Could the last Brit out please turn off the light

So the Australian Open is well under way, and for once there was decent representation in the singles draws for GB. 2 in the men (Murray, Ward) and 4 in the women (Watson, Robson, Keothavong and Baltacha).

By the end of the first day, all bar Murray were gone without so much as winning a set, or even getting as far as 5-5 in a set. There were still decent points in it for Robson and Ward after they came through the qualifying, plus apparently Keothavong was ill. Robson and Watson had horrible draws, but for the rest a wasted opportunity, and even those two (who won 3 games between them) could have done better.

It was a strong positive to have that many singles players in the draw, but when the majority have gone by end of day 1, what's the point? Few British players will fancy the French and then it's Wimbledon, who knows. Going well at slams is vital for image as despite them being just some tournaments out of a calender, most of the British public think tennis players only play the 4 in a year!

So then came Murray, who had an awkward draw against Ryan Harrison, who is only 19 and has the potential to be very good. A potential Tsonga match if ever there was one. Murray even began by making it a 11th British set dropped in a row, before coming through in 4. He has a strong chance this year, but I can't see him winning it.

So Brits first round: Played 6, Won 1, Lost 5, Sets won 3 Sets lost 11. Not the worst it's ever been but not pleasant reading.

At least there's more chance in the doubles. In the mens Fleming/Hutchins are seeded 15 and (J) Murray/Hanley (Who's an Aussie) are seeded 16. Plus Delgado/Marry are in there too. In the womens Keothavong is playing (if fit) with the woman who beat her in the singles and Robson is playing with an Aussie. Maybe they can win a match, maybe not.

As for the winner? Hard to look past Djokovic, plus I expect Tomic to do well... all year.

Wimbledon

As regular readers may know (if there are any) I like a bit of tennis (mainly men's to be honest, the women's tends to be 'big beefy US/Russian girl beating up poor 19 year old from Belgium' or something). I'm not a sporty type, I'm an overweight, greying, diabetic about to hit 30 so that's not exactly a surprise, but I was always OK with a racquet but these days, I watch. Mainly this is as I have nobody to play with, I've even signed up to that all play tennis site and... nothing. But that's off topic.

As a result of this love Wimbledon fortnight as the only non clay grand slam in the right time zone to watch comfortably (well work hours is a pain, but you know what I mean). So far this years as been quite interesting, as long as Nadal's foot holds up I can't see it being anything than a 1v4, 2v3 semi line up but here's hoping Tomic can do something after the other 'up n comer' Milos bowed out early.

From a UK perspective, Murray is playing well, he's had a couple of awkward matches in a row and has come through them quite easily. If Nadal is hurt and he get's a Fish semi... I think he's a finalist (I think I got the draw right anyway). The UK expectation doesn't seem to be so bad this year, and I think that's a good thing. Everyone is expecting a Nadal win, with maybe Djokovic or Fed or indeed Murray having an outside shot. It was obvious from the Del Potro game, Nadal can be beaten, so who knows.

It's womens quarter finals day today, so I'm not bothered about seeing it, but tomorrow should be an excellent day, chances are with the top 4 seeds coming through, but I wouldn't mind the semis being Tomic V Tsonga and Murray v Fish!

Never gonna happen.

Good points though, the BBC coverage has actually been pretty good, almost every night programs have been moved/cancelled/delayed to allow for late finishes. If only they held a few more of the rights to 1000s and the like. Although most of them are in the middle of the night to be fair...

I'm still expecting them to be straight on Murray's back as soon as he looks like bowing out though, that's the British way after all, support respectfully while circling ready to lay a boot in!

On an unrelated note I've purchased myself a bit of XBOX 360 Kinect, thoughts to follow!