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NEW YORK -- Its a strange thing to say about a man who was playing for his third Grand Slam title of the year, but top-ranked Novak Djokovics season has gone sideways since he won his first French Open in the beginning of June. The mystery of what exactly has happened to the Serbian star just keeps getting more curious.In the space of two months, Djokovic has gone from being the surest bet to win Grand Slam tournaments the past two years to an enigma who crashed out of the third round at Wimbledon in July and bombed out of the Rio Olympics in August with an opening-round loss to Juan Martin del Potro that left the world No. 1 weeping as he walked off the court.Then he seemed oddly subdued for long stretches Sunday during his four-set loss to Stan Wawrinka in the final of the US Open. And the crowd sensed it, too. It began chanting Djokvoics name without prompting a handful of times, imploring him to rage back into this match.You know, in matches like this, if you dont use the opportunities, the other guy comes and takes it, Djokovic said.Djokovic knows thats particularly true of Wawrinka, who has won 11 straight finals he has played. The other day, Djokovic didnt dispute an Italian reporters teasing contention that You are responsible for creating the Stanimal, a reference to their fourth-round 2013 Australian Open match in which Djokovic won the deciding set 12-10. The match gave Wawrinka the belief he could actually beat the worlds best.You couldnt blame Djokovic if he had flashbacks to that day or his 2015 French Open final loss to Wawrinka every time the Swiss hit a rope down the alleys.But even if you countenance the idea Wawrinka, who has now beaten Djokovic along the way to all three of his career Slam titles since 2014, has somehow crawled a little inside Djokovics head, that still doesnt fully explain Djokovics current fugue state.For whatever reason -- be it the unspecified personal problems he alluded to at Wimbledon or the more recent wrist and shoulder injuries -- Djokovic hasnt looked himself since June.He has somehow transformed from a chest-thumping man whose reputation for fighting, scratching and clawing his way to wins no matter how long it takes to a man who endured Wawrinkas 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 march to the title Sunday rather quietly.Along the way, Djokovic controversially resorted to the ploy of calling out a trainer twice in the final set. (It wasnt the first time he has been accused of bending the rules when struggling in a big match.)Wawrinka was about to serve at 3-1, up two sets to one, when Djokovic requested the first trainers visit not long after hed spent a changeover icing both of his thighs. But when the trainer arrived, Djokovic took off both shoes and treated everyone to some adventures in podiatry by requesting treatment on -- wait -- his feet?The toenails were off and bleeding, Djokovic explained. It was quite painful to move around. The toe just happened today.Wawrinka was caught on TV microphones during the first six-minute delay complaining to the chair umpire that Djokovic was trying to buy time because he was cramping -- something that a player cannot receive treatment for during a match.And Djokovic admitted in his news conference that he does know that rule.But he denied under repeated questioning that he did anything untoward as a last-ditch ploy to win. And Wawrinka, who was only just three games from victory by then anyway, refused after the match to criticize his longtime friend and sometime practice partner for requesting the trainers visits.For me, I just asked the umpire because he asked [for] the physio when he was serving, and we played maybe seven more points, Wawrinka said. If your opponent is struggling, if he has blood coming out [of his toes], you have to stop.As it turned out, neither pause had much impact on the match. Long before his feet began to trouble him, Djokovics biggest problem Sunday -- besides the bombs Wawrinka was hitting down the lines again and again -- was he couldnt break Wawrinkas serve. And he didnt hurt Wawrinka much with his own.Djokovic is considered the best returner in tennis history. But against Wawrinka, he converted only three of the 17 opportunities.It was a terrible conversion of the break points -- just terrible, he said. I lost my nerves in very important moments today.And so Djokovic moves on down the road now lugging a personal record of 12-9 in Grand Slam finals with him. He had won four straight majors until his early-round loss at Wimbledon.A glass half-full person would rightly say its an extraordinary achievement the 29-year-old Djokovic has even made 21 major finals. But Sunday, Djokovic -- who fell to 2-for-7 in US Open title matches alone -- wasnt feeling that way just yet.Obviously, Grand Slam finals are different than any other match, [and] I have lost a few Grand Slam finals, some close matches, Djokovic said. Thats the cycle of life, I guess.Ryan Dull Jersey . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Mel Stottlemyre Yankees Jersey . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. https://www.cheapyankees.com/431g-cameron-maybin-jersey-yankees.html . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. Tommy Kahnle Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Wade Boggs Yankees Jersey . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St.This story is part of ESPN The Magazines Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!New Orleans PelicansOverall: 66 Title track: 107 Ownership: 86 Coaching: 91 Players: 101 Fan relations: 66 Affordability: 11 Stadium experience: 85 Bang for the buck: 41 Change from last year: -30It was all good just a year ago. The Pelicans jumped 41 spots in these rankings after their first winning season in the Anthony Davis era, and that 45-win season seemed to foretell great things for the team and its leading man. Alas, an encore with more starting lineups (42) than wins (30) pushed the Pels back to the bottom half.Whats goodEven after a 30-win season, the Pelicans rank in the top third of teams in bang for the buck, thanks to the leagues cheapest tickets. At just $30.20 on average, Pelicans tickets are $25 below the NBA average and a full $99 cheaper than the leagues most expensive ticket (the Knicks). Once youre in the door, you get to watch a superstar in the prime of his career. Although doubts have emerged after his left knee debridement in March made it four straight seasons with fewer than 70 regular-season games played, Davis is still only 23 years old and boasts a statistical profile befitting some of the very best in history.Whats badA season ravaged by injuries -- the Pelicans lost 351 games to injury or illness, second-most in tthe past decade -- forced the front office to undergo a major facelift this past summer.dddddddddddd While the likes of Solomon Hill and ETwaun Moore will provide much-needed versatility, particularly for the leagues 28th-ranked defense, the losses of Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon leave the supporting cast a bit light on star power and scoring punch. As a result, the Pels take a big hit here in players (down 52 spots to 101st) and title track (down 30 to 107, New Orleans worst showing).Whats newThe Benson familys courtroom drama, in which owner Tom Benson is trying to move control of a family trust to his wife, not his daughter, put a 32-point drag on the teams ownership score, which is now down to 86th overall and 23rd in the NBA. But if New Orleans can live up to its reputation as the countrys best party host with the 2017 All-Star Game -- relocated to New Orleans after the league moved it from Charlotte -- the Pelicans could bump that back up. Another fan favorite: The Pelicans are putting courtside seats normally reserved for media on sale to the public, offering fans the unique experience of hearing coach Alvin Gentrys colorful in-game monologues loud and clear.Next: Orlando Magic?| Full rankings ' ' '