And We're Off!

As fireworks bring in the New Year around the world, the new tennis season has certainly started with a bang. The Tennis Forecast reports from Australia.

With temperatures soaring in Perth on the 28th, Agnieszka Radwanska pulled off an impressive victory for Poland over Italy's Flavia Pennetta 6-2 6-2 for the first match of the 2014 Hopman Cup. As the tribe of players, agents, officials and media pour through the Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne airports to escape the snow-covered northern hemisphere for an blast furnace of cloudless skies and kaleidoscope of colour in Australia - the wait for the 2014 season of tennis is over.

In perth, the Australian team of Bernard Tomic and Sam Stosur have lost both their opening ties against Italy and Canada.

Hopman Cup Predictions

Group A Winner: Poland
Group B Winner: France

Hopman Cup Results - 1/1/2014

Aussies Start Strong In Brisbane
In Brisbane, victories from Sam Groth, Ash Barty, Matt Ebden, Casey Dellaqua, Marinko Matoseivc and Lleyton Hewitt have put the Aussies in a commanding position for the second round of matches. Ash Barty (due to play Maria Sharapova in the second round) has withdrawn due to injury.

Ash Barty Press Conference


Sam Groth has followed countryman Lletyon Hewitt into the second round with a hard-fought 7-6(3) 7-6(2) victory over qualifier Ryan Harrison.

The fastest recorded server in the world hammered down 22 aces and won 90% of first serve points.

"I felt like I served really well" said Groth. "First match of the year and I've put a good off-season in and it's a good reward."

In other matches, Nicolas Mahut and Jeremy Chardy both posted wins to set-up an all-French second round clash. Top seed and world No. 6 Roger Feder made his first appearance on Pat Rafter Arena ahead of Wednesday's singles match against Jarkko Nieminen, combining with Mahut to win a doubles clash against Rojer and Tecau.

Roger Federer meets the locals in Brisbane

2nd Round Predictions: Brisbane International:

Roger Federer [1] v Nieminen
Matosevic v Querrey
Anderson [4] v Groth
Mahut v Chardy [8]
Lopez [6] v Hewitt
Copil v Simon [3]
Dimitrov [5] v Cilic
Ebden v Nishikori [2]

Sam Groth has followed countryman Lleyton Hewitt into the second round with a hard-fought 7-6(3) 7-6(2) victory over qualifier Ryan Harrison. - See more at: http://www.brisbaneinternational.com.au/2013/12/hewitt-and-groth-make-it-a-night-for-the-aussies#sthash.4SQD44mO.dpuf

Sam Groth has followed countryman Lleyton Hewitt into the second round with a hard-fought 7-6(3) 7-6(2) victory over qualifier Ryan Harrison.
Boom-server Groth hammered down 22 aces and won 90 per cent of first serves, offering his opponent just one break point in the 94-minute match.
“I felt like I served really well,” said Groth. “I felt that my serve was on and I was hitting my spots.”
“First match of the year and I’ve put a good off-season in and it’s a good reward.”
- See more at: http://www.brisbaneinternational.com.au/2013/12/hewitt-and-groth-make-it-a-night-for-the-aussies#sthash.4SQD44mO.dpuf

Sam Groth has followed countryman Lleyton Hewitt into the second round with a hard-fought 7-6(3) 7-6(2) victory over qualifier Ryan Harrison.
Boom-server Groth hammered down 22 aces and won 90 per cent of first serves, offering his opponent just one break point in the 94-minute match.
“I felt like I served really well,” said Groth. “I felt that my serve was on and I was hitting my spots.”
“First match of the year and I’ve put a good off-season in and it’s a good reward.”
- See more at: http://www.brisbaneinternational.com.au/2013/12/hewitt-and-groth-make-it-a-night-for-the-aussies#sthash.4SQD44mO.dpuf

