🎾 The King Of Clay

Howdy, it's Monday, 6 June

🔊 Sport Today Podcast

This morning, Sam Ferris and Martin Gabor are at the mic.

Today's listen time: 10 minutes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

📺 What we're watching

⚾ 9.00am - MLB - Cubs v Cardinals - Wrigley Field, Chicago - Foxtel, Kayo

🏀 10.00am - NBA Finals Game Two - Warriors v Celtics - Chase Centre, San Francisco - Foxtel, Kayo

⚽ 4.45am (Tue) - UEFA Nations League - Croatia v France - Poljud, Split - Optus Sport

All times are in AEST

🎾 King of clay is simply the best

It turns out Tina Turner was singing about Rafael Nadal because he simply is the best. In fact, it’s safe to say he’s better than all the rest.

The score: Rafael Nadal defeated Casper Ruud 6-3 6-3 6-0.

Golden points: There really is no stopping Nadal on clay. He’s now 112-3 at Roland Garros and can finally celebrate his 36th birthday properly.

• The win is his 14th French Open title and 22nd overall. That moves him 2 clear of rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

• Just to make it a little bit tougher, Nadal couldn’t feel his left foot after he got an injection to relieve chronic pain before the match.

• Nadal has now won both Grand Slam titles to start 2022 but the foot injury means he’s in doubt for Wimbledon. He says he still wants to play in London if he's fit.

They said it: “To be there myself and face him, it's a bit of a challenge, but a very enjoyable one.” - Ruud will always remember his first match against his idol.

What are the chances… Iga Świątek wins 14 French Opens? The 21yo is up to 2 after she beat American Coco Gauff in straight sets. She’s also won 35 matches in a row so maybe she just never loses again.

Watch it: He's not sneezing. Rafa is just very happy to have won again.

🥊 Kambosos down but not out

He was typically ferocious, but it’s back to the drawing board for George Kambosos Jr. after he lost his 3 world title belts in Melbourne yesterday.

Golden points: It was the hottest ticket in town for one of the biggest boxing bouts in Australia, but the sport has a new star after Devin Haney was way too good in their showdown at Marvel Stadium.

• Even the local fans knew Kambosos was in trouble after the fight. No one was surprised to see the judges scoring the fight 116-112, 116-112, 118-110 to Haney.

• Haney was tactically too good with a relentless barrage of jabs. It means he’s now got the 4 major belts and is the undisputed lightweight champion of the world.

• Only a few men have held all 4 belts in the same weight division at the same time. So, uh, he’s really good.

They said it: “This is going to make me hungrier. True champions bounce back.” - Kambosos is ready to go again. Did someone say rematch?

What’s next: You bet they did. There’s a rematch clause in the contract so Kambosos will have the chance to win back his belts in Australia once the fight is sanctioned.

🏉 Brumbies buck the not-so-super trend

It looks like we’re all Brumbies fans now.

Golden points: There’s only one Aussie team left in the Super Rugby Pacific after the Reds and Waratahs were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

• The Reds were no match for the Crusaders and NSW remain winless on the road in finals matches after they were beaten by the Chiefs.

• But it’s not all bad news. The Brumbies are still alive after they fought back from 10 points down to beat the Hurricanes 35-25 in Canberra.

What’s next: Things get a lot harder for them now. The Brumbies travel to Auckland to play the minor premiers on Saturday.

Watch it: The Blues and Brumbies met a couple of weeks ago. It was a brutal finish for the Aussie side as you’ll see in these highlights.

⛳ Fast start could lead to major success

We don’t want to jinx her, but things are looking really good for Minjee Lee this morning.

Golden points: The Aussie golfer started the final round of the US Open 3 shots clear of her nearest rival and is 18 holes away from winning her 2nd major.

• Her first win was at the Evian Championship last year but that was totally different. Lee was 7 shots back in the final round but won in a playoff.

