The Australian Open. It’s the first Grand Slam tournament for the year. In Melbourne it dominates the media and sporting talk for those two weeks of January.
It pains me, as a proud Sydneysider, to say so, but Melbourne’s sporting precinct is by far the best of its type in Australia.
So close to the city, with convenient train and tram access.
The iconic MCG on the north side of the railway line. At the south of the precinct is the new AAMI Park rectangular stadium.
And in the middle is Melbourne Park, home of the Open.
Taking pride of place in Melbourne Park is Rod Laver Arena, a 15,000 seat stadium with a retractable roof.
Next to Rod Laver is Margaret Court Arena, currently holding 6,000 but construction work is under way to expand it. Show Courts 2 and 3 hold 3,000 each.
To the east is Hisense Arena, a second centre court with 10,000 seats and which also has a rectractable roof. About 25 other tennis courts are on site, each with floodlights and a few rows of seating.
Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena have reserved seating. You can also get ground pass tickets, which don’t admit to either of those courts. The other courts are unreserved, first in gets the seats; but for more popular matches there can be long queues to get in.
But there’s more to the site than tennis courts.
It’s like a massive sideshow alley, with rides, marquees with demonstrations from sponsors, merchandise stands and cafes. There’s autograph stands, interactive displays and a colourful array of characters.
And bars where entertainers are performing.
You could probably have a great time at the Open without seeing a ball being hit. But for me, as a sports junkie, seeing some tennis action is even better.
Tuesday in Melbourne was warm and sunny, and the roofs of the two biggest courts remained open.
Fans with tickets for Rod Laver Arena for the day session saw seeds Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Victoria Azarenka record straight-set wins.
But for those such as me, with Hisense Arena tickets, it was a more competitive match to start. Danish tenth-seed Caroline Wozniacki was pushed all the way by Germany’s Sabine Lisicki.
Both of them had blonde plaited hair, white sun-visors and yellow and white outfits. And there was little to separate their play as the match went to three sets. Lisicki had a break in the deciding third set, but Wozniacki immediately broke back and then broke again to set up a win.
While Serena Williams was wiping the floor with Edina Gullovits-Hall, the outside courts were heating up.
Two Australian wildcards, James Duckworth and Ben Mitchell, had begun a marathon contest and Show Court Two was full. There were long lines at the other show courts.
But there was plenty of action in the back courts, and plenty of spare seats for anyone interested enough to have a look.
On court 13, 16th seed Roberta Vinci was being given a scare in the second set by unknown Spaniard Silvia Soler-Espinosa. The Spaniard broke early and served for the set. But the class of the seed finally came through as she saved a set point and broke back before breaking again to take the match.
The sun was shining bright, but there was an under cover seat back at Hisense Arena for a French derby. Seventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took on Michael Llodra in a display of big serves and trick shots. Much of the match was evenly contested, but Tsonga got the breaks when they mattered to win in straight sets.
It was certainly a more competitive match than the one that followed, with Juan Martin Del Potro untroubled in eliminating Adrian Mannarino.
By then the clock had passed six and many of the crowd were going home. Courts which had been full a few hours earlier now had seats available.
But there were still some great matches going on, none better than on Show Court Three. Germany’s Tommy Haas was up against Finland’s Jarkko Niemenen.
It was one set apiece, and with a well-timed break of serve, Niemenen took the third set. But the 19th seed Haas fought back to take the fourth and send the match into a decider.
With Bernard Tomic taking to the court for the night session at Rod Laver Arena, the big screen in the park next to Show Court Three had that match, with plenty of people sprawling on the lawn to follow the fortunes of the young Aussie.
But Haas and Niemenen were playing out an epic. Haas, a popular figure on the circuit with a legion of fans, had plenty of vocal support. But Niemenen also had plenty of support, many sporting face paint of the Finnish flag.
For well over an hour, they traded long rallies, big serves and hawkeye challenges; looking for the edge that would get them over the line.
Haas had served first, but after holding serve, Niemenen would equalise time and again. The Finn was in trouble when serving at 5-6, down a match point, but would fight back to take the set to 6-6.
There was tie-breaker in the fifth set, so it kept going. But the pendulum swung Niemenen’s way as he got the break.
Holding serve was nervous, his anxious fans looking on through a few deuces. But eventually the serve was held, Niemenen falling to the ground in relief and exhaustion as the win was finally achieved. A classic contest between two seasoned warriors had finally come to an end.
Over 60,000 people passed through the gates of Melbourne Park, each with their own tales of the sporting deeds they witnessed. This has been one of them.
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