Other Sports

Well, we got a women’s singles grand slam champ at last from the US of A in Coco Gauff who defeated Aryna Sabalenka from a set down to a terrific comeback that secured her a home grand slam title at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. What a moment it has been from the young American, having ended a long wait for a winner to lift the US Open women’s singles title on home soil since Sloane Stephens in 2017. For the new World No.1 ranked player in Sabalenka, she had an easy start during the first stage. However, she just couldn’t keep it up from a resurgent Gauff at the next restart before it was too late.

Final score: 2-6 to Sabalenka, 6-3 & 6-2 to Gauff.

Meanwhile in the men, how good was seeing Novak Djokovic win his grand slam title No.24 here as it’s been a few years since he last lifted the men’s singles US Open title back in 2018. He did so well in the beginning, then he overcame such a huge 2nd stage set of battles after that tiebreak against Daniil Medvedev before the light was there at the end of the tunnel. And on the 21’ champ Medvedev, it took him a while to get going where he showed some fight throughout the 2nd set but just lost it all along towards the end.

Final Score: 3-6, 6-7 with 5-7 tiebreak & 3-6 to Djokovic.

After seeing four grand slams, the 2023 season has now came to a fantastic close for this next book featuring some terrific performances & upsets along the way.

There will be some Tennis towards the end of the year beginning with the Davis Cup Finals during the Group Stage portion where Australia will take on Great Britain, France & Switzerland – let’s hope they can take it all the way & go one better come the knockout stages in late November.

The 2023 US Open weekend’s main event singles finals is all set now that is gonna be a bit different this time around where we will get to see a new women’s champ, while two of the top men’s players will square it off after we saw some excellent semi-final match ups over the last two days at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

We’ll go with the women’s first and has been a bit of a non-starter after the opening stage when it comes to off the court between Coco Gauff & Karolina Muchkova due to some climate change protest that halted play for almost an hour. But back to the action now where action now & both players did so well with Muchkova eventually getting the ball rolling to try & stay in there, but at the end of the day, it was Gauff who was superb from start to finish with patience that puts herself in the Final for America (6-4, 7-5).

We also saw another American in action for the 2nd semi straight after the first match named Madison Keys who had an outstanding first stage unchallenged v Aryna Sabalenka. From there though, now she was almost there to set up an All-American final with Gauff when given the chance a few times including the 3rd set decider. But sadly, things just wasn’t easy when it comes to the execution for Keys as Sabalenka went on to rebound from 1-0 down to a brilliant finish of the night (6-0, 6-7 – 1-7 tiebreak & 6-7 – 5-10 tiebreak).

Then earlier today in the first of the two men’s last four matches Novak Djokovic was too good during the first half after the opening two sets. Although American’s own Ben Shelton never gave up to try & turn things around throughout the 3rd stage, but it’s still always the Djoker who always gets it done in the end (3-6, 2-6, 6-7 – 4-7 tie). And finally we finish off the last men’s semi between the 2021 & 2022 champions Daniil Medvedev & Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz started not bad where he won some brilliant battles including the 3rd stage, but his inconsistency sadly let him down that gave Medvedev the upper hand (6-3 – 3-7 tie, 1-6, 6-3, 3-6). The Spaniard will now have to sit out by watching both Medvedev & Djokovic take centre stage for the men’s US Open title.

It all comes down to just two amazing single finals matches left of this tournament. Will we see Gauff be the next American to win a title at home v the next World No1 player in Sabalenka who is exceptional on the hard court? How about Medvedev making up lost time following his 2021 US Open title win or else see Novak winning a major here for the fourth time since 2018 in New York? Can’t wait to finish off this grand slam season like this!!

The opening four rounds over the last week has gone down to eight and now we have four left after a brilliant last two days of US Open Tennis at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. Let’s start with the women’s singles bracket and there’s going to be two of their own players to get behind them in Coco Gauff & Madison Keys.

Gauff had a very easy outing against Jelena Ostapenko from Latvia (0-6, 2-6), while Keys staved off a late threat in the 2nd stage off current Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic) also following a great start to the match (1-6, 4-6). Their next respective opponents for the last 4 tomorrow will be Karolina Muchkova (Czech Republic) & Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) where both of these players also fought off so well at the same time against Sorana Cirstea (Romania) by Muchkova (0-6, 3-6) & Qinwen Zheng by Sabalenka (1-6, 4-6).

