Well there was a British winner at the Australian Open today. Hurrah! The one and only Peter Norfolk claimed a 7-6, 6-1win in the final of the men's wheelchair singles out on show court 2 just as the sun went down!
It was a huge effort from him to survive the tortuous heat all week which led to possibly the reddest knees I've ever seen and blistered hands from the hot metal of the wheels on his chair. He had the LTA's sports science guru Ann Quinn in his corner all week which meant he was well looked after.
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He is dedicating this victory to his wife for giving him a 3 week pass to play in the event - especially as it came just 2 months after the birth of his son Samuel. :) Good on you Mrs N!
Speaking to him before the match when he was chilling in the player cafe and looking like he was about to deliver a box of Milk Tray... yes, yes, he was the man in black - thought I'd better explain that one just in case you don't remember the TV ads. Anyway, I was amazed to hear he buys all of his own kit and can't even get a free reel of string from his racket supplier Babolat! So come on all you commercial guys - get our double Olympic gold medallist sorted would you?
Laura Robson won't face those kind of problems after her win at junior Wimbledon last year but she was not so fortunate today. Let's not forget that she was the youngest player in the main draw, having celebrated her 15th birthday last week, and had done so well to reach the final of the girls singles without dropping a set. But today she was up against by far her toughest opponent of the week - Ksenia Pervak, a 17 year old Russian already ranked 154 on the WTA computer. Two years is a long time at this stage of Lauras development and Pervaks experience, baseline consistency, composure and defensive skills conspired to beat our girl 6-3, 6-1.
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Playing on the Rod Laver arena, one of the worlds biggest tennis stages, is daunting enough for the big guns but it must have seemed enormous to the juniors who are more used to playing in front of a couple of dozen fans on the outside courts. The RLA seats 15,000 people but probably had just a few hundred spectators for the junior finals. The match wasn't televised but BBC radio covered the whole thing. Good on them and I got the chance to commentate with them and was delighted to do so since I had followed Laura all week.
She got off to a slow start again and found herself 0-3 down before she started to settle into a bit of a rhythm. She then won 3 of the next 4 games by keeping better depth and making mincemeat of Pervaks short balls. The Russian then upped her level and won the next 6 games to lead 4-0 second set.
From 5-3 15-15 Pervak won 16 of the next 18 points. It was a difference in class and experience - the Russian has been the playing women's circuit for most of the past 18 months while Laura has been learning how to win at top junior level with a few senior events (including a title in the 10k event in Sunderland) at the tail end of last season.
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I'm told Laura handled herself brilliantly in the press conference afterwards and again I'm impressed not just with her tennis but how well she handles herself off the court. An inspiration to all young players in Britain. And to us oldies as well!
Gday from Melbourne!