The Washington Post - 06.09.2019

BY AVA WALLACE

Mike Thibault has told the tale plenty of

times before, about first taking over as

coach and general manager of the Wash-

ington Mystics ahead of the 2013 season.

He absorbed the franchise’s misfortune

after it finished the year before with a 5-29

record yet still missed out on a top lottery

pick in the draft. He saw the scant, apathet-

ic crowds at home games during that first

year. He thought, “What have I gotten

myself into?”

But asked to reflect on how far the

Mystics have come in those seven seasons,

ahead of a two-game homestand that will

close a record-breaking regular season,

Thibault had no desire to look back.

Washington has made history this year

thanks largely to its once-in-a-generation

offense: The Mystics have won eight games

by at least 25 points, the most in a season in

WNBA history. They average more three-

pointers made per game (9.3) than any

team since at least 2003.

Their star, Elena Delle Donne, is shoot-

ing 51.6 percent from the field, 43 percent

from the three-point line and 97.1 percent

from the free throw line, meaning she

probably will become the first WNBA play-

er to join the ultra-elite 50-40-90 club,

according to the Elias Sports Bureau. In

NBA history, only eight players — Larry

Bird, Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Steve

Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Ste-

phen Curry and Malcolm Brogdon — are

members of the club.

Former all-star Emma Meesseman

SEE MYSTICS ON D3

KLMNO

SPORTS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 , 2019. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS M2 D

METRO

D.C. announces plans to raze RFK Stadium by 2021 in

a cost-cutting move, not to pave way for Redskins. B1

BASKETBALL

New Wizard Rui Hachimura’s viral dunk was the

highlight for Japan in a 53-point loss to the U.S. D3

PRO FOOTBALL

The Antonio Brown drama continues in Oakland, and

it’s possible the WR could miss the season opener. D5

BY CHUCK CULPEPPER

The dawn of the football sea-
son in Ohio, where football mat-
ters, has reinforced the unpre-
dictability of the coaching busi-
ness given its strange links to
New Hampshire, where football
matters but not as loudly.
For the second straight week,
somebody from a long-running
New Hampshire high school and
a long-running New Hampshire
university from college football’s
rambunctious third tier, the Foot-

ball Championship Series, will

play a leading role in the happen-

ings in big old Ohio.

In Week 1 of the college football

season, Chip Kelly, who played

quarterback for Manchester

(N.H.) Central and the University

of New Hampshire and later coor-

dinated the offense at the latter

from 1999 to 2006, brought his

UCLA team to Cincinnati for a

SEE BUCKEYES ON D3

BY CHUCK CULPEPPER

new york — While deciphering
the usual graffiti of tennis-match
statistics in search of the most
telltale from Serena Williams’s
win Thursday night in Arthur
Ashe Stadium, fix the eye upon
that vigorous little category that
would test the neck of any statisti-
cian sitting courtside: points with
rallies of nine shots or more.
In that column, a 37-year-old
mother of a 2-year-old and the
winner of a U.S. Open that actually
happened last century (1999) ap-
pears to have played 13 points
against her 24-year-old opponent

ranked fifth in the world and

known for a capacity to slug it

around all night long if necessary.

Of those points, the 37-year-old

mother of a 2-year-old won 10.

As Williams bested Elina Svito-

lina, 6-3, 6-1, in 70 minutes and as

Williams found her way to a whop-

ping fourth Grand Slam final since

giving birth and as she claimed

her fourth chance in the past two

seasons to tie Margaret Court atop

the all-time list at 24 Grand Slams

and as she roared into a 33rd

Grand Slam final, that 10-3 num-

ber does bolster an impression.

This does look like Williams’s

best form of the four recent finals,

which could prove handy against

the fresh force of women’s tennis,

19-year-old Bianca Andreescu,

who zoomed from a 5-2 inconve-

nience in the second set and won a

semifinal of surpassing quality

and frequent beauty over Belinda

Bencic of Switzerland, 7-6 (7-3),

7-5. That arranged a final between

a 15th-ranked Canadian who

called it “surreal” in her first U.S.

Open main draw and a legend

nearing 38 but looking happy in

her movement on court and her

untroubled countenance off it.

