I wish I forced myself to blog every day of the Australian Open. It didn’t do it because I was overwhelmed by my experiences, the days were long, and I was pretty sure 14 days of posting about tennis would be pretty tedious for everyone else. Any tennis fan reading this blog would already be following the results of the competition anyway, at least casually. Anyone who isn’t a tennis fan would be bored out of their gourd reading about the minute details day in and day out. Honestly, being tired probably weighed in the most here.
My lack of good sleep hygiene has really made some days on this trip difficult for me. I’m really blessed in that I can managed my narcolepsy pretty well and haven’t had to change my medication or dosage since I was diagnosed almost 8 years ago. When I’m actually managing my sleep routine I do fairly well. Changing my bedtime and my morning alarm regularly, being awful with screen time before bed, and having a diet where I throw caution to the wind because, “I’m on vacation!” and drink Cokes any time to the day or night really hasn’t helped my brain chemistry. Just last night I was ready to go to bed at 10:00, but because I had a Coke with dinner I was exhausted and awake until 1:00 AM. When I feel tired, like the reaaaallll narcolepsy tired, my medicine helps me function but my ability to read or write is severely impacted. The feeling I experience when I have to use my brain and concentrate is best described as pain, but that’s also not quite accurate. It’s this awful nagging right behind my eyes. I won’t delve into that right now, but I’ll circle back to my main point that sitting down to recap my day and all that I experienced while I was in Melbourne wasn’t in the cards for me.
Let me start by saying that Melbourne is a delight. I absolutely loved it. I didn’t take advantage of anything except my immediate neighborhood, a few restaurants and shopping malls outside of my immediate neighborhood, and the Aussie Open. I know that’s not enough to say I “know” Melbourne, but I feel like I got enough experiences with locals to know the vibe of the city. My hippy uncle once told me that he believed that people and cities have wavelengths. It’s when those wavelengths match or when they are in direct opposition that we feel most at home because we’re either in direct alignment or we’re compliments. When the wavelengths are discordant by being off from each other just a little bit we tend to be unhappy, unfulfilled, and unsettled in that city and community. This imagery works for me. In Melbourne I felt like my wavelength matched its wavelength.
Melbourne was filled with super friendly people. I felt comfortable asking anyone for directions, help, or to take a picture for me. The people were quite approachable and seemed to want to help. Before traveling to Australia I hear that the people were a delight throughout. This sentiment rang true for me in the Whitsundays and in Melbourne, but not so much in Sydney. For me, the people in Sydney were nice but I didn’t feel they were as approachable or seemed as genuine. When I did the walking tour in Sydney the tour guide gave a brief history of how Canberra became the capital of Australia instead of Sydney or Melbourne. As part of this story he discussed the big rivalry between the two cities. I felt that dynamic in Sydney, but when I asked a few people about it in Melbourne they just sort of rolled their eyes and said that locals don’t really care about perpetuating that mentality. As I reflect back it seemed like Sydney had an inferiority complex and that Melbourne was cool just doing its thing.
One of the most delightful people in Melbourne was my Airbnb host, Jim. Jim and I clicked as friends from the start. He was super helpful and involved in my stay, but not overbearing. His flat has lots of little touches that you wouldn’t necessarily think of prior to arrival, but were incredibly helpful and created a welcoming atmosphere. For example, there was a shelf in the living room that had leftover change and cards for public transportation. He had two laminated sheets of paper with lots of local tips and directions to important places like train stops, shopping centers, highly regarded cafes, and grocery stores. The kitchen had the basics like olive oil, salt and pepper, and sugar. The shower had shampoo, conditioner, and soap. There was a bookshelf with options across lots of topics. It was a great way to be able to get started. The whole place had a feel of everyone who ever stayed there contributing to it – like the apartment got better and better with each visitor. The flat was attached to Jim’s house and he made it clear that he wanted to help in any way possible, but that he’d stay out of my hair if that’s what I wanted too. He even helped me out by dropping me at the train station a few times, including the day I departed at 5:45 AM when I feared I was going to miss my train and then miss my connecting bus to the airport. Jim is an incredibly generous man and made me feel welcome in both his home and his city. We chatted multiple times about life’s grand designs, but one of the best times was when we went to brunch together. I mean, who envisions going out to brunch with their Airbnb host and that being a highlight of their stay in a city? It wasn’t something I expected, but Jim was such an important contributor to my overall feelings about Melbourne and Australia.
