A review of Day 2 at the 2013 Australian Open.
The Crowds
I heard on the Melbourne news that the Australian Open has attracted a record crowd for Day 1 + Day 2 of the event; over 130,000 people.
What a response to all the effort the AO team puts in to marketing the event and making it bigger and better every year. The lovely, comfortable, tennis watching weather probably had something to do with the big crowds too!
Having said that although it was lovely tennis watching conditions around the grounds, it was hot hot hot courtside in Rod Laver Arena. So hot in fact that my iPhone gave me a warning that it was too hot and might collapse. I put it in the Cool Bag next to the sparkling water for recovery purposes.
In terms of the crowds, the trams to get to the grounds were so crowded that some didn’t stop, there were long lines to buy tickets, to buy drinks near the Heineken stage and to get in to the show courts. But regardless of the queues there was a happy AO vibe around the grounds.
Looking back I should have played it differently, but I thought I could rock on up to Margaret Court Arena in time for the start of Monfils v Dolgopolov and walk right in. That wasn’t to be. It was standing room only and based on the stonker of a match that un-folded, not one you’d want to leave. Monfils spent a lot of time injured in 2012 and it’s great to see him back in winning form with his springy ankles and entertaining style.
The Laughs
I didn’t see it but during the massive five set match between two Aussie future stars James Duckworth and Ben Mitchell, I heard peeps in the crowd were quacking like ducks every time Duckworth hit an ace.
Then there was The Heard in the crowd during the Rod Laver Arena night session. I saw clips of a skinny legged, long armed, costume head running around the Arena, plus a group of “Where’s Wallys” in the crowd. Will try to track down footage.
The Top Seeds
Both Andy and Roger were in top form. Andy was so hot he needed the ice neck. Roger sizzled against Paire, winning in straight sets and only dropping 7 games, as did Murray against Robin Haase.
The Injuries
Serena Williams went down when she was 4-0 up during the first set of her match against Edina Gallovits-Hall. She called the trainer, had a mass of strapping cut from her ankle, called a medical time out during which the trainer did some impressively fast re-strapping, and went on to win the match 6-0, 6-0.
Zemlja retired injured against Marcel Granollers.
The Practice Courts
The new-for-2013 Practice Court Viewing Deck allows, guess what, Viewing of the Practice Courts.
There is a schedule available of who will be practicing when on the AO website and near the courts. I tested the Viewing Deck out today. When Novak Djokovic was practicing the crowd was at least three people deep. For Tomic’s promoted practice against Monfils it was one deep but alas the players were a no show. Take away lesson: if someone popular is practicing and you really want to see it, find your possie early and don’t give it up. And hope they show up. I’m guessing that the players are more likely to show up if they don’t have a match starting soon.
The Photos
We had court side seats today with www.grandslamtennistours.com so the photos are really close up.
For more updates, also read the Australian Open Day 1 Update and have a look at the Australian Open’s Day 1 Photo Gallery.
Australian Open Day 2 Results
Rod Laver Arena Day Session
- Andy Murray d Robin Hasse 6-3, 6-1, 6-3
- Victoria Azarenka d Monica Niculescu 6-1, 6-4
- Roger Federer d Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-4, 6-1
Rod Laver Arena Night Session
- Bernard Tomic d Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
- Yanina Wickmayer d Jarmila Gajdosova 6-1, 7-5
Hisense Arena
- Caroline Wozniacki v Sabine Lisicki 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
- Serena Williams v Edina Gallovits-Hall 6-0, 6-0
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Michael Llodra 6-4, 7-5, 6-2
- Juan Martin Del Potro v Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
Margaret Court Arena
- Carla Suarez-Navarro v Sara Errani 6-4, 6-4
- Petra Kvitova d Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
- Sloane Stephens v Simona Halep 6-1, 6-1
- Marin Cilic d Marinko Matosevic v Marin Cilic 6-4, 7-5, 6-2
- Gael Monfils v Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-3
Notable Matches On Other Courts
- Richard Gasquet d Albert Montanes v Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-2, 6-1
- Laura Robson d Melanie Oudin v Laura Robson 6-2, 6-3
- Jarkko Nieminen d Tommy Haas v Jarkko Nieminen 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 8-6 9
- Kimiko Date-Krumm d Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-0
- Lesia Tsurenko v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 3-6, 7-5
- Nikolay Davydenko d Dudi Sela 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-3
- Denis Istomin d Igor Sijsling v Denis Istomin 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
View the full Day 2 Schedule of Play.
Other Tennis News
Aussie Players
Tough day for Aussies as only 1 of 9 wins on Day 1. Guaranteed one Aussie victory on Day 2 as Duckworth plays Mitchell.
Bernard Tomic
Tomic regains position as Australian No.1 after victory in the APIA International Sydney.
Grigor Dimitrov
Wanting to keep private life private.
Until next time
Grand Slam Gal
P.S. Sign up for Aussie Summer of Tennis Daily Updates
Aussie Summer of Tennis Daily Updates will be written every day to help you stay up to date. If you’d like to get your copy delivered to your inbox, please sign up below