CANBERRA Authentic Benardrick McKinney Jersey , Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The untried pairing of Sam Stosur and Bernard Tomic are the latest double act hoping give Australia a hot start to the new tennis season, Tennis Australia reported on its website Monday.
The cream of the sport will converge on Australia chasing Grand Slam titles and almost 40 million AU dollars at tournaments across the country from Dec. 28, 2013 to Jan. 26, 2014.
From lead-up events in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Hobart, all roads lead to Melbourne Park for the Australian Open starting on Jan. 13 and offering a world-record prize purse of 33 million AU dollars (29.4 million U.S. dollars).
The action starts at the Hopman Cup on Saturday in Perth, where Stosur and Tomic will endeavour to break a 15-year title drought for Australia.
Stosur and Tomic will be the 18th different local combination bidding to get their hands on the trophy, with only Mark Philippoussis and Jelena Dokic in 1999 having succeeded.
Stosur, a Grand Slam mixed doubles champion, admits she and Tomic are a bit of an odd couple and she's not too sure who'll be the boss when they team up for the first time. "It's normally the guy that kind of leads things but I've probably played a lot more mixed matches than he has,"the 2011 U.S. Open champ said. "So we'll make it a combined effort and have a bit of fun. That' s the most important thing with mixed doubles. You can't take it as seriously as your singles. You don't want to be so stressed out. "
Tomic looked to have come of age at last year's Hopman Cup, conquering Australian Open champion and then-world No.1 Novak Djokovic during an unbeaten singles campaign that sparked a 10- match winning streak.
But after backing up his big week in Perth with a maiden ATP title in Sydney and impressive run at the Australian Open, the 21- year-old ended 2013 with several first-round defeats and ranked 51st in the world. "At the end of the day, he's a great talent. He can play as well as anybody out there,"Stosur said. "He's just got to make sure that his mind is on his tennis. If he can do that, no doubt he can do good things."
The Brisbane International getting underway on Sunday boasts a superstar line-up including Roger Federer for the first time and world No.1 and defending women's champion Serena Williams.
Federer has already won the Hopman Cup, Sydney International and Kooyong Classic and will be out to complete the full summer set when he makes his tournament debut at the Queensland Tennis Centre.
Lleyton Hewitt, Marinko Matosevic, James Duckworth and young gun Nick Kyrgios will be the Aussies taking the fight to Federer in Brisbane, while Casey Dellacqua will carry a 14-match winning streak into the women's event.
Williams headlines a cracking women's draw which features two- time defending Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova and former No.1 Jelena Jankovic and Caroline Wozniacki.
Tomic has accepted a wildcard to try to defend his title at the Sydney International from 5 January, with world No.5 Juan Martin del Potro and Agnieszka Radwanska the respective top seeds.
After falling early in recent campaigns in Brisbane and Sydney, Stosur has opted for a guaranteed three singles matches at the Hopman Cup and then top seeding at the Hobart International from Jan. 5. "I've left Sydney the last few years not feeling too good about my tennis and going into Melbourne not so happy,"Stosur said. "So hopefully I can use those three, four matches from the Hopman Cup and keep trying to win a few matches in Hobart and, if I can do that, I'll be heading to Melbourne in a much better frame of mind than I have the last few years."
Ninety nine of the world's top 100 men's and women's players will contest the season's first major, with only the injured Maria Kirilenko and suspended Viktor Troicki missing.
When your dog is a puppy, it seems like you have all the time in the world to teach him right from wrong. You figure "lessons" can wait while you simply get to know each other, which can involve a lot of petting, playing, giving treats "just because", letting the puppy get away with jumping on the furniture, and so forth.
Of course, your puppy is adorable. And of course you want to shower him with love. But take a second to think about what your puppy is learning from your behavior: you are a bottomless source of all the things he wants. Well, what happens when what he wants isn't so cute, and you aren't happy about it? You're upset, he's upset, and things become confusing. For puppies, confusion leads to anxiety, and anxiety can lead to poor behavior.
The foundation for training your puppy begins with the right tools. Let's take a look at some of the tools you'll want to incorporate into your puppy-training regimen.
The Crate
Crates are a great idea for your puppy - they are wonderful tools for housetraining, and they give your dog a space of his own. To choose one that's best for you and your dog, consider your circumstances. Do you have a small or medium sized dog with whom you want to travel with frequently? Will the crate provide enough room for your puppy when he's fully grown?
Lot's of puppy owners consider foldable crates to be the best option... they're handy because they can be easily dismantled when they aren't in use.
The Collar
Today, most dog trainers agree that basic manners training should be done with what's called a "flat buckle collar". This kind of collar is made out of leather, nylon, or cotton, and closes with a buckle or a snap. This all-purpose collar usually has a couple of metal loops on it - one for tags, and one for the leash to attach to.
You can measure your puppies neck to determine the appropriate length of collar you'll need to purchase. If your puppy is liable to grow big quickly, you might pick up a collar that leaves h. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Stitched Jerseys Cheap NBA Jerseys From China Cheap MLB Jerseys From China Cheap Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Online Cheap Authentic NBA Jerseys Cheap Authentic MLB Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys From China