In addition to great people, Melbourne had a very easy train system, despite it causing me problems. I selected my Airbnb in part because it was near a train station that would take me into the city in about 20 minutes tops. It was great! Well, it was great in week two when that actually happened. In week one the train route was under construction and I had two alternatives. 1) I could take the normal route, but about halfway there get rerouted to a bus that went into the city center. This option was not ideal because I get motion sick on busses easily and because Melbourne traffic is a nightmare. The travel time was unpredictable. The one and only time I used this option it took me about an hour and a half to get to the city center. 2) I could use a train station that was about a 10-minute Uber ride or a 30-minute walk from my flat. I ended up choosing this option a lot. I took the perspective that a 30-minute walk was good exercise for me. In general it worked fine, but I was pigeonholed into paying for Ubers that I didn’t want to pay for when I arrived at the train station late on my way home and didn’t want to talk in the dark in a neighborhood I didn’t know very well.
Jim was instrumental in helping me figure out this alternative route. Knowing the area quite well he was able to provide me with a variety of options from the quickest to the cheapest. I was particularly thankful for his help because the day before we discussed transportation options there was a big storm that ravaged the AO. Everyone was soaked from head to toe, including myself, and the temperature dropped to about 60 degrees. The trains were overcrowded and delayed. I tried to figure out an alternative way home and failed. It took me two hours to get home while I was soaked and freezing. That was not an awesome night. At the very end of the first week the train routes re-opened and I was able to get in and out of the city center quite easily. Transportation was gravy from that point on.
Melbourne felt more cultured thank Sydney. I know some people might balk at that, but my sense was that there were more museum and intellectual opportunities in Melbourne. After I spent one full day seeing the sites in Sydney I felt like I had seen what there was to have seen. There were a few small museums and a different walking tour that I could have taken advantage of, but I was left with a “now what?” feeling. I didn’t explore this side of Melbourne, but I know there were several museums to check out – art and history. There were other tourist destinations like parks, a zoos, and public buildings that I could have seen. For example, I met two people at the tennis tournament that told me about a neighborhood with a pedestrian area filled with Greek shops and restaurants. It turns out that it was near by where I was staying so I went on my last day there. I had one of the best meals and a great time wandering around all that it had to offer. It’s not that Sydney didn’t have these things, but Melbourne seemed to have more with diversity in interest. I expressed to someone that Melbourne felt like there were so many more cultural attractions to check out and they agreed. They said that Melbourne tangibly had a lot more to do than Sydney did. I was bummed to miss out on all of these things, but it gives me a reason to go back. Sydney I could never go to again and not feel like I was missing out. Melbourne I would jump at the change to return to any time of the year. I’d love to experience more of what the city has to offer. I just couldn’t not go to the tennis – and I got so much more tennis than I expected.
The tournament was… better than I imagined. I was nervous about it because I’ve dreamed of going for so long and anyone who follows tennis knows that the Australian Open is known for being an awesome party and the “fun” grand slam. My dreams of going turned in to actual plans back in October. That left me with three and a half months of waiting… and expecting. I was nervous that it couldn’t live up to my expectations, but it did. It did in more ways that I can count. When I arrived I was overcome with emotion. I remember walking onto the grounds, trying to get my bearings. Because I had grounds passes the first few days I got to float around the side and show courts. I entered a show court and before play started I had to leave because I had to gather myself. I started tearing up and I felt like the air was vibrating around me. It was pure magic. In that moment I knew exactly how lucky I was to be there and how I would never have that same experience again.
