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The Octopus in the Catbird Seat

11:50 AM EST on January 21, 2022

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By Giri Nathan

[vc_empty_space height="15px"]Sometimes your match gets rained out. Sometimes you pull a hamstring. Sometimes the best player ever gets deported from the country right before the Australian Open. Every competitive athlete knows their fate is linked to these cosmic dice rolls. For the remainder of the men’s draw, Novak Djokovic’s departure on a Sunday-night flight to Dubai was a boon to their own tennis fortunes. Salvatore Caruso, who filled Djokovic’s vacant slot in the draw, accurately joked that he was now the “most famous lucky loser in the world,” and collected a six-figure check after his first-round loss.