The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-24)

TUESDAY, MAY 24 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 K D3

say how hard it is for me, looking

at what’s going on in the world,”

said Azarenka, 32, who worked

behind the scenes as a member of

the WTA Players’ Council on a

failed effort to reach a compro-

mise that penalized no one at

Wimbledon.

Tsurenko doesn’t fault Wim-

bledon’s ban, calling it “not a very

big price” for Russians and Belar-

usians to pay. She opposes the

decision to withhold ranking

points. And she said she would

find it difficult to compete

against players from Russia and

Belarus because “it reminds me

what is going on in my country.”

But speaking to a small group

of reporters after her 6-2, 6-0 loss

to Swiatek, Tsurenko didn’t lobby

for boycotts or call for any specif-

ic action. Instead, she asked for

basic expressions of humanity

and compassion. To date, she

said, she has heard such words

from maybe four or five players

and a few coaches.

“I don’t know if I can ask

players to care more, but I would

like to see that from the players,

from the WTA, from ATP. I would

like top players just to support

more and to show more under-

standing of what is really going

on,” she said. “... I want people to

understand that war is terrible

and there is nothing worse in this

world than a war. I think when

it’s not in your country, you don’t

really understand how terrible it

is.”

Swiatek, a native of neighbor-

ing Poland, is among those show-

ing support for Ukraine by wear-

ing a blue-and-yellow ribbon on

her cap on the court.

“I really appreciate the support

that Iga is showing,” Tsurenko

said. “Poland in general is doing

so much for Ukraine.... T he

friendship between Ukraine and

Poland, it’s amazing.”

At 20, Swiatek is the youngest

women’s player in the top 10 and,

of late, is routing all comers. Her

victory over Tsurenko extended

her winning streak to 29 match-

es, the longest in women’s tennis

since 2013, and she’s a prohibitive

favorite to claim her second

French Open title.

But she, too, is having an

internal conversation over the

sport’s response to the war.

Among the questions Swiatek

said she is asking herself: What is

her role as the world’s No. 1

player, given the platform she

has?

“Basically, I feel like it’s a pretty

tricky situation, and every solu-

tion is going to be somehow a

wrong one for some part of peo-

ple or players,” Swiatek said when

asked her position on Wimble-

don’s ban and the tours’ refusal to

award points.

In her case, she said, she wasn’t

worried about the points, conced-

ing with a half-smile that she was

fine playing with or without

them. (As the tour’s top player,

she has an abundance, with 7,061

to the 4,911 of No. 2 Barbora

Krejcikova, the defending French

Open champion who fell in three

sets Monday to Diane Parry of

France.)

“For me, it’s more the political

side of things, because, you know,

Poland is supporting Ukrainians

and the war is right next to my

country,” Swiatek added.

S wiatek in 54 minutes — in hopes

of achieving a better result and

reclaiming what joy remains in

tennis at the next tournament

stop.

Still, Tsurenko’s internal dia-

logue has hardly quieted since

she decided to play on, just as the

bombs and artillery fire have not

quieted in Ukraine. Her thoughts

continue, more complex and

more wearying, as she wrestles

with where to live, where to train

and whether she is doing the

right thing.

Some days, the question is how

to summon the passion she once

felt upon walking onto a stadium

court, knowing there is far more

at stake at home.

“I’m old enough to understand

a little bit more about this world,

and I understand that there is

something much bigger than just

a tennis match,” said Tsurenko,

who had found a temporary

home at a tennis academy in

Italy. “So I’m trying to find this

balance between ‘Just go on court

and don’t care’ versus ‘Try to

care.’ ”

The French Open has sought to

steer clear of controversy over the

war by welcoming players from

Russia and Belarus — unlike

Wimbledon, which announced it

will bar them next month. But

acrimony over Wimbledon’s deci-

sion, followed by the pro tours’

retaliatory refusal to award rank-

ing points for Wimbledon com-

petitors, has infiltrated the gates

at Roland Garros.

Some players, such as former

No. 1 Naomi Osaka, have raised

the possibility of skipping Wim-

bledon if points aren’t awarded.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic

called Wimbledon’s ban and the

tours’ denial of points “a lose-lose

situation” after breezing through

his first match Monday night.

“I think it was a wrong deci-

sion; I don’t support it at all,”

Djokovic said of Wimbledon’s

ban, adding that he recently

learned that the ATP and WTA

presented tournament officials

with multiple alternate options

— including staging an exhibi-

tion during Wimbledon involv-

ing players from Russia, Belarus

and Ukraine, with proceeds go-

ing to victims of the war.

He left open the question of

whether the tours could have

come up with a better solution for

protesting the ban than denying

players the chance to earn and

defend ranking points.

