Question regarding AO

[Port85]

Does anyone know if its the defending champion (male) that goes onto centrecourt first up on day 1? I have a vague recollection of something similar to that being in place last year.

Cheers

 

[RedWhiteBlack]

I believe that is correct. However a Centre Court ticket for the first two or three days of the tournament is a waste of money. Unless you like watching the men win in three sets and the women in two.

 

[andrepetz]

Does anyone know if its the defending champion (male) that goes onto centrecourt first up on day 1? I have a vague recollection of something similar to that being in place last year.

Cheers

Don't think that it is the way it is done. The players on court for the first day are from the right side of the draw ( i think), if the defending champion(i.e in recent years, when Federer at no.1) wasn't on the right side he wouldn't be on centre court that day.

I hope that makes sense

 

[Port85]

I believe that is correct. However a Centre Court ticket for the first two or three days of the tournament is a waste of money. Unless you like watching the men win in three sets and the women in two.

Yeah I realise its going to be pretty one sided but a friend and I are flying over from Adelaide for the Australia vs South Africa one dayer at the G on the Friday and then sticking around for the first 2 days of the open, never having been to the open before I kind of want to see the big names regardless of whether the matches are short or not. The budget/leave from work doesn't really stretch to later in the tournament unfortunately.

Still it's going to be a mental weekend

 

[RedWhiteBlack]

Yeah I realise its going to be pretty one sided but a friend and I are flying over from Adelaide for the Australia vs South Africa one dayer at the G on the Friday and then sticking around for the first 2 days of the open, never having been to the open before I kind of want to see the big names regardless of whether the matches are short or not. The budget/leave from work doesn't really stretch to later in the tournament unfortunately.

Still it's going to be a mental weekend

A ground pass for days 1-4 offer extraordinary value. You will still see players in the world Top 10, just not the likes of Federer, Djokovic, Nadal etc. If you follow tennis, you'll be pretty impressed with who is on offer on the outside courts.

If you're keen for a big day, get a ground pass and a ticket for the night session. The atmosphere of the night sessions is really unique, not to mention the fact you are not sitting in the stinking hot Centre Court sun all day. The night passes are cheaper too as you only get a women's and a men's match. That's what I'd do if I were you - ground pass to get a taste of a heap of matches (that you can leave if they are boring) and a night pass for the Centre Court experience.

 

[Port85]

Cheers mate.

I'll have another word to my friend and see what the vibe of the thing is.

 

[mdc]

Yeah I realise its going to be pretty one sided but a friend and I are flying over from Adelaide for the Australia vs South Africa one dayer at the G on the Friday and then sticking around for the first 2 days of the open, never having been to the open before I kind of want to see the big names regardless of whether the matches are short or not. The budget/leave from work doesn't really stretch to later in the tournament unfortunately.

Still it's going to be a mental weekend

Not sure whether you're going to be around then, but I've always found the kooyong tourney to be far more interesting than the first few days of the Aus Open.

You get to see some of the best head-to-head, for a very affordable price. I know some people say they don't take it seriously, but I've seen some very good tennis played there. And it's not like the top players are going hard in the first couple of rounds of a slam anyway.

 

[Drummond]

Over the past 3 years I've had the weekly pass to RLA. However the matches in the first few days are extremely average as while you will see the big name players the matches are so lopsided they’re not overly entertaining.

I always got annoyed because there would be 4 matches on Vodafone (and often only 3 on RLA) and the matches seemed to be of much higher standard. So this year I decided to buy a weekly pass to Hisense Arena. People snapped up the RLA tickets so quick and by the time I logged on to book tickets there weren't many good seats left so I thought I'd try my luck with Hisense and I got fantastic seating! And besides, I spend the majority of my time watching the matches on the outside courts anyway.

 

[crowsarethebest]

There's going to be night matches on Hisense (Vodafone) Arena which I'd imagine are a tad cheaper than RLA tickets.

