A view of one of the courts at the Melbourne Park complex in Melbourne.
It was revealed in The Age's front page report on how Sydney as well as Shanghai, Dubai and Abu Dhabi were manoeuvring to host the first grand slam event of the year when the current contract expires in 2016. "I don't understand why Tennis Australia would be having any discussions with another government or another city about the tournament," Mr McNamee, a former Australian Open director, told The Sunday Age.
"That's what's such a shock. What would be the reason for that because we have a venue that is the envy of the tennis world. "It would be akin to Wimbledon having discussions with Edinburgh. Why would you do that?"
Tennis Australia has admitted holding talks with Events NSW and others about a possible future venue for the tournament.
Events NSW says the discussions are at an early stage but there are plans to build a multimillion-dollar tennis stadium at Glebe Island, near Darling Harbour.
Despite the move, Victorian Premier John Brumby said yesterday he was confident the Open would stay in Melbourne. "It's a great stadium, the players love Melbourne, we've got the best sports precinct in the world and I don't think we need to take too seriously the threats that are coming from Sydney," he said, adding the Government would work with Tennis Australia to improve the Open in coming years.
Mr McNamee said it was hard to imagine the Open not being played in Melbourne. "It's part of the DNA of Melbourne, like the Opera House is part of the DNA of Sydney.
"The Australian Open is part of who we are in Melbourne. The juxtaposition of the Australian Open and Melbourne is sacrosanct."
Grand slam legend Margaret Court, who won 11 Australian Opens during her career, said the tournament was held in Melbourne because "it was the sporting city of the world". "Melbourne is known for the Australian Open just like New York is known for the US Open and Paris for the French Open," Ms Court said.
She said Melbourne was renowned for having the best atmosphere as well as the best crowds. "(In) Sydney … you never know if people are going to turn up to watch," she said.
(Via theage.com.au, Image via Yahoo! Sport)
Islas Malvinas Stadium in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
And today, it is confirmed that the final between Argentina and Spain will be held at the Islas Malvinas Stadium in Mar del Plata.“This was one of the most challenging decisions we have made during my more than a decade-long tenure on the Davis Cup Committee,” said Juan Margets, chairman of the International Tennis Federation panel.
The Argentine team hoped to play on a fast indoor court in Cordoba to bolster the strengths of David Nalbandian and Juan Martin del Potro.
Both venues don’t meet the ITF’s requirement of 12,000 seats.
Margets said it was more feasible to increase the seating in Mar del Plata’s venue.
The Davis Cup final will be held in Nov. 21-23.
(Via AP, Image by AP Photo/Vicente Robles)
You are definitely not going to get any seats at the Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown by now.
The showdown in November will features Roger Federer, James Blake, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe going head-to-head in a one-night exhibition match in Macao and also another in Kuala Lumpur.
You might want to drop by in Kuala Lumpur instead as tickets are still available here but I doubt you'll get any good front seats either.
My tickets are on the L6 section (silver category) and 6th row from the front. To get your tickets, you can purchase online from the Axcess website.
For local fans, if possible, buy your tickets from the Axcess outlet instead (offline purchasing) so that you don't have to waste time queuing up for ticket collection on event day (Ticket collection for online purchase is at venue only on the event day, 2 hours before the show time).
Here's a bit of the itinerary on that day:
- Live musical entertainment (I hope not some stupid boy band performance like last year! We need some class in a tennis event)
- Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe - 1 Set
- Roger Federer vs James Blake - Best-of-3 Sets (Yahooooo!)
- Roger Federer and Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe and James Blake. - A Ten Point Doubles Tie Breaker
For a diehard fan like me, this event is way beyond my dream. Honestly, this is better than meeting Rafael Nadal in person! How often can you get to meet tennis legends like Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe?
Recently I have been reading Blake's autobigraphy, Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life. Blake who overcame a broken neck and shingles, which paralysed half his face, is one of the greatest comeback stories ever. If you are an Oprah fan, you'll probably catch the episode where Oprah interviewed Blake about what he had gone through. So for me, the urge to meet James Blake is huge!
I'll come up with more post on this event in the next few days providing info like places to stay and go in KL, how you can get there at the Putra Stadium, etc.
In the meanwhile, you might want to drop by Showdown KL official site and participate in the auction and do a bit of charity.
Have a good weekend!
Towards the end of practice a young tennis fan, who was practicing on the court next to her, went up to Sharapova and was lucky enough to play with her and get some pointers.
In the meanwhile, Serena Williams was seen with former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland hitting the Miami Beach together.
