Tennis Betting on the Australian Open - Commences 14 Jan

After Andy Murray’s defeat today on the first day of the Australian Open, there have got to be more than a few of us wondering today whether Britain’s hopes of having a new world-class tennis player been dashed again.

At only 20 years old, fans of British tennis will hope that Andy Murray has a long career ahead of him – he’s certainly started well - but today’s defeat shows that he may have a way to go before he’s really in with a shout of winning any Grand Slam titles.

In the wake of his opening round robin match to Marat Safin in Melbourne’s Kooyong Classic this week, all eyes were on Murray to advance well into the tournament. Jet-lagged, tired and having just eaten, Murray was informed that his match had been bumped and he was next up. His subsequent comfortable win over Brydan Klein was surely a sign that great things were in store at the open.

Apparently not. Despite his 9th seed placing, his win at the Qatar open and Greg Rusedski’s recent tip that Murray was a possible Federer-beater, Murray went out in four sets to France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 38th seed.

The Frenchmen took the first two sets fairly effortlessly, powering through with a huge serving game. Murray came back strongly to take the third but lost the next in a tiebreak - and along with it his hopes of victory.

To be fair, Tsonga was always going to be a tough opponent, and Murray’s inexperience at this level of play showed through in several mistakes during the match. However, he seemed undaunted and surprisingly confident after his loss – whether that confidence is enough to win major competitions remains to be seen.