MADRID (AP) — Novak Djokovic, winner of a record 24 Grand Slam titles, says he can feel the changes taking place in tennis.

People have started to accept, he says, that there is no more Roger Federer, no more Rafael Nadal and — soon — no more Djokovic.

“You can feel there’s a shift,” the 37-year-old said ahead of his opening match at this year’s Madrid Open, where he will try to win a milestone 100th tour-level title.

“Not only in terms of the generations of players (who now have) the main focus and attention. But I guess it takes a little bit of time for people to accept the fact that Roger and Rafa are not playing, and (Andy) Murray, and I guess one day myself.”

Djokovic said he has been trying his best to “represent the older guys, the older generation,” and bring a “positive effect to the tournaments and to the tour itself.”

“That’s also one of the reasons why I keep on playing,” he said. “Because I feel like it also helps tennis still thrive on the attention and crowd coming in, and watching tournaments and getting interested.”

Djokovic noted the “record-breaking” numbers in attendance at the Grand Slams and some ATP 1000 tournaments like Indian Wells.

“(It’s) good news that it shouldn’t be dependent on the big stars or legends of the game that retired,” he said. “The sport should outlive everyone, the sport will outlive everyone, and the sport is more important than anybody individually. So we are all here in the service of a sport as well.

“This is something to keep in mind, that when you play and all the things that you’re doing outside of the court as a top player, you are trying to contribute to the popularity of the tennis, to bring more people, bring young children and people to tennis, and get interested and excited about tennis. I see (it) happening, but we still have big steps to make in that regard.”

Djokovic noted that he was older than some of the current youngsters — such as Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz, 21, — when he began dominating on tour.

“Between, let’s say, 23 and 33 is when it was really happening. And now Carlos is still not 23,” Djokovic said. “We have to remember that his age and what he has done for his age is not also normal. I’m sure that we’ll see a lot of him on the big stage with trophies in the future in, whatever, 10 years, 15 years, as long as he’s playing.”

Alcaraz withdrew from his home tournament because of muscle injuries. He had been in the same half of the draw as Djokovic.

Djokovic, a three-time champion in Madrid, hasn’t played in the Spanish capital since losing to Alcaraz in the 2022 semifinals. He is set to play Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi on Saturday.

Djokovic is seeking his first title of the season after losing in his opening matches both in Monte Carlo and Indian Wells. He reached the final in Miami, losing in straight sets to Jakub Mensik.

Djokovic won his 99th title last August at the Paris Olympics. He has lost four finals since then. The only two players to reach the 100-title milestone were Jimmy Connors (109) and Federer (103).

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

VATICAN CITY (AP) — In the streets around the Vatican, where Pope Francis used to make impromptu outings, some of the shopkeepers are mourning the man they knew, not as the leader of a church or head of state, but as an ordinary person. They prayed for him while he was hospitalized, and now they miss him dearly.

“He had been our regular customer for more than seven years,” said Sebastian Padrón, an Argentine ice cream maker whose store is located around the corner from Francis’ austere hotel room in Vatican City. He recalled how close he and his family felt to Francis, who often gave gifts to his children.

“The memory is wonderful, which is why it hurts so much,” he told The Associated Press on Thursday. Francis had a notorious sweet tooth, and Padrón’s dulce de leche ice cream, a typical Argentine caramel dessert, became the pope’s favorite.

When Francis became pope in 2013, he opted to live in the Domus Santa Marta hotel rather than the lavish papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace, overlooking St. Peter’s Square. The choice spoke to his aversion to luxury, and an eagerness to mix with the masses. He moved around Rome in an ordinary hatchback and popped into stores to buy shoe insoles, change eyeglass lenses and buy recordings of classical music and tango from his native Argentina. He had lamented his inability to walk about freely as he did in Buenos Aires.

“I met a man who was full of smiles, very friendly,” said Raniero Mancinelli, a Roman tailor who sold the basic pectoral cross that Francis wore for decades. Mancinelli, who was tailor to the last three popes, said that, unlike his predecessors, Francis wanted everything to be simple, practical and inexpensive.

