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đž Alcaraz goes back-to-back
It's Monday evening. Here's the sport news you need to know.
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Good evening!
It has been another huge weekend of sport, and we are now only 11 days away from the start of the Olympics!
Hereâs a cheesy joke to get you excited.
Why is basketball the messiest Olympic sport?
Answer is at the bottom of the 2 minute section.


Iâve got 10 seconds
Stat of the day
5:19.70
The time Jessica Hull ran to break the 2000m world record at a Diamond League event in Monaco over the weekend. The 2000m is not included in the Olympics schedule, however Hull is now touted as one of the medal favourites for the womenâs 1500m at Paris. No Australian has ever won an Olympic medal in the event.
Quote of the day
"It sucks not to hold the trophy, but if you'd told me I would come second at the start of the week, I would've been happy.â
Aussie golfer Steph Kyriacou after falling one shot short of her first major title at the Evian Open in France over the weekend. Kyriacou was beaten by Japanâs Ayaka Furue who sunk an eagle (two shots below par) on the last hole to steal the lead.

Kyriacou (Getty Images)
Random fact of the day
The second tallest man alive is also a Paralympian. Morteza Mehrzadselakjani is the star of Iranâs floor volleyball team and stands an astonishing 246cm tall.

Morteza Mehrzadselakjani competing in Tokyo (AFP Photo)

Iâve got 30 seconds
In case you missed itâŚ
â˝ Spain won a record fourth Euros title this morning beating England 2-1 in Berlin, Germany. Mikel Oyarzabal scored an 85th-minute goal to seal victory for Spain. It is the second successive Euros final which England has played and lost.

Oyarzabal etches his name into history with a late winner (AP)
âž Travis Bazzana has become the first Australian to be picked first in the Major League Baseball draft. Bazzana, who is also the first-ever Aussie to be picked in the first round, was selected by the Cleveland Guardians. The 21-year-old played college baseball at Oregon State with the Beavers.

Travis Bazzana (Getty Images)
đ´ââď¸ Slovenian cyclist Tadej PogaÄar has extended his lead in the Tour de France (TDF) to over three minutes over rival and two-time TDF champion Jonas Vingegaard. As the tour crossed the Pyrenees mountains on stages 14 and 15 over the weekend, PogaÄar was able to break away from Vingegaard and win both stages. Following a rest day today, the Tour will resume tomorrow evening with six stages remaining. You can read more about how the Tour de France works here.
đ´ââď¸ Cyclist Elisa Longo Borghini won the Giro dâItalia Women on Sunday. She is the first Italian woman to win the prestigious cycling tour of Italy since Fabiana Luperini in 2008. Borghini won a time trial on Stage One and retained her lead in the general classification throughout the race until the eighth and final stage.

Longo Borghini wearing the Giroâs race leader jersey, the maglia rosa (Getty Images)
â˝ Argentina won a record 16th Copa AmĂŠrica, Americaâs continental football tournament, defeating Columbia 1-0 in extra time today. It is the third major tournament Argentinaâs menâs team has won in a row after winning the 2021 Copa and the 2022 World Cup. The start of the match was delayed for over an hour due to fans without tickets rushing through the stadium gates.
đ The Adelaide Thunderbirds won the Super Netball minor premiership after beating the Sunshine Coast Lightning 64-62. Four teams, the Thunderbirds, Vixens, Fever, and Lightning, now advance to a major and minor semi-final. The winner of the major semi-final, between the Thunderbirds and Vixens, will lock in a grand-final spot while the winner of the minor semi-final, between the Fever and Lightning, will face the loser of the major semi-final in a preliminary final and the loser will be eliminated.

Iâve got 1 minute

Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz and runner-up Novak Djokovic (Getty Images)
Hereâs what happened on the final weekend at Wimbledon.
Alcaraz goes back-to-back
21-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic in the final at Wimbledon for the second year in a row on Sunday. Alcaraz was dominant, beating seven-time Wimbledon champ Djokovic in straight sets (6-2, 6-2, 7-6) and securing his fourth grand slam title.
Alcaraz joins a small number of menâs singles champions as the sixth player to achieve the elusive âChannel Slamâ by winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back in the same year.
While Djokovic missed an opportunity to win a record 25th grand slam title, it was remarkable the 37-year-old made the final at all, considering he had knee surgery after the French Open last month.
KrejÄĂkovĂĄ wins her second slam
Barbora KrejÄĂkovĂĄ added to her French Open victory in 2021, defeating Italian Jasmine Paolini in three sets (6-2, 2-6, 6-4) and winning her second grand slam singles title.
KrejÄĂkovĂĄ has also won ten grand slam doubles titles and an Olympic tennis doubles gold. She will head to the Olympics in Paris later this month to compete in the singles and doubles.
It was Paoliniâs second straight grand slam final appearance after she lost in the French Open final to Iga ĹwiÄ tek last month.

