by Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
When I worked for the U.S. Tennis Association in 2000, I was sent to Australia for some advance work for the Olympic Games that year in Sydney. It was during this first trip to Australia where I made my first visit to the Australian Open (completing my “Career Grand Slam” as an attendee) when after a few days in Sydney, the USTA said I should also go to Melbourne for the Aussie Open. During this trip, I kept a journal of my trip which, now 26 years later, I have discovered on my computer and am sharing with readers below.
Melbourne, Australia is the second largest city in Australia, but the home to its largest and most important international sporting event, the Australian Open. It’s the reason for my visit to Melbourne after a few days in Sydney for some meetings and acclimatization in advance of the Olympic Games later in the year, where I am serving as the press officer for the U.S. Olympic tennis team for the U.S. Tennis Association. Melbourne – or “Mel-bun” as it is pronounced by the locals – provides a stark contrast in modern architecture with the stately Victorian era architecture.
Upon arrival, the taxi driver who drives me from the airport to the Crown Towers hotel tells me as much as he could about the city as he could, pointing out that Melbourne was best known for its gardens and trams. Interestingly, the first person to greet me upon my arrival at the hotel was none other than two-time US Open champion and Australian tennis legend Patrick Rafter, who was walking out of the hotel with golf clubs when he saw me and went out of his way to come and shake hands with me and welcome me to Australia. I told Pat that this was my first time to Australia. His response; “You’ll love it mate!”
The Crown Towers is one of Melbourne’s best hotels and is the personal favorite for many top tennis players who compete at the tournament since the site is within walking distance and the casino in the hotel’s first floor is very popular among all guests. The rooms are luxurious and the views of downtown Melbourne are stunning.
My hotel room was not ready when I check in, so I decide to do some exploring. I walk along the Yarra River, which bisects Melbourne, and notice quite a lot of nice shops and restaurants. The Yarra River is one of the most polluted rivers in the country if not the world, which disappoints me. Jim Courier gave it some extra fame when he dove into the river after winning the Australian Open in 1992. He did it again as an encore when he won the title again in 1993. The weather on this day is quite lousy – cloudy with drizzle and temps at about 68 degrees – quite cool for January standards in the middle of the Australian summer.
While walking by the river walk beside the Yarra, I get lured to take a river boat ride. The ride takes an hour and is quite informative about Melbourne’s history. Upon the conclusion of the boat ride, I finally decide that I should jump on one of Melbourne’s famous trams. I settle upon the St. Kilda line, which takes me to the suburb by the water which reminds me much of Miami Beach. I walk out onto the St. Kilda pier, which provides a beautiful view of the city skyline. The sun is starting to come out, so my mood brightens and do my feelings of Melbourne. I walk along the beach, pick up a few interesting shells and absorb the south Australian sunshine. I continue to walk along the strip, which showcases arts and crafts for sale and duck into one of the many appealing street side cafés and have an early dinner with a glass of Aussie wine. I sit and people watch – as I love to do. The wine makes me feel very relaxed and I enjoy soaking in this time as sunset approaches.
After paying the bill, I start to walk back to down town on St. Kilda road. After about 15 minutes of walking, I decide that I am going to walk the entire way back to town – which ended up being about seven miles and takes me two hours. I need the exercise and I enjoy checking out the neighborhoods and sights. En route to the hotel, I pass by the war memorial with Melbourne’s eternal flame, and walk through Melbourne’s river side Botanical Gardens, which are stunningly beautiful. I remember my cab driver telling me that Melbourne is famous for its trams and gardens. At the time, I sarcastically thought, “How exciting” but upon walking through the gardens and seeing the trams go by like clock work, I begin to really appreciate the beauty of this city.
Monday, January 17 is the first day of the 2000 Australian Open. It is the first day of Grand Slam tennis in the new millennium and I am there! I have to cue up a bit for my credential, but I am not alone as an estimated 15,000 people are on line for tickets.
The Australian Open Tennis Championships are held traditionally in the last weeks of January and is one of the more pleasant sporting events in the world. Played in Melbourne Park in the shadows of Melbourne’s skyscrapers, the tournament is one of the four “Grand Slam” tournaments – joining the likes of Wimbledon in England, the US Open in New York and the French Open in Paris. The Australian Open is by far the most relaxing and less hectic of the four, due to the convenience to down town Melbourne and its hotels and restaurants, as well as the laid-back, low key Aussie attitude which permeates the event.
