The good news is I got to Melbourne safely. The bad news is that my bags didn't. I certainly didn’t need that after 27 hours of travelling but worse things happen at sea and I've done enough long haul flights with tight connections to remember to pack emergency supplies in my hand luggage. And of course it’s the perfect excuse to hit the shops on Chapel Street. As if I needed one.
Not that the whopping 100 Aussie dollars that Qantas give you for "necessities" is going to go very far. That's about £40 and will just about pay for my absolute necessity - Clarins anti-wrinkle device. It certainly didn't run to hair straighteners so I bought a cap in the 40% off Diesel sale.
Well it’s what Victoria Beckham does and she always looks alright! If my bags fail to turn up as promised, on Monday morning, you may well get a sighting of the cap during Andy’s match vs. Kevin Anderson at the Rod Laver arena in the afternoon.
It’s a real bonus to be scheduled on RLA as you know your match will go ahead regardless of the heat, wind or rain and rain is forecast for Monday and Tuesday!
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It’s a busy opening day for the British contingent with Elena Baltacha on at 11am on court 7 vs. Pauline Parmentier, a promising French player who trains at the Mouratoglou Academy on the outskirts of Paris.
Laura Robson has been basing herself there for periods of time and so has Liam Broady, one of our top 16 year old boys, but it’s probably best known as the camp which produced Marcos Bhagdatis.
It’s a good draw for Bally as her opponent is ranked below her (although she has been as high as 40 and won 2 Tour events). Last year I watched Bally beat Anna-Lena Groenfeld in the first round here in a howling gale before losing in 3 sets to Amelie Mauresmo. So she has points to defend and will need to do so if she is to retain her top 100 position.
Katie O'Brien’s got a decent draw too. Patricia Mayr is the Austrian who beat Anne Keothavong at Wimbledon last year and is an awkward player. Katie’s known her since 14U events and is ranked slightly higher.
I bumped into Katie and her sister in the player lounge today. They had just been to see the matinee of Jersey Boys and had been invited backstage by the producer who was British and a tennis fan! That's another bonus at the Slams - free theatre tickets for players and their guests.
Andy’s on 3rd match after Sharapova vs. Kirilenko (battle of the babes) and Clijsters vs/ Tetreault (who?). The Aussies love Kim - they kind of adopted her when she was engaged to Lleyton Hewitt who was on site practicing earlier and had his adorable kids Mia (4) and Cruz in tow. Interestingly Cruz (13 months) had a cricket bat with him!
There was an exhibition event on at the RLA this afternoon - Hit for Haiti - to raise funds for the Haiti disaster. It lasted an hour and a half and had a whack of top players, including Federer and the Williams sisters, involved in some fun doubles and mixed. Cost 10$ to get in. Read more about the Hit for Haiti.
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On my list of players to check out tomorrow are Bernard Tomic, the 17 year old Aussie who beat Djokovic in 3 sets in Kooyong last week. The Aussie media and Tomic's Dad are predicting great things.
Also Daniel Koellerer, my favourite bad boy and Austrian show-man who usually manages to get the crowd and his opponent against him. And finally Fabrice Santoro - le sorcoreur - who is playing in his 70th Grand Slam match before retiring from tennis.
His Grand Slam career started in 1989 and ends in 2010 so it spans 4 decades! Amazing. He's my favourite player ever. So much skill. Double handed both sides. Love him.
That's it for today. More tomorrow. Go Poms!
Judy will be keeping us posted on the latest goings on throughout the event in Melbourne. Read the latest in Judy's Blog area.
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