Good evening!

Last November it was announced that the Sydney Marathon would become one of seven World Marathon Majors.

That announcement has certainly sparked the interest of plenty of runners from around the world. 79,000 applications were submitted to the ballot for 35,000 available positions. The applications came from 156 different countries. Remarkably, there were only 5,306 entries in 2022.

If you love jumping on a bandwagon, I reckon this one might be pretty good in the years to come (as a runner or spectator).

P.S. There’s plenty of exciting tennis on as this email goes out, including a thrilling back and forth between men’s number one Jannik Sinner and Denmark’s Holger Rune.

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Stat of the day

5
How many consecutive matches the Melbourne Stars have won in the Big Bash League. In the last match of the regular season last night, the Stars beat league leaders the Hobart Hurricanes at the MCG by 40 runs. Glenn Maxwell scored 76 runs off 32 balls and was named the Player of the Match. Having earned their spot in the finals, the Stars will play the Sydney Thunder in the Knockout on Wednesday. 

Quote of the day

"I played Michelsen twice. One went his way, one went mine. Two different matches. One on clay, one on hard, so. He's been playing really well. He's a dangerous opponent with a lot of confidence right now, and he's taken some big scalps this week, so I'm ready for a battle.”
Alex de Minaur, Australia’s only remaining singles player at the Australian Open, speaking over the weekend about his fourth-round opponent Alex Michelsen. The 20-year-old American is enjoying his deepest run at a grand slam after beating 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the opening round and 19th seed Karen Khachanov in the third round. Eighth-seeded De Minaur will take on Michelsen in the last match on Rod Laver tonight for a place in the quarter-finals. 

Random fact of the day

The winners of the men’s and women’s singles at the Australian Open do not get to keep the original trophies, but receive a full-size replica. The men’s trophy is called the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup and the women’s is called The Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. The trophies, first awarded in 1934, are made of sterling silver and named after successful Australian tennis players from the 20th century.

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In case you missed it…

🚴‍♂️ Swiss cyclist Noemi Ruegg claimed the overall victory in the women’s Tour Down Under yesterday. Ruegg, who finished seventh in the road race at the 2024 Paris Olympics, said after her victory: "It's the thing I struggle with, my own confidence, but after these days it would be stupid not to believe in myself now". The six-stage men’s Tour Down Under begins tomorrow in South Australia. 

🏏 The T20 component of the women’s Ashes cricket series between Australia and England will begin tonight at the SCG. Australia are leading the series 6-0 after winning all three One-Day matches earlier this month. To win the Ashes, England will need to win all three T20s (2 points each) and the day-night Test match (4 points) which will mark the finale of the series. A win tonight will ensure Australia retains the women’s Ashes.

⛵ Australia won the second round of the 2024/25 SailGP with a dominant victory in Auckland yesterday. After a fifth-place result in the opening round of the season, the Australian crew led by skipper Tom Slingsby are now one point away from New Zealand and Great Britain. SailGP’s third event of the season will take place on Sydney Harbour in February.  

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Eagles and Bills join Chiefs and Commanders in NFL Conference Championships

The Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills both secured wins in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs today to advance to next week’s conference championships.

Eagles and Bills progress

In snowy conditions in Philadelphia, the Eagles beat the Los Angeles Rams 28-22. Saquon Barkley starred for the Eagles with two touchdowns. The 27-year-old running back ran from 62 and 78 yards through the snow to score.

After the Eagles secured their spot in the NFC title game, the Buffalo Bills prevailed over the visiting Baltimore Ravens 27-25 in similarly cold conditions.

Who will they be joining?

Over the weekend, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Washington Commanders won their respective matches to claim their places in the final four. The Chiefs beat the Houston Texans 23-14 and will play the Bills in the AFC Championship.

In a massive upset, the Commanders beat the top-seeded Detroit Lions 45-31 to advance to the NFC Championship, where they will be hosted by the Eagles. The Commanders are playing in their first NFC Championship since the 1991 season.

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Channel Nine commentator apologises to Novak Djokovic following interview boycott

Channel Nine sports journalist Tony Jones has apologised to Novak Djokovic, saying he “overstepped the mark” during a live broadcast last Friday.

Jones’ apology comes after the Serbian tennis star boycotted a traditional on-court interview with the network following his fourth round victory last night.

Context

Last Friday, while speaking to Nine from the Open, Jones turned to Djokovic fans who were waving Serbian flags and chanting. Jones sang along with his own improvised lyrics.

Jones said: “Novak, he’s over-rated, Novak’s a has-been, Novak, kick him out.”

The last comment has been widely interpreted as referring to the 2022 Australian Open, when Djokovic’s visa was cancelled because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Following a straight-sets victory over Czechia’s Jiří Lehečka last night, Djokovic responded to Jones’ comments by boycotting the traditional on-court interview with Nine commentator Jim Courier.

At a post-match press conference, Djokovic said Jones had “made a mockery of Serbian fans” and had insulted him. He said because Jones and Nine had not made public apologies, he would not give interviews to the network.

Jones’ apology

Jones appeared on the Today Show this morning to apologise.

He said he had been in touch with Djokovic’s team to apologise on Saturday morning when he was informed his comments, which he intended as “banter” or “humour”, had offended the player.

Jones added: “I stand by that apology to Novak, if he felt any disrespect, which quite clearly he does... I do feel as though I’ve let down the Serbian fans.”

What’s next?

In a post to Facebook, the Serbian Council of Australia announced it had filed a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission over Jones’ comments.

“For Australian-Serbs, the words ‘kick him out’ is akin to saying ‘kick the Serbs out of Australia’ because there is strong evidence of feelings of exclusion due to media reporting about Australian-Serbs in the past,” the Council said.

Djokovic is set to play Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals tomorrow.

A message from Deakin University

Life beyond the field – turn your love of sport into a career!

A fresh year tends to provoke some questions around what you really want to do. Whether you're itching to work with the pros or want to make a difference behind the scenes, Deakin’s School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences has the tools to help you get there.

Choose from a range of subjects including coaching, anatomy, nutrition, psychology and access Deakin’s world-class facilities (like their MCG-sized AFL oval, clinical exercise centre and climate chamber and more).

Looking back…

Looking forward… (All times are AEDT)

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