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Day 2 - At the Aussie Open 2009

Well I thought Monday was hot but today was even worse.

I had the factor 50 on as temperatures got above 40 degrees in the middle of the day so Andy was pretty lucky to get through in under an hour when his opponent Andrei Pavel retired with a back injury at 6-2 3-1. He probably would have preferred to have played a bit more but it was a real bonus to get out of that heat.

I somehow ended up sitting beside a Romanian guy - a big Pavel fan - who insisted on chatting through the match giving me a run down on Pavel's career and his injury problems.

It was quite bizarre that one minute he would be talking quite calmly, and then he would suddenly shout "Come on Andrei, kill him". I wasn't sure whether to laugh or flatten him so I just ignored him. Didn't stop him chatting tho!

Andy Murray serving in the first round

Not sure if you could see it on TV, but there was quite a tricky wind out there to contend with and this really picked up during the day. By the time Elena Baltacha got on court 10 around 3pm, it was really swirling and constantly changing direction which made things pretty difficult.

I've been watching Elena play since she was 9 years old as she took up short tennis when she moved to Perth from Ipswich when she was 6. Her dad Sergei, was a Ukrainian footballer and he was transferred from Ipswich to St Johnstone. That's how she ended up in Scotland.

Elena Baltacha during her first round match

Her win today 6-1 6-4 over the German Anna-Lena Groenfeld was without doubt the best match I have seen Elena play and it was in frustrating conditions which not so long ago, would have been enough to throw her off her stride.

If she could produce this type of consistently aggressive tennis more often, she would be in the top 50 for sure. She has the firepower, a huge serve and is starting to use the slice backhand effectively in defence and to change pace. Hopefully she can start to find the belief and consistency which has often eluded her.  She's got Mauresmo next and has everything to gain. Go Bally!

I celebrated the British wins in the player lounge (which thankfully has been extended this year - it was always far too small) with a cuppa and a cake. Best thing about the player cafe is without doubt the home-made custard creams. Phenomenal!

Baltacha into the second round

I watched the final set of Gonzales v Hewitt. There was a fabulous atmosphere, lots of very colourful and noisy Hewitt supporters but they couldn't get the job done and Little Lleyton (as the Aussies call him) went out. 

I saw him and his entourage in the player lounge after, he and his wife Bec have a new baby brother for 3 year old Mia who was having a bit of a tantrum over something and Lleyton's mum was trying to calm her down. It must be a nightmare taking little kids on Tour, I don't know how any of them manage it.

There's an interesting match on court 2 at 11am tomorrow; Marin Cilic (Croatia) v Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia). Last year the police were called when fighting broke out among the Croat and Serb supporters. I have never seen anything like that before at a tennis tourney.  Hopefully it will go smoothly tomorrow!
 
I'm off to commentate now for BBC 5 live on Stosur v Zakopalova. More tomorrow...

 
 
 
 

Judy

Shares her experiences from around the world of tennis.

 
 
 

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