Mancinelli said he sold Francis a cardinal’s sash before the conclave that eventually elected him pope. He recalled Francis’ words upon learning the price of the garment:

“Raniero, you’re a bit of a thief, you’re a bit expensive.” The rest of his scarlet cardinal’s outfit, Francis regularly said, was a hand-me-down from his predecessor as archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Francis caused havoc among tourists and Romans several times when he showed up at an optician’s shop in Rome’s historic center.

Luca Spiezia, who owns the store with his father, remembered his surprise at the pope introducing himself simply as “Francesco” when they met in 2015. Offered a new pair of glasses, Francis declined, asking only for new lenses in his old frames and insisting on paying for the work.

“He never made you feel that he was a powerful figure in the world, even though he was the head of the church,” Spiezia said. “I hope that this will be continuing with the next pope.”

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Thousands of people are gathering in New Mexico for a celebration showcasing Native American and Indigenous dancers, musicians and artisans from around the world.

Billed by organizers as the largest powwow in North America, the annual Gathering of Nations festival kicks off Friday with a colorful procession of dancers spiraling into the center of an arena at the New Mexico state fairgrounds. Participants wear elaborate regalia adorned with jingling bells and dance to the tempo of rhythmic drumming.

The event also features the crowning of Miss Indian World, as well as horse parades in which riders are judged on the craftsmanship of their intricately beaded adornments or feathered headdresses and how well they work with their horses.

Powwow roots

Powwows are a relatively modern phenomenon that emerged in the 1800s as the U.S. government seized land from tribes throughout the Northern and Southern Plains. Forced migrations and upheaval during this period resulted in intertribal solidarity among Plains people and those from the southern prairies of Canada.

Alliances were formed, giving way to the exchange of songs and dances during gatherings between different tribes. In the decades that followed, powwows were advertised to pioneers heading westward as “authentic” Native American dance shows. For some, it was an exploitation of their cultures.

The word powwow was derived from pau wau, an Algonquian Narrtick word for “medicine man,” according to the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Scholars say English settlers misused the word to refer to the meetings of medicine men and later to any kind of Native American gathering.

Today, some of the large powwows like the Gathering of Nations have become more commercialized events that use dancing and drumming competitions with big prize money to provide a glimpse into Indigenous cultures.

Reconnecting with culture

At ceremonial dances, participants wear traditional regalia specific to their tribe, whereas powwow attire often is more contemporary and flashy with sequins and sparkles. It’s about dressing to impress the judges, said Warren Queton, a Kiowa Tribe legislator and adjunct instructor at the University of Oklahoma who has participated in community dancing and cultural events since he was a boy.

Queton, who served as the head gourd dancer at the university’s recent spring powwow, said ceremonial dances are deeply rooted in community, identity and cultural values.

It’s a struggle to keep traditional cultural practices and commercial powwows from being lumped into the same category, he said. They have very different meanings in Native American and Indigenous cultures.

There has been a focus on promoting smaller powwows held in tribal communities. Queton said these gatherings serve as a way for people who live elsewhere to return home and reconnect with their families and the land, and to share traditions with younger generations.

“Knowing where you come from, your land, your oral traditions, your language, but also values and traits — that can only be learned from a community,” he said. “That’s why those smaller dances are so important because people learn those community values. They’re all a part of our identity.”

Capturing good energy

There still are elements of tradition woven in to modern powwows. Competitors wear feathered bustles, buckskin dresses, fringed shawls and beaded head and hair pieces. Some of the elaborate outfits are hand-stitched designs that can take months to complete.

The sounds, movements and emotions that radiate from the dancing are challenging to capture on canvas. But Cochiti Pueblo painter Mateo Romero did just that when he partnered with the U.S. Postal Service to create a series of powwow stamps to be unveiled Friday during Gathering of Nations.

Powerfully hypnotic, atavistic and somatic is how the artist describes the dancing. One of his pieces depicts what is known as a fancy shawl dance with its dips, pivots, hops and twirls. Each tassel on the shawl flows and flips, accentuating the dancer’s movements.

Romero said he used color, thick and thin paint and soft and hard edges along with photographic elements to create something that feels alive, embedded with feeling and bright pops of color.

Romero called it a huge honor to transform powwow culture into a postage stamp filled with “good energy.”

“I look at it as a sort of vehicle to express this sentiment, the energy, the celebration, the vibration, the beauty of it,” he said. “It’s the power of it.”