I’m always impressed by sports events that let you bring in food and beverage. I wish all organizations would adopt this model. I can think of four instances off the top of my head in which I was able to do this – the Indy 500, two different NASCAR races, and the Australian Open. All of them had great environments that felt like a party and at all of them I saw fans still laying down their money to buy concessions and merchandise. In the early days of the AO I packed my meals. On long days I brought my lunch and a snack, but then bought dinner. It helped me make the experience much more affordable and put me in a position to buy when I wanted to buy and not feel like I had to watch my pennies every step of the way. Some days I was more frugal than others, but it seemed to balance out in the end. The food options were varied – wraps, burgers, nachos, hot dogs, fried chicken, French fries, BBQ, salads - and I enjoyed most of it. It was quite fresh as while I named a lot of things we’d find at a typical sporting event in the US, they weren’t quite the same. Delaware North was the primary concessionaire, but there were some local restaurants that had booths out in the grounds outside of the arenas. I didn’t try easily half of the options because I was trying to be somewhat healthy and cognizant of how much I was spending. I had one bad experience with a pizza that wasn’t cooked properly and I blame that one on Delaware North being unrealistic about the traffic before major matches and the time needed to cook the pizzas thoroughly. All in all, I think the AO could serve as a model of how to do it right by allowing attendees the choice to bring their own food or buy. I think it makes me a more satisfied customer in the long run and I imagine that people are willing to buy a $50 grounds pass when they don’t have to worry about their actual cost of attendance being more like $100-150 for the day. It’s easier for locals to justify popping in for a day or two on a whim. I think it’s also easier for parents with young kids to manage too.
Something about the facilities I want to comment on relates to concession, but also to bathrooms and merchandise. I’ve never been to a site quite like the AO grounds. I’m not sure if other grand slams operate like this, but it was new to me. When you get a grounds ticket it gives you access to all of the grounds – the side courts, the show courts, all of the common spaces like the Grand Slam Oval, etc. But what’s really cool is that you can also enter Melbourne Arena, Margaret Court Arena, and Rod Laver Arena. A grounds pass doesn’t let you in to see the tennis in those facilities, but it does let you through the concourse. MCA and RLA are actually linked so you can walk through the concourse and not realize that you’re technically transitioning from one arena to the next if you’re not paying attention. Except for during the semifinals and the finals your ticket isn’t even checked until you enter the final doors that take you in to the seating area. That means that once you are beyond the first entry point to the grounds you can access the concessions, merchandise, and the bathrooms in the arenas. The concourses feel light and airy – not quite open air, but definitely not closed off. I think it’s awesome, particularly for the first week of play. My go to spot for using the bathroom was in MCA because I was usually close by and the queue was never too long. Plus, the staff kept the restrooms pretty clean and stocked with all the necessities.
During the second week re-entering during the match became a bit cumbersome at times. Like in hockey, fans can’t enter and leave whenever they want. They need to wait for play to stop. Unlike in hockey, tennis play doesn’t stop as frequently. Winning a point doesn’t count as play stopping. People are only allowed to enter or leave when the players switch sides after every odd game and when they have a rest at the end of each set. If I remember correctly the window of opportunity is only 1 minute while players switch court sides and 1 minutes 30 seconds between sets. What kind of stinks is that if you need to go to the bathroom or want something to eat or drink, there’s no way to do it during a match without missing some of it. Even if you can get out and get through a line quickly, there’s no way you’re going to make it back in time. That means you have to wait in line outside of the door until you get the go ahead to enter again. Twice when I went out to go to the bathroom and get my favorite ice cream bar I was surprised that I made it back before play started. That was only because one of the players went in for medical treatment or to go to the bathroom himself.
The matches in the second week are higher stakes and fans take the matches more seriously, which also means that people get annoyed at how long it takes to get through a door. It also means that if it’s a big match with a lot of people coming and going, and subsequently desperate to get back in as fast as possible, it’s a little hairy. The ushers try to “precheck” everyone’s ticket, but that’s near impossible. Everyone is trying to rush back in, but the ushers have to verify everyone’s ticket. During the Djokovic/ Federer match there were so many people trying to get back in and the line moved so slowly I got stuck outside for another handful of games until I could get back in. It can be really frustrating at times, but out of all the tennis I saw in two full weeks I only got held out one time. So I guess that percentage of success is pretty good, but it would only take one time at one match to really ruin someone’s experience, especially if they only attended one match. If ticket taking was like it is in a regular arena you couldn’t even enter the concourse without a ticket and then they wouldn’t have to check your ticket each and every time. If I were managing the event I probably wouldn’t change the way the system works because it somehow works the vast majority of the time, although it looked quite stressful for the ushers.
