Melbourne : Even by Melbourne's standards, it has been hot this week. When it reached almost 40C at midnight on Monday, which meant that the humans could not sleep and the possums were dropping dead out of the trees, it was the warmest evening here for more than 100 years.
And it is now 74 years since a British man last won a grand slam singles title. But, ahead of the Australian Open, which begins at Melbourne Park tomorrow, Andy Murray has been thinking about another number. For all the impatient members of the British tennis public, for those beginning to wonder why the Scot still has not won a slam yet, there is a figure worth keeping in mind.
On Thursday Murray reminded everyone that Roger Federer played in 17 slams before he won his first major, at Wimbledon in 2003. And Federer has not done too badly for himself, going on to become the most successful man in tennis history, with 15 slams and counting. As Murray appreciates crunching numbers almost as much as he likes crunching forehands, he was never going to miss a good statistic, and he has noted this Australian Open is going to be his 17th slam.
"I haven't played that many grand slams," said Murray, who opens against a qualifier, and who is in the same quarter of the draw as the defending champion and world No 2, Spain's Rafael Nadal. Perhaps a 17-slam wait is not such a long wait, when you consider that 275 grand slam tournaments have been and gone since Fred Perry lifted the 1936 US Open trophy.
Others would disagree. One of those in the "Murray ought to win one soon" camp is John McEnroe.
"I think this should be Murray's time. Each time he doesn't win the title the pressure sort of builds," said the winner of seven singles grand slams who picked the players out of the cup at Thursday's draw ceremony.
McEnroe has wondered about Federer's motivation in Melbourne after his achievements last season, he has doubts about Nadal's fitness, he has pointed to Novak Djokovic's inconsistent tennis at the majors last season, and he is not sure that Juan Martin del Potro, last season's US Open champion, has it in him to win successive slams, especially as the Argentine has a wrist problem.
"With some of the questions about the other guys," McEnroe said, "this Australian Open is there for the taking for Murray."
Murray should certainly be as primed as anyone to cope with the heat. This season, he arrived in Australia a week earlier than previously, after choosing not to defend his title at the men's ranking tournament in Doha, and instead partnering Laura Robson at the mixed team exhibition event in Perth.
"I just feel a lot better, more adjusted to the heat this year. For a lot of the guys who didn't come straight to Australia it would have been a bit of a shock to the system," said Murray, who spent his Christmas in Miami.
"However, when the conditions are like they were on Monday and Tuesday this week it doesn't matter how fit you are, 45 degrees is brutal and everyone's going to struggle."
As the fifth seed, Murray could have to beat three of the world's top four if he is to win the title. Murray is projected to meet Del Potro in the semifinals, and in the final he could play either Federer or Djokovic, the 2008 champion. So far, the Australian Open has been Murray's least successful slam, as he is yet to go beyond the fourth round. A year ago, he started it as the bookmakers' favourite, but he could not cope with some brilliant hitting from Spain's Fernando Verdasco in their fourth-round meeting. The year before that, he lost in the first round to France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. This month, Murray feels as though he is as ready to win a grand slam as he has ever been.
— The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2010
Serena Williams
Dinara Safina
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Caroline Wozniacki
Elena Dementieva
Venus Williams
Victoria Azarenka
Jelena Jankovic
Vera Zvonareva
Agnieszka Radwanska
Marion Bartoli
Flavia Pennetta
Samantha Stosur
Maria Sharapova
Kim Clijsters
Na Li
Francesca Schiavone
Virginie Razzano
Nadia Petrova
Ana Ivanovic
Sabine Lisicki
Daniela Hantuchova
Dominika Cibulkova
Maria Sanchez
Anabel M. Garrigues
Aravane Rezai
Alisa Kleybanova
Elena Vesnina
Shahar Peer
Kateryna Bondarenko
Alona Bondarenko
Carla Suarez Navarro
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic
Juan Martin del Potro
Andy Murray
Nikolay Davydenko
Andy Roddick
Robin Soderling
Fernando Verdasco
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Fernando Gonzalez
Gael Monfils
Radek Stepanek
Marin Cilic
Gilles Simon
Tommy Robredo
David Ferrer
Tommy Haas
Stanislas Wawrinka
Mikhail Youzhny
Tomas Berdych
Lleyton Hewitt
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Ivan Ljubicic
Sam Querrey
Nicolas Almagro
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Jurgen Melzer
Viktor Troicki
Juan Monaco
Albert Montanes
Jeremy Chardy
The first tennis grand slam event of 2010 takes place in Melbourne, Australia, from Jan 18 to 31
Schedule (final)
Men's singles
Sunday, Jan. 31
Women's singles
Saturday, Jan. 30
Men's doubles
Saturday, Jan. 30
Women's doubles
Friday, Jan. 29
Mixed doubles
Sunday, Jan. 31
Winner's prize
Men's singles
$1,858,000
Women's singles
$1,858,000
Men's doubles
$418,050
Mixed doubles
$124,913
