The hunt for the first medal in Paris continues for team New Zealand, but there’s a good chance that Day 7 is where the drought ends. The Black Ferns Sevens have been at their absolute best through their first two days of play, entering the semifinals early on Wednesday morning.
With plenty of other kiwis to keep an eye on and a selection of other exciting events to keep you entertained, here’s a rundown of the day’s best bets.
Wednesday, 1:30am
Nobody has been able to come close to New Zealand so far in Paris. They finished pool play with an average winning margin of 32 points and they then found another gear in the quarterfinals. After withstanding some early pressure against China in the quarters, including a yellow card to Sarah Hirini for a high shot inside the first five minutes, it was one-way traffic from there. The kiwis ran in nine tries as they thrashed China 55-5 to enter the semifinals in red-hot form.
The USA played out a physical semifinal against Great Britain but managed to stand strong down the stretch to pull off a 17-7 win. The Brits got out to a 0-7 lead early on but the Americans’ defence strengthened from that point on, forcing plenty of errors and not conceding another point for the remainder of the game, as their speedsters took control of their attack. But this Black Ferns Sevens team is a different gravy from anyone that they have faced in Paris and they will be utterly outclassed in this semifinal. In the three games between these teams in 2024, New Zealand have won by an average of 26 points and given how well the kiwis are playing right now, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it be an even larger margin on Wednesday morning.
Tuesday, 9:00pm
Spain tested Australia in their first game of group play but ultimately weren’t good enough, going down 80-92. They had no answer for the size of Jock Landale and the penetration and playmaking of Josh Giddey, and although they threatened a comeback thanks to the hot shooting of Sergio Llull, they weren’t able to pull it off. Santi Aldama was the Spanish’s best, dropping 27 points, but they weren’t able to find regular enough offence to really trouble the Boomers.
Greece are also 0-1 through one game in Paris. They fell to Canada 79-86, despite a monster effort from Giannis Antetokounmpo, with the Greek Freak posting 34 points and five rebounds. Kostas Papanikolaou was the only other Greek player to stand out, finishing with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, as the defensive intensity of the Canadians ended up wearing down the Greeks. Spain don’t have the defensive chops that Canada do, but neither the Greek nor the Spanish offence looked good in game one in Paris, or in the warmups, and in a battle of two ageing teams, we will see a lack of points scored.
Tuesday, 11:30pm
Canada will have been relieved to have recorded a win in their opener, squeaking past Greece 86-79. RJ Barrett found his stroke, dropping 23 points on 13 shots, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a dominant 21 points, five rebounds and seven assists to lead his team on the offensive end. Dillon Brooks and Lu Dort had a heap of characteristically strong defensive plays, but they will have plenty more threats to navigate on Tuesday night.
Australia didn’t exactly cruise to victory in their opener, with Spain surging back to lead midway through the third, before a Boomers comeback sealed a 92-80 win. With 20 points, nine boards and five assists, Jock Landale was the star man for the Boomers, while Josh Giddey pulled the strings on the offensive end to record 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. With Patty Mills, Dyson Daniels and Jack McVeigh all scoring in double digits as well, this Boomers team is looking well-rounded and they are every chance to record an upset here. Canada have the star power but this Boomers team has more experience together and the defensive intensity to slow down the favourites.
Tuesday, 10:00pm
Through one match in Paris, the Brazilian pairing of George Wanderley and André Stein and the Cuban duo of Noslen Diaz Amaro and Jorge Luis Alayo Moliner are both 1-0. That sets up a big Group D showdown on Tuesday night, with the winner of this game all but guaranteed to progress to the quarterfinals. The Brazilians started their tournament with a 2-0 win over the Moroccan team of Mohammed Abicha and Zouheir Elgraoui. The second set was dominant, prevailing 21-10, but Diaz Amaro and Alayo Moliner were made to work harder for their win.
Taking on the American pairing of Miles Partain and Andy Benesh, the Cubans entered the contest as significant outsiders. But after claiming the first set 21-18, they produced a repeat dose in the second set to record a shock 2-0 win. That will give them a considerable boost on Tuesday night but in their two prior meetings with André and George in 2024, the Cubans have lost on both occasions and with the form that the Brazilians have been in leading into Paris, I expect them to win well.
