29/01/12 - Kelly makes a slice of history
Being selected to work a Grand Slam is a privilege, but to be one of the lucky few chosen for a singles final is an unforgettable honour. Britain’s Kelly Thomson of Lincolnshire was one of those chosen few when it came to the historic men’s final between Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal that lasted for five hours and 53 minutes.
In Australia the system for selecting line umpires for the final is largely left to the Australian officials. However three or four lucky internationals, normally selected by the chair umpire based on performance throughout the week, are given the opportunity to shine through.
"I was assigned a base for the match and was so nervous," said Thomson. "The line was hot out there but the experience was sensational and I'll never forget it. Both players played so well and the whole stadium was bouncing."
Other successful British officials over the weekend included Matthew Davies of Scotland who was assigned as team leader for the Nadal v Federer semi, and Graeme Jones and Jayne Littlewood who were assigned to work both the women's semi-finals.
Well done to all involved!
26/01/12
It’s been a varied second week for Scotsman Ben Anderson at the 2012 Australian Open.
The second week of a Grand Slam is always quieter then the first. Generally speaking chair umpires can expect to do one match a day, as oppose to two in the first week. Higher level officials are very often also assigned evaluation days. This means they umpire a match of their own but go out and watch a few lower level chair umpires and give them some coaching and advice.
"Tuesday was a relaxed day for me," said Ben. "I was assigned to evaluate an Australian white badge [umpire] who had a couple of junior matches. It’s nice to be able to help umpires who are just starting out with a few tips and give them some support."
As well as the juniors, the second week of the majors also features round robin competitions in the 'Legends' category. These matches can be challenging in a different sort of way! The players, although sometimes serious, are also often looking for a bit of interaction with the umpire to liven up the mood! It’s a fine line and some umpires can get this completely wrong! However it seams young Ben went down a treat in the match featuring Wayne Ferreira and Yevgeny Kafelnikov on show court 2.
Ben explains: "That court doesn’t have Hawkeye, but the players asked for it anyway. When this happened I said over the microphone the challenge announcements, 'Ferreira/Kafelnikov are challenging the call on the left baseline.' I then started clapping and got the whole crowed to join in! A few seconds later I announced: 'Call stands Ferreira/Kafelnikov have no challenges remaining!' I had to think quickly to play along with the situation but it seemed to go down a storm."
The humour continued throughout the match and Ben found himself again in the thick of it when one of the players gave a ball boy a racket and got him involved in the match.
"I got the ball boy's name and after the game announced: 'Game Ferreira and ball boy Josh.' The crowd and players were in stitches. Although a different type of umpiring it was hilarious and I won't forget it in a hurry."
Ben’s tournament was rounded off with a mixed doubles quarter-final on Margaret Court Arena with Aussie Jarmila Gajdosova.
He’s off now en route to Tasmania to work a Challenger in the town of Burnie. His girlfriend Gemma has joined him and after the tournament the pair will head to Perth for 10 days of well deserved holiday time.
Congratulations on a very successful first overseas Grand Slam as a chair umpire Ben!
21/01/12
The middle weekend of the 2012 Australian Open has brought an unexpected surprise for Ben as he gets the opportunity to umpire on Melbourne Park’s Rod Laver Arena.
Umpiring on the main court of any venue is a great honour and all umpires remember when they make their début on such a court. Ben is no exception and will never forget Saturday the 21st of January when, after a few quick matches on the show court, his match originally scheduled for an outside court was moved to the centre Stadium.
"It’s an honour and a privilege to have this opportunity to work on such an exciting and famous court. It was a good match that went smoothly and I had time to enjoy it too."
Being cheered along by 15,000 screaming tennis fans is not a bad way to end a week!
20/01/12
As week one comes to an end at Melbourne Park, we catch up with new ITF certified Silver Chair Umpire Ben Anderson...
"It’s been a fantastic tournament so far. I’ve had an average of two matches a day and some have been very challenging. One of my most challenging matches so far came in the form of a men’s qualifying singles match between Mathieu Rodrigues of France and Jurgen Zopp of Estonia. As the match went on and we got deeper in to the third set Rodrigues started to have cramping issues," Anderson recalls. "So we called the trainer at the 8-7 change-over, who came to court and confirmed it was cramping."
In 2010 the rules of tennis changed making it no longer possible for players to receive a three minute medical time out for cramping. Instead a player who is cramping has the choice to forfeit the points until a change of ends and receive treatment in the change of ends period which is 90 seconds, plus two additional changes over periods.
"Because Rodrigues was 8-7 down if he wanted treatment he would have had to forfeit the points until the next change of ends, which would have meant he would have lost the match. So he had no option but to play through the pain."
Rule changes are common place in tennis and as umpires you always have to be on the ball and up-to-date, and adapt your umpiring accordingly. As Anderson’s week continued he was challenged with some more tough matches that he faced head on and took in his stride. One of his first round men’s singles matches went in to a fifth set and lasted over four hours.
"In the Melbourne heat, keeping your concentration for that length of time can be tough but you have to keep focused and give the same level of officiating from the first point to the last."
Off court the young Scotsman has been somewhat of a social butterfly taking the opportunity to catch up with his friends and colleagues from down under in a city that he says feels like his second home.