The last thing she wanted was a marathon, and that’s what she got. After all the pain of rehabilitation and the doubts of a career stalled so many times by misfortune, Baltacha found a sprint finish. After a titanic first set lost in a tie-break she was imperious in the second and closed out a victory in the 10-point championship tie-break. This is an exhibition match in all but name and Baltacha had yesterday’s date circled on her calendar as soon as she started her rehab and she threw herself at this contest.
Time and again after moving her opponent, Katie O’Brien, into position for the kill, Baltacha would over-hit a forehand and throw back her head and release a yell of frustration. Baltacha blew O’Brien away 6-2, 6-1 here last year. At the time she was uncontested as British No1 and O’Brien was not in her class. Then, she had just completed her most successful season, including a third-round appearance at the Australian Open.
She is starting back from No8 in Britain while O’Brien has remained static in the rankings despite a good year that included victory in a Challenger in Nottingham and a final in Madrid. A year on, the two were so closely matched that the opening set took just under an hour. Baltacha had the power that will surely once more set her apart from the rank-and-file competition at home but the fine-tuning of decision-making and placement can only be recovered with competitive experience.
Her first shot in five months was an over-hit return. Her second hit the net. The third found the corner, forcing O’Brien to go long, but Baltacha did not find her range consistently in a first set in which the slug-fest rallies extended further in each game. It went to a tie-break which O’Brien took 7-2.
Baltacha’s work in La Manga, the final step of her rehab before this return to competition, was rewarded in the second set. She grew with every game and after closing it out 6-1 she steamrollered through the 10-point decider and left the court with a smile that reflected a heady release of emotion.
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Jamie Murray is set to team up with James Auckland, his opponent at the Aberdeen Cup last night, in a doubles partnership for the Australian Open that could form the centre point of the career of the top-ranked doubles players in Britain.
Murray lost to Auckland in a championship tie-break after their opening match up in Aberdeen ended 1-1, but afterwards both players suggested that preliminary discussions about a partnership have been positive.
Murray and Auckland have decided to focus on that side of the game. Auckland has been playing with Jamie Delgado and Murray’s partnership with fellow-Scot Colin Fleming ended when the latter could not commit to the same schedule. Murray has played with his brother several times on the ATP Tour and they made the final in Bangkok, but the demands placed by Andy’s meteoric rise up the singles rankings will restrict such appearances again next year. Jamie needs a regular partner and both he and Auckland are encouraged by their discussions so far. “We haven’t had an opportunity to play together yet,” said Auckland, “but we have been talking about it recently.”
Something will have to change if these two are to become a dedicated partnership. Right now both favour the advantage court and despite their proximity in the world doubles rankings (Murray is marginally ahead at 77 in the world) they have not seen much of each other over the past year. There is no doubt, however, that Murray would prefer a dedicated partnership. He is determined to improve his ranking further but as he does so will be competing against established teams. “The top guys work hard on their partnerships week in, week out, they work on their set plays and other things,” added Auckland.
Their hopes of teaming up at the Australian Open rely as much on the organisers of the first Grand Slam tournament of the calendar as the development of a Murray-Auckland double act. Neither man is guaranteed an invitation on their current ranking, and it is possible that neither, either or both could go. If only one gets the call, he would team up with another lone entrant, an option that Murray does not relish. “I don’t enjoy playing with scratch partners,” he added, “but we can’t commit to Australia) because we might not get in together.”
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Partnership would also benefit the Davis Cup ambitions of both men. Auckland, 26, has been in the squad before but has never seen action, while Murray is hoping to impress Great Britain coach John Lloyd this weekend, with a tie against Holland in Birmingham coming up in April. “That’s a big goal for both of us,” said Auckland. “We haven’t played in that competition yet but hopefully…”
“We will soon,” added Murray. They are already finishing each other’s sentences, a sure sign of their potential synchronicity. On court Auckland proved stronger, and he sent three aces beyond Murray’s grasp as he took the first set 6-3. Murray had to work harder to take the second after a tie-break that he won 7-5, before Auckland won the first-to-10 decider 10-7, ending it with an ace. On the hard court at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, the bigger hitter has the advantage, and Auckland is that. Murray’s game is undoubtedly more suited to doubles now, and he may have seen up close last night the player he will pin his hopes to in the coming year and beyond.