Wednesday, 3:00am
Slovenia started their tournament in the best fashion possible, getting past Canada in a tense 3-1 victory. After Slovenia won the first two sets, the North American’s bounced back with a 25-20 win in the third, but Slovenia replied with a fourth-set victory, sealing the win in their first game in Paris.
The same can’t be said about Serbia, who fell to a 2-3 defeat against a strong French outfit in their opener. Winning the first set, the Serbians came out firing, but shortly found themselves down 1-2 after a dominant performance from France in the second and third sets. The Serbians forced a fifth set but it was dominance from the favourites in the decider, winning 15-6, and I expect to see Serbia be outclassed again on Wednesday morning. They haven’t been able to get past Slovenia in any of their last four encounters, dating back to July 2022, and suffered a 2-3 defeat as recently as late-June.
Wednesday
There is no questioning the career achievements of Wawrinka. A three-time major champion, he won the French Open in 2015 and won the gold medal alongside Roger Federer in Beijing in 2008. That said, all good things must come to an end, and despite all his effort in recent years, he lacks the movement required to be successful at the highest level. Wawrinka has not won consecutive matches since the US Open last year and has declined even further since. Now 39 years of age, he can no longer get to wide balls early enough to prepare and it is seeing him caught deep behind the baseline. Popyrin plays on the front foot and will look to venture to the net at every possibility which will take time away from Wawrinka. The Aussie also won their only prior meeting in the final of Umag last year – on clay. He broke Stan’s serve four times in that match and won 60% of 2nd serve points. Anything close to those numbers will see him post a comfortable win.
Best of the Rest
Men’s Singles: Zverev -4.5 ($1.65)
Men’s Doubles: Machac/Pavlasek WIN ($1.57)
Women’s Singles: Krejcikova WIN ($1.60)
Women’s Doubles: Boulter/Watson WIN ($2.15)
Men’s Shooting
7:00pm Tuesday: Trap Qualification
Owen Robinson
1:30am Wednesday: Trap Final
Owen Robinson*
Women’s Rowing
7:30pm Tuesday: Single Scull Quarterfinal
Emma Twigg
7:30pm Tuesday: Double Scull Semi Final
Brooke Francis & Lucy Spoors
Men’s Rowing
8:10pm Tuesday: Single Scull Quarterfinal
Tom Mackintosh
9:10pm Tuesday: Double Scull Semi Final
Robbie Manson & Jordan Parry
Men’s Swimming
9:00pm Tuesday: 200m Butterfly Heat
Lewis Clareburt
6:41am Wednesday: 200m Butterfly Semifinal
Lewis Clareburt*
9:15pm Tuesday: 100m Freestyle Heat
Cameron Gray
6:30am Wednesday: 100m Freestyle Semifinal
Cameron Gray*
Equestrian
9:00pm Tuesday: Dressage — Individual — Grand Prix Day 1
Melissa Galloway
Women’s Swimming
9:44pm Tuesday: 1500m Freestyle Heat
Eve Thomas
Women’s Sailing
10:05pm Tuesday: 49er FX Races 7-9
Molly Meech & Jo Aleh
10:33pm Tuesday: Foil Races 2-7
Veerle ten Have
Men’s Sailing
10:15pm Tuesday: Foil Races 2-6
Josh Armit
12:35am Wednesday: 49er Races 7-9
Isaac McHardie & William McKenzie
Women’s Rugby Sevens
1:30am Wednesday: Semifinal v USA
New Zealand
5:00am Wednesday: Bronze Medal Match v TBD*
5:45am Wednesday: Gold Medal Match v TBD*
Men’s Canoe Slalom
2:00am Wednesday: K-1 Heats
Finn Butcher
Men’s Hockey
3:00am Wednesday: Match 3 v Argentina
New Zealand
Men’s Football
5:00am Wednesday: Match 3 v France
New Zealand