Lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp recorded one of the biggest victories of his career by delivering a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 victory over five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California.
The 29-year-old Dutchman had a 26-15 edge in winners while controlling the flow of play for most of the match against the sixth-seeded Djokovic, who is ranked seventh in the world.
It was the eighth career win over a Top 10 opponent for van de Zandschulp, who is ranked 85th in the world.
"I think I kept my cool during the whole match," van de Zandschulp said. "The second set was very tough. He gained a big lead. But I think I did well turning it to 5-3 to get the momentum back a little bit.
"I think I started well, surviving one or two games in the third set, and then broke and turned it around. I know if I go into the match and lose my cool, especially against the big players, it's going to be a really tough day. That's always one thing I'm trying to do well."
Just being in the tournament field was a gift for van de Zandschulp. He was eliminated during qualifying, then received a spot in the main draw when Argentina's Facundo Diaz Acosta withdrew due to a foot injury.
Djokovic committed 37 unforced errors and didn't record a single ace.
The 37-year-old Djokovic has dropped his last three matches, losing to Alexander Zverev of Germany in the Australian Open semifinals and in the first round to Italian Matteo Berrettini in the first round at Doha prior to Saturday's loss.
"Obviously, no excuses for a poor performance," Djokovic said. "Just it doesn't feel great when you play this way on the court, but congratulations to my opponent. You know, just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me. You know, I regret for the level of tennis, considering how I practice these days."
van de Zandschulp will next face No. 25 seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina. Cerundolo rallied for a 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1 win over Mackenzie McDonald on Saturday.
In other matches, two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain had seven aces while notching a 6-4, 6-2 win over Quentin Halys of France in his first match of this year's tournament.
The No. 2 seed said he was pleased with his performance.
"I'm really happy to get through and start the title defense," Alcaraz said. "It's slow, the ball bounces a lot, the conditions are pretty good for me. I just love playing here. I feel at home, really calm off the court.
"The fans have always been good to me, so I just appreciate that love and support. Everything here suits me and my game."
Third-seeded Taylor Fritz won 89.7 percent of his first-serve points while knocking off Italy's Matteo Gigante 6-3, 7-5.
Italy's Matteo Arnaldi also pulled off an upset, prevailing 6-4, 7-5 over Andrey Rubley of Russia. Arnaldi saved 7 of 11 break points and didn't commit a double fault, while Rubley had five.
Brit Jack Draper, seeded 13th, was a 6-4, 6-0 winner over Brazilian wild card Joao Fonseca, while Jenson Brooksby knocked off No. 17 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 6-4, 6-2.
No. 21 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland defeated French qualifier Hugo Gaston 7-5, 6-3, No. 27 Denis Shapovalov of Canada posted a 6-3, 6-2 victory over qualifier Adam Walton of Australia, No. 30 Alejandro Tabilo of Chile notched a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Serbia's Dusan Lajovic, and No. 32 Brandon Nakashima ousted Rinky Hijikata of Australia 7-5, 6-1.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
The New York Knicks imagine themselves as a championship contender, and those dreams looked like they may be rapidly approaching reality in last season's run to the Eastern Conference Finals. They've spent much of this offseason patching holes in their roster, requiring significantly more firepower from their bench to scare their opponents with a well-rounded rotation that they lacked in 2024-25. They're not looking to burst at the seams with reserve bucket-getters, but have done plenty to consolidate their backup guards and bigs with a summer of moves that's still continuing. Though their most recent on-court developments have provided the Knicks' hopes with real wind behind their sails, those wishes to bolster the frontcourt aren't new. New York reportedly tried to woo a veteran center in Daniel Theis over to last season's situation, but failed to seal the deal. Theis, now playing for AS Monaco, could have joined the Knicks mid-season last year before opting for a European return, according to BasketNews.com. He spent the first leg of the 2024-25 campaign with the New Orleans Pelicans, the sixth team that the 33-year-old's suited up for in the last five seasons. New York's offer gave Theis yet another chance to fill in as a role-playing big on another contender, but he chose to bet on himself. "I could have gone to the Knicks, for example, but it was more for insurance that Mitchell Robinson came back from a long injury," Theis said on a recent Euro Insiders podcast. "And then I talked to Tom Thibodeau and he said, 'Yeah, you will be like insurance in case he can't play and this and that.' It's like what I did with P.J. Tucker. "For me, it was like, 'Okay, if I sit for the rest of the year, what are my chances in the summer?' So if I’m like, 'Okay, I go overseas to Europe and play great, I might have a better chance.' That was my whole intention and thought behind it — just consider Europe and see what it is." Robinson did indeed manage to remain healthy when it counted, seeing the floor in all 18 Knicks playoff games after playing in just 17 during the regular season. His reliability as a defender and rebounder up front would have negated Theis' presence, as he would have spent all but a few garbage time minutes occupying the same seat on the bench that Tucker took in the postseason. Though he would've likely been constrained to a minimum contract that would've expired at season's end alongside other role playing veterans like Landry Shamet, Cameron Payne and Precious Achiuwa, he'd have been a little more playable than some other deep-cut Knicks as a rim-rolling center, and that's the sort of job that New York's looked to fill in the months since. Theis chose his path, and the Knicks stayed young in building a roster that's expected to blow every other 21st century Knicks team out of the water.
