Michael Phelps picks his best race from 2008 Beijing Olympics

By OlympicTalkApr 20, 2020, 2:25 PM EDT

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Of Michael Phelps‘ eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the swimmer said his best performance was the 200m freestyle.

“I look at that race, and today, still, and say that’s probably my best race I’ve ever swam in my life from start to finish,” Phelps said in 2015. “It was kind of over at 15 meters. I was in the best shape possible. My stroke was perfect. Everything about that race, to me, was the best.”

Phelps, in the seventh of 17 swims at those Games, took nine tenths of a second off his world record. He clocked 1:42.96, winning by 1.89 seconds, the largest margin in that event’s Olympic history. On his secretive goal sheet, Phelps had scribbled 1:43.5, according to his book “No Limits: The Will to Succeed.”

“As soon as I popped up, I saw myself almost a half-body length ahead after 15 meters,” Phelps said on NBC later that night, after swimming a 200m butterfly semifinal about 50 minutes following the 200m free final. “The plan was to take it out, dare them to try and catch me.”

All of Phelps’ eight gold-medal finals air on NBCSN’s Olympi Games Week on Monday. A full schedule is here.

The 200m free was perhaps the most fickle of Phelps’ Olympic events.

In 2004, he went against coach Bob Bowman‘s suggestion and contested it at the Olympics, finishing third in the “Race of the Century” behind Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband. He broke the American record.

In 2012, Phelps edged Ryan Lochte at the Olympic Trials. But he dropped the event off his London Olympic program, not wanting to attempt the same, daunting eight-event schedule as 2004 and 2008.

He chose not to race the 200m free at the 2016 Olympic Trials.

Bowman agreed that the 200m free was Phelps’ best in Beijing.

“His best in terms of just a pure performance,” Bowman said in 2016, while noting his personal favorite was the 400m IM, where Phelps set his only individual world record that still stands today. “A dominating performance.”

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Iga Swiatek sweeps into French Open final, where she faces a surprise

By OlympicTalkJun 9, 2023, 5:30 PM EDT

Iga Swiatek marched into the French Open final without dropping a set in six matches. All that stands between her and a third Roland Garros title is an unseeded foe.

Swiatek plays 43rd-ranked Czech Karolina Muchova in the women’s singles final, live Saturday at 9 a.m. ET on NBC, NBCSports.com/live, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.

Swiatek, the top-ranked Pole, swept 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil 6-2, 7-6 (7) in Thursday’s semifinal in her toughest test all tournament. Haddad Maia squandered three break points at 4-all in the second set.

Swiatek dropped just 23 games thus far, matching her total en route to her first French Open final in 2020 (which she won for her first WTA Tour title of any kind). After her semifinal, she signed a courtside camera with the hashtag #stepbystep.

“For sure I feel like I’m a better player,” than in 2020, she said. “Mentally, tactically, physically, just having the experience, everything. So, yeah, my whole life basically.”

Swiatek can become the third woman since 2000 to win three French Opens after Serena Williams and Justine Henin and, at 22, the youngest woman to win four total majors since Williams in 2002.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

Muchova upset No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus to reach her first major final.

Muchova, a 26-year-old into the second week of the French Open for the first time, became the first player to take a set off the powerful Belarusian all tournament, then rallied from down 5-2 in the third set to prevail 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5.

Sabalenka, who overcame previous erratic serving to win the Australian Open in January, had back-to-back double faults in her last service game.

“Lost my rhythm,” she said. “I wasn’t there.”

Muchova broke up what many expected would be a Sabalenka-Swiatek final, which would have been the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 match at the French Open since Williams beat Maria Sharapova in the 2013 final.

Muchova is unseeded, but was considered dangerous going into the tournament.

In 2021, she beat then-No. 1 Ash Barty to make the Australian Open semifinals, then reached a career-high ranking of 19. She dropped out of the top 200 last year while struggling through injuries.

“Some doctors told me maybe you’ll not do sport anymore,” Muchova said. “It’s up and downs in life all the time. Now I’m enjoying that I’m on the upper part now.”

Muchova has won all five of her matches against players ranked in the top three. She also beat Swiatek in their lone head-to-head, but that was back in 2019 when both players were unaccomplished young pros. They have since practiced together many times.

“I really like her game, honestly,” Swiatek said. “I really respect her, and she’s I feel like a player who can do anything. She has great touch. She can also speed up the game. She plays with that kind of freedom in her movements. And she has a great technique. So I watched her matches, and I feel like I know her game pretty well.”

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2023 French Open men’s singles draw

By OlympicTalkJun 9, 2023, 5:30 PM EDT

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The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history. He can also become the first man to win all four majors at least three times and, at 36, the oldest French Open men’s or women’s singles champion.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

Djokovic took out No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals, advancing to a final against 2022 French Open runner-up Casper Ruud of Norway.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

All of the American men lost before the fourth round. The last U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals was Andre Agassi in 2003.

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

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