In almost perfect weather, a record 703,899 spectators flocked to see the Australian Open at Melbourne Park, smashing the previous record of 686,006, which was set in 2012.
Fifteen Slam champions were on duty – Novak Dkokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, Andy Murray, Lleyton Hewitt, Serena and Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Ana Ivanovic, Sam Stosur, Victoria Azarenka, Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
There were many brilliant points, sets, and matches over the packed fortnight, but there are five ways to make elite tennis more watchable.
Strictly police the 20-seconds rule between points, limit ball selection, limit ball bouncing between serves, ban towels at both ends of the court, and allow coaches to be on the sideline, following the Davis Cup tradition.
The 20-seconds between points is the most abused rule, with Nadal the serial offender.
By the time Nadal gets through his histrionics of towelling himself, multiple ball selection, brushing his non-existent hair off his forehead, which is kept firmly in place by his headband, to touching his left ear, then his right ear, nose, and readjusting his shorts in relation to his backside, the 20 seconds are long shot.
But there’s still bouncing the ball off the racquet, then by hand, before staring down his opponent, then at last serving. That’s 30-plus seconds worth of crap, purely designed to keep his opponent waiting, while he’s leaning forward to return serve,
Djokovic used to be bad, with a record 35 bounces prior to his first serve, and up to 24 bounces for the second. Now he’s around a nearly acceptable half a dozen bounces.
Hewitt is by far the best with just two bounces before either serve. The suggested bouncing limit is four, after a limit of a three-ball selection.
That leaves the banning of towels. and coaches on the sideline.
The towelling has become such a farce, players are wasting time wiping their faces in the opening game of a match, even the first point. Nadal is the only player who takes two towels to the end where he’s serving or receiving, all part of his slow down play to upset an opponent.
So ban towels,and force players to have smaller towels tucked into the back of their shorts. That would be a ‘pain in the butt’, but it would dramatically stop the bulldust of constantly calling on the ball-boys armed with a towel, which further leads to abusing the 20-second rule.
So how does the central umpire control the 20-seconds between points, the limit on ball selection, three is ample, and the maximum four bounces before serving?
Easily.
For any flouting of the requirements, the first is a warning, the second is the loss of a point, the third the loss of a game, the fourth a set, and if the player is so stupid to continue being a richard cranium, a fifth penalty would be the loss of a match.
There’s no doubt every player would conform very quickly, including Nadal. His histrionics would be history. And to further enhance speeding up the game, having the coach on the sideline would be an additional pair of eyes to conformity.
Besides, why should a player pay somewhere between $100,000 and $300,000 a year for a coach, and have him gagged in the stand.
This is 2015, it’s time for the ITF to play catch-ups.
qldFan
Guest
I didn't miss any point. Just expressing my opinion and observations about it all - just like you did!
Greg trilby
Guest
The final was in prime time, agree the other figures are impressive
In Brief
Guest
Actually the silence is only enforced in the main stadia. Try watching an outside court at 5pm towards the end of a five setter. The crowd is going nuts, particularly if there are enough supporters from the home country. Bagdadis always gets a good cheer squad, as did the little Isreali player Dudi Sela who beat Lucos Rosol on the back of a few hundred screaming fanatics. The US open is also famous for having a lot of noise. The problem in Australia is the crowd chants in Rod Laver arena are boring.
Simoc
Guest
You must be referring to Djockovic theatrics in the final again. The pathetic commentators ran with it yet again. But it doesn't change his game one iota and they miss that entirely. Djokos a poor advertisement for the game but the greatest of them all, Federer, is still out there and worth the price of admission. So is Sharapova.
The Magic Man
Roar Rookie
My World = Superleague Tennis. - I want to see non stop yelling from the crowd all match except when serving. - if a player needs a doctor or physio they lose the entire set. War of attrition. - if a player manages to smash the ball at another player and hits them on their body in the process, that should equal a game win. - any Genie Bouchard game is played as best of 17 sets. Thank me later. #Abracadabra
Maggie
Guest
I agree the grunting can be annoying although I find I can ignore it after I've been watching for a while. But it irritates me that so many who complain about it only complain about the women. There are just as many male players doing it as there are women. Nadal, Murray, Kyrgios just for a start. Yes women's voices are higher pitched but they can't help that. It is a characteristic associated with exertion that has come into tennis along with the power hitting that now dominates the game in both men's and women's tennis..
onside
Guest
3 sets, not 5. Finals:5 sets.
Matt H
Roar Guru
And wasn't the nines only on Fox? the others were free to air. It was also on Sunday arvo, not prime time. and it was also a pre-season romp. Surprised how good the tennis numbers actually are. That's impressive
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
People would have not watched the girls due to the AFC Asian Cup Final that Australia was in, which also rated really well, nothing to do with screeching.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
I've often said to my wife that while we often bag out some of these Aussie players who we see each year in the Aussie tournaments but never get anywhere and may be ranked just inside or just outside the top 100-150, that when you think about it, if there was an Aussie who was considered the 150th best footballer in the world, he'd be a superstar, but in tennis it's not like that. Unless you are one of the best handful of players in the world, you are nothing. And that's pretty tough. In that it talks about the 1 in 250,000 compared to AFL's one in 1500, but it's worse than that, because that is just people who earn enough to break even over the costs, not people who are making a profit. I suspect you probably need to be well within the top 100 to even make a profit around the AFL's minimum wage.
Ben
Guest
Perfect!
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Okay, you clearly missed the point, which is that if you need to have some sort of delicate sensor on the net, be it the modern electronic sensor, or the old style net cord judge to determine something is a let, then there is no need to call it. Either get rid of let calls altogether and just play on like you do if the ball hits the net in general play, (as they do in fast four tennis) or keep the lets but only call it if it's a clear enough let to be called by the eyes and ears of the umpire. These ones where nobody watching could tell it was a let unless the machine said so (or someone touching the net said so) should just be let go to play on.
spruce moose
Guest
Now that is a much better idea, and happy to endorse that.
spruce moose
Guest
Sorry Chris, I disagree. The audience being quiet is an established expectation of the game. It's not hard for the yobbos to shut up between points. People are yelling simply for attention. You argument would set a dangerous precedent for other sports if applied - if noise is allowed, then what else? Bringing out the vuvuzelas for cricket when the ball is being bowled? Better yet, lets remove the sightscreens or the expectation that people sitting in the vicinity of sightscreens remain still and seated? Cause, if they put up with the distractions of sound then surely batsman can put up with the distraction of movement?
Greg trilby
Guest
I'd say there would've been a lot of people not watching the girls due to the schreeching hence 1 mill less. Ouch for the Nrl nines sure was a bad time to have it.
spruce moose
Guest
3 things for me 1. 20 seconds between serves. No exceptions. I've no beef with the towel, bouncing etc so long as it's all done in 20 seconds. 2. No screaming. 3. Be polite to the ball boys/girls. It's the biggest moments of their lives handing stuff to their idols, the idols could at least say please/thanks.
Hawks Mad
Guest
So clearly there is no issue with the tennis audience then. Thats some pretty decent numbers.
spruce moose
Guest
Not a bad idea. Instead of losing the point though, lets say they lose their first serve, and they start on their second serve.
spruce moose
Guest
in certain tournaments...absolutely. not the ITF though. If they did, you'd see them all playing davis cup all the time.
JimmyB
Guest
God dang it, do you know what, I might just do that. All I need now is some sweat bands and a head band and I'm good to go.