WINNERS

ASHLEIGH BARTY
The 23-year-old from Queensland is no longer considered one of the “next big things” in women’s tennis, with her huge success at the Roland Garros putting her among the greats of the sport. She faced little opposition as she propelled herself all the way to the final, and there was little Marketa Vondrousova could do to prevent her from winning her first Grand Slam title. This trophy launches her all the way to number two in the worldwide rankings, yet we still have plenty more to see from the young Australian.

NICOL KYRIAKOPOULOU
When you make it to number three and you consider it a huge disappointment, that clearly says something about your stature as an athlete. Nicol Kyriakopoulou claimed the bronze medal in the low jump at the Paavo Nurmi competition in Finland, stopping at 4.46 metres. She was unsuccessful in her last two efforts at 4.68 and 4.72 metres, so she was limited to third, which is still a great result. Her next opportunity will be at the Diamond League in Rabat.

ANGE POSTECOGLOU
Very often we talk about a lack of home-bred coaches with international experience on the football scene. Ange Postecoglou seems to be the one exemption from that rule. After helping the Yokohama Marinos escape relegation last season, Postecoglou’s team has come back with a vengeance and are currently sitting at third place on goal difference with Kawasaki, just six points shy of Tokyo FC who are at the top of the table. It seems he has adjusted to the Japanese style and the results are impressive, if nothing else. Just goes to show how much Australian coaches could benefit from working abroad.

SINNERS

GREEK NATIONAL TEAM
Where to even begin – the horrendous formation? The complete surrender in both games against Italy and Armenia? The locker rooms that seem to be in shambles? The total disagreement between coach and players? Greece played two games against entirely different opposition, yet wasn’t able to live up to the challenge of either game. Aggelos Anastasiadis’ instructions were muddled and confusing, his players were all over the place and they just couldn’t follow the plan. Then he appeared in front of the media and just claimed that everything was a-okay, placing the blame on the heavens! Afterwards the Greek captain Papastathopoulos openly came out and said things needed to change if Greece is to move forward. Was he right or wrong? Who knows? The only thing that is apparent is that the Greek team is in turmoil.

NICK KYRGIOS
What else are we going to see from the capricious young athlete? In his most recent demonstration, he managed to lose his opening game for the Stuttgart Open against Italian Mateo Berretini in under an hour, putting on a disappointing performance for an athlete of his level (3-6, 4-6). The main reason behind his poor form were the… NBA Finals, as Kyrgios had stayed up the night before to watch the game between the Raptors and the Warriors, Tweeting about it on his Twitter page. That’s Kyrgios for you!