January 20 - January 31 Tennis Anyone?
Tennis fever has hit Melbourne and us included! Our first introduction to the tennis tournament came on January 20 when we had a ground pass to see any early round matches on that date. The day dawned sunny and warm, and we had a blast watching the various games all day, basking in the hot sun for over eight hours. We soon became familiar with the Australian sports chant: Aussie, Aussie, Aussie....oi, oi oi! whenever a local was playing! We were fortunate to watch the USA Williams sisters play doubles and to see Great Britain's hopeful, Andy Murray, handily beat his opponent. During the intervening days, tennis was always on the big screen at home or else we could watch it at Federation Square. On January 29 we attended the men's semi-finals, and saw Federer knock off the Frenchman in just one and a half hours! Rick also saw the Williams sisters win the ladies' double tournament. On January 31 the men's final match had to be viewed on our big screen as the tickets had been sold out since last October! What a thrill to experience the excitement and tension of the tennis matches. We couldn't believe how close we were able to get to the tennis stars, and how great the camera worked!! Walks home along the Yarra River at night were beautiful also! Enjoy the pictures!!
It was interesting to see that the tournament site (as seen in your picture) is called 'Margaret Court Arena'. Margaret Court was a well-known tennis player many many years ago. When we lived in Tucson in 1973, the posh tennis club down the road from where we lived was also named for her. Tom and I got to see Rod Laver and Stan Smith play at the big tournament there.
ReplyDeleteHi! Thanks for the post card from down under! I was watching all the same tennis games (& more) as you folks.
ReplyDeleteWe are just coming out of a cold snap but January (especially the 15th!) was very warm at -1.
Everyone is doing well and we wish we were there with you both. Continue blogging so we can be envious about your trip!!!
Lots of Love,
I & O
Fantastic pics, keep them coming. We are enjoying each one, and jealous we can't be there too! Looks like lots of fun!
ReplyDeleteMichelle