Over in the men’s, there’s another set of Americans on show in the last 8. Although one has gone through guaranteed where Ben Shelton responded well to Francis Tiafoe’s 2nd set with the win after four sets (2-6, 6-3, 6-7 via 7-9 tie & 2-6), while the other couldn’t get past Novak Djokovic (Serbia) all along in Taylor Fritz (1-6, 4-6, 4-6). Yes, it’s gonna be a tough one for sure for Shelton where he will take on Djokovic, even when he had some hamstring issues during the mixed doubles QF game with Taylor Townsend also earlier today against Jessica Pegula & Austin Krajicek. But if Shelton can get the job done, then he will be the first American to play in a final since Andy Roddick in 2006. That opening semi match-up between Djokovic & Shelton will be in the early hours of Saturday AM AEST time.

And lastly, we will have two US Open champions both from last year & 2021 going head-to-head in the 2nd semi-final also later on Saturday AM between Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) & Daniil Medvedev (Russia). They too got the job done without a lot of hassle to wrap up the last 8 earlier today against their respective opponents Alexander Zverev (Germany – 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 by Alcaraz) & Andrey Rublev (Russia – 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 by Medvedev).

All in all, we saw few straight sets match-ups here & there that saw them punch their ticket to the semis where we will have a new women’s champion, while we had a terrific four-set all American showdown.

Now there are 2-3 Americans hoping to go all the way into the weekend’s main event against one of the elite & best grand slam players out there as they all seek to finish off the grand slam year of 2023 on a huge note. All four key semi-final match-ups will be found out at Arthur Ashe Stadium where the city never sleeps in New York.

Wow!! Day 5 of 8 in the 2023 World Swimming Championships over in Fukuoka, Japan, has been another memorable night for our Aussie Dolphin swimmers once again!! Not only we collected a whopping three gold medals last night, but we’re also further in front on this medal tally at nine now with three days left to go ahead of China, whose gold medal numbers is currently on four.

So still plenty of more gold medals up for grabs to help them stay ahead of Day 6 tonight before we enter the final two day weekend.

First of all, congrats to “The King” Kyle Chalmers on what has been an unreal finish to his 100m Freestyle finals meet from 2nd at the start to 1st in the end – well done! Then Kaylee McKeown was also unreal who once again dominated her best swimming discipline in backstroke by holding off top spot through the end of the wall when it comes to the 50m Final dash.

And how about another mighty team effort over in the Women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay Final? As always, gotta love Mollie O’Callaghan’s fast start before Shayna Jack helped stay ahead during team shift No.2. Now there were some doubts at one stage when Brianna Throssell may have slipped away from top spot to 2nd by Team USA’s Bella Sims ahead of the 4th & final team shift baton of this race.

Fortunately, Ariarne Titmus was there to relieve those doubts, who not only helped finish it off with just the team gold, but also smashed the new record time as well of 7:37:50 ahead of Team USA in 2nd & China in 3rd. Love seeing Arnie bounce back as this is what’s best for Swimming Australia & Australian sport after she finished 2nd on Day 4 yesterday to Mollie O in the Women’s 200m freestyle Final.

If that night wasn’t memorable enough, how about we give a shout out to Liz Dekkers who finished 2nd in the 200m Butterfly Final? She might not had a great start & first half as Liz would’ve won gold if she can improve on it that would mean anything next time, but what a finish though when she turned herself around from 7th to 4th & then came home in 2nd!!

Let’s roll the night session finals meet later tonight with 3-4 gold medal opportunities up for grabs in the hope of staying further in front on this swimming medal tally:

• Mollie O’Callaghan & Emma McKeon in the 100m Freestyle

• Abbey Harkin in the Women’s 200m breaststroke

• Zac Stubblety-Cook in the Men’s 200m breaststroke

• Team Relay in the Men’s 4 x 200m Freestyle

We’re halfway through the week-long 2023 World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, and our Aussie Dolphins Swim Team had a really memorable evening last night with another gold medal on its hands to a total of six so far. Plus, there were also three silvers accrued on Day 4 that saw them still hang in front ahead of China by just two gold medals being the difference on this medal tally.