Getting your ticket checked and getting back to your seat in the span of a minute can be a bit anxiety producing because NOBODY wants to be that person that the umpire makes a comment about. I also never wanted to be shushed by the umpire either. I can tell you that I checked that my phone was on silent no less than 20 times each match and that is not hyperbole. Ending up on ESPN with a red face was the last thing I wanted. Tennis culture around getting to a seat was fascinating to witness. It was also crystal clear who was new and who was an experienced tennis fan. When play is about to resume, get your butt down as fast as possible even if that means sitting in a seat that isn’t yours or sitting in the aisle. Sitting in the aisle is clearly not preferred, but because no one is supposed to be moving between those breaks in play you’re not in anyone’s way. During one Daniil Medvedev match I was supposed to have a seat in the row behind the player’s box. More on this later, but we got down to the row there were two seats and three of us. I was the last one in so I didn’t have a seat. I plopped my ass down in the aisle and watched three games that way. I was so nervous that someone would come yell at me, but they didn’t because it’s better to just get down than to be causing a disturbance. Even though I was with someone in the player’s box I didn’t want to cross a line and take one of those seats. Some players are quite particular about who is sitting in the box and even where people are sitting. I ended up sitting in the box and everything worked out just fine. It was one of several moments when I had to find a seat and find it fast.
I need to give my new friend, Olli, a ton of credit for making my AO experience magnitudes greater than what it would have been on my own. I think if I was truly alone in Melbourne I would have still had an amazing time and would still be sitting here writing that it was the time of my life, but Olli took it to another level. I’m going to be a bit vague because I don’t want to blast Olli’s business across the internet, although I don’t think it’ll be hard for anyone who really wants to put the pieces together to do so. Olli is a dear friend my department chair and friend Todd. We met for the first time at the AO. He works in player representation and is incredibly gracious and generous. I wasn’t surprised to discover that Todd is one of the most generous people I’ve known my whole life and it took me no time to see how similar they are in many regards, generosity being one. Both men delight it making others happy and are willing and excited to pay forward all that they can. It sounds cheesy, but both men have pure hearts in this regard and get so excited for others to be excited and happy. Before Olli and I had even met face to face he invited me to a “BBQ” at house where other employees at the agency were staying. I put BBQ in quotes because it wasn’t a backyard BBQ like you and I might regularly attend. It was a bit more high class than that. LOL. I definitely stepped into a different world.
After completely stressing out about what I was going to wear and how to present myself like I wasn’t living out of a suitcase for eight months, I entered the house and I was greeted with champagne. I had to walk through an area that was being set up for some sort of an interview with a player. As I searched for Olli with my heart thumping, feeling like a total imposter. I saw Nick Kyrgios on my right, Madison Keys on my left, and Serena Williams’ manager in the back. Yup, I was definitely out of my league. I was also determined to fake it and act like I belonged there. After all, if I was invited didn’t that mean that I belonged there? I found Olli, he introduced me to his wife, and a few coworkers. We enjoyed some champagne and some food. After what seemed like an hour, Olli decided to leave, but told me to stay and enjoy myself. Stay and enjoy myself?? I don’t know anyone! I hitched up my big girl panties and was determined to chat with the people that I had met and feel it out. I stayed for maybe 30 minutes more then decided to leave. It turned out that those who I had met were incredibly nice and easy to talk to. I left when I did because I didn’t want to over stay or make anyone feel obligated to hang out with me. Oh, did I mention that before Olli left he invited me to another party the following day? You know, the party that last year was covered by Vogue Australia? I also had instructions to “wear something hip”. Ok, cool. So, um, absolutely nothing I packed fit into that category.
I spend the bulk of the next day shopping at one of the fancy malls Jim recommended on his laminated info sheets. The mall was within walking distance and had high end stores, as well as some more affordable places. While I wanted to fit in at this party there was no way I was walking into Gucci or Chanel to buy my outfit for the evening. After several hours and a wee bit of freaking out, I found an outfit I felt was appropriate, something I was comfortable in, and something I imagined myself wearing in the future. Despite that I still swallowed the lump in my throat when I dropped a few hundred dollars on an outfit that I wore for just a few hours and has since been the bane of my existence when it comes to packing and luggage weight. I love the shoes, but damn if they haven’t caused me some problems.
