Day 24: The Australian Open

January 19, 2010

The Australian Open, the first Tennis major of the year started on Monday. This means for the next two weeks I am going to be sidelined and distracted by hours upon hours of Tennis each day. It is my favorite of the four majors, the other three being The French Open, Wimbledon and The US Open. Wimbledon used to be my favorite tournament, but over the last five or six years I have been completely immersed in the pull of the Aussie Open. I would imagine it has a lot to do with the fact that for two weeks in January, I get to watch something that shows me that hope is only around the corner. By hope I course mean warm weather, the one major thing lacking in Michigan this time of year.

That is not the only reason though. "The Happy Slam" as they call it has a certain playfulness that the others do not have. Everyone seems to be a little less on edge at this tournament, being it is the first biggie of the season. There is almost always a surprise at this tournament as well. Marcos Baghdatis rose to fame in 2006, making it to the finals and actually taking a set away from the not yet mortal Roger Federer. Fernando Gonzalez made a run for it in 2007 and Jo Wilfried Tsonga did it in 2008. Last year former women's hopeful Jelena Dokic made an almost improbable run to the quarterfinals after years of family and personnel turmoil. This year my hopes are already high for Maria Kirilenko, the Russian who knocked out Maria Sharapova in the first round.

The other part of it, is the television coverage that EPSN2 does. The team that they have together is easily the best in the business. From Patrick McEnroe and Darren Cahill to Mary Carillo and Pam Shriver, they have no equal in sports broadcasting. Unlike in most sports, there is no bad commentating crew. Each match you watch is full of insight and humor and unlike most other sporting events, you usually learn something as you are watching. Now I understand that other sports do not work like a Tennis major, but this crew work's together so seamlessly it's amazing that you are watching something unscripted.

Having it take place in January is such a plus for this tournament, because unlike the others, January is usually a light month for activities. May, June and August are always so busy that I do not get to spend the time immersing myself in the action like I get to with this one. A new advantage for me this year is the addition of a DVR in my house. Before this year I had to set up my VCR's everyday and night, often forgetting to set the timer's, which lead to many missed matches. Now I can literally tape every second of the tournament and not have to miss anything. I must add that I am grateful to have a roommate who didn't mind deleting most of his show's in order for me to use twelve hours of hard drive space everyday for the next two weeks.

With that I will leave you with an apology that is to be extended over the next two weeks. If my writing is a bit off or if I tend to only write about Tennis, I apologize. I will try to keep the subject's varied as much as I can, but I can make no promises. For the next two weeks I will be in my happy place, The Happy Slam down under.