Also think you and Tumani played down Opelkas performance. He was sublime vs Novak. And such a good interview listen. Shame the matches caught up with him. Would have been a good final.
Great that you're feeling rejuvenated. I subscribed immediately out of appreciation for your Zverev stories and the costs you suffered for doing it. I feel your niche is writing stories that are different than what I'll find in a standard tennis article/blog/substack, etc.
Hi Ben, it will be good to have you back in the press room, hopefully it will be an eventful tournament. TA said the press room has been split into two, while last year it was one giant (windowless) room, which infound very quiet.
Enjoy qualifying week in Melbourne, see you in a few days.
See you soon! Yeah, now there is one room with windows and one smaller room without (which used to be Interview Room 2); I don't think the two add up to anywhere near the size of the big one last year.
Congratulations, hopefully Bounces gets a big bounce in Melbourne. It's a risk going out on your own, I hope it does really well for you and affords you many opportunities.
I've gone to the Aussie Open as a spectator, but I have no idea what it'd be like as a member of the press. What are the press interview rooms like? Are there access place you can go that others can't? Do you get court passes? If you're looking for topics, those are things I'm curious about.
Good luck, keep up the good work and take some pictures.
Enjoy Oz - obviously you’ll have to suffer the hot weather while everyone in the Northern hemisphere basks in subzero conditions.
For coverage - I always feel that what doesn’t get reported much is the interplay between players and press, despite that having an effect on how players are perceived. (Less effect now with the endless on-court interviews and social media.)
And what are the things that irk the players? The low-level annoyances that they tolerate but with an eye roll?
I did 4 days this week at my home Tourney, Brisbane, and absolutely loved it. The level, organisation, crowds and general vibe of this tourney is amazing.
Thanks Matthew! Been to the Brisbane tournament three or four times before, love it there. If it hadn't been such an early start to the year right up against Christmas I might've gone there again.
Also think you and Tumani played down Opelkas performance. He was sublime vs Novak. And such a good interview listen. Shame the matches caught up with him. Would have been a good final.
Great that you're feeling rejuvenated. I subscribed immediately out of appreciation for your Zverev stories and the costs you suffered for doing it. I feel your niche is writing stories that are different than what I'll find in a standard tennis article/blog/substack, etc.
Thanks tm, appreciate you being onboard early!
will be following your newsletters. have fun in melbourne!
Thanks Vinny! Enjoyed seeing Ewan Munro here today!
Hi Ben, enjoy your time in Australia!
Thank you for committing to an on-the-ground coverage of the Australian Open.
Any particular stories that you will keep an eye on and want to share already (I guess in addition to the peculiar Rybakina-Vukov situation)?
That situation you mention is actually going to be the focus of a couple posts here very soon, you nailed it...
Hi Ben, it will be good to have you back in the press room, hopefully it will be an eventful tournament. TA said the press room has been split into two, while last year it was one giant (windowless) room, which infound very quiet.
Enjoy qualifying week in Melbourne, see you in a few days.
See you soon! Yeah, now there is one room with windows and one smaller room without (which used to be Interview Room 2); I don't think the two add up to anywhere near the size of the big one last year.
Congratulations, hopefully Bounces gets a big bounce in Melbourne. It's a risk going out on your own, I hope it does really well for you and affords you many opportunities.
I've gone to the Aussie Open as a spectator, but I have no idea what it'd be like as a member of the press. What are the press interview rooms like? Are there access place you can go that others can't? Do you get court passes? If you're looking for topics, those are things I'm curious about.
Good luck, keep up the good work and take some pictures.
That's a good idea, I'll try to do some sort of behind the scenes peeks at some point!
Enjoy Oz - obviously you’ll have to suffer the hot weather while everyone in the Northern hemisphere basks in subzero conditions.
For coverage - I always feel that what doesn’t get reported much is the interplay between players and press, despite that having an effect on how players are perceived. (Less effect now with the endless on-court interviews and social media.)
And what are the things that irk the players? The low-level annoyances that they tolerate but with an eye roll?
You asked for ideas, those are mine!
Welcome back to Aus Ben, glad you made the trip.
I did 4 days this week at my home Tourney, Brisbane, and absolutely loved it. The level, organisation, crowds and general vibe of this tourney is amazing.
look forward to your pieces the next few weeks!
Thanks Matthew! Been to the Brisbane tournament three or four times before, love it there. If it hadn't been such an early start to the year right up against Christmas I might've gone there again.