Hi, I’m Mel from Melbourne, aka Grand Slam Gal.

Read more details of my tennis story in A Brief History of Tennis Fandom.

Quick facts

Grand Slam Events Attended to Date:

Australian Open : 15 : 1989, 1999 to date (plus more from the 90s that I can’t remember specific years for)

French Open : 3 : 2008, 2010, 2012

Wimbledon : 2 : 2008, 2012

US Open : 1 : 2012

Grandslams : 1 : 2012

All time favourite players: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Marat Safin, David Nalbandian, Tommy Haas, Andy Roddick

Current Faves: Juan Martin Del Potro, Fernando Verdasco, Jo Willy Tsonga

The Plan: Attended all four tennis grand slam events in 2012 and wrote about the tennis, the whole experience and the culture of the grand slam cities on this blog.

In more detail

I’ve been a tennis fan for as long as I remember. As far back as 1987 I remember staying up until the wee small hours of Monday morning (on a school night) to watch Pat Cash beat Ivan Lendl to win Wimbledon.

At the Australian Open

In 1988 the Australian Open moved from Kooyong to what was then called Flinders Park and I’ve been going to the Aus Open ever since.

Having the Australian Open as my local Grand Slam event is one of the major things that fuelled my passion for tennis. The Aus Open is incredibly well organised for both fans and players and is always spectacular. Yet I’m constantly amazed at the new things that Tennis Australia comes up with to make it even bigger and better than the year before.

Two things I love about the Aus Open are the quality of the tennis (especially the men’s big five set matches) and the accessibility of tickets. But what really makes the event special is that people who aren’t such avid tennis fans also come along and have a fantastic day out. Everyone enjoys the tennis atmosphere, bands, bars, activities and free stuff.

If you could do the thing that makes you happy, what would you do?

For me, I’ve always known that one year I would have a red hot go at attending all four tennis Grand Slam events; Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

In 2008 I came close. I go to the Australian Open every year so that one was easy.  While spending the Australian Winter in London, with Ball Boy’s tireless assistance I managed to go to the French Open and Wimbledon.  But then I had to go back to Melbourne and get a job, so I missed the chance to go to New York for the US Open to complete the slam.

I chose 2012 as the year of the tennis Grand Slam because that’s the year that I turned 40.

And I did’t want to wait any longer.

By day I have my own business helping small business owners to market their website.  I’m a web copywriter and Google AdWords professional. I have a blog where I share information about internet strategy and online marketing.

So now I’m channeling my business skills into my passion for tennis to write the blog that I would love to read. Hopefully you will too!

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2012. Melbourne. Paris, London. New York. Done.