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‘Very poor’: Grim photo exposes ‘stupid’ Aus Open scene, sparks calls for change

Photos of an Australian Open final have caused uproar in the tennis world and sparked calls to fix the sad and preventable scenes.

Sabalenka spits dummy after Madison Keys wins Australian Open

Find someone that loves you like the Australian Open loves matches that finish after midnight.

Scheduling decisions at this year’s Australian Open have raised a few eyebrows and another call on Saturday night left tennis diehards scratching their heads again.

Madison Keys defeated Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set thriller to win the women’s singles title — the American fulfilling potential she had shown throughout her career to win her maiden grand slam crown at age 29.

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Sabalenka composed herself after taking her frustration out on a racquet and disappearing briefly down the tunnel, congratulating Keys in an honest speech.

The champion then posed for photos with the trophy and soaked up her well deserved moment in the sun.

But after the presentation was finished, spare a thought for the men’s doubles final that kicked off at 11pm.

Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Britain’s Henry Patten won an epic late-night men’s doubles final to add the Australian Open crown to their Wimbledon title from last year.

The sixth seeds lost a mammoth first set lasting 87 minutes before pulling through 6-7 (16/18), 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 against Italian third seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.

The first-set tie-break alone went on for 24 minutes, with the match lasting more than three hours and concluding at nearly 2am.

Finland's Harri Heliovaara (R) and Britain's Henry Patten (L) raised the trophy in front of a mostly empty stadium. (Photo by David GRAY / AFP) /
Finland's Harri Heliovaara (R) and Britain's Henry Patten (L) raised the trophy in front of a mostly empty stadium. (Photo by David GRAY / AFP) /

The decision to schedule the doubles final after the women’s singles final drew criticism from pundits, who pointed out how many fans didn’t feel the need to stick around after watching a showpiece event of the evening.

Photos showed the doubles final being played in front of a smattering of fans in a near empty Rod Laver Arena. One spectator could be seen having a snooze on her partner, around a a swathe of empty blue seats.

Tennis commentator Jose Morgado wrote on X: “The Men’s Doubles final will finish around 2am in Melbourne, which is a shame and very poor scheduling tbh …”

Tennis writer Todd Scoullar said: “Men’s doubles final doesn’t deserve to be starting just before 11pm in a half empty stadium. Will be 75% empty by the end of match.

“Play them on Saturday day session, and let the spectators come in on a ground pass.”

We don’t blame this fan for having a nap during some post-midnight tennis. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
We don’t blame this fan for having a nap during some post-midnight tennis. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Two spectators watch the men's doubles final in a mostly empty Rod Laver Arena. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
Two spectators watch the men's doubles final in a mostly empty Rod Laver Arena. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

BBC journalist Reginaldo Rosario posted: “Shout out to the hundred fans watching the men’s doubles final on Rod Laver Arena at nearly 1.30am Melbourne time. The real connoisseurs of tennis..”

One fan account wrote on X: “I really am at the point where I think any tournament that doesn’t serve up the doubles final as the appetizer to the singles final should have to fire everyone in charge.

“It’s really simple math to grow a crowd & not shrink it.”

Another said: “Why on earth was the men’s doubles final on AFTER the ladies singles? Ending at 1.42pm in front of a handful of spectators! Stupid @AustralianOpen. Well done Patten & Hellliovaara!”

It was another agonising near miss for the Italian pairing Bolelli and Vavassori, who have now lost two Melbourne finals in a row and were also defeated in the French Open title decider last year.

Vavassori used his speech in the post-match ceremony to call for the doubles final to be held in a friendly timeslot.

“I think it was a very good match for doubles, hopefully many people will watch the match from their house and you played unbelievable, so it was a very tight match, but you deserve it.

“Simone you are a great human being, it is a pleasure to play with you, but sometimes tennis is like this, it is crazy, I think we did an amazing job but it is only the beginning of the year so let’s continue like this. I would like to thank my team and my father.

“Thank you for all the work you do every day for me, and I would like to dedicate this one to my mother who is watching at home.

“It was a great tournament for us and I would like to thank all the organisers, and Craig Tiley, and hopefully next year he will change the time of the doubles!

Italy's Andrea Vavassori called for a change in the scheduling. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP)
Italy's Andrea Vavassori called for a change in the scheduling. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP)

“I don’t think it is good for doubles to have not many people watching, but it is the best tournament in the world for me, you do a magnificent job, so thank you to all the people who make this tournament possible, and I wish next year the doubles goes on because it is a great sport so hopefully we do a good job.”

On Saturday, the junior girls and boys finals were held during the day on Rod Laver Arena and the various wheelchair singles finals were played on Kia Arena and Court 7.

The women’s doubles final is schedule for Sunday afternoon at 3pm on Rod Laver Arena, and is sure to have a better atmosphere at top seeds Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova take on Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapeko.

Supporters of Finland celebrate stuck around after the victory of Finland's Harri Heliovaara and Britain's Henry Patten in the men’s doubles. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP)
Supporters of Finland celebrate stuck around after the victory of Finland's Harri Heliovaara and Britain's Henry Patten in the men’s doubles. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP)

There have been a handful of scheduling moves that have irked fans at this year’s Australian Open.

Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Nick Kyrgios all started their first round matches at the exact same time, forcing tennis fans to do some intense channel flicking.

Giving Alexander Zverev the prime time evening session on Rod Laver Arena for his early rounds, instead of someone like Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner, frustrated some punters.

The scheduling of women’s matches in the day session instead of the evening session prompted doubles legend Pam Shriver to tweet: “What is going on with AO scheduling?

“Is it a race to get women’s matches out of the way as early as possible on all courts?”

The Tennis Podcast’s Catherine Whittaker said of the day eight schedule: “It has a real ‘let’s get the women out of the way’ flavour about it.”

Each of the first 11 days of the Australian Open had a women’s singles match scheduled first-up on Rod Laver Arena.

Last Sunday, four women’s singles third round matches were completed by the afternoon — at one stage three of them were being played simultaneously.

The men’s singles and women’s doubles titles will be decided on Sunday, the 15th and final day of the tournament.

Defending champion Sinner faces Zverev for the men’s crown in a battle between the two top-ranked players in the world.

With AFP

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/tennis/australian-open/grim-photo-exposes-stupid-australian-open-reality-finalist-calls-for-change/news-story/7b9228cc85db7c6c6f937639e214a04f