Quintessential evidence came

midway through Williams’s sec-

ond set, when she chased down a

decent drop shot, flicked it cross-

court for a winner and hovered

over a chair, watching it travel and

land in pretty obedience.

“I felt more prepared this tour-

nament,” Williams said. “I mean,

SEE U.S. OPEN ON D5

Giving it their best shot

As WNBA playoffs approach, record-setting Mystics have singular focus on a championship

Williams cruises into U.S. Open final

BY JESSE DOUGHERTY

atlanta — By the time Max Fried

was finished with the Washington

Nationals, after seven scoreless in-

nings, after inducing a bucket full

of off-balance swings, his effort

counted once on the scoreboard

and again in the standings.

The Nationals could hardly

touch Fried, the Atlanta Braves’

25-year-old left-hander, in a 4-2

loss at SunTrust Park on Thursday

night. Fried gave up a single to

Anthony Rendon in the first on a

soft grounder to third, then set

down the last 19 batters he faced.

He struck out nine, including Juan

Soto three times, all while Stephen

Strasburg gave up three runs in six

strenuous innings.

And since the Nationals’ of-

fense didn’t get started until the

ninth and the Braves’ did just

enough, Washington fell eight

games back of Atlanta in the divi-

sion race. The National League

East was sort of a two-team race

heading into this four-game se-

ries. Now it looks more like a

foregone conclusion.

“Why?” Manager Dave Marti-

nez shot back, without hesitation,

when asked whether the Nation-

als’ backs are against the wall. “We

got a lot of games. Our backs aren’t

against the wall. We just have to

keep playing baseball.”

Strasburg had won all three of

his decisions against the Braves

this season but ran into trouble

right away. He gave up a leadoff

single to Ronald Acuña Jr., Acuña

stole second, and Ozzie Albies

knocked him in with a bloop dou-

ble over third base. Freddie Free-

man came up next and, like Albies,

lofted an opposite-field hit that

left Strasburg shaking his head.

Albies raced around to score. Acu-

ña added another run in the fifth

on a line-drive homer, and the

Braves had what they needed.

Fried owned the plate with a

SEE NATIONALS ON D5

Punchless

Nats’ hopes

in division

dealt blow

ADAM HUNGER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Serena Williams needed just 70 minutes to trounce Elina Svitolina,

6-3, 6-1, to advance to Saturday’s final against Bianca Andreescu.

Cincinnati at Ohio State

via New Hampshire

Day faces Bearcats, who just beat his mentor BY LES CARPENTER

On Thursday afternoon, Adri-

an Peterson stood in front of his

locker at the Washington Red-

skins’ practice facility and re-

vealed a significant fact about his

good friend Trent Williams, the

team’s star left tackle who has

been holding out.

Williams was in town.

Peterson appeared to instantly

regret the admission. But he had

been asked a question about

whether he has been in contact

with Williams, with whom he

owns a gym in Houston.

“Yeah, actually I talked to him

last night,” Peterson said, then

chuckled before adding: “In per-

son, so... yeah.”

So Williams is in the area?

“Yeah, he’s here,” Peterson

said. “He had to come back to

take care of some things. I don’t

know how long he’s going to be in

town. I don’t know all that. It was

just good for me to be able to

catch up with him and see him

because I haven’t caught up with

SEE REDSKINS ON D6

Peterson says Williams is

in area as holdout goes on

TONI L. SANDYS/THE WASHINGTON POST

With two games left in the regular season, the Mystics are on pace to set team records in wins, points per game, field goal percentage and assists.

BRAVES 4,

NATIONALS 2

Fried increases Atlanta’s

East lead to eight games

Redskins at Eagles

Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox

Nationals at Braves

Today, 7 p.m., MASN

Cincinnati at Ohio State

Tomorrow, noon, ABC

U.S. Open: Men’s semifinals

Today, 4 p.m., ESPN 2

Wings at Mystics

Today, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Washington

NUCCIO DINUZZO/GETTY IMAGES

The NFL is back, and so are the Packers

Adrian Amos (31) snagged a fourth-quarter interception as the

Packers won the NFL season opener, 10-3, in Chicago. D6

She faces Andreescu for chance to tie Court’s mark