A Kind Of Magic

The December Showdown has begun! It seems a little strange to get so involved in what is just a playoff for one of the 128 spots on offer in the Australian Open draw... but then the showdown is wonderful fun.

The real question seems to be whether Jelena Dokic or Alicia Molik will be the one to get the wildcard. I think you can probably bet your bottom dollar that both would be carded in anyway - they are big names - so I certainly won't be unhappy if one of the many other girls in the draw pulls through. But Dokic and Molik did both have good wins yesterday and looking hot. That would be a bit of a drawcard final!

If I had to pick, I think I'd throw my cap into the Dokic corner, purely for emotional reasons. When she won the playoff a couple of years ago she went into the Open and won her way into the quarters - wasn't that a story? I don't expect we'll ever see the like of that again but it would be lovely to see the circumstances mirrored, so to speak. There might be a kind of magic in that.

Meanwhile, I'm a little surprised at the names in action in the men's draw. Peter Luczak? I suppose with his ranking he doesn't qualify for direct entry - which is an enormous shame, because he managed to get it up so high there for a while. And Marinko Matosevic and Carsten Ball as well... I suppose it's just indicative of the fact that there is only one player for whom entry is a guarantee that is Hewitt. Everyone has to throw their cards in. Everyone has to play. We've been so spoiled on the women's side with Stosur and Groth and whatnot that we forget this a bit.

Anyway, I wish I could say something about the actual tennis, but not having seen any of it, I can't. I will say this, however - fourteen year old Ashleigh Barty, I hope you play some awesome stuff out there. I always have a soft spot for the young 'uns!

Baby, Remember Their Names

Okay, so there's some grown up tennis going on right now. The annual Juan Martin del Potro string of US hardcourt tournaments has begun, and people are playing in them. And stuff.

Oh, and also, it's the World Junior Tennis Competition final in Prostejov, Czech Republic, and the Aussie kids are KICKING ARSE.

This is an event for the best players aged under 14 in the world, and considering that Rafa Nadal played here once, I think we can safely say it's a good platform for future stars. Both the Aussie teams have had tough draws, but both have come through wonderfully.

Let's start with the girls, because their upset is probably the biggest one. The Aussie girls were unseeded and upset the second seeds Russia in a huge coup. The real star was probably Ash Barty, who had a massive win in her singles before backing it up in doubles, but Isabella Beischer and Lyann Hong also made huge contributions. Look out for these girls in a few years time - I bet they're going to be huge!

The girls won their tie 2-1, but the boys went one better and made a clean sweep. Thanasi Kokkinakis, Li Tu and Blake Mott played absolutely awesomely to secure Australia the win against the home team, the Czech Republic. This is a massive effort and people should be very proud!

I wish I had more to say about this event, because I think it's really worthwhile. For now, I'll just stick with well done, keep it up and congratulations, kids!