 

[red+black]

- Days 1/2 (perhaps 3/4)
- Ground Pass
- stunners in the Women's Draw that have marginal chances to win more than 1 match

>>> centre court

 

[matt_897]

Not sure whether you're going to be around then, but I've always found the kooyong tourney to be far more interesting than the first few days of the Aus Open.

You get to see some of the best head-to-head, for a very affordable price. I know some people say they don't take it seriously, but I've seen some very good tennis played there. And it's not like the top players are going hard in the first couple of rounds of a slam anyway.

It's an exho, how on earth you can find it more interesting than roming the grounds of Melbourne Park of the first few days baffles me. I would rather Seven show more Sydney International then any of Kooyong.

I get a first four day pass to Hisense Arena, you get some good matches with still a fe waussies and then can go out and roam around the outside the courts where usually the best action is on the first few days.

 

[mdc]

It's an exho, how on earth you can find it more interesting than roming the grounds of Melbourne Park of the first few days baffles me. I would rather Seven show more Sydney International then any of Kooyong.

I get a first four day pass to Hisense Arena, you get some good matches with still a fe waussies and then can go out and roam around the outside the courts where usually the best action is on the first few days.

Have you been?

I've been to both. I love my tennis, but I find the first few days of the AO unbearable.

I really don't care about how many aussies there are, I don't really care if it's an exhibition or not...I'm looking for the best quality tennis.

And on average, you will never find better quality tennis at the 1st week of the AO than you will at Kooyong. If you care more about ranking points and patriotism, then sure, it's probably not for you.

 

[Karbo]

I love my tennis, but I find the first few days of the AO unbearable.

If you find the first week of a grand slam unbearable then you clearly don't love your tennis, simple as that. The fact that you'd prefer to watch a warm-up, blow out the cobwebs exhibition where the players are going at about 40% capacity only confirms this.

 

[RedWhiteBlack]

if you find the first week of a grand slam unbearable then you clearly don't love your tennis, simple as that. The fact that you'd prefer to watch a warm-up, blow out the cobwebs exhibition where the players are going at about 40% capacity only confirms this.

+1
..

 

[mdc]

If you find the first week of a grand slam unbearable then you clearly don't love your tennis, simple as that. The fact that you'd prefer to watch a warm-up, blow out the cobwebs exhibition where the players are going at about 40% capacity only confirms this.

...I got a good chuckle out of that.

Fact is, players who play at Kooyong do so in order to get some high quality tennis in before the AO, because they know they won't get it at a tournament like Sydney or in the first week of a slam.

To suggest highly-ranked players would play at 40% against a guy they know they might be meeting in a crucial stage of a grand slam shows a frightening lack of understanding of the mental side of the game.

They try. They don't kill themselves, but they sure as hell try to win. Do yourself a favour, and actually check it out this year. That way you might not get stuck on an outside court watching Nalbandian going at "40%" in order to get past some dud 1st round opponent.

 

[crowsarethebest]

AO is alot better IMO. The outside courts are awesome because many are playing to make a living. The atmosphere is so much better as well. I work for the Aussie Open so I get to go in free everyday which is awesome.

 

[Karbo]

...I got a good chuckle out of that.

Trust me, I and everyone else reading this thread got a bigger chuckle out of your post.

Fact is, players who play at Kooyong do so in order to get some high quality tennis in before the AO, because they know they won't get it at a tournament like Sydney or in the first week of a slam.

Kooyong is essentialy a practice session for the top players who are rusty after the off-season. The results of each match are insignificant, and players regularly pull out if gets too hot. It's a time to blow out the cobwebs, try some new things, see how the body feels and just get a feel for the tennis ball again. The players are going at no more than 40%, any more would be silly.

To suggest highly-ranked players would play at 40% against a guy they know they might be meeting in a crucial stage of a grand slam shows a frightening lack of understanding of the mental side of the game.

