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- 🎾 Rafa sets sights on retirement
🎾 Rafa sets sights on retirement
Plus, Socceroos keep World Cup hopes alive
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Good evening!
Happy Friday! No doubt you have already heard the news that Rafael Nadal, one-third of men’s tennis ‘Big Three’, will be retiring after the Davis Cup in November.
While Djokovic is still standing (and playing amazing tennis), and Nadal hasn’t been at his best since last winning the French Open in 2022, it’s certainly the end of an era. His final Davis Cup will no doubt be an emotional one for him and millions of onlookers worldwide. Vamos!
I’ve got 10 seconds
Stat of the day
142%
The increase in WNBA playoffs viewership year-on-year, according to Nielsen ratings. The first 17 playoff games before the beginning of the WNBA finals today had an average viewership of 970,000 people. In Game 1 today, the Minnesota Lynx beat the New York Liberty 95-93. Australian Opals coach Sandy Brondello is coaching the Lynx while Opals player Alanna Smith is playing for the Lynx.
Alanna Smith with teammate Courtney Williams (Getty)
Quote of the day
"It is a very special day and match for us. Our thoughts are with George [Baldock]. But we are professionals and had to play the match. We gave our soul for him tonight. Today is not a day to talk about football."
Greek football player Vangelis Pavlidis after Greece beat England for the first time. The Greek players wore black armbands during the 2-1 UEFA Nations League victory to honour former player George Baldock who died aged 31 earlier this week.
Vangelis Pavlidis (left) scored both of Greece’s goals (Getty)
Random fact of the day
The record for the most backflips in 24 hours is 1001 and is held by Austrian Nico Scheicher. He completed the feat in May 2019.
I’ve got 30 seconds
In case you missed it…
🏉 In the AFLW, Port Adelaide moved themselves into the top eight after beating Collingwood 33-25. Ruck Matilda Scholz and forward Gemma Houghton starred for Port. Scholz took a mark that some have described as the greatest mark in AFLW history while Houghton kicked a goal from the pocket which will be a strong contender for goal of the year. Collingwood has won just one of its eight matches this year and sits in 17th.
⚽ Tom Sermanni, the Matildas interim coach, has named the squad which will prepare to face Switzerland and Germany later this month. The squad includes Daniela Gaelic who has received the call-up for the first time. Sam Kerr is still recovering from a torn ACL and will not be fit to play in the upcoming matches.
🏏 The English men’s test cricket side has recorded their highest-scoring innings since 1938 with a record knock of 823 runs for seven wickets against Pakistan. Harry Brook and Joe Root starred for the English with respective scores of 317 and 262. Pakistan starts the final day with 115 runs to get and six wickets in hand. Root, whose score of 262 is his best-ever, has had a momentous week after he became England’s leading Test-run scorer on day three.
Joe Root (left) and Harry Brook (right) leave the field with their bats aloft (Getty)
🏉 Australia’s women’s rugby union team, the Wallaroos, will have a chance to boost their world ranking from seventh to fifth when they take on Scotland in the third and final round of WXV 2 this weekend. Australia and Scotland are the only two unbeaten teams in the competition and will battle it out for the 2024 WXV 2 title. The Wallaroos most recent match against Scotland was in 2022 where they won 14-12. Kick-off is on Sunday at 1:50am (AEDT).
Flanker Ashley Marsters, who will become the Wallaroos most-capped player this weekend, makes a break against Scotland in 2022 (Getty)
I’ve got 1 minute
Craig Goodwin prepares to launch the ball from outside the box (Getty)
Socceroos beat China to keep World Cup qualification hopes alive
The Socceroos have started their new era under coach Tony Popovic with a 3-1 win over China to keep their hopes of World Cup qualification alive.
What happened?
Popovic made five changes to the starting side which drew 0-0 with Indonesia last month. The Socceroos began the match with the more ‘dynamic’ style of play that Popovic had promised but were left reeling when China’s Xie Wenneng opened the scoring with a counter-attacking goal in the 20th minute. Australia’s Lewis Miller then headed the ball into goal to equalise just before half-time. The Aussies came out firing in the second half with a stunning goal from Craig Goodwin and sealed the victory with a goal from debutant Nishan Velupillay in stoppage time.
What’s next?
The Socceroos will now look to next Tuesday when they face Group C leaders Japan in Saitama. Japan have won all three of their third-round qualifying matches, most recently beating Saudi Arabia 2-0. Currently sitting in second, the Socceroos must finish in the top two in Group C to gain automatic qualification to the World Cup.
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I’ve got 2 minutes
Nadal at the 2015 French Open (Getty)
Rafael Nadal will retire from tennis after the Davis Cup in November
The ‘King of Clay’, Rafael Nadal has announced he will retire from professional tennis following the Davis Cup next month. The 38-year-old has had a stellar career but limited opportunities to perform at his best in recent seasons due to injury.
What happened
Nadal announced his retirement via a video posted on social media overnight. He will leave tennis following the Davis Cup finals where he will represent Spain as a player for the last time. It will be a full circle moment for Nadal who said “one of my first joys was the final in Sevilla in 2004."
Career
Nadal won 22 Grand Slams across all four major tournaments between 2005 and 2022. The Spaniard also won two Olympic gold medals and four Davis Cup titles. He had the most success at the French Open, winning a staggering 14 titles and earning a win-loss record of 112-4.
A major part of Nadal’s career was defined by his on-court relationship with his two greatest rivals and fellow members of ‘the Big Three’, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The trio have won a combined 66 grand slams. Nadal ended Federer’s five-year winning streak at Wimbledon in the 2008 final, regarded as one of the greatest matches of all time. He pushed Djokovic to new heights in the 2012 Australian Open final, eventually losing in a historic 5-hour and 53-minute battle.
Nadal’s tenacious playing style and his ability to come back from serious injury will remain at the forefront of his legacy and an inspiration to players and fans for decades to come. Nadal’s final French Open victory in 2022 was won with a serious foot injury.
What they said
In a video on social media, Nadal said: "But, in this life, everything has a beginning and an end, and I think it's an appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined."
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup will be played from 19 November to 24 November. There are eight countries in the finals, including Australia who finished as runners-up in 2023.
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Looking back…
NBL (Men’s Australian basketball)Who: Cairns Taipans v Result: The Wildcats won 90-87 | Women’s T20 World CupWho: Bangladesh v West Indies |
Looking forward…(All times are AEST)
NBL (Men’s Australian basketball)Friday: Saturday: Sunday: Melbourne United v Adelaide 36ers at 4:30pm* Where to watch: ESPN, | Women’s T20 World CupSaturday: New Zealand v Sri Lanka at 9:00pm Sunday: England v Scotland at 9:00pm Monday: Where to watch: Amazon Prime |
AFLWFriday: Saturday: Brisbane v Gold Coast at 5:05pm Fremantle v Carlton at 7:15pm* Sunday: North Melbourne v Sydney at 1:05pm* St Kilda v Melbourne at 3:05pm* Giants v Adelaide at 5:05pm Where to watch: Foxtel, Kayo, Channel 7* | America’s Cup (Final)Who: Great Britain v New Zealand When: Saturday at 11:00pm Where to watch: Kayo |
Supercars |