Some
celebrate too wildly ~ and become news !
Rod Laver Arena is
a stadium that is part of the National Tennis Centre at Melbourne Park, Victoria, Australia. The arena was finished in 1988 with a seating
capacity of 15,000. The venue currently attracts over 1.5 million visitors per
year. The arena features a retractable
roof allowing competitors to continue play during rain or extreme heat. It is named after Rod Laver. Rodney George
"Rod" Laver MBE is an
Australian former professional tennis player who holds the record for most
singles titles won in the history of tennis, with 200 career titles. He was
ranked World No. 1 for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970. He is
the only tennis player to have won the Grand Slam (all four major singles titles
in the same year) twice, in 1962 and 1969.
It is the
Australian Open, a major Tournament (part of Grand slam) held annually over the
last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. First held in 1905, the
tournament is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events of
the year – the other three being the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.
It features men's and women's singles; men's, women's, and mixed doubles and
junior's championships; as well as wheelchair, legends and exhibition events.
The Australian Open typically has very high attendance, second only to the US
Open. Because of Australia's geographic
remoteness very few foreign players entered this tournament in the early 20th
century. In the 1920s, the trip by ship from Europe to Australia took about 45
days.
It was a day of
high drama for the top female tennis players at the Australian Open, with eight
of the top seeds losing, another vomiting on court before eventually winning,
and a former champion announcing that she was pregnant. Retired two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na
has announced she is expecting her first child. Li Na, who won the title at the
Australian Open in 2014 and then walked away from the game in September due to
chronic injuries, made the announcement during an on-court ceremony before the
night session at Rod Laver Arena on Monday.
On day 1, some made
their mark clearly visible - Australian teenagers Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi
Kokkinakis were clad in fluorescent green, head to toe - socks included. Thanasi Kokkinakis is an Australian
professional tennis player of Greek descent. Kokkinakis began playing tennis
when he was eight years old. As of 5 January 2015 he is ranked World No. 149 by
the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The teenager came of age, combining skill and
belief to win the first five-set match of his career against 11th seed Ernests
Gulbis. On paper, a contest pitting the 11th seed and
last year’s Roland Garros semifinalist against a teenage wildcard ranked 147th
appeared more of a mis-match than a match.
Thanasi Kokkinakis showed he had
the mental fortitude and competitive instincts to match his impressive serving
and shot-making talents, saving four match points in the fourth set before
ousting Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis 5-7 6-0 1-6 7-6(2) 8-6 in a four-hour epic
played in front of an ecstatic crowd on Show Court 3. For a while now, mention of Kokkinakis has
frequently been in the same breath as Nick Kyrgios, a compatriot 12 months his
senior. Together, they form the “Special Ks”, a duo widely regarded as
Australia’s hottest tennis prospects, and a pair on track for tennis
superstardom. Last year at Wimbledon, Kyrgios produced his breakout performance
against 13th seed Richard Gasquet, saving several match points – to record a
famous upset.
After
the win, Thanasi, ran a lap of the court
to high-five his fans after that incredible five-set victory 5-7, 6-0, 1-6,
7-6, 8-6, he celebrated wildly and stunned the crowd with a quick head-stand. Nick Kyrgios took out a 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7,
6-3 win over Argentine Federirco Delbonis.
The young Aussie dedicated his win to his grandmother who passed away in
2014. Kyrgios recently tattooed '74' on
his finger, his grandmother's age, to pay tribute to her.
Stanislas Wawrinka
the Swiss professional, currently Swiss No. 2 and World No. 4, is the defending champion. He climbed to his highest ranking so far, No.
3, on 27 January 2014 as a result of winning his first Grand Slam event, the
2014 Australian Open. He also reached the semifinals of the 2013 US Open where
he lost to Novak Djokovic in five sets. Wawrinka began his ninth season on the ATP
World Tour with a win at the Chennai Open in India recently, winning this
tournament for the second time in his career, defeating Edouard Roger-Vasselin
in the final in straight sets.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
20th Jan
2015.
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