“It’s a very unique and weird

situation,” he said.

But Djokovic, who beat Japan’s

Yoshihito Nishioka, 6-3, 6-1, 6-0,

on Monday, was clear about his

intent to compete at Wimbledon.

“Wimbledon for me was al-

ways a dream when I was a child,”

said Djokovic, the tournament’s

defending and six-time cham-

pion. “I don’t look at it through

the lens of points or prize money.

It means something else.”

Victoria Azarenka, a former

world No. 1 from Belarus, is

among the players who will be

banned from Wimbledon. But

Azarenka declined to take a pub-

lic stance on the controversy

Monday, explaining that she

wanted to be “helpful” instead.

“I’m not going to sit here and

FRENCH OPEN FROM D1

Tsurenko s eeks empathy

for players from Ukraine

BY LIZ CLARKE

paris — Four-time Grand Slam

champion Naomi Osaka’s return

to the French Open ended with a

first-round defeat Monday, as the

former world No. 1 fell to Ameri-

can Amanda Anisimova, 7-5, 6-4.

Addressing what’s ahead dur-

ing the news conference that fol-

lowed, Osaka revealed that she

may not compete at Wimbledon

next month as a result of the pro

tours’ decision to withhold rank-

ing points from competitors in

retaliation for the All England

Club’s ban of players from Russia

and Belarus over their countries’

invasion of Ukraine.

Without ranking points, Osaka

explained, Wimbledon would feel

“more like an exhibition,” which

she suspected would affect her

motivation.

“Whenever I think something

is like an exhibition, I just can’t go

at it 100 percent,” Osaka said in

English while responding to a

question posed in Japanese. “I

didn’t even make my decision yet,

but I’m leaning more toward not

playing [Wimbledon] given the

current circumstances. But, you

know, that might change.”

The Women’s Tennis Associa-

tion and the Association of Tennis

Professionals, which govern the

women’s and men’s pro tours, an-

nounced Friday that they would

not award points for Wimbledon

this year — a move that penalizes

all players — on the grounds that

the All England Club’s decision to

bar Russian and Belarusian play-

ers was discriminatory. If certain

players could not compete, ac-

cording to the tours’ rationale,

then none should earn ranking

points that the tours control.

Osaka’s defeat Monday was her

second consecutive Grand Slam

ouster at the hands of Anisimova,

20, who edged her in a three-set

clash at the Australian Open in

January that was settled by a

tiebreaker. At the time, Osaka was

the higher-ranked player, seeded

13th, which made the unseeded

Anisimova’s victory an upset.

But the pecking order has since

reversed, with Anisimova the

French Open’s 27th seed and Osa-

ka unseeded because her ranking

has slipped to 38th, largely be-

cause she has competed in just

three tournaments since Aus-

tralia. That meant that Osaka ar-

rived at Roland Garros without

the protection that seeded players

enjoy against formidable first-

round opponents.

“I know that I don’t play as

many tournaments as everyone

else,” Osaka said. “I know that

when I enter the draw, there is a

chance that I’m going to play

players that maybe I wish I don’t

play. But it’s kind of the conse-

quences of my own actions type of

thing.”

Osaka declared herself pleased

to be back at Roland Garros dur-

ing a genial news conference on

the eve of the tournament — her

first time back since she withdrew

from last year’s event after win-

ning her opener under threat of

sanctions for her decision not to

participate in mandatory post-

match news conferences.

Osaka’s decision, which she lat-

er explained was to safeguard her

emotional well-being from the dy-

namic of a group of reporters

asking “questions that we’ve been

asked multiple times before or...

questions that bring doubt into

our minds,” started a broader con-

versation about athletes’ mental

health and the obligation of

sports organizations to provide

appropriate support services.

Osaka, 24, has not advanced

beyond the third round at the

French Open, the only major con-

tested on clay. All four of her

Grand Slam titles have come on

hard courts: the U.S. Open in 2018

and 2020 and the Australian

Open in 2019 and 2021.

On Monday, Anisimova, a 2019

French Open semifinalist, proved

a particularly difficult opponent,

the more consistent and confi-

dent player.

Osaka committed 29 unforced

errors to 13 winners and landed

only 45 percent of her first serves.

She overcame an early deficit in

the opening set, only to get bro-

ken again, serving at 5-5, on a

double fault.

A tight second set turned on the

same glitch — an Osaka double

fault at 3-3 — and Anisimova went

on to serve out the match on a

backhand down-the-line winner.

“When you see Naomi Osaka in

the first round, you don’t think it’s

going to be easy,” Anisimova said

during her on-court interview. “It

was a very tough match.”

For Osaka, it was a victory of

sorts as well.

