Australian Open

Although not much of a tennis fan, I headed to the Australian Open today to see what the fuss was all about. I was impressed with the grounds and what I saw.  There are two major stadiums that require advanced purchase tickets.  We had tickets for the main court, the Rod Laver area.  There are also three pretty big out door courts and 20 or so smaller courts on the grounds.  With the exception of the two main courts you have access to all the other courts with a ground ticket (only $29 AUS).  This is a picture of the grounds and some of the smaller courts.  You can't see the bigger courts in this picture though.

We hit the merchandise shop and I bought a hat.  From there we headed to the main court.  Andy Roddick easily beat Bjorn Rehnquist.  It was exciting to watch but it was pretty lopsided.  Here's the view from where I was sitting.  Thankfully I had a spot in the shade.

Once the match was over we decided to check out some of the outside courts.  Stephanie Dubouis from Canada was scheduled to be playing a Japanese lady on court 8.  While I'm not all that knowledgeable in tennis super stars if there is a  Canadian that I can cheer for I will.  Unfortunately the game before Stephanie's had not ended yet.  We watched a few of the other games then headed back inside the Rod Laver Arena to catch Jelena Jankovic play Yvonne Meusburger.  After a while I went back outside to see if Stephanie's game had started.  It hadn't so I went into court three and watched a bit of Mardy Fish vs Samuel Groth (below).

Finally I made it to Stephanie's game (below).  She wasn't doing too well and was getting frustrated.  I stuck around for one set (she lost 6-0) and headed back inside for some more Jankovic women's tennis.  Jankovic won, and while Stephanie went on to have a better second set, she lost again and is now out.

I spent more time watching the big boys in the Rod Laver Arena (Novak Djokovic vs Andrea Stoppini).  It was nice to have a seat, and one that was out of the sun.  Below is a picture of me after the three Rod Laver Arena matches were over (notice the new Australian Open hat? Yes, I know it's too big, but most hats I own are).

Once the Arena matches were over we caught a few more games on the outside courts.  I must say I really like the outside courts because they seem much more intimate.  I would typically be able to find a front row seat (often there was only one row of seats).  The games seemed more intense too as many unseated players were trying to get through to the second round.

Overall my experience was a positive one.  The tournament is very well organized and as a claustrophobic it wasn't too bad.  They provided a lot of free water stations if you needed to refill your bottles and there was always an air conditioned place available if you really needed out of the heat.  Who knows I may go back again later this week, or next week when the playing level gets really good.  Or I may not.

K