Good morning! If you're up in time for F1 this morning (9 a.m. ET), enjoy having high-stakes sports on TV for the vast majority of the day.
For the better part of the last two decades, you could count on one guarantee in the world of professional sports: Rafael Nadal ruling Roland Garros. The aptly named King of Clay won 14 of 18 French Opens from 2005-2022 while compiling a 112-4 record. It was a level of dominance that may never be matched.
But the Nadal era at Roland Garros is officially over. Nadal retired from the sport last year after a first-round exit in his final French Open. Meanwhile, tennis' GOAT Novak Djokovic looks far from the favorite to reclaim the crown -- he said so himself -- despite just winning his 100th title in Geneva yesterday.
Until proven otherwise, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will be the heavy favorites in every tournament they enter. This year's French Open is no different as first-round action is already underway, beginning today:
Who else should you have your eye on? I asked our senior tennis writer Matthew Futterman for his dark horse:
💬 Everyone not named Sinner or Alcaraz has to be considered something of a dark horse. So along those lines I have to call the world No. 5 Jack Draper a dark horse, especially the way he's shot up the rankings the past year. I don't think he's going to win, but I have my eye on him. He won Indian Wells and made the final of Madrid. He's got a big game, and if it gets hot and dry the second week and the ball flies, watch out.
Let's move to the women's side, where we saw a run of eight different champions in eight years before Iga ÅšwiÄ…tek won the last three titles and four of the last five. We're talking about legitimate Nadal-level dominance from the 23-year-old.
This year, however, ÅšwiÄ…tek looks ... beatable? Aryna Sabalenka has been the best player in the world and is the rightful favorite at Roland Garros, and this may be American Coco Gauff's best shot at a Grand Slam since she won her first at the U.S. Open in 2023. Gauff dominated ÅšwiÄ…tek on clay earlier this month.
Outside of the favorites, who can make a surprise run on the women's side? Back to Futterman:
💬 I've got my eye on Zheng Qinwen. She's not had a great year, but she's a terrific clay-court player who won the gold medal here last summer. In doing so she beat Świątek here for the first time since 2021. She's not exactly a dark horse at No. 8 and with a gold medal around her neck, and she beat Sabalenka in Rome for the first time. If she's serving well, she's extremely dangerous.
Nadal's absence and ÅšwiÄ…tek's sudden fallibility aren't the only changes to the French Open this year. Warner Bros. Discovery is attempting to reinvent tennis coverage on TNT and Max in its first year broadcasting the tournament. Mic'd up coaches, whip-around coverage akin to NFL Red Zone and a fresh crop of analysts in the booth? Count me in.
Last night presented another pair of postseason shellackings in the NBA and NHL. Let's start in Minnesota, where the Thunder -- seemingly in cruise control in this series -- were run out of the building by Anthony Edwards and the Wolves in a 42-point loss. Make some time today for Jon Krawczynski's heartwarming story on how an orange wristband and Edwards's promise to a 6-year-old boy are bringing magic to Minnesota.
On the ice, the Hurricanes extended their conference finals losing streak to 15 games in a 6-2 loss to the Panthers. Woof. Do we even need to play Game 4? Our NHL staff has more takeaways as Florida closes in on a third straight Stanley Cup Final appearance.
Sunderland back to Premier League
Sunderland beat Sheffield United 2-1 in the promotion playoff final of the Championship, the second tier of English soccer. That means that the former Premier League mainstays, after eight years toiling down the relegation ladder, will finally be back in the big time. It's been a long journey, including four years spent in League One, the third tier. Also heading up next season: Leeds and Burnley, which secured spots by finishing one and two in the table. Heading down: Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton. The Premier League's dramatic final day is today.
The Oilers came back with authority in Game 2 after getting run out of Dallas in Game 1. A team with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl mostly just needs to not be in its own way.
The Knicks are in a brutal spot, down 2-0 and going on the road. It's not easy to win when your starters are constantly not doing the job.
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