Good evening!

The Australian Open is well and truly underway in Melbourne as the action continues on Day Two.

Perhaps the most intriguing result of the day so far has been 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas’s loss to 20-year-old American Alex Michelsen. Tsitsipas has now lost in the first round at two consecutive grand slams.

As for the Australians playing today: at the time of writing, Ajla Tomljanović, Talia Gibson, James Duckworth and James McCabe have all won their first-round matches. Among the Aussies in action this evening are rising star Maya Joint and one-time Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios.

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Stat of the day

38 years and 4 months
The age of French tennis player Gaël Monfils, who became the oldest-ever winner of an ATP singles title on Saturday. The former world number six beat Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in the final of the ASB Classic in Auckland, his 13th career title. Monfils will play fellow Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the opening round of the Australian Open tomorrow.

Quote of the day

"I actually have no words, I'm just stoked to be able to pull this off."
20-year-old Australian cyclist Lucinda Stewart following her victory in the Australian cycling national women’s road race. Stewart is the youngest to win the race since 18-year-old Sarah Gigante in 2019. In the men’s race, 33-year-old Luke Durbridge reclaimed the national title for the first time since his 2013 victory. 

Random fact of the day

Jaan Roose, a three-time world champion slackliner, made headlines over the weekend after footage emerged of him crossing a 100m slackline strung between two skyscrapers in Dubai. The slackline was 224m above the ground. He is also the first person to complete a double backflip on a slackline.

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In case you missed it…

🎾 Day one of the Australian Open saw four Australians eliminated from the men’s and women’s singles. In the women’s singles, Daria Saville lost to Anna Blinkova in three sets. In the men’s singles, it was an especially tough day for Adam Walton who led France’s Quentin Halys by two sets but ultimately lost the match in five. Meanwhile, wildcards Li Tu and Omar Jasika lost to 24th seed Jiri Lehecka and France’s Hugo Gaston, respectively. By the time today’s matches wrap up,  twelve Aussies will have been in action, including former world number 13 Nick Kyrgios.

🏈 The stage is set for the college football National Championship in Atlanta, after Ohio State defeated Texas 28-14 on Saturday. Ohio State will face Notre Dame in the title decider on 21 January (AEDT). 13-time winner Notre Dame is seeking to break a title drought extending back to 1988 and 8-time champion Ohio State will be hoping to return to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2014. 

🏀 The Cleveland Cavaliers' 12-game winning streak has come to an end at the hands of the Indiana Pacers. Andrew Nembhard, who led the Pacers’ scoring with 19 points, said of their opposition: "There was nothing to lose, this is the best team in the league right now". The Cavaliers still lead the Eastern Conference with 33 wins and five losses so far this season. The two teams will play each other again on Wednesday (AEDT).

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Aussies win first ODI of women’s Ashes series

Australia beat England by four wickets in the opening match of the women’s Ashes series. The series will feature three one-day cricket games, three games in the T20 format, and one day-night Test. Australia will be hoping to retain the Ashes for the tenth year in a row by either drawing or winning. The second match of the series will be played from 10:05am tomorrow in Melbourne.

What happened

England batted first and were bowled all out for 204 runs. Australian all-rounder Ash Gardner was named the Player of the Match for a performance that saw her take three English wickets and contribute to Australia’s run chase with an unbeaten 42 runs off 44 balls. Captain Alyssa Healy was also instrumental in her return from injury, scoring 70 runs off 78 balls. In under 44 overs, the Aussies reached the total set by England with four wickets in hand.

What they said

Gardner told Fox: "I feel really clear with what my strengths are, whether that's with bat, ball and in the field… I think for me it's probably having a deeper understanding of the game and not just worrying about myself and always thinking about different things."

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Sinner begins 2025 Australian Open campaign as doping investigation continues

The world’s number one men’s tennis player, Jannik Sinner, began the campaign to defend his title at the Australian Open today, beating Chile’s Nicolás Jarry in the opening round. It comes amid an investigation into the world number one’s alleged doping offences.

Context

In August last year, the ITIA announced Sinner had recorded two positive tests for a banned substance at the Indian Wells tournament in March. It said an independent tribunal had since ruled Sinner was not at fault.

Sinner tested positive for clostebol, a steroid derivative of testosterone. It’s banned due to its anabolic qualities, which can improve muscle growth.

In a statement on Sinner’s Instagram in August, his team argued that the prohibited substance entered the player’s system accidentally. They allege Sinner’s physiotherapist applied topical cream containing clostebol to a wound on their own finger before treating him.

“Coupled with various skin lesions on Jannik’s body, [the physiotherapist] caused the inadvertent contamination,” the statement said.

Tennis world

At the time, several former players questioned the ITIA’s decision on social media, including Australian Nick Kyrgios.

Kyrgios said: “Ridiculous — whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you should be gone for 2 years.”

Fellow Australian and former player John Millman said: “Before jumping to conclusions, Jannik Sinner had less than a billionth of a gram in his system... I believe him”.

What happened?

Last week, it was announced that Sinner would face the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in April for a further review of his positive tests for a banned substance in March 2024.

Initially, the International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA) cleared the 23-year-old of any wrongdoing.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed the decision in September.

WADA is “seeking a period of ineligibility of between one and two years” for Sinner. It argued the ITIA’s finding that Sinner bore “no fault or negligence” was “not correct”.

Consequences

Sinner’s result from Indian Wells was disqualified, and he was stripped of his $US325,000 ($AU482,000) winnings and the 400 ATP ranking points he earned from making the semi-final.

Sinner was cleared to play in the U.S. Open in August, which he won. Later in 2024, he went on to win the ATP Tour Finals and helped Italy to a second successive Davis Cup victory.

If WADA’s appeal is successful, Sinner could be banned from the sport for up to two years.

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

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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).

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