2008 Australian Open

Time for Tennis

1/14/2008 5:17:00 PM

AP Photo

Reliving a Dream
Everyone remembers their first professional sports experience. My first was in 1977, when my granddad took me to see the Boston Red Sox at their winter training camp in Winter Haven, Florida. I was only ten years old at the time but I will never forget being absolutely star struck at the real-life sight of my heroes like Carl Yastrzemski, Fred Lynn, Luis Tiant and Carlton Fisk. The memories of that day are as vivid today to this forty year old as it was then when I was a Little League All-Star. I still have the baseball program from that day in my old boxes of photos and memorabilia. I wonder what made that time so memorable? I would like to think that it was the experience of seeing the baseball gods of my time, but I think now as an adult, it was just being there with my grandfather that completed the experience. He passed away not long after that year and I have these fond memories of that day in Florida, a great day to remember, for baseball and for him.
 

We made it to the Australian Open!

I tell that story to segue into our trip to the Australian Open, my first professional Tennis experience and one that I have shared with my wife, Nisha. As we watch these unbelievable players in this phenomenal Rod Laver Arena, I count myself as blessed as I did when I was ten years old under the Florida sun only feet away from the Sox. This has been an unforgettable trip, under the Melbourne sun, that will surely reside in my memory alongside my Red Sox, my granddad, and now the Australian Open, completed by having my beautiful wife to share it with.

We were drawn in by the support for Australian hopeful, Alicia Molik as she defeated Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) in a 1st round match that lasted close to two hours. We marveled at their conditioning and physical strength as there was almost non-stop action for the duration. In the end, Alicia provided her home country fans with a win and was a very gracious victor thanking everyone in the audience. I thought it was equally as impressive was the support given by the crowd to Kanepi each time she scored against her Aussie opponent. A great example of sportsmanship at its best in the land Down Under, typical of the fantastic treatment we have received during our Aussie Mania sweepstakes trip from Tennis Channel.

It is impossible to not be impressed by the players without mentioning the Rod Laver Arena and new for the 2008 Australian Open, “True Blue” plexi-cushion surface. We had no problem making our way to the AO from the Crown Towers, it seemed the whole city was going in that direction anyway as attendance records were smashed on Day 1. There were no lines at the entry gates and passed straight through to our designated door area inside the arena venue. As the day match had not yet concluded, we were content to enjoy a nice cappuccino and people watch a bit. It is obvious that the AO is an international event as many countries were represented on their fans face paintings, clothing and many flags that would be waved during the games. It wasn’t long before our door was opened and as we moved toward our seats, we knew this night was going to be a special treat and felt very lucky to have won such a great prize.

Bird’s eye view of Rafa’s impressive win.

As the women’s 1st round match ended, we eagerly anticipated the battle between #2 seed Rafael Nadal (Spain) and Viktor Troicki (Serbia). We weren’t disappointed as it appeared an upset was in the making given the trouble Troicki gave crowd (and ladies) favorite, “Rafa”. As we are American football enthusiasts, rowdy fans are not a surprise to us and Nadal’s faithful were almost as entertaining as the match itself. As I am not a sports writer, I can just tell you that it was a great competition and in the end, Nadal’s #2 ranking was justified. It was after midnight as Nadal finally prevailed over Troicki marking the end of our first exposure to professional tennis. It was a perfect night in Melbourne, accented with great tennis between premier athletes, putting on a show in front of their biggest fans. All in all, we found the experience to be surprisingly relaxing considering the size of the crowds and excitement of the games. We were relaxed until we found out our good fortune at the announcement of the next nights draw. We could not believe that we would be privy to seeing not only Venus Williams, but the #1 tennis player in the world, Roger Federer , on Wednesday night. Holy smokes, how could it get any better than this?

As I write this story, I think about that old Red Sox program from 1977 in my photo box and how it will soon have a companion in from the 2008 Australian Open. I am sure that they will fit nicely in there, just as the memories of that day 30 years ago, my granddad and my wife, and my recollections of last night.