Australian Open

two days i ago i got up early and took the train to melbourne park, home of the australian open.  for those of you who don't follow tennis it is one of four major tournaments every year (others being wimbledon, roland garros aka french open and us open).

i got the very affordable grounds pass ($30 for the day) which grants access to all but the two main arenas. 
i arrived later than i had hoped due to some public transportation issues.  by the time i got to the main court i had access to (margaret court) all seats had been filled and there was a line-up of people waiting for seats to free up (rush seating).  i could here the game starting and i desperately wanted in!  lucky for me they had an odd number of seats in the second row centre court.  me being a single and all i managed to slip to the front of the line and grab that extra seat.  most people wanted to sit in a larger group or in two's.  i had written that court's schedule down for the day and decided before hand already that if i got a good seat i simply wouldn't move for the whole day.  and i didn't.

here's the breakdown of the matches i saw:

1. zvonereva (9) vs. dulko (women's)
my first pro game and i was underwhelmed.  it looks a lot faster on tv!  once i adjusted i realized that zvonereva packs a lot of punch on her forehand and moves well.  dulko is skilled but simply lacks strength.  zvonereva in straight sets.

oh and get this.  same line judge as serena threatened at us open! ha

2. davydenko (6) vs. monaco
davydenko is quiet and efficient.  amazingly quick compact swings.  he hits the ball so flatly with little spin yet still manages to keep harder swings in-bounds.  fun to watch even with his machine like personality.  monaco lost 9 straight games before he finally won one of his service games.  he jokingly bowed to the crowd after his overdue win and the crowd went crazy.  pretty funny.  he kept interacting with the crowd for the rest of the match which kept us cheering him on despite his losing in straight sets.

3. verdasco (9) vs. koubek
not even close.  koubek couldn't find points anywhere, which all made sense after he retired due to injury in the second set.  however verdasco has an amazing forehand.  when the ball sits up on a return he gets there early and jumps aggressively into his swing.


4. mixed doubles match with kleybanova on one fo the teams.  i've had my eye on her since the us open last year when i was so impressed with her doubles game.  i was hoping she'd start making some tournament runs in singles as well.  a day earlier she ALMOST beat henin in singles.  i had so much fun watching her school the male on the other team.  haha  he was trying to pick on her but she was matching stroke for stroke and made him look pretty foolish at times.  she must be used to this because she had a grin on her face the whole match.  ahaha  i loved it!  the only problem was that the team she beat was australian so i was literally the only person clapping for most of her points.

an extra note on kleybanova for those who know her.  in person she actually looks pretty fit but she is a big girls.  toned arms and legs with just bulk in her torso.  commentators always give her a hard time for her 'fitness' level.  just wait, her time will come!

after that i roamed the grounds before i went home.  i was beat after sitting in the sun all day without cover.  being this close to the equator the sun just bakes directly above you.  you have to look straight up to see it.  ha!  weird for a canadian prairie boy.

today i went back to fed square to watch tennis on the giant screen with everyone else from melbourne and also to visit the ACMI museum.  it's an interesting and interactive free museum that goes through the history of moving image.

tomorrow i change homebase for a couple of nights in st kilda near the beach!!  i'm excited about that.  narelle's borther and sister-in-law offered there spare bedroom to me.  beats the hostel i was going to stay in.  thanks so much cam and charlotte.

only fice sleeps until i see roel again!  it's exciting to know that this may well be the last long period of long distance we'll ever do.