MELBOURNE // British cancer survivor Ross Hutchins said he just wanted to be treated like any other player after he made a winning return to grand slam tournament doubles tennis.
Hutchins, who was out for a year with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, thanked his supporters, including Andy Murray who dedicated his Brisbane International title last year to his stricken friend.
But Hutchins, who capped his amazing comeback with a victory alongside partner Colin Fleming in the Australian Open’s first round, said they were not expecting any favours from their opponents.
“It’s meant a lot to me to have the support,” Hutchins said. “At the same time, I want to be treated as another player who has just as much chance to win or lose and to be ruthless out there with these other guys.
“[We just want to] to become better competitors and to win matches on our own, not for people taking pity on us, which hopefully they don’t. We can beat them on our own merits.”
The diagnosis of Hutchins, 28, shocked the close-knit British tennis scene and prompted an emotional tribute from Murray as he accepted the trophy in Brisbane last January.
Hutchins, who adopted a new diet during his treatment, which included several rounds of chemotherapy, said he felt fitter now than at any time in his career.
“I definitely feel in better shape now than I probably have done, as I’ve said to a couple of media people here, than in the last six or seven years,” he said.
“I do feel really fit and strong. I don’t feel any sort of tiredness or any fatigue when I’m playing matches out there. It was pretty warm today. I felt pretty good.
“We thought we could have gone five sets today because for some reason we weren’t struggling.”
The British pair beat Australian-Polish duo Marinko Matosevic and Michal Przysiezny 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 to reach the second round.
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Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
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Terminator: Dark Fate
Director: Tim Miller
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis
Rating: 3/5
Scorecard:
England 458 & 119/1 (51.0 ov)
South Africa 361
England lead by 216 runs with 9 wickets remaining
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