“For me, I’m really happy with

myself, because I know the emo-

tions that I left France last year,”

Osaka said. “I feel really happy

that I was able to play in front of

fans, and the feeling is much

different compared to last year. So

I think I’m really glad that I was

able to experience that.”

D efending champion is upset

Barbora Krejcikova b ecame

only the third defending women’s

champion to lose in the first

round of the French Open.

Krejcikova, w ho was seeded

second, lost to 97th-ranked Diane

Parry, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. It was Krejcik-

ova’s first match since February

because of an injured right elbow.

On the men’s side, Novak Djok-

ovic’s first Grand Slam match of

the year went w ell as the top seed

opened h is title defense with a

6-3, 6-1, 6-0 victory over Yoshihito

Nishioka.

Rafael Nadal also reached the

second round, as t he 1 3-time

champion at Roland Garros beat

Jordan Thompson, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

— Associated Press

Ousted Osaka might s kip W imbledon

PASCAL ROSSIGNOL/REUTERS

Naomi Osaka came up short in a 7-5, 6-4 opening-round loss to Amanda Anisimova at the French Open.

FROM NEWS SERVICES

AND STAFF REPORTS

Former Washington quarter-
back Dwayne Haskins had ket-
amine and norketamine in his sys-
tem and a blood alcohol concen-
tration of 0.20 percent — more
than double the legal limit —
shortly after he died of multiple
blunt force injuries, according to
the Broward County (Fla.) medical
examiner. His death the morning
of April 9, when he was struck by a
dump truck while walking in traf-
fic on Interstate 595, was deter-
mined to be an accident.
According to the investigative
report released Monday by the
Office of Medical Examiner and
Trauma Services, Haskins, 24, was
said to be training with his Pitts-
burgh Steelers teammates April 8,
an account bolstered by photos
and videos on social media. The
players went to dinner, and after-
ward Haskins was believed to
have gone to a club with a friend.
Per the report, they “drank heavi-
ly” and got in a fight at some point
before separating.
Investigators were told Haskins
did not use illicit drugs other than
marijuana and “would never take
any unknown substances” but did
drink alcohol, “sometimes heavi-
ly.”
According to the Florida High-
way Patrol, witnesses began call-
ing about a pedestrian walking in
traffic on westbound I-595 at
6:33 a.m. April 9. One r eported
that she saw a Black male dressed
in all black on the right shoulder,
waving people down. She pulled
over and got out to see if he needed
help, but by that time he had been
struck by the t ruck. The driver of
the truck said he had been driving
in the darkness (sunrise was at
7:03) when a male pedestrian ap-
peared in the center lane.
Haskins was knocked back a
number of feet, then either run
over or struck again by an SUV
that swerved in an attempt to
avoid him. He was pronounced
dead on the scene at 6:47.
No other vehicle was located in
the vicinity of Haskins’s death, but
the FHP later found a vehicle that
belonged to Haskins along I-595. A
female companion, who had been
with him since the previous eve-
ning, was inside. The two ran out
of gas on the side of the highway,
and Haskins, per the report, left on
foot to find a gas station around
6:15. The woman stayed in the car.
— Nicki Jhabvala
l COLTS: Nick Foles is reunit-
ing with Frank Reich.
That combination helped the
Philadelphia Eagles win the 2017
Super Bowl. Reich now is head
coach of Indianapolis, which
signed Foles to a two-year contract
to back up starting quarterback
Matt Ryan.
Foles spent the past two years
with the Chicago Bears, playing in
only one game in 2021. The Bears
released him May 1.
The 33-year-old Foles has ap-
peared in 68 games (56 starts) over
10 seasons. He has thrown for
14,003 yards and 82 touchdowns
with 43 interceptions.
l TITANS: Tennessee agreed to
terms on a multiyear contract
with tight end Chig Okonkwo.
Okonkwo, a fourth-round selec-
tion in the draft, caught 77 passes
for 717 yards and eight touch-
downs in three seasons at Mary-
land. In his final year, he tallied
52 receptions — the second-most
in school history by a tight end —
for 447 yards and five scores.
The Titans have agreed to terms
with seven of their nine draft
picks. Cornerback Roger McCrea-
ry (second round) and quarter-
back Malik Willis (third round)
remain unsigned.
l RAMS: Matthew Stafford
didn’t throw serious passes during
the first day of Los Angeles’s orga-
nized team activities, and he
might not do so again until train-
ing camp.
The quarterback had an offsea-
son injection in his elbow to quell
an unspecified minor injury that
nagged him throughout t he Rams’
Super Bowl run.
l SEAHAWKS: Seattle signed
wide receiver Marquise Goodwin,
adding a speedy veteran to its
offense.
Goodwin caught 20 passes for
313 yards and one touchdown last
year with Chicago. The 31-year-old
has 160 receptions for 2,636 yards
and 14 touchdowns in his career.
— Associated Press

NFL NOTES

Haskins

was drunk

when killed

by truck

Quarterback also had

ketamine in his system;

death is deemed accident

trying to get my mind and my

body right to be able to endure

that.”

