Jonas Siegenthaler The Devils stack up OK here when healthy. Along with Pesce and Siegenthaler — both good, responsible defensemen — they have 21-year-old Šimon Nemec, the No. 2 overall pick from 2022. He had a rough regular season but put together a strong playoffs that showed why he could still be an essential part of the team's future. Advertisement Walman, one of Edmonton's deadline additions, has helped round out the Oilers' blueline. Jones also moved at the deadline, and he's led the Panthers' skaters in ice time per game these playoffs. Florida should have no regrets about parting with Spencer Knight and a first-round pick to get him, mainly since Chicago retained money on the defenseman's contract. The Devils have high-end talent. No, they don't have McDavid or Draisaitl, but their best players are good enough to win in the postseason. Most teams don't have three forwards at the level of Jack Hughes, Bratt and Hischier. To make that star power matter, the Devils need two things: depth and health. This past season, New Jersey had neither in the playoffs. New Jersey relied too much on its top scorers against the Hurricanes. By the end of the series, the team was without both Hughes brothers, as well as defensemen Brenden Dillon and Johnathan Kovacevic. Brett Pesce and Jonas Siegenthaler were also playing at less than 100 percent. Tom Fitzgerald will have some reinforcements coming in this season. Prospect Arseni Gritsyuk coming over from the KHL should give New Jersey another middle-six option, and the front office has a bit of salary cap space to spend, though Luke Hughes' RFA deal will eat into that. New Jersey can also rework its fourth line; Justin Dowling, Tomáš Tatar, Nathan Bastian and Curtis Lazar are all coming off the books. Fitzgerald could consider trading players like Erik Haula or Dawson Mercer, which would free up some cap space to take a bigger swing at forward. Pending unrestricted free agent Nikolaj Ehlers could be worth a look. Adding high-end talent has a trickle-down effect on depth, too, which is a bonus. Florida and Edmonton also made significant additions at the trade deadline. With Hughes out, Fitzgerald wasn't as aggressive. If the Devils are healthy next season, perhaps he will take bigger midseason swings. Given Markström's age, the Devils are in a position to try to contend now. If Fitzgerald addresses the depth and gets a little luck in the health department, his team might not be as far away as its first-round exit this spring indicated. (Photo of Jack Hughes: Michael Martin / NHLI via Getty Images)
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
How Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner had the energy for five and a half hours of tennis cinema
When Jannik Sinner broke Carlos Alcaraz's serve at the beginning of the third set of their French Open final Sunday afternoon, it looked as though both men would head for an ice bath far earlier than expected. Sinner, the men's world No. 1, had just won his 20th straight set at Roland Garros. He needed just one more to win his fourth Grand Slam title, his at the first French Open. On the other side of the net was a player who had never won a match after being two sets down in eight attempts. Advertisement Sports rarely make sense, so instead, just over three hours later, Alcaraz was summoning the strength to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires high above his head, leaving Sinner to ponder how a match that he had been a single point away from winning — three times — had escaped him. For the rest of the world, it was a moment to sit back and simply wonder how they played such high-quality tennis for five and a half hours, saving their best for the final two games before Alcaraz went stratospheric in the match tiebreak to clinch the title. 'The preparation for the final starts as soon as the semi finishes,' says nutritionist Mark Ellison, who worked with Andy Murray around 2012-2013, and has also worked with Manchester United and GB Boxing. 'Rule of thumb is that we're looking to replace 1.5 times the amount of fluid lost in the previous match. If you have a two percent deficit, we'll be looking to put 1.5 times that back in, because you're always going to pee some of it out. 'Then we'll be looking at some big carbohydrate intake: one gram to 1.5 grams per kilo of bodyweight straight away. Repeat that every hour until the next 'normal' meal.' Murray favored sushi to quickly replenish his carbohydrate stores, eating up to 40 pieces after a match (spicy tuna and avocado rolls with spicy mayo preferred). Most players also use carbohydrate-rich electrolyte drinks, and shakes with carbohydrate and protein, to try to repair the damage to muscles during a match. 