The glaring issues plaguing Australian Open 2023

‘It’s really just a good time, it’s a party’. That’s how tennis chief Craig Tiley described the Australian Open earlier this week. But not everyone’s having fun anymore. Here’s why.

The issues from Aus Open 2023.

If Wimbledon is strawberries and cream … what is the Australian Open?

That question was put to Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley on Monday.

“Happy Slam,” Tiley, the tournament director, responded.

“It’s really just a good time; it’s a party, it’s a festival. We’re providing anyone who comes on-site the opportunity to have a great time.”

Five days (and one all-nighter) later and the smiles for some players, fans and officials have faded.

It’s not just through bleary eyes. Instead there are a set of issues – some controllable and others beyond solvable – that have hampered the happiness at Melbourne Park.

Andy Murray has voiced his frustrations during the Australian Open. Picture: AFP

TAXI GOUGE

GREEDY drivers charging up to $100 (and refusing to turn the meter on) for a short trip home from the tennis … that’s not fare! Let alone some refusing disabled and elderly passengers and others preying on young women who feel vulnerable in the early hours of the morning. “As women we often have to avoid walking around on our own, and public transport isn’t always an option, so they know they can just charge anything,” Alex Waldron-Clark said. “From a price perspective, I feel like taxis can take advantage of the fact that young women have safety concerns. I think they know they can list any price once you’re in the car and on the way home.”

WHAT A BALLS UP

THE tournament’s tennis balls are lifeless and Dunlop Sports has gone to ground on the issue, ignoring repeated inquiries from News Corp this week. The criticisms are piling up – fast. Andy Murray was the latest to bounce them publicly. “The courts are not slow – but the balls … when we started tonight it felt like there was no pressure in the ball, like flat almost. That was what I was complaining about quite a lot during the match, as well. It’s just difficult to hit winners once you’re in the rallies. There was a 70-shot rally yesterday, multiple 35-45-shot rallies, which is not normal,” Murray said. Opponent Thanasi Kokkinakis squeezed them and appeared to say they were flat, too. Adrian Mannarino gave a flat ball back to officials against Alex de Minaur while Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Felix Auger-Aliassime have all given them a public serve. Even Jack Draper said they quickly got soft and fluffy – and Draper is sponsored by Dunlop. Old balls, please? It’s almost as if Tom Brady – suspended over the Deflategate NFL scandal – has been helping manufacturing them.

Dunlop balls have been heavily criticised this tournament. Picture: AFP

FLAG BAN

ON Monday the Russian flag was allowed at Melbourne Park and – after it was waved at a match involved a Ukrainian player – on Tuesday a snap ban was issued by Tennis Australia. Suddenly, security guards at entrances are holding lamented placards on banned paraphernalia. That includes the Russian and Belarusian flag and clothing with the letter ‘Z’ – which has become the symbol of the war in Russia. The placard also includes similar flags, such as Serbia, the Netherlands and France, so security officers can differentiate between them and Russia. At least one Serbian flag was almost wrongfully confiscated because the guard thought it was the Russian flag. The embassies have weighed in, too. “On top of already discriminating against Russian tennis players with its ‘neutral flag’ policy, Tennis Australia now went further by making sure they cannot be visibly supported by their fans,” the Russian embassy said.

BOOZY FANS

ROWDY punters sang “You’re just a s*** Andy Murray” at Englishman Cameron Norrie and one shouted: “You’re world No. 12 – show the C****”. Opponent Constant Lestienne refused to play when he was targeted on Court 13. Over on 1573 Arena, Denis Shapovalov told the chair umpire: “They had a beer too much and now they’re like fooling around, you know?” – telling the crowd to “shut up” during that conversation. On Rod Laver Arena a group of blokes dressed like Where’s Wally targeted Novak Djokovic. “From the very beginning, guys that were under the influence of alcohol, it was obvious, and I was grabbing my towel very close to them, particularly one guy, you heard his voice various times tonight, was insulting me and provoking me and saying things that were not respectful at all,” Djokovic said. “So I tolerated it for over one and a half hours, almost two hours. I was giving signs to the chair umpire, looking at the chair umpire looking at the guy. I think the chair umpire, supervisor, whoever is responsible for handling the crowd, should have done a bit more and anticipated me coming out to the chair umpire and looking like a bad guy because this is how I’m going to look like now in the media, in the public, because I’m the guy that kicked out some other guy. It’s just unnecessary because why should we as players be put in a position where we have to always react when it’s been two hours. It’s not been 10 minutes. This is what I mind, and this is why I felt the need to go out there because I had enough, you know?” How embarrassing.

