Kid jumps in the spotlight

Sometimes the stage is lit and nobody is there to fill it. Enter: this kid.

Luckily, the normally mundane coin toss was made all the more exciting after an Open ball boy well and truly went beyond the call of duty, completing a little kick and spin before flipping the 50c for Kei Nishikori and Kamil Majchrzak.

Rumour has it he’s in a Michael Jackson cover band.

Carpe diem, little dude, carpe diem.

Tomic opens up the heart of Australian tennis

Bernard Tomic has unloaded and arguably left Lleyton Hewitt exposed. AAP Image/Lukas CochSource:AAP

While the eyes of the tennis world were on Andy Murray, Bernard Tomic produced an honourable loss to Australian Open sixth seed Marin Cilic.

Then he blew it all up by launching a scathing attack on Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt as he suggested bias and promotion of players loyal to Hewitt and his management company — and in doing so implicated both Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis ahead of their Australian Open starts.

“We have a lot of issues that not a lot of players are happy about,” Tomic said when first asked if he expects to play Davis Cup this year.

“The players that I have spoken to aren’t. Myself, Kokkinakis, Kyrgios. I think once that sort of gets resolved we’ll see. I stand by my call a couple years ago. I knew something was wrong in the Davis Cup. And now there is Kokkinakis and Nick as well who aren’t playing because they have issues with some people. Hopefully that can be arranged and the best players can be playing for Australia.”

The tirade sent social media into meltdown but some analysts seem to think Tomic may have hit a nerve, even if his point was made at the wrong time.

Unsurprisingly other tennis luminaries came out to support Hewitt. Todd Woodbridge led the charge and described it as a “poor attempt to deflect”.

“One of the most disappointing things here is it’s become his habit of deflecting a loss and deflecting what work he does to try to get better as a tennis player,” Woodbridge told 3AW Radio.

“Lleyton copped it last night. The last one that copped it, at Wimbledon a couple of years ago, was Pat Rafter.

“Now, I’ve been in spaces in development that have been around Bernie and I can promise you that myself, Pat Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt — who have all got a wealth of experience in this game, both as players and dealing with media and trying to help our next generation — have given him enormous amounts of our personal time.

“I’ve been away from my family and kids, as Pat Rafter did, as Lleyton Hewitt has, to enhance Bernard’s career. So it’s time he actually used some of the things that we’ve given him, the tools, and try to just get his tennis back on track.

“Last night was a poor attempt to deflect that he hasn’t been doing that.”

Hewitt’s manager, David Drysdale, said the former world number one would speak on Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m not going to comment on it … there is a number of inaccuracies and I’m sure Lleyton will address all of that this afternoon,” Drysdale told SEN Mornings.

Longtime Hewitt doubles partner Sam Groth expects a strong return serve.

“I’m not sure he’s going to hold a lot back to be honest,” Groth told SEN.

“I think he’s bitten his tongue for a long time on this stuff and I think it’s time to address it and put it to bed.

“In a time where we should be celebrating Australian tennis in the country, we’re talking about a guy who has bowed out in straight sets in the first round and we haven’t really spoken about because this time last year he was off doing reality TV.

“All of a sudden we’re talking about him again when we have so much more to talk about.”

Will nerves take hold as Serena chases Court’s record?

The very last time Serena Williams was at Melbourne Park this was the defining picture of her … also she was 8 weeks pregnant.Source:AP

Serena Williams kickstarts her bid to match Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam titles in her first return to Melbourne Park since winning in 2017 while eight weeks pregnant.

The American, now 37, has kept a low profile in the lead-up to the opening slam of the year, avoiding any pre-tournament press conferences to focus on her game.

Seeded 16, she opens against Germany’s Tatjana Maria in the heat of the day on Rod Laver Arena, with few prepared to bet against her winning an eighth Melbourne Park crown.

But Court suggested nerves could undermine Williams’ quest to match her 24 slam titles and suggested there could be a surprise winner.

“I think it’s a pretty open tournament and I think an outsider can win it,” Court said.

Williams played at the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth this month, but her appearance on Tuesday will be first outing on tour since her meltdown in losing the US Open final to Naomi Osaka in September.

Serena Williams will play her first tour match since this one, where she had a complete meltdown against Naomi Osaka in the US Open final. Timothy A. Clary/AFPSource:AFP

Men’s world No. 1 Novak Djokovic is also gunning for a piece of history as he looks to win a record seventh Australian Open title, starting off against American qualifier Mitchell Krueger.

The Serb’s maiden breakthrough in Australia came against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2008 and he has won the title five more times since, most recently against Andy Murray in 2016.

Last year’s beaten finalist and women’s world No. 1 Simona Halep plays Kaia Kanepi, who sent her packing in the first round of the 2018 US Open, as she continues her return from injury, while enigmatic Australian Nick Kyrgios has his work cut out against Canadian 16th seed Milos Raonic later this evening.

Japan’s Osaka, seeded four, also gets her tournament under way, following Djokovic on court in a night match against Poland’s Magda Linette.

Seen as a new standard bearer for tennis in her homeland, Asia and the next generation of women, the 21-year-old said she would not be getting ahead of herself.

“I feel like, of course, I have to take it one step at a time. No one wants to lose in the first round of a slam,” Osaka said.

“That would be my immediate goal. From there, I’ve been in the third round 100 million times already. That would be my next goal. Hopefully semis after that. Then I can think about, like, the finals and winning.”

— AFP