Jamie Baker has qualified for the first round of the Australian Open on Monday. The 21-year-old Scot, beat Daniel Koellerer 6-4, 6-4, to win his third match in qualification.

His compatriot, Andy Murray, will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in the first round. This is not an easy opening match but there are great hopes that Murray will reach the quarter finals.
No sooner does Henman retire (losing his final match to Tsonga), than the burden of a nation falls on the shoulders of 20-year-old Murray.

Before winning in Doha, his fourth ATP title, the British number one was at 25-1 to win the Australian Open and the best current odds are 16-1. Murray is currently fourth favourite for Wimbledon, at 16-1, above Roddick at 20 and Hewitt at 25-1.

The good news for Murray and others, is that the extreme heat of Melbourne looks to be on its way out and Federer and Nadal are not at the top of their form. The number one seed, Federer, was unable to play last week because of a stomach upset and Nadal has various leg niggles. 

The bad news is, Federer is not worried, and said he would not play if he did not believe he could win the Australian for the third time in a row. He said: “I will definitely be 100% before the tournament.”
The old Rebound Ace courts have been replaced and the players were anticipating a quicker surface, with a lower bounce, but in warm-up matches, players have complained the Plexicushion courts actually feel slower than the old ones.

This flies in the face of perceived wisdom, and many of the players are not happy about it. There have been mutterings the courts were relayed for the benefit of local player, Leyton Hewitt, who has never won the tournament, and was involved in an ugly racial incident here in 2001.

Prediction: Federer to make it three in a row.

The women’s number one, Justine Henin, missed last year’s tournament, which was won by a seemingly out-of-condition Serena Williams, who thrashed Sharapova in the final. The seventh all-Williams grand-slam final, would be extremely popular this year.