Sam Groth has followed countryman Lleyton Hewitt into the second round with a hard-fought 7-6(3) 7-6(2) victory over qualifier Ryan Harrison.
Boom-server Groth hammered down 22 aces and won 90 per cent of first serves, offering his opponent just one break point in the 94-minute match.
“I felt like I served really well,” said Groth. “I felt that my serve was on and I was hitting my spots.”
“First match of the year and I’ve put a good off-season in and it’s a good reward.”
- See more at: http://www.brisbaneinternational.com.au/2013/12/hewitt-and-groth-make-it-a-night-for-the-aussies#sthash.4SQD44mO.dpuf

Preview: Australian Open Lead Up Events

Down under, channel 7 showed their first advertisement for the summer of tennis yesterday. Check it out.  Redfoo sure is excited.  But seriously, who could blame him.
To wet the appetite for the action ahead, we check out the Aus Open lead up events. Who, what, where, how and why.  We’ve got you covered.

                                         Channel 7 Advertisment For The Summer Of Tennis

It all kicks off in Australia, on the 28th of December at the Hyundi Hopman cup. What follows is a smorgasbord of tennis. For a summary of who is playing which event and where you can watch the action live, check out our summary table below. For information on the Kooyong classic, visit http://www.aamiclassic.com.au/

	Hyundi Hopan Cup	Brisbane International	Apia International Sydney
Dates	Dec 28 - Jan 4	Dec 29 - Jan 5	Jan 5 - Jan 11
Location	Perth Arena	Queensland Tennis Centre	Sydney Olympic Park
Drawcards	8 of the world's top 20. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Sam Stosur, Bernard Tomic, Petra Kvitova, Milos Ranonic	Roger Federer, Marin Cilic, Lleyton Hewitt, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova	Juan Martin Del-Potro, Jerzy Janowicz, Nicolas Almagro, Caroline Wozniacki, Agnieszka Radwanska
Format	Each tie consists of a men’s and women’s singles match and a mixed doubles match.	Knockout format. 32 player draw.	Knockout format. 32 player draw.
Past Winners	2013 Spain: Anabel Medina Garrigues & Fernando Verdasco. 2012 Czech Republic: Tomas Berdych & Petra Kvitova	2013: Andy Murray & Serena Williams.            2012: Andy Murray & Kaia Kanepi	2013: Bernard Tomic & Agnieszka Radwanska. 2012: Jarkko Nieminem & Victoria Azarenka
TV Guide	Every session live on 7Mate	Channel 7 Network Live	Channel 7 Network Live

	Hobart International	World Tennis Challenge
Dates	Jan 5 - Jan 11	Jan 7 - Jan 9
Location	Domain Tennis Centre Hobart	Memorial Drive Adelaide
Drawcards	Sam Stosur, Venus Williams, Laura Robson,	Thanasi Kokkinakis & Pat Cash. Jeremy Chardy & Henri Leconte.       Martina Hingis.
Format	Knockout format. 32 player draw.	Teams Event with a 'Current player' and 'legend' from each country
Past Winners	2013 Elena Vesnina (RUS). 2012 Mona Barthel (GER)	N/A - Exhibition Tournament
TV Guide	Channel Ten Network	Fox Sports

All roads lead to Melbourne Park

Nadal & Djokovic Undertake Glacier Challenge

The tennis world never really sleeps.
Despite it being the off season, the tours leading players have once again been on the move, launching the 2014 season with a series of exhibition matches throughout South America.

The event organized by the Argentine Ministry of Tourism held at the Perto Moreno Glacier.

 The best two players had a hit on Saturday to promote one of the most visited South American destinations, the Perto Moreno glacier in the southern Argentinian province of Rio Gallegos. Aptly named  "Tennis in the Ice Ages" the mock match took place on board a ferry which had a tennis court specially built to allow the two tennis greats the chance to show their skills.

Both players have also been involved in a series of exhibition matches used as a farewell for the tennis great David Nalbandian who retired this year.  Earlier on thursday in Buenos Aires, Nalbandian, considered one of the greatest players never to win a grand slam, defeated Nadal in straight sets in the friendly match-up.

Andy Murray (returning from surgery) has also been involved in recent charity exhibitions. Last Saturday he returned to the court on Neckar Island, owned by Richard Branson. The Virgin billionaire sponsored the exhibition matchup which saw leading players face off against other celebrities.