2007 kooyong final - Roddick def Federer 6-2 3-6 6-2
2007 Aus open semi-final (crucial stage) - Federer def Roddick 6-2 6-0 6-2

Federer uses Kooyong to practice his net game... he regularly serves and volleys and comes to the net whenever he feels like it. He doesn't care about the result, he cares about the Aus open and putting himself in the best possible position to win it.

They try. They don't kill themselves, but they sure as hell try to win. Do yourself a favour, and actually check it out this year. That way you might not get stuck on an outside court watching Nalbandian going at "40%" in order to get past some dud 1st round opponent.

I've been to Kooyong before, I nearly fell asleep. The tournament lacks buzz, which is what generally happens when there is nothing riding on the result. The AO (especially the first week) is the opposite, you can feel the buzz, you can feel the atmosphere. The first week is not the time to go to centre court, sit in the nose-bleed section and watch a top-10 seed destroy a qualifier. The first week is for the outside courts which are choc full of entertaining matches. My greatest memories are always from these first few days.

 

[mdc]

You seem to be unable to grasp the concept that experimenting and not being too concerned with the end result does not = going at 40%.

Either way, we clearly seem to differ on why we watch tennis. You watch to be entertained, I watch to see the best quality tennis possible. If you're going to Kooyong for the atmosphere/buzz, I suggest you probably should stay away.

 

[Karbo]

I watch tennis because I love tennis. You watch tennis because you haven't heard of anyone outside the top 10 and want to see Federer.

I just realised that your first post has link to the Kooyong website. You work for the Kooyong tournament don't you?

 

[mdc]

I watch tennis because I love tennis. You watch tennis because you haven't heard of anyone outside the top 10 and want to see Federer.

My former coach was ranked in the top 250 at one point, does he count? Otherwise you're probably right. Although I don't think Patrick Raffer plays any more, so he couldn't be ranked inside the top 10, could he?

Fwiw, if anyone wants to see Federer as often as possible, I wouldn't blame them.

I just realised that your first post has link to the Kooyong website. You work for the Kooyong tournament don't you?

And yet those bastards still charge me full price!

 

[matt_897]

Either way, we clearly seem to differ on why we watch tennis. You watch to be entertained, I watch to see the best quality tennis possible. If you're going to Kooyong for the atmosphere/buzz, I suggest you probably should stay away.

If you're going to kooyong to watch the best quality tennis, then there clearly must be something wrong with you because a warm-up exhibtion with players not fully caring about the result is not giving you high quality tennis.

 

[AGC]

Having said that- if you come to try and perve on a top ranked player like Ivanovic or Sharapova- then the first couple of days represent good value. Then again-Kirilenko may be on the outside courts!

having said that- Ground passes on the first 4 days really are the best. In fact- for the first few days- you'll probably be shafted with Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Stouser trying to play on Centre court. Whilst you wont get Fed, Nadal or Djokovic, you can get some real crackers with Top 10 ranked players on MCA.
And it doesn't cost much to upgrade for a ticket to Hisense either.

- Days 1/2 (perhaps 3/4)
- Ground Pass
- stunners in the Women's Draw that have marginal chances to win more than 1 match

>>> centre court

 

[ashley12]

Does anyone know if its the defending champion (male) that goes onto centrecourt first up on day 1? I have a vague recollection of something similar to that being in place last year.

Cheers

Not sure if this actually got answered, but IIRC last year Serena Williams went on first for the first day against an Aussie girl, and I think she was defending champ. Federer played on the Tuesday, I know that because he played the cracker vs Tipserivic on the Saturday the same day as the Baghdatis vs Hewitt game.

AO is alot better IMO. The outside courts are awesome because many are playing to make a living. The atmosphere is so much better as well. I work for the Aussie Open so I get to go in free everyday which is awesome.

Yep, love the passion of the smaller games, even when you see the late night highlights of the rest. People bag out Klein for his game vs the Chilean dude but here he is beginning a career fightng for the next paycheck. I love it...