Good evening!

We have a massive weekend of tennis ahead of us (and, of course, some Big Bash cricket, A-League, NBL, and a heap of overseas action).

By this time next week, we’ll be watching the last of the singles semifinals, and gearing up for the two individual finals next weekend. It’s crazy to think how quickly someone can become a breakout star in such a short amount of time - my pick is 19-year-old Learner Tien to still be a contender when we chat next Friday. Happy weekend!

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Stat of the day

$US30 million ($AU48 million)
The price a group of investors, including Hollywood stars (and Wrexham FC owners) Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, paid for Colombian football team La Equidad. The small team is based in Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, and has a home ground that holds only 10,000 fans. Other investors include actor Eva Longoria and entrepreneur Scott Galloway.

Quote of the day

“He certainly lit up the place.”
Fox Cricket commentator Brad Haddin during the broadcast of last night’s BBL match between the Brisbane Heat and the Hobart Hurricanes, when the DJ equipment used for live entertainment at the Gabba caught fire. Play was paused while the fire was extinguished.

Random fact of the day

The longest ever professional tennis match lasted for 11 hours and five minutes. American John Isner and France’s Nicolas Mahut played over three days in 2010 at Wimbledon. Isner eventually took out the match 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68. In today’s game, a tie-break rule is employed to decide the final set, meaning the record won’t be broken any time soon.

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In case you missed it…

🎾 Nine Newspapers reports Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic was investigated for suspected match-fixing in 2022, including one match at the Australian Open. Two separate investigations - one by the Australian Federal Police, and one by the International Tennis Integrity Agency - did not yield any concrete findings, and were suspended. It was revealed that the winnings in question ranged between $10,000 and $180,000, and one betting agency refused to pay out the winnings due to integrity concerns. Tomic has not commented, and there is no suggestion he is guilty of any criminal conduct.  

🏈 The West Coast Eagles are investigating a video that appears to show star player Liam Ryan in a physical altercation after a recent music festival. The AFL is yet to comment on the incident. Ryan signed a two-year contract extension late last year, securing his future at the club until the end of 2026, and will play in the Indigenous All-Stars pre-season match on 15 February.

🎾 Manchester United’s Amad Diallo scored three goals in 12 minutes to lead his team to a 3-1 win against Southampton in the English Premier League. Southampton, who held a lead after an own goal at the end of the first half, are on track to finish the season as the worst side in the league’s history. Diallo signed a new five year contract with the club last week. 

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Australia has won Game 3 of the multi-format women’s Ashes series in Hobart

Australia’s women’s cricket team has beaten England in the third match of the multi-format Ashes series at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval. It was a crucial match in the series — Australia has now won all three matches so far, and is a commanding position to take out the Ashes with four matches remaining. 

The format

The women’s Ashes is a multi-format competition, with a combination of three T20s, three ODIs and one Test match. Each format is worth a different number of points. The ODIs and T20s are two points, and the Test is four points – if it results in a draw, each team gets two points. The team that scores the most points wins the series. Australia has held the title since 2015. 

Australia now holds a 6-0 lead in the series, with a total of 10 points still up for grabs across three T20s (two points) and the Test (four points).

Today’s match

After a slow start and the early loss of crucial wickets, Australia set England a total of 309 to win, with Ash Gardner top-scoring with 102 off 102 balls. For England to win, they would have had to set a new Women’s ODI record for the highest run chase, beating the 302 runs Sri Lanka scored to beat South Africa in April last year.

However, due to some brilliant bowling and fielding (including this epic catch from Ash Gardner, and this one from Phoebe Litchfield) from Australia, England were all dismissed for 222, with seven overs remaining. Alana King finished with five wickets in a dominant day for the home side.

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A day of upsets and drama at Melbourne Park: your Day 5 AO update

An American teenage qualifier has produced one of the biggest upsets in recent Australian Open history, eliminating fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in a marathon match that stretched into the early hours of Friday morning. 

Here’s your wrap of day 5 at the AO.

The major shock

Learner Tien, a 19-year-old from California, prevailed in a five-set battle (6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 1-6, 7-6) that ended at close to 3am in Melbourne. Tien is the first American teenager to reach this stage of the AO since tennis legend Pete Sampras in 1990. It’s been a remarkable year for teenagers in the men’s draw - three of the top ten seeds have now been knocked out by teens across the first two rounds. 

Mixed fortunes for Aussie men

Australia's top-ranked player Alex de Minaur advanced confidently in his singles match against American Tristan Boyer, and will now face Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in the third round. However, local fans were left disappointed after fan favourites Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis withdrew from their doubles match during the second set. In the press conference after the match, both players cited ongoing injury concerns, adding to Kyrgios' earlier comments about it potentially being his last singles competition at the Grand Slam.  

Crowd controversy

The day's drama extended beyond the on-court results when American Danielle Collins clashed with the Melbourne crowd on Kia Arena during her victory over Australian Destanee Aiava. After the crowd jeered at Collins for a fault, she told them to ‘shut up’, after which they booed her. Following her three-set win, Collins blew kisses at the crowd and said the prize money would “go towards… a five-star vacation”. Collins will now face fellow American Madison Keys in the third round. 

Around the grounds

Tournament favourite and world no.1 Jannik Sinner recovered from a slow start to overcome Australian wildcard Tristan Schoolkate in four sets. Meanwhile, married tennis stars Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina both progressed to the next round, and women's second seed Iga Świątek continued her impressive form with a 6-0, 6-2 victory, setting up an exciting clash with comeback star Emma Raducanu.

What’s coming up 

Tonight, Novak Djokovic takes on Tomas Machac on Rod Laver Arena, followed by Jessica Pegula against Serbia’s Olga Danilovic. Meanwhile, Coco Gauff will face Canadian Leylah Fernandez, and then there’s an exciting clash between emerging Australian star Aleksandar Vukic and the UK’s Jack Draper. 

The middle weekend of the Australian Open is traditionally known as ‘Super Saturday’ and ‘Super Sunday’. The schedule will certainly live up to that title. Alex de Minaur, the only other Australian man in the singles competition, will play some time tomorrow. With Medvedev's surprise exit, the men's draw has opened up significantly, potentially paving the way for some unexpected deep runs from an emerging class of teen superstars in the tournament's second week.

The women’s draw has been a little more predictable, with the top four seeds - Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini - all set to take to the court over the weekend. 

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…

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