The Australian Open has kicked off for another year, which means tennis will be the only decent thing on television for the next two weeks, unless you have Foxtel of course.
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Not that that’s a bad thing though; the Australian Open is by far the biggest sporting even in Australia on a yearly basis.
It’s the favourite grand slam of a number of top players, and the crowd numbers keep rising with every year.
It also gives us a chance to cheer on our Aussies in a world-wide event that isn’t the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games.
Now, Australian tennis is in a weird place right now. The men’s game is dominated by possibly the most naturally talented player we’ve produced, but one who can’t get out of his own way.
The women’s game is teetering right now, and has been since Sam Stosur’s US Open win in 2011.
Having said that, there seems to be a good young crop of Aussies coming through the ranks.
Just last week at the Sydney International, we saw 21-year-old Ash Barty and 18-year-old Alex De Minaur make their respective finals. While both lost, it’s been a long time since we could brag of both an Aussie man and woman making the same tournament final.
De Minaur has been branded the next Lleyton Hewitt, and if he can become even half as good as the Aussie legend, we’re in good hands.
Then, of course, there’s the aforementioned Nick Kyrgios, the 22-year-old firebrand from Canberra who is almost more famous for his antics on court than his play.
And don’t forget 21-year-old Thanasi Kokkinakis, the 194cm South Australian who has been crippled by injuries early in his career.
We’ve also got 23-year-old Daria Gavrilova, who has made second-week runs at the Australian Open a habit.
The tournament itself has already served up story lines. The Americans had a particularly bad day on Monday, with last year’s finalist Venus Williams eliminated alongside US Open champion Sloane Stephens.
Another American, Coco Vandeweghe, had a bizarre banana-related meltdown before her first round loss, and is now under fire for a profanity-laced outburst at her opponent Timea Babos.
Sam Stosur suffered another Australian Open meltdown, losing to Puerto Rican Monica Puig in three sets. Stosur had match points in the second set, but instead made it three straight years of first round losses.
It wasn’t all bad news for the Aussies though. Nick Kyrgios looked unchallenged in a straight-sets win over Brazilian Rogerio Dutra-Silva. Even the win came with some controversy though, as Kyrgios was handed a code violation for a choice interaction with the crowd in the first set.
It’s not the Aussies that a lot of people come to see though, as fan favourites Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer return to Melbourne for another crack at the title. The two played one of the best finals in recent memory last year.
Federer is the gentleman, the quiet assassin who has dominated world tennis for more than a decade. Nadal is the sex symbol, the brooding Spaniard who has developed a massive following all over the world. And don’t forget the return of Novak Djokovic chasing a seventh Australian Open title.
Let’s face it, we’re in for a good fortnight.
