Good evening!

A tip of the hat to Central Coast Mariners captain Danny Vukovic, who announced his retirement from professional football after leading his team to a win in the A-League men’s grand final over the weekend.

The 39-year-old, who has also played for the Socceroos on four occasions, is set to transition to coaching and will remain at the Mariners.

After setting the record for the oldest player to ever play in an A-League Grand Final on the weekend, we agree he deserves to hang up the boots on a high.

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Quote of the day

“...I actually have the hips of a 60-year-old. I wanted one last chance at the Games but after six cortisone injections, I had to make a decision on my future”
22-year-old Australian Olympic swimmer Chelsea Hodges, announcing her retirement and withdrawal from the upcoming Paris Games because of ongoing medical issues. Hodges won gold as part of the 4x100 medley relay in Tokyo in 2021 and currently holds the national record for the 50m breaststroke.

Stat of the day

6
The number of players named in the NSW men’s State of Origin squad who have never played Origin before, and could make their debut in Game 1 on Wednesday 5 June. Dylan Edwards, Joseph Suaali’i, Zac Lomax, Cameron McInnes, Olakau’atu Haumole and Spencer Leniu have all been included in the squad for the first time. 

Random fact of the day

Table tennis balls can travel off the paddle at up to 112km/h.

I’ve got 1 minute

Australian tennis players have had a rough start to the French Open, with the four players in action on Day One of the Grand Slam failing to progress to the second round. Seven Australians remain in the tournament, with two playing tonight (AEST).

Men’s draw

In the men’s draw, Jordan Thompson lost in straight sets to German Maximilian Marterer. It was the fifth year in a row Thompson has lost his first-round match at the French Open. Aleksandar Vukic lost in four sets to China’s Zhang Zhizhen. After the match, he revealed that he almost withdrew from the tournament because of injury. Vukic will now have scans to determine whether he can play at Wimbledon, which starts in early July.

Meanwhile, fellow Australian Chris O’Connell withdrew from his match against Austrian Filip Misolic before the start of play because of injury.

Women’s draw

In the women’s draw, Alja Tomljanovic lost in three sets to Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska in what was her second full match in four months after a run of injuries.

There is only one Australian woman left in the single’s draw - Daria Saville, who will play 12th seed Jasmine Paolini tonight. Should Saville lose, it will be the first time Australia doesn’t have a woman in the second round of the tournament since 1997. 

Australians playing tonight

From 7:00pm - Matt Purcell (AUS) v Henri Squire (GER)

From 7:00pm - Daria Saville (AUS) v Jasmine Paolini (ITA)

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Charles Leclerc won his first Monaco Grand Prix (GP) on the weekend. The 26-year-old, representing Ferrari, is the first local driver to win the race since 1931. 

Starting from pole (first) position, Leclerc led the race from start to finish. The win was particularly special for Leclerc having previously started in pole position twice at his home GP without securing a victory. 

What Leclerc said:

After his win, Leclerc said: "No words can explain that. It's such a difficult race, I think the fact that twice I’ve been starting on pole position and we couldn’t quite make it makes it even better in a way. It means a lot, obviously.”

Leclerc also paid tribute to his late father, saying: “I have to say that I was thinking to my dad a lot more than what I thought while driving. Obviously, he’s given everything for me to be here, and it was a dream of ours for me to race here and to win."

Early race drama

The early stages of the race were marked by drama as three drivers — Sergio Perez of Team Red Bull, and Nico Hulkenburg and Kevin Magnussen of Team Haas — were involved in a severe collision during the first lap. This caused the race to briefly stop and all three drivers retired due to car damage.

How did the Aussies go?

Leclerc was joined on the podium by Australian Oscar Piastri and Spaniard Carlos Sainz. Piastri, representing McLaren, secured his first Grand Prix podium of the season and the third of his career with a second-place finish. It marked the best result for McLaren in Monaco since Lewis Hamilton won with the team in 2008. Piastri is currently sixth on the Driver Standings. 

Among the Australian contingent, Daniel Riccardo, driving for the RB F1 team (Red Bull’s second team), finished 12th in Monaco. He is currently 14th (out of 20) on the Driver Standings. 

What’s next?

The next stop for F1 is Montreal for the ninth race of the season, the Canadian Grand Prix. The event will take place from 7-9 June. 

You can stream the F1 on Kayo. 

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