Todd Martin and his coach Dean Goldfine are among the first people I see at the complex. It actually becomes quite hectic as I run into several people I know all at the same time, but I just do not have time to stop and chat to everyone. The first match I settle into and watch is Corina Moraiu and Marissa Irvin on Court No. 8. A major portion of the Melbourne skyline is the backdrop for this and many other courts which makes the Australian Open the only truly downtown urban Grand Slam. The other three Grand Slams – the French and US Open and Wimbledon – are all played in suburbs or just outside the downtown area.
After Irvin wins the battle of American players, I pass along my congratulations to Marissa’s mother Helene and her coach Brian Teacher, an Australian Open champion in 1980. I give a short greeting to Marissa, but let Corina go off as I always am reluctant to approach the losers of tennis matches. As it is Irvin’s first-ever Grand Slam singles match victory – and the fact that she next plays Lindsay Davenport – I spread Marissa’s gospel to the U.S press, which is very small. Rachel Alexander of the Washington Post and I revel in the fact that our appearances at the first day of this tournament gives us both the completion of a career Grand Slam (attending all four Grand Slam tournaments). I had been to the French Open in 1994 and Wimbledon last summer. I, of course, have not missed the US Open since 1978 and have not missed a day of the US Open since 1991.
After watching Jan-Michael Gambill lose to Zimbabwe’s Wayne Black – I begin to feel very burnt and realize that despite all the sunblock I caked on my face, it is to no avail. I begin to burn even more as I watch the first two sets of Todd Martin against Wayne Black’s older brother Byron Black. Todd loses the first two sets, and I retreat to the shade of the media room, where I watch him come back from two sets down and three match points down, to defeat Black. I hang around until the second night match, where I watch Pete Sampras defeat Wayne Arthurs in a boring match in the newly re-named Rod Laver Arena. I watch much of this match physically in the stadium, which is a first. I walk home along the Yarra and call it another day.
The next morning, I walk with Robert Van’t Hof, Lindsay Davenport’s coach, to the courts and he warns me of the dangers of the Australian sun. “It’s a different kind of sun down here,” he says. “It’s a stronger sun. We are either closer to the sun down here or there is not as much ozone in the air.”
I put on another coat of sun block. I have meetings in the morning with Tennis Australia and ESPN, but manage to watch the fifth set of Vince Spadea and the entire match of Cecil Mamiit and Magnus Norman. One of the truly great things about the Australian Open are the throngs of foreign visitors (mainly European students) who come down to vacation in Australia and cheer on their tennis heroes. At the Mamiit – Norman match, there must be 80 Swedes, most wearing their patriotic yellow and blue, cheering and chanting for their man Norman. It is quite a spectacle, especially with the number of Swedish girls wearing blue and yellow bikini tops while cheering their man on. Dutch fans are seen around the grounds decked in orange, some with hats decked with tulips and clogging around the grounds in wooden shoes. I sit with Jay Snyder, the US Open tournament director, and watch the match and count the number of Swedish girls wearing bikini tops on the other side of the court. Norman wins in four sets and I take in a little of the Tara Snyder vs. Meghann Shaughnessy match, which gets suspended at 7-7 in the third set due to a short rain shower.
The roof in Rod Laver Arena is closed for the night session. A rusty Serena Williams gets by Australian wild card Amanda Grahame 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the first match. Paul Goldstein is set to play local hero Lleyton Hewitt, who is the No. 1 player in the ATP Tour points standings. I get a ticket to sit in Paul’s box from Scott McCain, one of the USTA Player Development coaches. Also in the box are Alex O’Brien, the US Open doubles champion, and his doubles partner Jared Palmer, an Australian Open doubles champion in 1995. Mamiit and tour player Scott Humphries also are in the box along with McCain and Richard Schmidt, another USTA coach. Goldstein ends up losing a very tough four set match that concludes at 1:50 am. By the time the press conferences are over and I make it back to the hotel, it is 4 am. I got to bed and wake up three hours later so that I can go for a quick walk down the river walk in my final hours in Melbourne.
Well that about wraps it up as I sit here in seat 24 A, with the sun-setting over the Pacific, as we pass over Fiji. It’s too bad it’s not lighter out as I would like to see this island chain in the South Pacific. After this, we will soon pass over the International Date Line and I will have my second consecutive Wednesday January 19!
