We hope our members and patrons have enjoyed a bright start to 2014, with the warm weather ensuring there's no better time to be outdoors amongst family and friends.
Of course the turn of the New Year means it's Australia's time to shine on the world tennis circuit. The world's best players have already started filtering down under ahead of the Australian Open and it's sure to be a bumper month of tennis at Strathfield Sports Club.
As far as our local contingent are concerned, our highest ranked male and female players in Bernard Tomic and Sam Stosur began their preparation for the new season by pairing up in the Hopman Cup.
The mixed team event in Perth features countries from around the world but unfortunately Australia are out of finals contention after going down to Canada and Italy in the Round Robin stages. The No.7 seeds lost both ties 2-1 and will come up against the tournament’s top-seeds Poland on Thursday night.
Neither player was overly concerned about their results, with their focus being squarely on the year's first grand slam. Tomic, who has employed a new coach in Velimir Zovko, said he had been undergoing a heavy training program to get him in prime condition for the Australian Open.
“This week is a training week for me. I'm playing a little bit tired, but who cares,” said Tomic. “At the end of the day, I've got to push myself.
“I know I was feeling a bit tired out there, but it's only going to make me stronger for the big one in a few weeks.”
Meanwhile Stosur was disappointed to have lost both her singles matches to date after finishing the end of last season so strongly. The 2011 US Open champion has traditionally struggled at Melbourne Park but is determined not to let the weight of the country's expectation act as a distraction this time around.
“It's disappointing not to get a win again but I thought I played some good tennis,” said Stosur. “Time on court is the most important thing at the moment and that's why this tournament is so great.
“I'm still pretty happy with the way I'm hitting the ball. There's room for improvement, but I don't think it's the worst start I've ever had.”
Elsewhere around the country, Marinko Matosevic has booked his first ever quarter-final appearance after producing his second upset of the week at the Brisbane international. Matosevic followed up his win over world No.35 Julien Benneteau by defeating American Sam Querrey to set up a date with Swiss legend Roger Federer.
Aussie veteran Lleyton Hewitt will be up against Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in order to try book his place in the final eight. Hewitt is unbeaten against the sixth seed in their three match-ups, although the pair have not met since 2007.
You can follow all the Summer's tennis action on the big screen in the Strathfield Sports clubhouse and hopefully all the televised action will inspire you to take your on court game to another level in 2014. See our contact details and call us at any time during opening hours in order to book!