First of all, love the unreal competition between Ariarne Titmus & Mollie O’Collaghan that made this 200m Freestyle Finals meet so great. Yes, we thought Arnie was the one to bring it home but then there was Mollie who wowed this pool en route towards not just the win but also became the new world record holder as well. Love her unreal reaction right there when she looked at the results screen. And on Arnie, it’s hard to look back when the race was going to be hers to take towards the home front, but she loves racing with Mollie & they’ll always do what’s best to bring home the gold for us.

Meanwhile, gotta praise the other swimmers who may have potentially added another gold or two, but they still did well nonetheless in the hope to going one better next time. Sam Short was 2nd best in the 800m Freestyle after being pipped by Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui, but he still for the majority with some decent records for us here & there as Sam will be back for more v Ahmed for the Olympics in Paris next year. So does Sean Williamson where he might not had a 1st half before he produced a good finish by surprise to 4th place in the 50m breaststroke final.

And we also thought there‘s gonna be another gold medal chance in the Mixed 4 x 100 m medley where some men & women competed each other for strategy, especially when Shayna Jack tried to outrun China towards the end there off her freestyle stroke. But again, just wasn’t quite enough to see them bow out in 2nd.

Roll on Day 5 now with 2-3 Aussie gold medal chances up for grabs in the hope of staying ahead up front on this medal tally.

After three days so far of the 2023 World Swimming Championships, the Aussie Dolphins Swim Team are still on top even though Team USA picked up just two gold medals off the back from Katie Ledecky (800m Freestyle) & Ryan Murphy (100m Freestyle). We just added another gold medal though to five now thanks to Kaylee McKeown’s stunning display that saw her dominate in the 100m backstroke Final.

What a moment is has been by Kaylee whose course record time (57.53) wasn’t far off from her own current WR standing (57.45), but love how she motored her way towards the last 25-30 metres of the wall when she captured the winning move past Team USA’s Regan Smith from 2nd to 1st.

Meanwhile, it wasn’t easy to get away with things for Lani Pallister after she finished 5th in the 1500m Freestyle Final. Yes, she wasn’t bad in 3rd fastest during the heats but wished she could have the same fight as Ledecky to bring home another Aussie gold like she did in the short course World Championships back in December 2022.

Let’s hope we can stay that way going into tomorrow night where more gold is up for grabs and it’s up for our Aussie Dolphins to help stay on top of this medal tally. We got Mollie O’Callaghan & Ariarne Titmus in the Women’s 200m Freestyle, Sam Short in the Men’s 800m Freestyle, Sean Williamson in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke & the 4 x 100 Mixed Medley Team Relay.

There’s nothing much happening last night on Day 2 of the 2023 World Swimming Championships over in Fukuoka, Japan, for our Aussie Dolphins Swim Team when they may not have collected any medals at all, but they’re still holding out in front with four gold going into Day 3 today.

Some of them have put in a huge effort as seen during the lead-up races beforehand, especially with the likes of Emma McKeon (4th) & Brianna Throssell (7th) over in the women’s 100m butterfly Final. However, their results in that final meet weren’t quite enough to reach the Top 3 or even the best on top of the podium.

The same goes to Jenna Forrester as the lone Aussie in the Women’s 200m IM Final after Kaylee McKeown’s unfortunate DQ in the heats on Day 1, although Kaylee will be looking to rebound in the women’s 100m backstroke final tonight. Back to Jenna now, she was 3rd fastest and 6th overall in the heats followed by 2nd fastest & 4th overall in the semis beforehand, which wasn’t bad for a start to hopefully go one better. But again, she just fell short by two seconds at the finish line (2:08:98) to Yiting Yu as well as Alex Walsh (2nd) & Kate Douglass (1st) both from Team USA.

Oh so close but sure she’ll get better with more rewards coming her way going into the next world champs and Olympics.