• She’s got some breathing room this time thanks to a record-breaking start. Lee’s score of -13 is the lowest total through 54 holes in US Open history.

• This is the event golfers want to win. Not only is it considered the most prestigious tournament, but it’s also doubled in prize money so the winner gets about $2.5 million.

What’s next: We don’t have to wait long for the next major. That’s the PGA Championship that starts on 23 June.

⚽ The Welsh are heading to the World Cup 

One of sport’s longest hoodoos is finally over, and it could lead to one of the biggest parties ever held in Wales.

The score: Wales defeated Ukraine 1-0.

Golden points: Wales have qualified for the FIFA World Cup. That’s something that a lot of us have never read before in our lives.

• In fact, most people haven’t seen them at a World Cup because the only time they qualified was the 1958 event in Sweden. That’s 64 years ago.

• But the drought is over after Ukraine’s captain Andriy Yarmolenko scored a first-half own goal.

• You’ve got to feel sorry for Ukraine. The country has been through so much this year, and there was a reminder of that in the locker room with a flag sent in by soldiers from the frontline.

What’s next: Wales are in Group B along with England, Iran and the USA. There are 2 spots left in Qatar, and one of those could belong to the Socceroos. They’ve got to beat the UAE on Wednesday morning to keep the dream going.

👀 Quick singles

🏏 Giving up the captaincy has worked a treat for Joe Root. The English cricketer hit an unbeaten century and passed 10,000 Test runs to help his side beat New Zealand by 5 wickets overnight.

🏍 Fabio Quartararo has extended his lead at the top of the MotoGP standings thanks to a win in Barcelona. But the race will be remembered for Aleix Espargaró’s blunder when he celebrated with a lap to go.

🎾 Coco Gauff is a star on the rise after she made 2 finals at the French Open. The young American lost the singles final and then fell short with partner Jessica Pegula in the women’s doubles against French pair Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.

🏁 Craig Lowndes must really love Bathurst. The V8 Supercars legend will compete in the Bathurst 1000 for the 29th race in a row and will be partnered by Declan Fraser, who is getting ready for his first trip to Mount Panorama.

🏉 The Magpies are back in the AFL’s top eight thanks to a thrilling win over the Hawks at the MCG. Collingwood have now won 3 in a row heading into next week’s blockbuster against the table-topping Demons.

🏀 A jersey worn by Kobe Bryant in his NBA rookie season sold for about $3.79 million at an auction over the weekend. The jersey from the 1996-97 season was expected to make even more money. 

⛳ American golfer Kevin Na has resigned from the PGA Tour. He says he doesn’t want to be punished for joining the Saudi-backed rebel tour that starts this week.

🙃 Left of field...

Dale Thomas won’t have to pay for anything the next time he visits Nhill in country Victoria.

Golden points: The man they call ‘Daisy’ had a great AFL career with the Magpies and Blues, but he’s now a Tigers hero after he helped the small club break a drought that went all the way back to 2019.

• You might wonder why a retired footy player was running around for a town with a population of less than 2000.

• This is all part of the Carlton Draft Series that sees 8 former legends picked to play for local teams across the state.

• Thomas ended up with Nhill who hadn’t won a game for 1029 days. They might sign him to a lifetime deal after he helped them beat the Southern Mallee Giants by 13 points.

What’s next: About 1500 people rocked up for the game. We might see even more when Shaun Burgoyne laces up the boots for Dalyston this weekend.

📽 The highlight reel

There have been some outrageous goals, but this might just be the best one scored by an Aussie. Even Alou Kuol's teammates were stunned after this freaky finish at the Under-23 Asian Cup.

📸 Photo finish

Something special is brewing out west. The Dockers have knocked off the top 2 teams in the space of 8 days and are now just one win behind the ladder-leading Demons.

🏃‍♀️ The finish line

🏆 Today's trivia answer

Karrie Webb has done it twice (2000 and 2001) but Jan Stephenson (1983) was our first winner.