22nd January we had ground passes to the Australian Open 2011. This means that we couldn't get into the Hisense or the Rod Laver, but we had access to the outside courts, and Garden Square where they show the tennis on a big screen.
First stop - practice courts:
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| Svetlana Kuznetsova |
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| Svetlana Kuznetsova |
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| Andy Roddick |
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| Andy Roddick |
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After the practice courts we went to Garden Square to see Andy Murray with a straight sets demolition of Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in round 3. Murray tore the 32nd seed to shreds with eight breaks of serve in his 6-1 6-1 6-2 triumph. Murray was broken once in the first set but had no further problems and came through in one hour 32 minutes. A good game to watch when you're a pom in Oz!
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| Garden Square |
It was a scorcher of a day, so after the Murray game it was time to find some shade! Luckily one of the sponsors of the Australian Open is Jacob's Creek, so it was a good excuse for a glass of sparkling!
The following day it was Mark and Emma's turn to go to the tennis, so we had Mabel and Kieran for the day! Most of the day was spent either at the doctors or in jail (playing - honestly!), or having a go at some yoga!
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| Not quite sure which yoga position this is meant to be! |
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January 26th is Australia Day, and not only did we have the day off work (public holiday), but we also went to the men's quarter final of the Australian Open - Rafael Nadal against fellow spaniard David Ferrer.
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| Opening Ceremony |
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| Ferrer enters court |
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| Nadal enters court |
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| The toss! |
However, Rafael Nadal's quest to become the first man in 42 years to win four straight grand slam events ended cruelly, with a hamstring injury.
Nadal, the reigning French Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion, would have been within two victories of the historic feat - last accomplished by Australian legend Rod Laver in 1969 - had he overcome the No.7 seed. But despite Nadal having won their previous seven meetings, with Ferrer claiming a set in just one of those, the lower-ranked player took advantage of his weakened opponent to win 6-4 6-2 6-3.
Nadal was dogged by illness coming into the Open, but had not dropped a set previously this tournament and showed no sign of injury when he started against Ferrer. But, after a long first three games, the top seed called for a trainer and then a medical time-out. After leaving the court, he returned with his upper left leg strapped and, obviously struggling, quickly fell down 5-2.
An increasingly forlorn Nadal showed spirit and sportsmanship by refusing to retire against his Davis Cup teammate.
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| Nadal's serve |
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| Ferrer's serve |
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| Ferrer's winning chat with Jim Courier |
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