Rookie of the Tournament!!!

Today, Sam had to attend the Ballkids party at 11a.m and he has just texted me to say that he got an award for "Rookie of the Tournament"!!! Not only that, but he is on Rod Laver Arena for the 4th day in a row! Today he has the mixed doubles semi finals and the women's doubles finals!!!

Yesterday was Australia Day so everyone had the day off. Chris went for a 75km bike ride and I did the Great Australia Day 1.4km Swim with Natalie at Brighton. I was very pleased to complete my first open water swim of that distance in 40 minutes! Then it was back to Nat's for a barbie, whilst watching Sam on the

TV ball-boying Kim Clijsters v Azarenko and then Maria Sharapova v Kvitova.

4.15 pm :- I have just been sent a text from Sam which reads as follows... :) Andy Murray was over the moon to find that Ballboy 184 (Sam) will be ball-boying him in his semi against Novac Djokovic tonight :) I'm the only first year to make final squad.

WOW!!!

That was the week that was!!

Well, Sam's week at the Aussie Open has just got better and better! He'd been on Margaret Court 3 times which he was chuffed about, but then on Monday, he was allocated the Hisense Arena (number 1 court) and was sooo pleased! Usually the "newbies" (1st year Ballkids) don't get to go on the two main courts so he felt honoured. I decided to go in and watch him and managed to buy a ticket from a lady for only $40 - and it was 3 rows from the front and in the shade all day so I was VERY pleased!

It was a fantastic line-up. First of all it was the Legends Doubles which was between Henri Leconte/Guy Forget and the "Woodies" - Todd Woodbridge/ Marke Woodforde. Henri Leconte was hilarious, messing around the whole time but is still such a great player. They went on to win the match.

Next was Jo-Wilfred Tsonga v the Japanese boy Nishikori. A 5 -setter which had us sitting on the edge of our seats and was won by Nishikori - a real upset! He is the first Japanese man to reach the semi-finals and he certainly deserved it.

Finally, it was Richard Gasquet against David Ferrer and it was Ferrer that won.

As we came home on the train together, Sam was on a complete "high"! I warned him that he probably would be put onto an outside court the next day.

But it was not to be!!! Yesterday (Tuesday 24th January) he went in for an 11 o'clock shift. He texted me to say he had been put onto Rod Laver Arena, the Centre Court over here! How I would've loved to have seen his face when he found out! We were all estactic for him and I managed to get a ticket on-line!

He had Pat Cash/ Goran Ivanisevic in the Legends Doubles, then Azarenka v Radwanska, followed by Caroline Wozniacki v Kim Clijsters. Aussie Kim played really well and managed to win the match against the World's number 1!

Finally, he had Roger Federer v Del Potro!!! I was such a proud Mum to see our Son ball-boying the Champion of Champions, Roger Federer! And what an amazing experience for him!

So, today, I REALLY thought he would be back to an outside court, but no! He is back on Rod with Maria Sharapova and later, Andy Murray v Nishikori.

He has written a list of all the people he has Ball-boyed and wow! What a list it is! All he needs now to finish it off is Nadal and Djokovic!!!

Masses of new fotos on Flickr to your right. Wonderful that the Grandparents and lots of people in the UK have been able to watch him on Eurosport :)

What a week!

First day Sam was on Court 3 and was ball-boying Mardy Fish amongst others. Tuesday, he was on Margaret Court (3rd largest show court) and was servicing the match with Ferrer and then Dokic.

Although we didn't go to the tennis on Tuesday (because Granny and Grandad were leaving), we watched Sam on TV instead! Lots of the Boys friends were face-booking to say they had seen Sam on TV!

Wednesday, Sam had an amazing day! He went in at 4pm and was on Margaret Court again. The first match he had was between John Isner (who had the epic 3-day match at Wimbledon 2 years ago) and Nalbandian. It was an incredible match to watch, with Nalbandian playing better although Isner was the seeded player. It went to a long 5 sets, with a bad (and incorrect) call going against Nalbandian at the very end so that Isner won.

