Matthew Dellavedova and the Olympics

Matthew Dellavedova
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An Australian Olympic guard is breaking out in the NBA Finals for a second straight year.

Those who closely watched the London 2012 Games will have known about Matthew Dellavedova long before he scored 20 points in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night.

Dellavedova was the Australian men’s basketball team’s youngest player at the London Olympics. At 21, he started next to Patty Mills in the backcourt. Mills, with ties to watching Cathy Freeman, gained plenty of attention with the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 NBA Finals.

Dellavedova nearly made the Australian national team for the 2010 FIBA World Championship but was cut by Brett Brown, who now coaches the Philadelphia 76ers.

“To this day, he’s the single most difficult person I had to cut, and I have cut many, many, many players,” Brown said, according to the San Jose Mercury News. “He was so passionate and determined to play for his country and worked so hard to earn that right, and I took it from him.”

Dellavedova, while playing for St. Mary’s College, helped Australia qualify for the 2012 Olympics in a winner-goes-to-London series with New Zealand in September 2011.

At the Olympics, the central Victoria native started all six games, averaged 7.3 points per game and set the screen that freed Mills to hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to beat Russia 82-80 in group play. Mills also played at St. Mary’s, before Dellavedova.

Dellavedova even faced future Cavs teammate LeBron James at the Olympics as the Aussies lost to the U.S. in the quarterfinals 119-86. A year later, Dellavedova went undrafted but signed with Cleveland before the 2013-14 season.

Will Dellavedova make a return to the Olympics next year?

He will likely have a large say in Australia’s qualification. The Aussies and New Zealand play another winner-goes-to-the-Olympics series in August, with the loser still having a shot at Rio at a last-chance global qualifying tournament next summer.

Australian women’s basketball star considers retiring daily

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Underneath the Olympic rings in the village

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Ready for the #openingceremony #pumped #excited

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2023 French Open women’s singles draw, scores

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At the French Open, Iga Swiatek of Poland eyes a third title at Roland Garros and a fourth Grand Slam singles crown overall.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Swiatek, the No. 1 seed from Poland, can join Serena Williams and Justine Henin as the lone women to win three or more French Opens since 2000.

Having turned 22 on Wednesday, she can become the youngest woman to win three French Opens since Monica Seles in 1992 and the youngest woman to win four Slams overall since Williams in 2002.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Men’s Draw

But Swiatek is not as dominant as in 2022, when she went 16-0 in the spring clay season during an overall 37-match win streak.

She retired from her last pre-French Open match with a right thigh injury and said it wasn’t serious. Before that, she lost the final of another clay-court tournament to Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the No. 4 seed and Wimbledon champion, are the top challengers in Paris.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the highest-seeded American man or woman, was eliminated in the third round.

No. 6 Coco Gauff, runner-up to Swiatek last year, is the best hope to become the first American to win a Grand Slam singles title since Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought is the longest for U.S. women since Seles won the 1996 Australian Open.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

French Open Women's Singles Draw French Open Women's Singles Draw French Open Women's Singles Draw French Open Women's Singles Draw

2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

French Open Men's Draw
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The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

But the No. 1 seed is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open to become, at 19, the youngest man to win a major since Nadal’s first French Open title in 2005.

Now Alcaraz looks to become the second-youngest man to win at Roland Garros since 1989, after Nadal of course.

Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January due to a right leg injury, but since went 30-3 with four titles. Notably, he has not faced Djokovic this year. They could meet in the semifinals.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

No. 9 Taylor Fritz and No. 12 Frances Tiafoe are the highest-seeded Americans, looking to become the first U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. Since then, five different American men combined to make the fourth round on eight occasions.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

French Open Men's Singles Draw French Open Men's Singles Draw French Open Men's Singles Draw French Open Men's Singles Draw