For sports fans the world over, the Australian Open heralds the start of a new year. The first major of the tennis season, the de facto Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific is wildly popular with players and fans alike, despite the formidable distance some have to travel and the notorious extreme heat that often stops play on the court. The Open’s charm and inherent allure, clearly, has as much to do with the fact that it opens the tennis and world sport calendar as the fact that Melbourne is such a gracious and phenomenal host city.
Flinders Street Station and Melbourne skyline from the Southbank Promenade – Photo credit
While many players stay at the Crown Towers Hotel Melbourne, avid tennis fans from out of town inevitably jostle to secure decent accommodations in the vicinity of Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Park and the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct. The two-week period of the Open signals busy times for hotels in Melbourne, as the superb capital of Victoria transforms, for all intents and purposes, into the capital of world sport.
Tennis fans relax in Federation Square to catch Australian Open coverage on the giant screen – Photo credit
One reason to be in Melbourne for, or indeed, tune in to the Australian Open this year, is to witness the high caliber of tennis on the court. Contemporary fans of the game have it good, to put it mildly, and in the esteem of veteran players and analysts, bear witness to a level of play at or above golden eras of yore. Many in the game thought, for example, that it would take a stroke of divine providence to mimic the halcyon years of Björn Borg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors and Ilie Năstase or, indeed, re-create a rivalry as dramatic and delightful for fans as the one between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
Rafael Nadal – Photo credit
The easy answer resides with the sheer raw talent and power behind conspicuous names like Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Soderling and Andy Roddick, to name but several stars on the men’s side of the draw. Nadal and Federer, of course, are the names to watch again in 2011 and between them, own 26 Grand Slam titles. The Swiss pro with over $60 million in career prize money has won the Australian Open four times however, three more than Nadal, and was the champ in 2010. Of note, crowd favourite Lleyton Hewitt will meet a tough round one opponent in David Nalbandian.
Rod Laver Arena – Photo credit
While the women’s side may not stack up to the Martina Navratilova-Chris Evert era or feature a rivalry like Stefi Graf-Monica Seles, a slate of dynamic players will fill the bill nicely in Melbourne. The female side of the draw has a strong top seed in young Caroline Wozniacki but most eyes will be on the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena (2010 champion), as well as fellow Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin.
Serena Williams – Photo credit
Other stars to look out for on the women’s side include Maria Sharapova, the #18 seed, Ana Ivanovic at #17, Elena Dementiava at #9 and the always strong Jelena Jankovic at #8. At 26, Vera Zvonareva, the #2 seed, is also under a lot of pressure to win her first Grand Slam title.
Photographers at the Australian Open – Photo credit
While tennis is obviously the main draw at the Australian Open, there are a host of other events on hand for visitors to enjoy. The Heineken Live Stage will host a fine line-up of musical talent from Australia, from Tim Rogers to Under the Apple Tree, Operator Please to Jason Singh. Above and beyond the action on stage, the Grand Slam Oval, between Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena, will once again pulsate with activity.
Andy Murray – Photo credit
With a beer garden, bars, live music, DJs, shops and games, the Oval is the place to be throughout the two-week Open. A AUD $29 ground pass provides affordable access to tennis on the outside courts and music on the Heineken Stage.
Schedule-wise the Australian Open begins at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, January 17, with the final championship match, the Men’s Singles Final, set for 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 30 – all local Melbourne time.
Roger Federer – Photo credit
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