'Tennis is pretty brutal, especially on clay' says Ellison, 'so as well as recovering from a fueling point of view, you're also trying to manage muscle damage and repair. 'In the 24 hours between semifinal and final, you would want 5-8 solid feeds. As a practitioner your job is to make that volume feel as normal as possible, which is why we hide a lot in drinks, sauces, desserts and high-energy snacks.' Advertisement Hydration-wise, the secret is in the sweat. There are few stones left unturned in monitoring how much a player sweats in every condition imaginable, as well as analyzing the composition of that sweat. Some players' teams travel to tournaments with temperature and humidity gauges, which can be set up on court during practice sessions to assess the environment and thus understand the best hydration strategy. Court conditions are pivotal in determining how much fluid a player loses, and how best to replenish it. 'If it's a cool day it can be very minimal but it can go right up to two or three litres per hour, and that's not easy to replace,' Ellison says. 'It doesn't matter if you get a bit dehydrated, but the cutoff is around two percent. If your dehydration goes beyond two percent that's when it starts to affect concentration and as you go down that sliding scale it will start to affect endurance, strength and power.' Knowing an athlete's electrolyte requirement allows nutritionists to make up bespoke drinks, as opposed to providing off-the-shelf sports drinks which can be a bit cautious when it comes to electrolyte content. During an epic match of the sort played on Sunday, a 75kg male player could use around 4,000 calories. But even before the final, it's likely they are already a bit depleted when it comes to carbohydrate stores after two weeks of matchplay every other day. An average-sized athlete can store 400g of glycogen in their muscles, another 100g in the liver and around 10g to 30g in fluids (blood sugar), totaling around 530g of glycogen. But it's a challenge to eat enough carbohydrate to fill that store. The recommendations for athletes are to eat 6-10g of carbohydrate per kilogram of bodyweight per day, but Ellison says most athletes don't realise how difficult that is: 'Often you're coaching people and seeing they are missing those numbers. When you're trying to hit those big numbers you're likely going to have to add in liquid carbs alongside meals because you can't hit them with pasta — you'd be stuffed.' Advertisement Alcaraz has said that his pre-match go-to meal 90 minutes before is a plate of mixed pasta — some with and some without gluten — and a cocoa cream called Ambrosia that has olive oil and dates in it. Then, immediately before the start he has a bar made up of dates, egg whites and guarana. Sinner goes for a more basic chicken and rice meal or a ham and cheese sandwich, depending on the time of day he's playing. One helpful aspect of tennis is the frequent opportunities the players have to top up during a match. 'Most are getting between 30 and 60g per hour during a match,' says Ellison, depending on their individual strategies and what they can tolerate. 'Often that's through gels, bananas, drinks, bars or carb shots.' One additional drink that both players were thought to be consuming during Sunday's final is pickle juice. It's a concentrated source of electrolytes, containing sodium and potassium. The taste is not for everyone, but consuming it has been found to stop cramping 40 percent faster than drinking water. It is thought that drinking pickle juice activates receptors in the mouth, which trigger a reflex that disrupts messages to the brain that a muscle is cramping, but more research is needed to establish this. According to Dr. Mayur Ranchordas, a senior lecturer in sport nutrition and exercise metabolism at Sheffield Hallam University, it's particularly effective as a treatment for cramps in warmer conditions, or when sporting occasions last longer than anticipated — like the second-longest Grand Slam final in history. The physical demands of playing elite tennis for such a long time are immense. The USTA Player and Coach Development team reported in 2022 that the distance covered during a typical Grand Slam match is just two to three miles because of the court's size, but those miles are far more demanding than in most other sports. 