Exuding sunshine, blue skies and warmth while the other three grand slam nations freeze in the northern hemisphere’s midwinter, the Open has a tournament director who only stops short of offering a free Lamborghini with every accreditation as he does his utmost to keep the players smiling.
Up in the stands, the punters are all in summer vacation mood and the beer flows freely.
The Aussies are a nation of sports nuts and Melbourne is the centre of it all. The world-famous MCG, the heart of Aussie cricket, is next door to the tennis site; AAMI Park (home to the soccer clubs Melbourne Victory, Western United and Melbourne City and the rugby league side Melbourne Storm) is across the road and the Docklands Stadium, just a couple of tram rides away, is the home of five Aussie Rules Football clubs and a cricket T20 side. And that is only a fragrant nosegay of sporting hubs in the city.
It is fair to say that Melburnians know their sport. Yes, they delight in making their feelings known to the players but, for the most part, they are a fair, if noisy, bunch.
But this year the Happy Slam has been soured somewhat – and it is not only due to the number of tinnies the fans have downed in the course of the day. The host broadcaster has not covered itself in glory.
Last weekend, Channel 9 angered Novak Djokovic to the point that he refused to do any on-court interviews until they apologised. The sports anchor, Tony Jones, had started his bulletin by singing at the Serbian fans: “Novak, he’s overrated. Novak’s a has-been. Novak, kick him out.” He did this on live TV. And, remarkably, he is still in a job although he did have to make a grovelling mea culpa to both Djokovic and the Serbian fans.
That, though, was not the end of it. Once Ben Shelton had booked his place in his second major semi-final (he faces Jannik Sinner on Friday night), he made his thoughts about Channel 9 plain.
“One thing that I just want to say before we’re done: I’ve been a little bit shocked this week with how players have been treated by the broadcasters,” he said.
“I don’t think the guy who mocked Novak – I don’t think that was a single event. I’ve noticed it with different people. I noticed it with Learner Tien … when he beat Medvedev. His post-match interview, I thought it was kind of embarrassing and disrespectful.
“There are some comments that have been made to me in post-match interviews by a couple of different guys, whether it was, ‘Hey, Monfils is old enough to be your dad. Maybe he is your dad’. Or today on the court, ‘Hey, Ben, how does it feel that no matter who you play in your next match, no one is going to be cheering for you?’ It may be true, but I just don’t think the comment is respectful from a guy I’ve never met before in my life.
“I feel like broadcasters should be helping us grow our sport and help these athletes who just won matches on the biggest stage enjoy one of their biggest moments.
“I feel like there’s just been a lot of negativity. I think that’s something that needs to change.”
The on-court interview can be a tough gig. It is not the time for hard-hitting questions – that can come later in the press conference – but anything too bland makes the interviewer sound like an idiot and the player feel like a patronised idiot. Some, like Jim Courier, get it spot on (most of the time) but many don’t. And those that don’t seem to be working at the Australian Open this year. So much for the Happy Slam.
But what the now infamous Mr Jones may not have realised is that Djokovic – like many players – plays better when he has an axe to grind.
His performance to beat Carlos Alcaraz in four, gruelling sets on Tuesday night was quite simply stunning. Hobbled by what appeared to be a hamstring injury from late in the first set, he managed to withstand everything Alcaraz could throw at him in lung-bursting rallies and push his 37-year-old body into its 50th grand slam semi-final. Most players can only dream of playing in 50 slams much less being in the final four of them. The more obstacles fate puts in his path, the tougher Djokovic becomes.
“Experience helps in how to face adversity and draw the right and necessary strength and energy that you feed off in order to win a tennis match, to win a tournament,” he said.
“I don’t recall the last slam where there wasn’t some sort of drama, to be honest, but I guess that’s part of it.”
That said, he was worried about his injury after the match. He did not practice on either Wednesday or Thursday and, at the time of writing, no one was any the wiser about his condition or even if he would be fit enough to start against Sascha Zverev on Friday afternoon. But if he is, prepare for battle. Two years ago, he won his 10th title carrying a hamstring tear that he picked up in the first round. He knows how to beat the odds.
This has not been the Happy Slam for Djokovic and his sore leg – neither has it been for several players – but for the man chasing down his 25th grand slam title, Melbourne Park is his happiest hunting ground.