In January, former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson guaranteed that his ex-teammate, first-year New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn, would not "start off his career with Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback in September." Johnson was right, as a new-look Jets regime led by Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey decided in February that Rodgers would be leaving the club after two underwhelming seasons. For a piece published on Wednesday, Johnson spoke with The Athletic's Ian O'Connor about his accurate prediction. "I’m the first person to ever say Aaron Rodgers was not going to be on this year’s team," Johnson explained. "I didn’t get it from anybody; I just knew from looking at all the coaches Aaron Glenn has learned from: Bill Parcells. Bill Belichick. Sean Payton. Dan Campbell. I knew how they would deal with Aaron Rodgers, so I knew how AG would deal with him. AG is his own man, and he doesn’t stand for any nonsense." Before Johnson made his initial guarantee, Parcells and New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees mentioned that Glenn "doesn’t [mess] around" and will be "a leader of men." It remains somewhat unclear if the "nonsense" referenced by Johnson has anything to do with Rodgers' weekly in-season appearances on "The Pat McAfee Show." In June 2024, Rodgers skipped the Jets' two-day mandatory minicamp because of a pre-planned trip to Egypt. He subsequently won just five of 17 starts coming off the season-ending torn Achilles tendon he suffered in September 2023. Johnson's comments indicate the Jets wouldn't have tolerated Rodgers remaining an unsigned free agent through early June as he dealt with undisclosed personal matters. Rodgers ultimately signed a team-friendly contract to join the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of their three-day mandatory minicamp, and he seems to be quite popular among his new teammates. Meanwhile, Jets players have embraced Glenn holding more "physical" practices during training camp after former head coach Robert Saleh went 20-36 as Gang Green head coach before he was fired last fall. "Aaron Glenn is going to get in people’s ear and tell them what time it is, and that’s who he was as a player," Johnson added. "There are so many bulls----ers in this business, and he isn’t one of them. I haven’t been to a Jets game since they traded me (in 2000), and the only reason I’m going to the Jets-Giants preseason game is Aaron Glenn." The Giants will represent the home team on Saturday against the Jets at MetLife Stadium. In March, the Jets took a flier on 26-year-old quarterback Justin Fields when they signed him to a two-year, $40M contract that included $30M guaranteed. They can escape that deal as soon as next offseason, but it sounds like Glenn would rather start from scratch in 2026 than put up with Rodgers for a single campaign.
The Green Bay Packers have a cause for concern with Jordan Love in the preseason. The quarterback suffered a thumb injury during the Packers' 30-10 loss to the New York Jets on Saturday. Love went 1-of-5 passing for seven yards and took a sack for -3 yards in the defeat. Both of his drives ended in punts. Per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, Love is set to have surgery on his thumb after seeing how it held up at practice on Monday. General manager Brian Gutekunst believes Love will be ready for Week 1 against the Detroit Lions. "Gutekunst sounded adamant that Love will be ready for Week 1 against the Lions," Schneidman wrote. "Hit his left hand on a helmet on that half-scramble vs. Jets. Wanted to see how it felt at practice yesterday and decided to get it fixed to avoid future issues. Will be with team in Indianapolis. "Brian Gutekunst says Jordan Love is having a procedure done on his left thumb. It’s a 'ligament thing.' Hurt it in the preseason opener. Gutekunst hopes he returns to practice next week." The injury comes at an inopportune time for the Packers. Love and the majority of his receivers have not been in sync during training camp and in the preseason game. Like last season, Packers' receivers have dropped passes during practices and did so in the preseason opener against the Jets. Green Bay needs Love on the field, gaining chemistry with his pass-catching targets, including first-round pick Matthew Golden, before it plays the Lions.
As soon as it was confirmed on Tuesday that Buffalo Bills running back James Cook planned to resume practicing because things had "changed" regarding his desire for a contract extension, it seemed to be a matter of when and not if fans would learn that the two sides had come to terms on an agreement. It turns out Cook had millions of reasons to suit up on Aug. 12. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Wednesday morning that Cook has received a four-year, $48M contract extension that includes $30M guaranteed from the Bills. According to Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN, the $30M guarantee is the most handed to a running back over the past five years. Cook was in the final year of his rookie deal and stopped participating in training-camp practices as part of a hold-in earlier in August. However, his agent later insisted that the 25-year-old "only wants to be a Buffalo Bill" and would continue "working toward" a resolution through the preseason. Last week, Buffalo quarterback and reigning regular-season Most Valuable Player Josh Allen directly said that he "desperately" wanted to have Cook back on the practice field and in the lineup. That's understandable considering what's expected of the 2025 Bills. As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook continued to list the Bills and Baltimore Ravens as the co-favorites at +600 betting odds to win Super Bowl LX this coming February. Meanwhile, Cook was responsible for the ninth-most regular-season rushing yards (2,131) in the league over the past two campaigns. He, Ravens star Derrick Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions led the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns each last season. In the end, trading Cook for a future draft asset never made much sense for a Bills team that is looking to do more than simply qualify for the next postseason tournament. "James could only envision himself as a Buffalo Bill," agent Zac Hiller told Schefter. "We are extremely thankful to the entire Bills organization and glad we could make that happen." With the Cook saga now behind them, the Bills can fully focus on preparing for their Week 1 "Sunday Night Football" showdown with the Ravens that will take place at Buffalo's Highmark Stadium on Sept. 7.