Tuesday, January 15, 2008, 6:43 PM
Australian Open 08
I've always wanted to go to the Australian Open, one of the four tennis grand slams, and what better time than now, when I'm not working and best of all I'm in Melbourne, the home of Australian sport. And 1st day tickets aren't so expensive, so I grabbed the opportunity to be part of the crowd instead of the usual tv audience. I wasn't expecting much people since it was only the first round, but there were throngs of people there when I took the tram from Flinders to Melbourne Park. But it was still quite organised with extra tram services operating.
I was on my way to Vodafone Arena and on my way, hola, I saw Lindsay Davenport practicing. This, I think, is Lindsay's first tennis championship after having a baby last year.
The first match of the day at Vodafone Arena was between the third seed Jelena Jankovic and Tamara Paszek. Everyone expected this match to be a breeze for the third seed, but it turned out that it was just the opposite of that. The unseeded player gave Jankovic an extremely hard time, winning the 1st set,losing the 2nd and the deciding set lasted till 12-10, with Jankovic prevaling in the end. A pulsating 3 hour match who everyone thought was gonna end at the 1.5 hour mark, but Jankovic saved so many match points it was unbelievable. What an opening match. I would have liked the underdog to have won though. But I guess experience counts in the end.
Vodafone Arena. I was seated on the upper level shaded area
The 2nd match was between Andy Roddick and some guy. All one way traffic though, Roddick didn't even break a sweat I think. He didn't even make the effort to chase balls down. He was just that good. Roddick is well known for his thunderous serve, and he used it fully to his advantage, powering over 10 aces throughout the straight sets match that lasted just over an hour.
A-rod unleashing another thunderous serve
I was on my way to Vodafone Arena and on my way, hola, I saw Lindsay Davenport practicing. This, I think, is Lindsay's first tennis championship after having a baby last year.
The first match of the day at Vodafone Arena was between the third seed Jelena Jankovic and Tamara Paszek. Everyone expected this match to be a breeze for the third seed, but it turned out that it was just the opposite of that. The unseeded player gave Jankovic an extremely hard time, winning the 1st set,losing the 2nd and the deciding set lasted till 12-10, with Jankovic prevaling in the end. A pulsating 3 hour match who everyone thought was gonna end at the 1.5 hour mark, but Jankovic saved so many match points it was unbelievable. What an opening match. I would have liked the underdog to have won though. But I guess experience counts in the end.
Vodafone Arena. I was seated on the upper level shaded area
The 2nd match was between Andy Roddick and some guy. All one way traffic though, Roddick didn't even break a sweat I think. He didn't even make the effort to chase balls down. He was just that good. Roddick is well known for his thunderous serve, and he used it fully to his advantage, powering over 10 aces throughout the straight sets match that lasted just over an hour.
A-rod unleashing another thunderous serveOf course the reason I was there, and most of everyone in Vodafone arena, was the next match featuring the queen of tennis, none other than Maria Sharapova. You could just hear the hush in the crowd when Maria enters the court, and you can't seem to take your eyes off her. She's all class, what with dangling earrings, a designer handbag and an outfit designed exclusively for her for the tournament.
Sharapova serving
Full concentration
Full concentrationSharapova wasn't really challenged throughout the match, as she won it in straight sets in just over an hour. Her trademark shrieks were also not as loud I think, maybe because the opponent didn't really push her.
Sharapova waves to the crowd after taking the match
Sharapova waves to the crowd after taking the matchAfter that match, I went around the outside courts to see what's happening, and a large crowd was gathered at one particular court. I went closer to have a look, and this was the reason.
Rafael Nadal, world number 2, was warming up for his match later that evening.
Rafael Nadal, world number 2, was warming up for his match later that evening.Other courts had a superb view of Melbourne Park and the city skyline
Margaret Court Arena with Rod Laver Arena in the background
One of the showcourts, MCG in the background
The Melbourne city skyline provides a perfect backdrop
Margaret Court Arena with Rod Laver Arena in the background
One of the showcourts, MCG in the background
The Melbourne city skyline provides a perfect backdropThe players are truly world class, but sadly to say, I think the organisation of the event is substandard. Firstly, I had to wait in line for 45 minutes for my ticket to get reissued because of some concern about my ticket not having a 'vodafone arena' print on it, although I bought it from a genuine ticketing outlet. Not only that, there were literally hundreds of people queueing up to upgrade their tickets, and only 2 counters were open for that. AND the ticketing staff had the audacity to go to the kitchen and make coffee while all this is taking place! I was quite pissed by the time I got into vodafone arena, because the match was supposed to start at 11am and I got in at 11.15 after waiting 45 minutes at the counter. OK, the ticketing farce aside, another thing that pissed me was the security staff's ignorance and lack of respect. I clearly checked on the terms and conditions of the tickets saying that maximum zoom lenses allowed inside the arena are 200mm lenses, and mine is exactly 200mm. However when I was taking pictures, a security personnel came and told me I'm not allowed to take pictures. What?! Are you kidding me? I proceeded to ask him why, but he just said I'm not allowed to and that I'll get in trouble if I did, and just walked away quickly. That really is unprofessional. Fortunately it was nearly the end of Sharapova's match and I did take my camera out again to take pictures of her waving to the crowd after that. What a shame, that the security personnels are not briefed properly on the terms and conditions printed on the tickets. Plus, if you think about it, if I have gone through the checkpoint at the entry when they searched bags, and I was allowed entry with my camera already checked, why are you still making a fuss about me taking pictures? Seriously, not professional at all.
Enough of my ranting..
Enough of my ranting..