McLaurin’s emergence as a fo-

cal point and leader of the offense

— he twice has been voted a team

captain — has come amid a years-

long rebuild. Washington has cy-

cled through eight starting quar-

terbacks during his tenure and

will turn to No. 9 in Wentz this

season.

Offseason workouts are volun-

tary, but the CBA allows for play-

ers to earn at least $295 per day for

participating, depending on stip-

ulations in his contract.

If McLaurin and the Com-

manders have yet to reach a deal

by mid-June, it’s unclear whether

he would continue his holdout

through mandatory minicamp.

Missing all three days (June 14, 15

and 16) would come with a maxi-

mum fine of $95,877.

Last year the Commanders

continued negotiating with their

veterans right up until training

camp started in July. The team

re-signed defensive tackle Jona-

than Allen one day before players

reported to camp and then agreed

to terms with tight end Logan

Thomas a day later.

“We’re really excited about the

opportunity to have Terry contin-

ue with us for a long time,” Gener-

al Manager Martin Mayhew said

last month. “So we’re working on

that.”

“When Coach Rivera and the

staff got here two years ago, that

was one of the main things they

said about being a No. 1 wide

receiver: You got to be ready to

possibly catch 100 balls in a sea-

son but also play every snap,”

McLaurin told The Washington

Post in January. “... For the most

part, I’ve been out there every

single game playing the majority

of the snaps, which is something

that I really take pride in because

they set that goal out for me and I

feel like I’ve lived up to it because

of the way I train in the offseason,

and it would be fully guaranteed.

A longer-term deal would allow

the team to lower the initial cap

charges through the contract

structure and prorated bonuses.

Although he was the 12th wide

receiver (and 76th player overall)

drafted in 2019, McLaurin has

emerged as one of the top wide-

outs in the NFL, averaging more

than 1,000 receiving yards in his

three seasons. Over the past two,

he has led all receivers with

36 contested catches, per Pro

Football Focus, and 1,873 offen-

sive snaps.

cap space, largely because of its

trade for quarterback Carson

Wentz. Only the top 51 contracts

count against the cap in the off-

season, and according to the NFL

Players Association’s records, the

Commanders had roughly

$8.7 million in cap space as of

Monday. That will grow June 1,

when the cap space from safety

Landon Collins’s release is added

to the books.

The team, however, had already

allocated for a deal for McLaurin.

McLaurin, a 2019 third-round

draft pick, has another season

remaining on his rookie contract,

which carries a cap charge of

$3.04 million. The average annual

value of the deal is less than

$1 million, well below the

leaguewide average of $14.7 mil-

lion for No. 1 wide receivers, ac-

cording to contract website over-

thecap.com. (Rookie deals are

mostly preset based on a player’s

draft slot and the salary cap at the

time.) If the Commanders re-sign

McLaurin, they could tack on a

new deal after the completion of

his rookie contract or give him

more money upfront in 2022 as

part of the agreement.

If the sides remain far apart

entering next year, the team could

decide to use the franchise tag on

McLaurin, but that would still pay

him more than $20 million — the

2023 tag for receivers is projected

to be worth $20.026 million —

traded for former Tennessee Ti-

tans wide receiver A.J. Brown and

welcomed him to the burgeoning

$20 million-plus club. Only four

wideouts earned that much per

year at the start of the offseason.

Brown became the 10th when he

signed a four-year, $100 million

contract.

“A different player, different

style more so than anything else,”

Commanders Coach Ron Rivera

said when asked during the draft

whether Brown’s deal would in-

fluence Washington’s talks with

McLaurin’s representatives. “It’s

just one of those things that you

go through negotiations based on

what the player is for you. Obvi-

ously, they’re going to tell you

what they think about what his

value should be. So we’ll just work

through it and negotiate it and go

from there. Just so you know, we

have started that process.”

In an offseason in which the

market for wide receivers has sky-

rocketed, Brown was on the short-

list of those next in line, along

with Seattle’s DK Metcalf, San

Francisco’s Deebo Samuel and

McLaurin. Negotiations are un-

derway on a new deal for McLau-

rin, as Rivera said in April. But

according to people with direct

knowledge of the discussions, the

sides remain far apart.

Washington has limited salary

MCLAURIN FROM D1

McLaurin passes on w orkouts amid contract talks

JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST

Terry McLaurin has declined to take part in any on-field work this

offseason until his Commanders contract situation is resolved.