Djokovic rolls, calls for rule change

Novak Djokovic smiled right along with everyone else when his first-round Paris Olympics opponent was so excited just to claim one game Saturday that he celebrated by pulling the bottom of his shirt over his head, baring his chest. After completing his 6-0, 6-1 victory in less than an hour at Roland Garros, the 37-year-old Serb was a little less amused, saying he doesn’t think someone like Matthew Ebden — a 36-year-old doubles player from Australia who hadn’t competed in a tour-level, main-draw singles match since June 2022 — should have been on the court without a teammate at the Summer Games. “I really don’t understand the rules. They’re really not logical,” said Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champ who’s seeking his first Olympic gold medal. “I don’t think it’s a good image for the sport,” he said about having a doubles player enter singles at the Olympics. “There were a lot of singles players that have plenty of time, that were alternates, that could have been called to come.” Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, a four-time major champ, made similar comments after his first-round win Saturday.

Wemby puts on show for home fans

This was Victor Wembanyama’s opening ceremony. No Eiffel Tower, no Celine Dion, no Zinedine Zidane, no Rafael Nadal, no Serena Williams and no floating cauldron required. Just a 7-foot-4 kid with the eyes of the basketball world on him for his Olympic debut. And he didn’t disappoint. Lighting a torch of sorts for the French gold-medal hopes, Wembanyama had 19 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots, and France opened its run at the Paris Olympics by beating Brazil 78-66 in a Group B game on Saturday before a sold-out crowd of flag-waving, song-singing, wave-doing fans. “You can’t underestimate the power of the crowd, the home crowd,” Wembanyama said. “I think it’s really going to be the sixth man for this tournament.” Did he consider this an opening ceremony? “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Wembanyama said. “It was way better.” Wembanyama — the NBA’s rookie of the year for the Spurs last season — and his teammates skipped the opening ceremony in Paris on Friday night to rest for their Saturday game. Lille is about an hour from Paris each way by train.

First lady looks ahead to LA Games

First lady Jill Biden praised Paris’ “spectacular” Olympics opening ceremony and looked ahead Saturday to how the U.S. can similarly dazzle audiences when the Games are held in Los Angeles in four years. One word: Hollywood. Leading the U.S. presidential delegation to the Olympics, Biden snapped photos at the ceremony along the Seine River on Friday night after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte. The show’s pizzazz wowed despite heavy rain that drenched the athletes parading on boats down the Seine and the crowds gathered on the river’s banks and bridges to cheer them on. But Biden made it clear that “the rain did not dampen our spirits.” Speaking at a reception at the U.S. ambassador to France’s official residence, she mused on how the U.S. could top the show in 2028. “OK, so Paris has the Eiffel Tower, but we have Hollywood, right? And the magic of Hollywood that makes all dreams come true. So I think we’re gonna be OK,” she said. Biden traveled to Paris with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, whose city will host the Games for a third time. —AP