Side note: I can’t remember if I wrote this in a previous post, but my luggage broke when I arrived in Sydney, so I had to buy a new suitcase. Looking back I wish I bought a backpack because it would have made my travel easier, but I didn’t because I have two backpacks at home. Why would I buy the same thing I already own? If I could do anything different, I would have traveled with either my travel or my camping packs from the start. I know I had a specific reason for not traveling with one of them but I can’t remember why. It was a mistake on a trip this long and through Asia. It was a real bitch in Malaysia when I couldn’t find my Airbnb and ended up having to carry a 45 pound bag up and down several flights of stairs in 95 degree temps. I like the new bag because it’s functional and bigger than the one I initially brought with me. The downside is that I had to throw out a bunch of stuff when leaving Melbourne because my luggage was overweight by 12 pounds! It took me forever to figure out how that happened. I think the main culprits were the weight of the bag itself and the shoes I bought for the fancy party.
Back to the story – I went to the fancy party and had a good time. I got to chat with the people I met the previous night, as well as some others. Several of these people became my go to people during the tourney and I hope casual friends moving forward. We’re now connected through social media so you never know. Who knows – maybe even one of them is reading this post. My hope is that I’ll be able to connect with them at future sporting events. One woman I met works in social media so I’m hoping to connect with her further for this book I’m planning/ supposedly working on right now. I was really thankful for making these connections early on because it gave me people to hang out with during the tourney. I don’t mind traveling alone most of the time, but when I have really special experiences I miss getting to share them. I was happy to have some friends, whether temporary or not, to share in the drama and the excitement of the matches. Aside from an accountant and the social media manager, I met a few agents who have well known clients, but I didn’t meet any current players. The players in attendance left well before I arrived. I met Mark Knowles, a retired player who has a career slam in doubles. He was SUPER nice and really easy to talk with. He put me at ease whether he knew it or not. The high of the night for me came when I was part of a small group who was invited to leave the dwindling party to have some more champagne in the hotel. I drank a lot of champagne in the first few days of my time in Melbourne and it was EXCELLENT. The champagne wasn’t the highlight though. While we were enjoying our drinks I saw David Lee walk into the room with a handful of people.
For those of you who don’t know, David Lee is a former NBA player and Caroline Wozniacki’s husband. Once I spotted him I immediate was like, “Caroline Wozniaki is about to walk in.” My two favorite female players are Madison Keys and Caroline Wozniacki. For the purposes of the AO, Caroline Wozniacki was the biggest draw for me because she announced she was retiring at the end of the tournament. (Side note: Unfortunately, I never got to see her play. She lost before I had tickets to the main courts.) I also had an amazing opportunity at the start of my trip to meet Madison Keys in the airport. As the group with David Lee walked through, Olli spoke to them and I realized it was Caroline’s family. A few minutes later, Caroline Wozniacki was right there. She said hello to the group and then sat in the area next to us. Olli could see my big eyes and excitement and offered to introduce me to her. I decline. He offered again and asked if I wanted a picture with her. I decline again. She was in a private area with her husband and her family just living life. I didn’t want to intrude. It’s a decision I still feel good about. As the evening was wrapping up for us, she and her family came by and spoke with our group for maybe 15 minutes. I didn’t speak with her directly, but I got to be in a group conversation with her. It was cool. It was a really positive experience for me too because if I were talking with you now I’d say it was cool and shrug my shoulders. I was proud of myself for not totally geeking out and being able to see that she is just a regular person. Sure I was excited, but it was just like meeting anyone else I met from the agency group. I was proud of myself for not idolizing her and obsessing.
The tournament hadn’t even started and I was already on cloud nine. I felt like if for some dramatic reason I had to leave immediately I would have felt like I got a once-in-a-lifetime experience already. How could it get better than that?
I’ll tell you how – amazing tennis, amazing seats, and feeling like I was exactly where I was supposed to be for those 14 days of my life. It’s taken me three hours to write this post, so stay tuned for my next post for some pictures, some video, and some commentary about the matches I got to see while in Melbourne.
