Rafael Nadal celebrates his win over Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open men's singles final. Photo / AP
Rafael Nadal celebrates his win over Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open men's singles final. Photo / AP
OPINION:
Chris Rattue runs through the winners and losers of the past week of sport.
WINNERS/LOSERS - women's sport
Confession. I've never watched much women's sport. But there is a lot on Sky these days, and we are in a transitional era, of exploring new sporting worlds.
Another confession. Women'ssport takes a bit of getting used to, to these eyes.
Apart from women's tennis (which has had many great eras and characters) and the Olympic/Commonwealth Games, and not being a netball fan, I grew up watching blokes. That's just the way it was.
Women aren't as strong, so they can't play sport to the same level. There's no great history in women's professional sport such as the one which drives competitions such as the English Premier League and NFL.
Men's sport has a lot of big characters, fascinating rivalries, and is fuelled by decades of wall-to-wall coverage.
The rise of Lydia Ko has helped increase the diet of women's golf.
But (and this is a bit of a surprise) cricket is probably leading the way.
Women's cricket had a long way to go. The game used to be so slow it was unbearable. It has come on in leaps and bounds.
The Australian team surround the bat as Kate Cross of England blocks out the final ball for the match to finish in a draw. Photo / Getty
The latest Ashes test between England and Australia was an absolute ripper, a game kept alive as a contest thanks to English batter Heather Knight's massive first innings score.
The elegance of the driving during the match stood out. The bowling had plenty of movement. Conversely, some of the fielding wasn't flash.
When given the sniff of victory, England went for broke on the final day, taking on what seemed like an impossible task.
It was a fabulous game with a truly memorable ending.
Cricket is also leading the way in the commentary box thanks to Brit Isa Guha who has become an integral part of the Australian scene.
At the other end of the women's sport scale, I've dabbled watching A-league football and the standard just isn't remotely good enough - to put it nicely - to go back.
This isn't a surprise. Even the men's A-League is so far below the highest world football standards that about 10 minutes of any match is enough. It looks ponderous.
The wondrous EPL is the centre of my football universe most of the time.
When it comes to women's football, only the best international stuff gets a look in.
WINNER - Omicron
It's China versus the virus as the Winter Olympics attempts to avoid going downhill.
China has set up bubbles within bubbles, and even satellite bubbles with sealed transport systems in between.
It will be a miracle if they can stop that highly contagious strain affecting the medal battles.
LOSER/WINNER - the Australian Open/Novak Djokovic
Rafael Nadal of Spain holds the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup after defeating Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the men's singles final at the Australian Open. Photo / AP
The men's tournament was second rate without Novak Djokovic.
Rafael Nadal was extraordinary, and the men's final was another classic, something which has become the incredible norm in the Nadal/Djokovic/Roger Federer era.
But only a fool would claim the tournament was unaffected by the world number one's absence, after he was turfed out of Australia.
Nadal has edged ahead of Djokovic and Federer in Grand Slams won, which some may claim means the clay court supremo leads the race to be regarded as the Greatest of All Time.
Numbers do not tell the story.
Federer has, by some stretch, been the greatest player to watch.
But Djokovic is, absolutely, the greatest player ever. All the sentiment against him doesn't change that.
Lydia Ko celebrates her 17th LPGA title. Photo / AP
LOSERS - the All Whites
The national football side lost to Jordan in a physical encounter, but that's not the real problem.
Obscurity … that's the issue.
Losing would be okay, if people knew the game was actually on.
The only time the All Whites received much attention in recent years came after the ghost game against England was announced.
LOSER - Patrick Mahomes
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes walks off the field at the end of the AFC championship game. Photo / AP
The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, the new face of the NFL, was exceptional in the epic playoff victory over the Buffalo Bills. But the Cincinnati Bengals shut him down as they mounted a comeback which has taken them to the Super Bowl.
WINNER - Tom Brady
The 40-plus quarterback has retired (or could be about to this week), and in his case the overwhelming Super Bowl numbers can't be ignored. He is the greatest.
