Crazy stuff going on at Australian Open in 2023 from balls to umpires and toilet breaks to security
The 2023 Australian Open will go down as example of on how not to manage a Grand Slam event following the numerous blunders by the organizers.
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Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic
This is turning out to be one hell of a crazy Australian Open with news for the wrong reasons grabbing the headlines. Credit, or blame, for it, should be taken by the men/women who run the show at the AO, led by tournament director Craig Tiley. Last year, Tiley was in trouble as he had mismanaged the Novak Djokovic issue. It led to the deportation of the Serbian, something which can never be forgiven.
One thought, this year, the AO would be smooth as silk. No, there have been glitches galore and not one day has passed without some cock-up taking place. The weather is one factor beyond the control of mankind. One has seen at Wimbledon in the grand old days how matches would be held up by rain. It is to the credit of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club they are masters in predicting when the rain will come and when the sky will clear.
The SW19 suburb outside London has its own weather forecast, which is very accurate. In addition, when Wimbledon decided to have the retractable roof at Centre Court and Court No.1, it was welcomed by one and all. It helped in maintaining the schedule so that there was no excessive backlog of matches at The Championships.
Sample this, during the ICC T20 World Cup last year, when it was early summer in Melbourne, rain ravaged the tournament. It was crazy, and predictions were tossed out. This time, in the first week at the AO, there was extreme heat, then rain, and crazy weather. The backlog of matches saw Andy Murray finish a famous match at 4 am.
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The chair umpires at the Australian Open have been involved in controversies
It was crazy, he had to return to practice in a few hours. It was rank bad scheduling from the AO that he had to be back on the court for another match. Ball boys and girls were frustrated and their parents anxious as kids went back home at 5 am, Melbourne time. Worse, their payments were being delayed or held up. It showed the AO in poor light.
Andy Murray was right when he commented he would never send his kids to become ball boys if the schedule was going to be crazy. Then came the tennis ball in use. None other than Novak Djokovic was critical of the ball, its heavy in weight, and how it had slowed down the game. That players still rip the hard shots and unleash winners is because of their own power game and using modern tennis rackets.
Some players are getting injured and some players are feeling sore, yet, the show goes on. Novak has also been left frustrated by the atrocious chair umpires. Usually, the chair umpire is in command and he or she over-rules call from the line judges. This time in Melbourne, Novak has had to cajole with the chair umpires. There has been confusion even with medical time-outs when he is genuinely injured. His left hamstring has been a major issue right through the season.
The other hassle has been crowd control. “Quiet Please, Thank You,” has not worked from the umpires, which has riled Novak. Some fans have been so pissed drunk they distract him. Worse, when he was serving, they shout the name of Roger Federer. The chair umpire ever was taken seriously by fans. And then the piss-pot trouble. At one stage, the chair umpire was unsure whether to let Novak go for the loo break.
In the extreme heat and weather change, he has faced issues. He has to keep hydration high but to be denied a toilet break is loony. Usually, at the Grand Slams, the best umpires (god badge) are put on duty. Even someone like Rafael Nadal had issues with the chair umpires. What has gone wrong needs to be reviewed. After all, as the first Major, the AO has to set high standards. The other three Grand Slams run like well-oiled machinery.
A Grand Slam gets ratings from all sides, playing conditions, players, umpires, and facilities for players. The fans have also been ripped, as they have been forced to buy official merchandise at prices that are really exorbitant. Why the AO did this is hard to accept. Fans love souvenirs and they cannot be so hard to buy.
As far as security goes, the goof-up has been mind-boggling. Just imagine, the Serbian national flag was confused with that of warring nations — Russia and Ukraine. Beats you, doesn’t it?
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S Kannan
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