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    • The severity of Novak Djokovic's back injury is dependent on how you frame his recovery timetable. If you say he's out four weeks, that sounds serious. If you say he's going to take some time to rest before finishing up his season at the year-end events in Paris and London, it's not as bad.

      Whichever way you look at it, the world No. 1 is battling an injury. He says he's been dealing with it since before the U.S. Open but exacerbated it during a Davis Cup match this last weekend:

      "[The injury is] not as serious as we have thought," Djokovic told reporters Monday. "It's a partial rupture of a back muscle that deserves rest."

      He said he may have to miss events in China next month but sounded prepared to play in the final Masters 1000 event of the year at the beginning of November in Paris, if not before.

      "I hope I will recover by then," Djokovic said. "Anyway, I won't risk the worsening of the injury and that's why it is hard to predict for how long I will rest."

      No need for Djokovic to

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    • djokovic crying

      Novak Djokovic couldn't go on and, now, neither will Serbia.

      The world No. 1 retired early in his Davis Cup match Sunday against Juan Martin Del Potro with the same back injury that affected him during the U.S. Open. Djokovic's retirement gave Argentina an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the nation's Davis Cup semifinal. Serbia was the defending champion in the event.

      Djokovic cried in the arms of his teammates after making the decision. "I feel disappointed to end this tie this way," he told reporters. "My condition was 60 percent of what I had expected."

      It was the Davis Cup win last year that ignited Djokovic's historic 2011. He said Sunday that his back was hurting before the U.S. Open and particularly affected him during the final. Djokovic pulled out of his first singles tie on Friday but tried to go on Sunday to even the tie and force a fifth and deciding final match.

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    • nadal davis cup 11And you thought you had a long week.

      Four days after losing a marathon final at the U.S. Open, Rafael Nadal dominated Richard Gasquet in the opening match of the Spain vs. France Davis Cup tie in Cordoba. Nadal defeated the 15th-ranked Frenchman, 6-3, 6-0, 6-1. So much for the fatigue factor.

      Halfway across the world, Roger Federer needed four sets to defeat Lleyton Hewitt in a Davis Cup playoff in Australia. (The winner of the Switzerland-Australia tie will be in the Davis Cup main draw next year.) The former No. 1s met on what Federer called an "old school" grass court. Federer had arrived in Sydney on Wednesday, days after his grueling semifinal loss in New York to Novak Djokovic.

      Speaking of Djokovic, he pulled out of Friday's match in Serbia's Davis Cup tie against Argnetina, citing back pain. The reigning U.S. Open champion did the same thing last year following his run to the finals of New York and it worked well: Serbia won its semifinal and advanced to the final where, led by

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    • Eva Asderaki was correct to call hindrance on Serena Williams during the 2011 U.S. Open final. We can't help but wonder; if yelling "come on" during the middle of the point is labeled as a distraction, why doesn't grunting fall under the same rule?

      Listen to how long Maria Sharapova's grunts last during this point of her first-round U.S. Open match against Heather Watson:

      Sharapova's grunt off her serve goes on as Watson hits her return. There were other points during the match where her shrieks did the same thing.

      Now listen to Serena's "come on." It ends earlier in her opponent's backswing than Sharapova's grunt:

      The argument is that grunting, because of its consistent, repeated sound, is like ambient noise. Yelling carelessly in the middle of a point is a distraction and, thus, more disruptive. It's the same concept that allows Roy Halladay to throw a fastball over a 1/4-inch section of the plate while 44,000 people scream at the top of their lungs but Tiger Woods can't hit a golf

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    • Novak Djokovic made a stop at "LIVE! With Regis and Kelly" during his whirlwind post-U.S. Open tour and we just stumbled across the video this morning. Watch for Regis' awkward handling of the U.S. Open trophy, stay for Kelly Ripa dancing with the world's greatest player:

      1. Regis Philbin is a big tennis fan, so his stumbling over the pronunciation of "Djokovic" was likely more of the "I know how to pronounce this and want to make sure I do it correctly" rather than the "I have no idea, let's just throw some hard consonant sounds together."

      2. Watch out Mark Consuelos; I think Kelly has herself a little Djoko-crush. (Watch the unnecessary back-rubbing at the 6:16 mark.)

      3. Djokovic looks worried when Regis moves the U.S. Open trophy. I know the look in his eye; I get it every time I let my klutzy friend use my iPhone.

      4. At the 3:52 mark, Regis asks a more interesting question of Djokovic than anything he got at Monday's press conference. This is the stuff I want to know about, not

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