G'day maaates. Yeah yeah I'm down under. Been in Melbourne for a few days now so lots to tell you about the Happy Slam.
Well this year it got even happier - for the players, anyway - with the increased prize money (now the biggest Slam purse of them all) and they even gave each competitor (qualies and main draw) a cheque for $1k when they signed in "to help with the expense of getting to Australia". Wow. That's a big gesture and very much appreciated by everyone - especially those in qualies where the costs are just as high but the returns are way smaller. It’s a big expense travelling to this Slam and the exchange rate is horrendous right now.
Jamie Baker foot faulting his way to victory over Donald Young in the final qualifying round :-) Don't panic...this was in the warm up!
Talking of qualies, what an effort from The Fabulous Baker Boy getting through three rounds to make main draw. I watched him qualify here five years ago and go down in four sets to Dr Ivo. And talking of Dr Ivo....here we are at the wonderful Swisse Taste of Tennis night at the Grand Hyatt.
Don't you just love an man in an apron? Well, he had been making white chocolate tennis balls, filled with strawberries and sponge. Of course I had to sample. Rude not to. So good, I had five. Uh huh. five.
I'd never been to Taste of Tennis before - they have one during US Open too. 20 of Melbourne’s top chefs take a stand and prepare one of their most popular dishes. And of course all the guests can sample whatever they like. Some of the players get the chance to cook ... What a fab evening.
Saturday was Kid’s Day so Melbourne Park was swarming with families. There were so many fun activities - plus jugglers, cartoon characters etc - set up on and around the courts. A real party atmosphere. Great to see so many of the top names mixing in with teeny tennistas too. Funniest one for me - watching Fed joking around with SpongeBob SquarePants. Yeah, really :)
Lots of new additions around Melbourne Park. This event is always looking for ways to enhance the player and fan enjoyment. Like the practice court viewing deck which spans the three courts - 16, 17 and 18 - reserved for main seeds during the Open. There are no stands round these courts so viewing was very limited and of course, everyone wants to see the main players. The new deck is a monster walkway above the courts ... and it has a cover. Real necessity in the Oz sunshine and absolute bonus for me the other day when I was watching Annie K hit in 42 degrees in a hurricane ... was like standing in a massive hot air dryer.
Did a session at the Tennis Australia coaches’ conference the other day. Got the early morning slot - 8.15am - so as not to interfere with supporting or spying on Fed Cup opposition. Ivan "Mr Lendl" did also did slot today.
So what else is new? Only the National Tennis Centre. It’s on the other side of Hisense Arena. Amazing facility. Indoor hard, outdoor hard and outdoor red clay. Fab airy gym which has (amongst other things) a large floored area of plexicushion (tennis court surface) for specific movement training. And a medicine ball wall. There are also changing rooms with floor-level ice baths and Jacuzzis so you step into them and not up to them. Very clever. Oh and one smallish room for administrators. Impressive.
Ok, that's enough for today. I know you can get the tennis results and rundowns elsewhere so you’ll just get behind the scenes banter from me. Anyway, let's get this AO party started ...
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