'Compared to other athletes, tennis players accumulate workload at the highest frequency, registering one unit for approximately every 7-8 feet covered on the court,' said the USTA. The sharp movements and abrupt changes of direction that define tennis points make the sport 'one of the most demanding in the world in terms of acceleration and deceleration.' Alcaraz and Sinner hit 1,433 ground strokes between them during their five-set epic, with Sinner gaining the edge on shorter points of 0-4 shots (108-95) and Alcaraz doing the same on longer ones (97-84). In the Spaniard's tiebreak surge, eight of the 12 points played were five shots or longer. Alcaraz won seven of them. Pressure points in tennis — break points, set points, match points, and points in longer games like 30-30, 40-40, and Ad-40 — skew longer on average than others. Alcaraz ultimately benefited from his sporting edge meaning more in the biggest moments. Advertisement Both men will have felt the impact of such volume and intensity. A 2013 study into the physiological and performance variables of male tennis players during a three-day tournament and the following two-day recovery period found that a tennis tournament causes such a heavy load for the legs, in addition to muscle damage, that the recovery of explosive attributes of leg extensor muscles remains impaired after two days of rest. Mentally, there will be recovery time required, too. Perhaps more so for Sinner, who does not have the high of the victory to help ease his tired body and mind. 'It hurts, yes,' the Italian said in his post-match interview. Performance coach and psychologist Jamil Qureshi, who has worked with 22 golfers in the top 50 in the world, including two world number ones, as well as Premier League clubs and Ashes-winning cricketers, said the key will be to 'reframe' what happened in the final. 'How can we see something in a way which gives us the best opportunity to be better, to change the outcome next time?' he says. Whoever lost Sunday's match was destined to manage a new, unpleasant sporting experience: going in, both Sinner and Alcaraz had a 100 percent record in Grand Slam finals. Alcaraz is now 5-0; Sinner is 3-1. How long that recovery might take is hard to say. 'It's relative to the individual,' says Qureshi. 'Sinner will have a good support network around him who will help him reframe and see things differently. Time will help with that, as will looking back at videos, analyzing the match. If he's of the mindset to do so, which I'm convinced he will be, he'll allow this to further his career.' In his post-match interview Alcaraz focused on the belief that allowed him to fight back from the brink of defeat: 'I just believe all the time. I have never doubted myself. Even though in those match points down, I thought just one point at a time. Just one point and then after one point and then try to save that game and keep believing. That's what I thought.' Advertisement By the time the fifth-set tiebreak came around, few believed either player would be able to elevate themselves to another level, but that's precisely what Alcaraz did, racing to a 7-0 lead before eventually winning it 10-2. The winning shot was an incredible forehand down the line that left everyone watching open-mouthed in awe. That tiebreak was simply Alcaraz playing how he is capable of playing, says Qureshi. 'Every now and then this great clarity comes over a player – people call it being in the zone – when they are energized, purpose-driven, focused, able to think clearly under pressure. That's how people can play all the time. 'His subconscious mind knows more about tennis than his conscious mind ever will. If you can play subconsciously, then it's amazing how it can transform your talent.' With just three weeks separating their historic match in Paris from the start of the next Grand Slam at Wimbledon, both players will be doing whatever it takes to recover physically and mentally from their exertions. Alcaraz's traditional post-French Open jaunt to Ibiza, Spain is likely a different approach to Sinner's. Whether the rapid turnaround will prove better for a Sinner looking to move on quickly than an Alcaraz wanting to celebrate a little longer, only Wimbledon and its grass can prove. (Top photo of Carlos Alcaraz after winning the French Open: Alain Jocard / AFP via Getty Images)
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Washington Post
Panthers take 2-1 lead into game 4 against the Oilers
Edmonton Oilers (48-29-5, in the Pacific Division) vs. Florida Panthers (47-31-4, in the Atlantic Division) Sunrise, Florida; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Panthers -150, Oilers +125; over/under is 6.5 STANLEY CUP FINAL: Panthers lead series 2-1 BOTTOM LINE: The Florida Panthers host the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final with a 2-1 lead in the series. The teams meet Monday for the sixth time this season. The Panthers won the last matchup 6-1.
