By Dylan Bettencourt
PICK OF THE SPORT: The year’s first tennis Grand Slam, the Australian Open, is set to deliver two blockbuster finals this weekend.
The tennis calendar always kicks off in Melbourne and offers the players a chance to hit the court running.
The weekend’s finals will begin with the women’s singles final between Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka.
The two hard-hitting women will take to the centre court of the Rod Laver Arena at 10.30 am on Saturday morning.
Sabalenka heads into the final as the favourite, being the 5th ranked player at the open, but Rybakina is out to spoil her party.
Despite being 22nd in the rankings for the Australian Open, Rybakina has only dropped one set all tournament.
Rybakina was born in Russia but represents Kazakhstan and Sabalenka, also born in Russia, represents Belarus.
Adding to the political ramifications, Novak Djokovic, who was barred from competing in last year’s tournament due to a Covid-19 vaccine dispute, will play in the final on Sunday.
The Serbian made light work of American Tommy Paul on Friday morning in straight sets to book his spot in the final.
Djokovic, at fourth seed, will look to lift his 10th Australian Open title, but he will have to get past the in-form Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Greek youngster is ranked one seed higher than Djovokic and should be considered the favourite, but he isn’t.
Despite Djokovic battling a hamstring injury, he has been immense throughout the tournament, dropping only one set as well.
The men’s final will take place at 10.30 am on Sunday. Both Australian Open finals can be watched live on DStv channel 214.
- If you were watching the Blitzboks early Friday morning (as you should have been) you would have seen the South Africans score a dominant victory over Kenya.
Shilton van Wyk, who loves to score, got the first two of the Blitzboks’ five tries. Is a pattern developing for South Africans? Starting like a house on fire then fading throughout the tournament? We’ll find out on Saturday morning as the HSBC Sevens Tournament in Sydney progresses towards the finals on Sunday.
All the Sevens action can be watched live on DStv channel 201 and 211.
- On Saturday the Sharks are away to Edinburgh in Scotland at 7.15 pm and the Lions face Connacht in Galway at 9.3pm in United Rugby Championship action.
Not only are the South Africans facing tough opposition, they are also up against the northern hemisphere weather. Can the Lions break their three-match losing streak? Expect great – but not pretty – rugby.
Pictured above: Novak Djokovic winning his semi-final on Friday morning
Image source: Australian Open
