Usain Bolt runs his slowest 100m final ever; Brazil TV simulates Bolt’s dream 100m race

By Nick ZaccardiApr 20, 2015, 10:05 AM EDT

Usain Bolt‘s first 100m race of the season did not sit well with the fastest man of all time.

Bolt won in 10.12 seconds in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, over U.S. Olympian Ryan Bailey, Netherlands Olympian Churandy Martina and a Brazilian.

“I think it was poor execution overall,” Bolt said, according to Reuters. “I am sure my coach isn’t going to be too happy. The good thing is that I won.”

It’s his slowest recorded 100m time in a finals race. He’s been slower in preliminary heats at major championships, where he could get away with shutting it down early and still advance to the next round.

“My start’s been letting me down, hasn’t been consistent,” Bolt said in a post-race interview. “I just need more runs, and I’ll be OK.”

Bolt was perhaps slowed by faulty starting blocks. Check out the 1:55 mark in this highlight of the race, as one of Bolt’s blocks flew up after he propelled from it.

Bolt, 28, only ran 400 meters total in competition last year, his season starting late due to March foot surgery and ending early as a precaution. In two 100m races last year, his best time was 9.98 seconds. His world record, from 2009, is 9.58.

On April 11, Bolt ran a 200m race in 20.20 seconds in Kingston, Jamaica. That was more in line with his usual early season times for sprints.

Bolt is next expected to race at the IAAF World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas, in May. He could go head-to-head on relay anchor legs with U.S. rival Justin Gatlin, who was the fastest man in the 100m and 200m last year.

Also Sunday, Brazilian TV aired an interview with Bolt (may be geoblocked) where he was asked to pick two sprinters across history he would like to race against. Bolt picked retired 2000 Olympic champion Maurice Greene and, surprisingly, disgraced Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, who was stripped of a 1988 Olympic 100m gold medal for doping.

The broadcaster then put together a simulation of a potential Bolt-Greene-Johnson race, with Bolt winning in a world record 9.4 seconds.

Usain Bolt’s coach unaffected by Justin Gatlin’s fast times; Bolt to run World Relays

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Usain Bolt's 10.12 in Rio today is his slowest time ever in a 100m final. (Which, if anything, is more a reflection on his great record)

— Jon Mulkeen (@Statman_Jon) April 19, 2015

Novak Djokovic breaks record he shared with Rafael Nadal at French Open

Associated PressJun 4, 2023, 11:18 AM EDT

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Novak Djokovic broke a tie with rival Rafael Nadal by reaching the French Open quarterfinals for the record 17th time, never truly in trouble during a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Juan Pablo Varillas on Sunday.

Djokovic is closing on bettering Nadal in a more prestigious category: Grand Slam singles championships. Both currently sit at 22. For Djokovic, that total includes two at Roland Garros, in 2016 and 2021, and he can become the first man to own at least three trophies from each major tournament.

Nadal is a 14-time champion in Paris but is missing this time because of a hip injury; he had arthroscopic surgery Friday night.

Against the 94th-ranked Varillas, who had never won a Slam match until this event and then took three in a row in five sets, Djokovic was, not surprisingly, at his dominant best at Court Philippe Chatrier on a warm, sunny day.

The 36-year-old from Serbia finished with more than twice as many winners, 35-15, and fewer unforced errors. He went 15 for 17 on trips to the net. He put in 80% of his first serves. He converted 6 of 12 break points while dropping his serve only once.

All in all, a no-drama showing in under two hours from Djokovic, who hasn’t ceded a set yet through four matches. He’s had his less-than-amiable back-and-forths with some spectators over the past week in Paris, but when this one ended, Djokovic gestured as though to hug everyone as he heard some chants of his two-syllable nickname, “No-le!”

In his 55th career major quarterfinal — Roger Federer, who retired with 58, is the only man to reach more — and 14th in a row at Roland Garros, the No. 3-seeded Djokovic will face No. 11 Karen Khachanov on Tuesday.

Khachanov, who is 1-8 against Djokovic, made it this far at a Slam for the fifth time by defeating Lorenzo Sonego 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7), 6-1.

The other men’s fourth-round matches Sunday were No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 17 Lorenzo Musetti, and No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Sebastian Ofner.

Two unseeded women moved into quarterfinals and will play each other next: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 2021 runner-up at Roland Garros, and Karolina Muchova.

Pavlyuchenkova, who missed last year’s tournament as part of a lengthy absence with a knee injury, got past a third consecutive seeded opponent, No. 28 Elise Mertens, by a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 score.

Muchova was a 6-4, 6-4 winner against Elina Avanesyan, who lost in qualifying but got into the main draw when another player withdrew.

The other women’s matches scheduled for later: No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, and No. 9 Daria Kasatkina vs. Elina Svitolina.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

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French Open doubles team disqualified after tennis ball hits ball girl

Associated PressJun 4, 2023, 9:57 AM EDT

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French Open doubles player Miyu Kato and her partner were forced to forfeit a match when Kato accidentally hit a ball girl in the neck with a ball after a point on Sunday.

In the second set on Court 14 at Roland Garros, Kato took a swing with her racket and the ball flew toward the ball kid, who was not looking in the player’s direction while heading off the court.

At first, chair umpire Alexandre Juge only issued a warning to Kato. But after tournament referee Remy Azemar and Grand Slam supervisor Wayne McEwen went to Court 14 to look into what happened, Kato and her partner, Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia, were disqualified.

That made Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic and Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain the winners of the match.

“It’s just a bad situation for everyone,” Bouzkova said. “But it’s kind of something that, I guess, is taken by the rules, as it is, even though it’s very unfortunate for them. … At the end of the day, it was the referee’s decision.”

Bouzkova said she did not see the ball hit the ball girl, but “she was crying for like 15 minutes.”

She said one of the officials said the ball “has to do some kind of harm to the person affected” and that “at first, (Juge) didn’t see that.”

Bouzkova said she and Sorribes Tormo told Juge “to look into it more and ask our opponents what they think happened.”

During Coco Gauff’s 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1 singles victory over Mirra Andreeva on Saturday, Andreev swatted a ball into the Court Suzanne Lenglen stands after dropping a point in the first set. Andreev was given a warning by the chair umpire for unsportsmanlike conduct but no further penalty.

“I heard about that. Didn’t see it,” Bouzkova said. “I guess it just depends on the circumstances and the given situation as it happens. … It is difficult, for sure.

In the quarterfinals, Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo will face Ellen Perez of Australia and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

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a tough scene in Paris. Doubles partners Kato/Sutjiadi just got defaulted as Kato hit a ball girl accidentally at 6-7(1), 3-1.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/A7BIshh1CX

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 4, 2023

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