Australian Open

The next 2 days were going to be dedicated to tennis as it was the purpose of our trip to Melbourne. We begin early in the morning as we wanted to get to the stadium before everyone else did in order to get the best seats possible. What we didn’t take into consideration was the extreme temperatures that were being predicted for the next 2 days. By 9:30am, we had hit 37 degrees and it was only going to get worse!

By the time we were in the stadium, you could feel the heat intensify as more people started showing up. It was 10:45am when the tournament organizers decided it was time to close the roof. Forget rain delays folks, ONLY in Australia, do you also have to deal with EXTREME HEAT CONDITIONS. Play outside was suspended the entire day as temperatures soared to the mid 40’s. We on the other hand, had the best seat in the house as the roof closed on top of us and the air conditioner turned on. The next 8 hours would be spent watching some of the worlds finest battling it out for the top reigns in Australia. It was the fourth round of play and several top seeded players had already made an early exit. Highlights in the next 2 days included the following:

- watching Justine Henin Harden easily destroy her opponent in straight sets (she eventually reached the women’s final)
- sitting in the stands front row with Chela’s family cheering him on (he was the player that knocked out Australian’s Leyton Hewitt.)
- watching journeyman Febrice Santorro make it for the first time in 17 years to a men’s quarterfinal grand slam after he defeated the seated Ferrer. (see photo on right)
- battle of Russia (Petrova vs Vesnina)

- the lone asian