Federer however has yet to resurface since his ATP world tour finals semifinal loss. Skipping the South American run of exhibition matches, his plans to concentrate on his form to the 2014 season should see him pose a strong start when he returns to Australia in late December for the Brisbane International.

Top 3: Matches Of 2013

With the Australian summer of tennis just around the corner, we look back on the highlights of the incredible season that has just been. Here is the best of the best; the top 3 matches of 2013.

3.  Novak Djokovic Defeated Juan Martin Del-Potro 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 6-3 - Wimbledon Semifinal

 Leading into the Wimbledon semi final of 2013, the only previous grass court encounter between these two heavyweights of tennis had been at the London 2012 Olympics. With the previous encounter going the way of the Argentine, the stage was set for a match which could go in anyone's favor.  In the longest Wimbledon semifinal in history, Djokovic won 6-3 in the fifth in four hours and 43 minutes. "It was one of the best matches that I've been a part of, one of the most exciting definitely" Djokovic said.

2. Rafael Nadal Defeats Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7, Roland Garros Semifinals

Highlights: http://eurosport.yahoo.com/video/highlights-djokovic-v-nadal-160620584.html

With Djokovic seeking to become the first male to win the first two Grand Slams of a calendar year in over 20 years and Nadal searching for a record eighth Roland Garros title, the stakes were incredibly high for this semi-final match-up.  The match itself did not disappoint. Going toe to toe for nearly five hours, the Serbian jumped out to an early fifth set lead. Yet the will and spirit of Nadal (as well as Djokovic's net touch at a crucial moment) allowed Nadal to eventually close out the match 9-7 in the deciding set. Afterwards John McEnroe stated this was the highest quality clay court match he had ever witnessed.

1. Novak Djokovic Defeats Stanislas Wawrinka 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7, 12-10 - Australian Open Fourth Round

 Considered by most as the match of the tournament, the fourth round encounter between once again Novak Djokovic and the Swiss number two Stanislas Wawrinka  even outshone the Federer v Murray match in the semifinals. Incredibly even Djokovic clinching his third Aussie Open crown provided merely the footnote to this encounter.  With blistering shot making and grueling rallies, this match had it all. Ending at 1:41am on Monday morning, the Sunday night blockbuster lasted five hours and two minutes.

“Especially I was dealing with myself all the five hours, trying to always find solutions, trying to always fight against me and against him to stay with him. At the end I was really, really close. For sure I'm really sad. But I think there is more positive than negative.” - Wawrinka reflecting on his loss to the then world number 1.

Top 5: Tennis Tantrums – Player Breakdowns, Racquet throws, Disputes

5 - Andy Roddick – The American has had one of the highest number of code violations amongst ATP players. In an Australian Open match against Phillip Kohlschreiber, Andy Roddick looses his composure and takes it out by personally insulting the umpire. In an example of how not to behave, Andy finishes by shouting to the crowd “stay in school kids, or you’ll end up being an umpire!”

4 - John McEnroe – No list such as this would be complete without this man’s name.  Using tantrums to shift the intensity of the game, McEnroe was arguably the first in the tennis bad boys trend. In the American’s original monologue, McEnroe caps off his “You can not be serious” outbreak with an ironic “You guys are just the pits of the world!”

3 - Victor Troiki – As the match commentator tells us, “This is sensational stuff!” Threatening to retire from the match, the Serbian pulls out all stops in his tantrum with the chair over a baseline call.  At the climax of the video, Victor comically takes the tv camera over to the line mark to prove his innocence before being given a conduct warning. Without Hawk-eye on clay courts, the line call itself is tough to tell..

2 - Marcos Baghdatis – Being cheered and jeered by the Australian Open crowd, Marcos Baghdatis breaks not one, not two, not three but four racquets. After subsequently being given a code violation, the Cypriot still manages to break a smile… Serious anger management problems right here folks.

1  - David Nalbandian - In number one position, we have one of the most bizarre outbreaks the tennis world has ever seen.  In the 2012 final of one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, the Argentine had a complete mind blank.  Due to un-sportsman like conduct, David lost the final on the spot by default (despite his one set led).