Kia & tennis balls

So I wanted to talk about the tennis today. Just because. But I’m at ‘K’ in my Alphabet Writing Challenge and what tennis terminology starts with ‘K’ other than the Australian Open’s main sponsor?

I love the Australian Open. I’ve wanted to head down to Melbourne for years, and I would have if it wasn’t so hot in January, if it wasn’t so much better to watch on Channel Seven, and if I didn't mind crowds of drunken hooligans throwing stadium seating and molotov cocktails at my head.  It would be like going to a Canterbury Bulldogs NRL game but escaping with all your limbs in tact.  Ah, multiculturalism at its finest.  Don't call me racist, I'm not the one hurling furniture around stadiums.

There are many cool reasons to watch the Australian Open.  I like Jim Courier’s entertaining courtside interviews with the players after their match.  I like how John Alexander gets all tetchy with Courier in the commentary box when Courier gets the answer to Alexander’s nightly ‘tennis brain teaser’ in about two seconds.

I wonder if Alexander will continue to commentate now that he is the Federal Member for Bennelong (which he won from Maxine McKew in the 2010 Federal Election after she stole it from John Howard)? I like how the female commentators do the bitchy thing some females do when they argue about inane little details, like whether the hems of men’s shorts are stitched or over-locked.

I like Andy Roddick. His appearance and sense of humour; his attitude problem not so much. I like how Roger Fedderer cries. I hate how Roger Fedderer cries. I like to ponder why Lleyton Hewitt is vilified and Pat Rafter is a demigod. I like how they make it look so damn easy. I like to think that I could play like this with a spot of training, a good pair of Nike sandshoes and some of that ubiquitous bling dripping off my body.

Um, so it turns out that Kia is a very generous sponsor. For the 2011 Australian Open, they will introduce the new Kia Grand Slam zoom zoom, for those players who are just too buggered to continue running around the court. They come equipped with fashionable lucozade holders, stylish sweatband seatbelts and an extra big glovebox for all your tennis ball requirements.