Raindrops on Roses, Whiskers on Kittens, and... Tennis?

I just read an article on the ATP website that made the following, very surprising, claim:

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"Despite no Australian male or female player being ranked in the top 50 of the world’s tennis players, tennis retains its position as the sport in which most Australians are interested."

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Bullcrap.

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I wish it were true. But it just isn't. Tennis is nowhere near Australia's favourite sport. (What does 'interested in' mean anyway?) They must have had a very pro-tennis sample, because that is just wrong. As a nation, Australia cares about cricket, about swimming, AFL, rugby league, rugby union, soccer, occasionally horseracing. We might show a brief flicker of interest in basketball or netball occasionally. But tennis? Hell no. Not unless Pat Rafter or Lleyton Hewitt is in the final.

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You can tell every time you open a newspaper. There'll be pages on the various codes of footy, the racing guide, cricket all over the shop. Tennis? Not unless it's a Slam or Bec Cartwright has just given birth. Australians care about tennis in January, and pretty much no other time, unless someone's winning - and even in January, it's a ratings war with the cricket.

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So I wish this was true. I wish tennis was Australia's favourite sport. But in reality? Not a chance.