As said, we could see our Aussies collect at least a gold or two tonight. All of Australia will be behind Kaylee thanks to her backstroking prowess when she will take centre stage in the women’s 100m final. It’s not just Kaylee you need to cheer on, but there’s also Lani Pallister over in the Women’s 1500m freestyle where she will be up against Katie Ledecky. I know this can be a bit of stretch when comparing the two, but I’m sure Dawn Fraser will be watching her swim on the Tele at home hoping she gets gold. Who knows? The Dolphins might still be in 1st on the medal tally after all at the of Day 3.

What an unreal start to the 2023 World Swimming Championships in 1st on the medal tally by our Aussie Dolphins Swim Team as they collected four gold including some world records best being broken on the first day of eight in Fukuoka, Japan.

First of all, hats off to Sam Short who won the Men’s 400m Free after he blew Ahmed Hafnaoui (Tunisia) away with a huge smile on his face once he touched the end of the wall on what has been a close finish towards the last 50m metres (3:40:68).

Then how good was Ariarne Titmus when she got away pretty comfortably against the likes of Katie Ledecky, Erika Fairweather & Summer McIntosh also in the Women’s 400m Free that gave her the chance to set that new WR time (3:35:38).

Really good competition there that made Ariarne push back better at her best, having just reclaimed the World Record books off McIntosh when the Canadian previously bested Titmus with that WR category during their national swim trials earlier this year in Toronto (3:56.08).

It’s not just Short & Titmus making such a brilliant show, but our Dolphins also made a big team display over in the men’s and women’s 4 x 100 freestyle relays as well.

Love how Kyle Chalmers always brings us home when he got the chance to dive him with 100m to go & he too went from 2nd right to gifting Aussies the gold in 1st (3:10:16) where his finishing was absolutely unbelievable to watch that wowed Italy’s Thomas Ceccon.

And in the women, great to see Mollie O’Callaghan wrap up her first shift with a decent lead, so her team-mates to build some momentum by going the extra mile as the race goes on. Not only they were absolutely too good v the likes of USA & China, but they also broke another WR time as well (3:27:96).

Let’s hope the Dolphins can stay on top with more gold up for grabs going into the Day 2 finals later tonight.

The 151st Open Championship concluded on Sunday at Royal Liverpool with minimal drama, as Brian Harman opened with a five-shot lead and cruised to a six-shot victory. The victory was the third PGA Tour win for the 36-year-old and his first career major championship.

There were a few tense moments for Harman, who bogeyed two of his first five holes without a birdie. The struggles allowed Jon Rahm to get to within three of the lead. As quickly as the lead shrunk, Harman got his game back on track with birdies on six and seven to increase his lead to five. His seven-footer for par on the 72nd hole gave Harman a 70 for the day and 13-under par total. Harman avoided becoming the seventh player to blow a 54-hole lead in a major with a lead of at least five shots.

Australian native Jason Day posted three consecutive rounds in the 60s after a mediocre 72 on Thursday to finish at seven-under par and a tie for second along with Rahm, Tom Kim, and Stepp Straka. Day’s quest for his second career major came up short, but his finish was his best at the Open Championship. The 35-year-old entered the week ranked 27th, up from his 112th ranking at the end of 2022.

Emiliano Grillo and Rory McIlroy finished tied for 6th at 6-under par, while Shubhankar Sharma and Cameron Young finished at 5-under. Rounding out the top ten were Tommy Fleetwood and Max Homa at four-under par.

Other Australians with solid showing this week include Adam Scott and Carmeron Smith. Scott used a final round of two-under par 69 to finish in a tie for 33rd at one-over par. The 43-year-old Scott has never won the Open, with a best finish 2nd in 2012. Smith also finished at one-over after a round of 73 that included three bogeys and a birdie. Smith entered as the defending champion and was never a serious factor to repeat.

Min Woo Lee started with rounds of 71 and 68. He entered Sunday 17th after a third round of 72. However, he struggled to a 75 on Sunday which included seven bogeys. He finished tied for 41st at two-over par.

New Zealand native Ryan Fox rebounded from a first round 78 which included a triple bogey on the par 5 18th hole. He made the cut after a sensational round of five birdies and a bogey for a 67. He posted another sub-70 round on Saturday but struggled a bit in the wet conditions on Sunday, recording a final round of 74. Fox finished four-over par and tied for 52nd.