Virgin Eyes: The Australian Open

Big smile: the whole 30-minute walk to Melbourne Park.

Is that it?? First sighting of Rod Laver?

Ooo programs. Big glossy magazine… :) The vendor's got quite a big stack. Several go up to him to get one. Red Australian 20's get handed over. A glossy magazine comes back in return. How much are they?? Pshhh.. no way. I don't need one that bad. I'm here to see the tennis.

10 am. Gates open. Like a free for all. People swell into the park. Where to? Practice courts. Is that Serena?!? Holy cow!!!

I think I understand how some of my friends feel about ACL and SXSW now...

Another program vendor… Yes! I need one … it’s only 20 bucks...

Rod Laver.

Wow.......

No national anthem? No big ceremony?

Coin toss … warm up

Wow, I'm seeing this in person?? Is this real? Sharapova?

To the lady in the row in front of me with the big fancy, high clicks-per-second camera … Wow! I want one! The pictures you’re reviewing on your camera are amazing clear and zoomed-in!

Ball kids. Way more interesting in person than they are on TV. Have a much higher appreciation for them now … they’re pretty entertaining to watch (granted I am here on Day 1). They have to be super quick. Good at making split-second decisions. Able to run back and forth and change directions quickly. Able to stand in one place for a long time… in the sun. Strong attention span to be able to respond to sudden stimuli quickly after long periods of inactivity. Ball kids … I’m proud of you. Congrats for making it through try-outs!

Sharapova just bageled her first round opponent. Gotta head out there. See what's going on. Like putting my head above water in heading out of Rod Laver.

Berdych on the practice court. A guy from the USA.

There's just so many to see. Kinda feeling like I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off. All the outside show courts seem to have lines into each entrance. And, they’re in the hot sun. Realization: there is a ton if great tennis going on everywhere. I'm not goina see it all. That reserved seat in Laver in the shade is starting to look better and better. Sam Stosur from Australia is playing. I can feel the Aussi home pride. Djokovic comes next. Amazing!

The day goes by soooo fast. I look down and the watch tells me I’m crossing from lunch to dinnertime. Gotta get some quick grub. Pizza.

After the day session in Rod Laver ends, I head outside to catch side court action. It's a mix. Sam Querrey is from the US. His day match turns into a night match after the second set, and with the departure of the sun comes the cold night air. One of the souvenir player towels comes out of the package and I wrap up in it and become pink and 'ausopen2013' is sprawled across my back. Others in the crowd start to look the same way. Querrey wins and at Margaret Court I find a seat surprisingly easily. It's a totally different crowd: loud, spirited. Flags. Songs in different languages. The crowd is hugely in favor of Baghdatis. It's fun, and even though it’s a cold 10pm, the ups and downs of the match and the crowd are all the adrenaline I need to stay very alert.

The day goes by sooo fast. I blink and 12 hours of tennis have gone by.

Thank you free Melbourne tram back to the hostel and I'm home by midnight.

The Next Morning

I see several bright blue Aussi Open t-shirts walk by. And there goes one of the Aussi Open tote bags, and some ticket lanyards walk by, walk past, in the other direction.

Day 2 starts in about 2 hours. I imagine all the players, the stands, the so-silent-you-could-hear-a-pin-drop stands, the yellow fuzz puffing off after serves, the sun, the sunburns, the big tennis bags walking by, the cool night, all of it about to start.

And I keep walking the other way... toward Southern Cross Terminal, back to Sydney. I'll watch it all in TV. I'll see the matches on TV. But now, I'll imagine everything else that comes with the Aussi Open. The crowds. The practice courts. Hearing the cheers from the other courts. The stands. The colorful stands. The lines to get into the side courts. The swarming in and out of people from the stands when the players switch sides. And those ball kids… the second round of entertainment… the side dish, if you will. The game that goes on besides the game of tennis. It's their own game. Some say tennis is a boring, slow sport. Well my friends, may I introduce the ball kids. Quite an amazing network of activity to watch and follow.

And so I'll go home, wake up at 3 am, and watch it all on TV. But Aussi Open, I'll never see you the same way. You'll always be the first Grand Slam I went to.

And hopefully chances will come again. The yellow fuzz, the players’ grunts, the swarms of crowds, the sitting, the standing, bee-hive like movement of people at changeovers, the sweat, the sun, the tennis, being there, at the tournament, in the middle of all the excitement.

Till then,

I gotta get some rest. That 3 am comes fast :)

Pictures!! :)