I EXPECT MUCH MORE OF MYSELF

Losing in Sydney on Tuesday was very disappointing, especially with the Australian Open so close. Lleyton is a talented young player and he deserved to win, but I expected much more of myself.

There have been several factors why I've been playing the way I have in the last 2 weeks but I hope to have changed everything around. Ive been practicing really solidly in Melbourne this week since Wednesday. Kildery, Eagle, and Tebbutt and I think my game is coming together.

What I really needed in preparation for the open was a lot of matches. Unfortunately I haven't managed to get them. Going out very early in Adelaide and Sydney hasn't helped things.

I play my best tennis when I've been playing a lot. This year I've decided to vary my preparation because of my sore left knee. I had to choose between surgery or strengthening my knee. I have decided against having an operation and spent time from mid-November to Christmas day building a fitness base.

Normally I would start hitting balls starting December 1st. This time I didn't start hitting with Roche until December 26th because I had to build up the strength in my knee and getting myself fit.

So I felt underdone in Adelaide and Sydney, but the practice this week in Melbourne has been great. We've worked out in 3 hour sessions on court and then relaxed with rounds of golf on the Kingston Heath and Huntingdale.

I play Oliver Gross, from Germany in my first round of the Australian Open and he's a pretty handy player. He made the fourth round of the US Open and is ranked 88th in the world. If nothing else the last fortnight results show that anyone in the top 100 can beat anyone else.

Obviously I won't be taking anything for granted against Gross. I've been feeling prety nervous and tentative in my matches so far and I think it's got a lot to do with the expectation of performing well back in Australia.

It's something I haven't handled well in the past but I realize the Open is an enormous opportunity for me. I'm treating it cautiously though just working as hard as I can and focusing on nothing more than the first match.

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