In her second blog from the sweltering action at the Hopman Cup, Judy Murray takes you on a behind the scenes tour of the state-of-the-art Perth Arena!
The Great Britain team of Andy Murray and Heather Watson lost out to Poland in their second match down under. Andy beat Jerzy Janowicz 6-2, 6-4, Agnieszka Radwanska overcame Heather 6-3, 6-1 before the Polish pair sealed the win with a 6-4, 6-4 mixed doubles victory.
Read Judy Murray's first blog which includes reaction from the win over France.
Match day 2
Well, it wasn't to be today. It was a fun match with Poland though who were represented by Jerzy Boy Janowicz and Aga Radwanska. It was 1-1 going into the deciding mixed doubles match and the Poles came out on top 6-4, 6-4.
Hot hot hot again today but as it was mid 30s the roof remained open. That meant the crowd were in the shade for the bulk of the match but the court (and the players) were baking.
Through the keyhole
I thought I would give you a little bit of behind the scenes chat from this event. Perth Arena seats 14,000 people and was voted the best stadium in the world for an all-seated venue which holds between 11,000 and 15,000. It's very blue. The court, the surrounds, the seats....everything.
Backstage has everything the tournament needs and all off one ‘L’ shaped corridor. The player lounge is part lounge, part warm-up/cool-down area. It also has the changing rooms off it. I like the fact the changing rooms have all the toiletries you could possibly need including hair gel!
The player lounge includes a gym with bikes, mats and treadmills
Everything is very cleverly thought out in terms of positioning to make it as convenient as possible for the players. In the lounge you will find a player services desk and a table filled with balls, posters, programmes and towels for the players to sign for sponsors and fans.
Items in the player lounge to be signed for fans and sponsors
Opposite the lounge is the restaurant which has hot and cold food including a pasta bar and a nifty Nespresso machine. Sadly (for me) there is nothing unhealthy in the restaurant but thankfully the player services desk has a sweetie jar and 24/7 supply of Tim Tams (that's an Aussie chocolate biscuit).
Eugenie Bouchard and her team in the player cafe
Cool benches (in more ways than one)
I noticed that the on-court benches that the players sit on here are pretty clever. There are two seats with a table in between BUT behind the table is a fridge where players can store their own ice towels, drinks, snacks etc. You basically just reach behind your chair and open the fridge. I have never seen that before. Often players share a cooler which can mean getting your drinks/iced towels mixed up with your opponents.
On-court benches with built-in fridge. Neat.
Up next: The hosts - Australia
Australia – GB’s next opponents - had an injury to one of their players on Day 1 so a replacement has been flown in from the Brisbane event. Marinko "Mad dog" Matosevic is in da house. He will play on Friday v Andy while Hev will take on local star Casey Dellacqua. This is a sell-out apparently so it's bound to be rowdy!!!
Day off tomorrow but as the player hotel, the Crown Metropol, has its own casino and theatre me and Hev are going to watch Les Miserables. We are hoping, of course, to make the Aussies MISERABLE on Friday :)