Fans dressed up in 'Where's Wally?' costumes taunted Novak Djokovic. Picture: Getty Images

LATE FINISHES

LOST in the uproar over Murray’s 4.05am defeat of Kokkinakis was the fact that it should’ve been two farcical finishes in three nights. At 11.30pm on Tuesday there were a staggering 14 matches rolling on outside courts, including a women’s match that started at 11.08pm on Court 8. Thankfully, play was abandoned at 11.45pm when more rain came. If not then who knows how late the unpaid ballkids would’ve been running around? Alexei Popyrin banked a 2am win under the John Cain Arena roof but clear skies would’ve had Melbourne Park flush with live matches crossing midnight with fans asleep in bed. What a waste that would’ve been, and yet 48 hours later – and with the match of the tournament on telly – there we were.

UMPIRE ISSUES

FINING umpires for their mistakes? Novak Djokovic called for it five years ago and now Jeremy Chardy demanded it. Chardy lost his serve after the chair umpire failed to call a ‘let’ when a ball spilt from his pocket mid-rally. “If I miss a point, then break my racquet, I will get fined. You (umpires) can do a huge mistake, and nothing will happen to you,” he said. “Has to be the same for both, no? If I break my racquet because I’m pissed, why I should have a sanction and not her? For me it’s not fair.” Kokkinakis was far from fine when called for a time violation on serve against Murray. “I’m about to serve, he (crowd member) calls out, I start again. Then I go, then you call time. It’s a bad call again! F*** is she doing?” Kokkinakis said. Umpire, please!

Jeremy Chardy blew up at chair umpire Miriam Bley Picture: Getty Images

BATHROOM BREAKS

SERIOUSLY, is there a profession in the world that would deny a worker a 3am bathroom break when they really need to go? That happened to Murray, and this was his response. “Do you know something? I respect the rules. But it’s a joke. It is a joke and you (umpire) know it as well. It’s disrespectful. It’s so disrespectful to the players that the tournament has us out here until 3am, f***ing 4am in the morning and we aren’t allowed to go to the toilet and take a piss. It’s a joke, it’s disrespectful.” The reason? Murray had already used his bathroom break. Talk about taking the piss.

UGLY TROLLS

THE great Todd Woodbridge copped this on Instagram: “Just a (sic) old has been trying to stay in the lime light. Shame they (sic) heart attack didn’t end you” after commentating alongside Jim Courier. Nick Kyrgios’ manager, Daniel Horsfall, copped this: “So you are the human wart who manages nick the filthy grub? What a f**king c***head you must be eh? Can you not get the C*** to shut up? one day he will take his half witted act too far and someone will finish him for good. Can’t wait for that day. Hope you go down in the same manner too you f**king grub. You have children? A family? They must be so proud of you. Fly away now and get a real job. C***head.”. What is wrong with people?

Matt didn’t like my commentary alongside Jim Courier but this sort of behaviour is unacceptable and needs to be called out. pic.twitter.com/dc4EgmKCso

— Todd Woodbridge (@toddwoodbridge) January 18, 2023

HEAT POLICY

JORDAN Thompson was red in the face – not because of the heat, but because he was forced off the court in sweltering conditions. “When has that ever happened? I’ve been here when it’s like 45 degrees,” Thompson said to the chair umpire. After the umpire replied that it would require the oppressive conditions to cool, a frustrated Thompson replied: “That’s not going to be for hours!” The three-hour break came when the Aussie had momentum and when play returned he was rolled on Court 3. The chaos continued when storms that night sent the schedule 22 results behind par.

BEST DRAW EVER?

TILEY’S declaration this was the best draw ever sounded foolish at the time and aged like a carton of milk. Days later Nick Kyrgios withdrew … joining Ash Barty, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Carlos Alcaraz, Venus Williams, Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Marin Cilic and Ajla Tomljanovic as spectators.