Guest Post: Winter sport down-under beats the blues

It’s getting to that time of year again when you really wish you could travel to the southern hemisphere. But for those of us with children in school, or who are too young to travel such distances – and/or who simply can’t afford it – we have to make do with a little ‘vicarious’ southern hemisphere living.

Of course, when it’s the height of the summer in Australia and the rest of us are shivering in the cold, dark northern hemisphere – at least we’re able to tune in to the Aussie sports. The Ashes series is underway already, but the Australian tennis open is really where it’s at for those of us who prefer a little more immediate excitement in sport. And it has to be said that the 2014 Australian Open looks to be the most exciting for many a year on the men’s side of the draw.

It’s the first Grand Slam event of the calendar, and for those of us who enjoy a flutter on the tennis to make it even more interesting, the market is a very interesting one. With Betfair, the world’s largest betting exchange, Novak Djokovic is the warm favourite, followed by the comeback kid, Rafael Nadal. There’s then a bit of a gap to Andy Murray who looks an interesting tennis punt for gamblers with betfair.com at around 6-1 at the time of writing.

Murray had an operation on his back in September and was knocked out of the US Open at the quarter-final stage which was particularly disappointing after his first Grand Slam win the event in 2012. He’s been runner up at the Aussie Open in Melbourne three times and will be determined to go one better. Then again – perhaps Roger Federer isn’t finished yet?

It promises to be a great tournament whatever happens – and it certainly helps bring a little Aussie sunshine into your house, albeit via the TV screen!

Written by Gemma Collier: Gemma is a working mum who loves to play tennis at the weekend and is an avid follower of the sport. She hopes to visit Australia for the Open, and maybe even take the kids along too! It definitely beats sitting in front of the TV.