KrejÄĂkovĂĄ blows a kiss skyward (Shutterstock)
Purcell and Thompson lose doubles final
Australian pairing Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson failed to capitalise on three championship points to win the menâs doubles final at Wimbledon on Sunday. The duo lost to Britainâs Henry Patten and Finlandâs Harri HeliĂśvaara in three sets (6-7, 7-6, 7-6).

Thompson (left) and Purcell (right) following their loss (Getty Images)

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Iâve got 2 minutes

Mary Fowler and Sharn Freier (Football Australia)
The Matildas were defeated by reigning Olympic champions Canada (2-1) in an international friendly yesterday as part of their preparation for the Paris Olympics later this month.
Alongside the scoreline was the concerning news that Caitlin Foord, one of the Matildas star forwards, had to sit the game out. Foord joins Steph Catley, Kaitlyn Torpey and Tameka Yallop in the group of Matildas under an injury cloud leading up to the Olympics. Sam Kerr was ruled out of the Olympics after she injured her ACL in January.
The match
The Matildas opened the scoring in the 24th minute courtesy of Sharn Freier. Freier is one of four alternates for Paris and took to the field against Canada in Foordâs place. Canada equalised just before half-time after Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold fumbled a cross and Canadian striker Nichelle Prince was there to capitalise on the mistake.
Canada took the lead in the 85th minute when Evelyne Viens scored.
Freierâs goal was one of two shots at goal from the Matildas and the only one on target.
The match was a âBâ international, meaning any goals and appearances throughout are not added to official records.

The Matildas (Football Australia)
What they said
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said: âWe wanted to prepare to play with heavy legs, where itâs difficult to focus, you might not have the power in the runs. Weâre always an aggressive team that plays with high-octane energy. But in an Olympic tournament, when thereâs such a tight turnaround of games, you know youâre going to have to play with fatigue at times.â
Gustavsson also commented on the Matildas attack: âWe normally create a lot of chances when we play, and I donât think we did that tonight. We had some really good build-up sequences... but then that action of breaking that last line, weâre normally better at that.â
Olympics campaign
The twelfth-ranked Matildas are in Group B, a tough group featuring world number five United States, number four Germany, and number 64 Zambia. The bid to win Olympic gold in Paris will begin on 26 July at 3am (AEST), one day before the opening ceremony, when the Matildas play Germany.
Australia will not have a menâs football team at the Olympics after the Olyroos (Australiaâs menâs Olympic football team) failed to qualify.
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Answer to joke: Because the players dribble all over the court! (I know that made you smile.)

A message from our sponsor
Is it too late to become an Olympian?
Watching young sportspeople on TV can make you wonder if your Olympic dreams are fading. That voice in your head saying you might represent Australia one day is getting quieter. If youâd stuck with it in high school, you could be in Paris now!
Dr. Lyndell Bruce from Deakin's School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences has analysed the age limits for Olympians. Endurance athletes peak in their early-to-mid 30s, while gymnasts and divers peak in their teens or early 20s.
Research shows many Olympic athletes try several sports before specialising, and âtalent transfersââswitching sportsâcan be successful. For some Paralympians, the path to elite sport can be swift.
Talent scouts know there's no single path to becoming an elite athlete. Even you could still make the Australian team, though perhaps not for Paris.
Read more of Dr. Bruceâs research on the age of elite athletes and talent identification here.

Looking backâŚ
Scottish Open (menâs golf)Who: The worldâs best golfers Result: Robert MacIntyre won the tournament In brief: Scotlandâs Robert MacIntyre came back from three shots behind with five holes to go and sunk a 22-foot putt for birdie on the 18th to beat Aussie golfer Adam Scott by one shot. Scott was on the verge of breaking a 4-year drought between PGA wins. The Open, one of golfâs majors, begins on 18 July. | SailGP Season 4 ChampionshipWho: The worldâs best sailors Result: Spain won the Season 4 Championship title In brief: Spain upset favoured teams Australia and New Zealand in the final of the SailGP Championship on the San Francisco Bay in California, U.S. Australiaâs crew, who were seeking a fourth-straight Championship title, came undone in the final due to a technical malfunction with their hydrofoil. |
NRL (Sunday)Who: Sea Eagles v Knights Result: The Sea Eagles won 44-6 | AFL (Sunday)Who: West Coast v Brisbane Who: GWS Giants v Richmond Who: Gold Coast v Port Adelaide |
International Rugby (menâs)Who: Australia v Wales Who: New Zealand v England Who: South Africa v Ireland Who: Argentina v France | International Rugby (womenâs)Who: Australia (Wallaroos) v New Zealand (Black Ferns) Result: The Black Ferns won 62-0 |

Looking forwardâŚ(All times are AEST)
International basketball (menâs)Who: Australia (Boomers) v Team USA Time: 2:00am tomorrow Where to watch: Kayo, ESPN, NBA League Pass |

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