The 2014 Australian Open swings into action in Melbourne and both British Eurosport and the BBC will be screening live coverage of the first Grand Slam of the year.
With the new tennis season is already underway, it is about to kick into a high gear barely two weeks into the new calendar year as the Australia plays host to the self-styled ‘Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific’.
After what is always an incredibly brief off-season, it is time for the biggest names in the sport to return to the Grand Slam stage and compete for one of the four biggest prizes in the annual tennis schedule.
Unlike last year, all the biggest stars in the men’s and women’s game are all relatively healthy and hungry to start the year with the aim of securing the first major trophy of the season.
British Eurosport will again be the only place to follow the progress of all the big names throughout the 14-day tournament with the most comprehensive and unrivalled coverage of each day’s play available on UK television.
BBC Sport will provide free-to-air coverage of the latter stages of the tournament Down Under, including the men’s and women’s singles finals live on BBC TV.
After finishing runner-up at the Australian Open three times in four years Andy Murray will look to go one better in 2014 but his success will be dependent on his recovery from a back operation he had in September.
The 26-year-old Scot goes into the first Grand Slam of 2014 having only returned to action two weeks ago following back surgery.
Murray’s preparations for the tournament took a hit in the build-up when he was knocked out the Qatar Open by Florian Mayer, despite being a set up and 3-0 up in the second.
Novak Djokovic beat Murray in two of his three final appearances and the Serbian will be the favourite again this year as he chases a record fifth Australian Open title.
He will be pushed all the way by Rafael Nadal who enjoyed a quite incredible 2013, coming back from a seven-month injury layoff to win the French and US Opens, as well as finishing the year as world number one.
Three-time Australian Open finalist Murray will open his campaign against Japan’s Go Soeda, the 29-year-old world number 112, for the first time on either Monday or Tuesday (Jan 13 or 14).
Serena Williams will be favourite in the women’s draw and the 17-time Grand Slam winner will be hopeful of a better run than what she had at last year’s tournament when she lost her quarter-final match to compatriot Sloane Stephens.
Britain’s Laura Robson and Heather Watson will hope to make an impact in Melbourne after a mixed 2013 for both.
After being diagnosed with glandular fever in April, Watson managed just four wins in her next nine tournaments, a run which included first round exits at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Now outside the top 100, the 21-year-old has been relegated to the third highest ranked Brit behind Robson and Johanna Konta.
Robson had a better year, making the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time and the third round at both the Australian and US Opens, and will be hoping to continue her ascent up the rankings in 2014.
British number one Robson faces Belgian 18th seed Kirsten Flipkens in round one, while the British contingent in singles could yet be boosted with Johanna Konta and Heather Watson still in qualifying.
Get set for the drama, upsets, marathon matches, controversies and for the unhealthy amounts of sleep deprivation that are sure to accompany two wild weeks of Australian Open tennis on the hard courts of Melbourne Park.
Details of how to follow the 2014 Australian Open on British Eurosport and BBC below:
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OFFICIAL WEBSITE DRAWS SCHEDULE LIVE SCORES
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DAY 12: Friday 24th January – Semi Finals
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Rod Laver Arena Women’s Doubles Final 05:00 BST| [1] ERRANI / VINCI. | v | MAKAROVA / VESNINA |
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Rod Laver Arena (Night) 08:30 BST| [1] (ESP) Rafael NADAL. | v | Roger FEDERER (SUI) [6] |
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CLICK HERE for full ORDER OF PLAY
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British Eurosport will offer exhaustive coverage of the 2014 Australian Open with over 300 hours of live action from Down Under over the course of the fortnight.
The pan-European broadcaster is the only place to follow the entire tournament from start to finish on UK television, starting each night during the first 10 days at 12 midnight.
Both British Eurosport channels – British Eurosport and British Eurosport 2, as well as their high-definition equivalents – will screen continuous through-the-night coverage for the first 10 days, giving fans the opportunity to choose between two different live matches.
Every night session on Rod Laver Arena will be screened exclusively live on British Eurosport, with each session under the dazzling lights starting at breakfast time here in the UK.
British Eurosport’s studio coverage of each night session, including both singles finals over the concluding weekend, will presented once again by the channel’s main tennis anchor Rob Curling.
He will be joined in the studio by former world number four and 1997 US Open finalist Greg Rusedski and three-time Grand Slam winner Virginia Wade, who will both offer their unique expert analysis on each day’s play.
Ross Hutchins, who has played in two Grand Slam doubles quarter-finals, will also be part of this year’s Eurosport team.
Hutchins will be combining his playing comeback, having bravely survived cancer in 2013, with providing on-site analysis for Eurosport and will team up with former British number one Annabel Croft to bring interviews and insights from Melbourne.
‘Game Set and Mats’, Eurosport International’s daily round-up show at the Grand Slams, returns again this year with former three-time Australian Open champion Mats Wilander.
He will welcome experts and players to give their insight on the tournament alongside co-presenter Annabel Croft and former world number seven Barbara Schett, who will bring the best interviews and reaction right from the grounds at Melbourne Park overlooking the main arena.
British Eurosport’s expert commentary team guiding fans through the action includes Simon Reed, Jo Durie, Frew McMillan and Chris Bradnam.
For further multi-court coverage, Eurosport Player subscribers can also access up to seven main courts live via the website and apps.
The new improved Eurosport Player service includes stamped timeline and live alerts, meaning fans will never miss a match point.
There will also be comprehensive coverage on the British Eurosport website with up-to-date scores, reports, blogs, interviews and videos.
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BBC Sport will again provide live free-to-air coverage of the closing stages of the Australian Open from Melbourne.
As for the past two years, the BBC will only screen live TV coverage of one of the men’s semi-finals on either Thursday or Friday morning, plus both the men’s and women’s finals live over the weekend of January 25-26.
Sue Barker returns to present the BBC’s coverage of the latter stages of the 2014 tournament, with studio analysis and live match commentary from Andrew Castle, Jonathan Overend and John Lloyd.
Daily interactive coverage of the evening session matches on Rod Laver Arena, along with network coverage of matches involving British players, were dropped in 2012 due to budget cuts.
BBC Radio 5 live and 5 live Sports Extra will be the place to go for daily live commentaries with the station’s tennis correspondent Russell Fuller.
Alternatively, fans can follow online text commentaries on every night session as well as each of Andy Murray matches during the fortnight via the BBC Sport website.
The BBC’s online platforms will provide in-depth coverage of the entire tournament, while fans can also access the latest updates, features and live streaming of the BBC’s TV coverage over the final weekend via online, mobile, the BBC Sport app and Connected TV.
There will also be behind-the-scenes gossip and photos on social media via BBC Sport’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
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