Then on came Baghdatis (CYP) and Wawrinka (SUI), an immense game. The crowd was full of Cypriots who insisted on singing inbetween each point! It was more like a very rowdy football crowd rather than a tennis audience, I have never seen anything like it! At one stage, Baghdatis was so cross with himself for losing a set that he broke 4 of his rackets by slamming them on the ground! Eventually at midnight, Stan Wawrinka won the 5 set game and Sam and I got the last train home at 1a.m.

See all the new fotos on our flickr site (press on the fotos on the right to enlarge them.)

Into the city we go...!

Had a busy day today. Judy, Tony, Jack and myself went into the city and went first of all, to the Queen Victoria Market, stopping en route at Melbourne Central to see the conical glass window and clock that plays "Waltzing Matilda" on the hour.

Then we headed for Melbourne Park, to watch Sam in action on Court 12 and to support our English players James Ward and Laura Robson through their first day of Qualifying. Laura Robson played convincingly, winning the first set 6 - 3 and the second set 5 - 0. Then she lost her nerve to close the match and we sat there for another nail-biting half an hour, till she finally won the second set 6 - 4!

Tomorrow, Granny and Grandad are going for lunch on the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant and Sam is having a day off!

(click on the "latest fotos" on the right to see further pictures and to enlarge them...)

(Forgot to say, Judy Murray was watching Laura Robsons match!)

The Australian Open begins...!

Today, Sam had to go in for Orientation Day , the day before the Qualifying Tournament begins. Basically, it was a press release and they took all the Ballkids to stand outside Parliament House in Melbourne for a foto shoot. Sam is standing third row from the back, 2nd one in from the right!

We are all really excited now as the AO is about to commence and we are looking forward to going to see Sam in action on the first day, the 16th. He came home with 16 free tickets today two of which are for the first Monday evening in the Rod Lever Arena (Centre Court) - guess who's having those!!!

There are 20 Ballkids from Korea, 9 from NSW and WA, 5 from S.A and 2 from Tasmania, the rest being made up from Victoria. Ana Ivanovic (World No.22) attended the press launch. Sam saw Andy Murray today who actually smiled at them! Laura Robson, our young English hopeful, is playing in the Qualifiers, so we are hoping to go and see her this week and offer her our support!

Chris goes for a Harley ride

For Father's Day (last year) the boys gave me a Harley Davidson ride. Being so busy has meant I haven't had the chance to do it until now.

So this morning I went off on a one hour trip hosted by 'John'. It was great fun cruising around on the bike along the coastal road (Beach Road).

Thanks boys!

On your bike!

Hi All,

Summer is well under way now here in sunny Melbourne with the temperature touching 42c yesterday.

Lovely weather to be relaxing in or sitting on the beach.....but Chris and Caroline decided to do a 70k bike ride!!!!

It was something we had already registered for as part of an organised event called 'Amy's Ride'. The event supports road safety for cycling following the death of Amy Gillett in an accident a couple of years ago. Amy was one of Australia's top cyclists and was knocked down by a reckless driver in Germany and killed.

The ride took place in Geelong which is about a 30 min drive south of Melbourne. We set off at 5.45am (gulp) and even then the temperature was approaching 20c. Our friends Natalie and Jason were also doing the ride so we met up with them. The route took us out into the countryside and then along the picturesque coast. The temp was getting hotter and hotter but there were a number of drinks stations along the way. All was going well until Chris took a wrong turn and ended up doing an extra 4k despite people trying to get his attention!!

The last 30 mins of the ride were hard work (for everyone except Caroline) and someone on a bike next to me registered the temperature at 46c!! However we all made it safely to the end which was a great feeling. 2000 other cyclists also completed the course and in the afternoon there was a pro race. However we decided to go and have a well deserved lunch in a nearby cafe. You can see a map of our route here.

Today us normal human beings are feeling a bit knackered...but Caroline was off at 8am for a swim. Is it madness, addiction or just motivation.......??!!

This afternoon Chris and Jack are taking Mum and Dad to the airport for their trip to Brisbane for a week. Then they are back with us for another week to take in more of Melbourne including going to watch Sam at the Australian Open :)

More photos on our Flickr site as usual and more updates soon.....