Melbourne at last

We are back where we belong...in the city.  The Outback and the Bush were great to see, but between the desert of 115 degrees and the rainforest where the humidity was about 100%, we are thrilled to be in Melbourne where we could experience 4 seasons in one day.  At least we’ll have variety.

The Intercontinental Hotel is in a historic building over 100 years old.  The facade is architecturally lovely and it’s actually 2 buildings joined together by a glass roof with restaurants in the ‘lane’ on the ground level.

Off we went early this morning for a private city tour.  The driver shared as much as he could with us because we had places to be and people to see...the Australian Open awaited.

Melbourne is a city built on a grid, similar to Manhattan.  There are several districts...financial, fashion and judicial to name a few.  Ethnic areas are clearly defined, a representation of the 60 something nationalities who live here.  We will be going on a walking food tour on Friday so we will be sampling some of their wares.  

We had the privilege to be present at the war memorial for a remembrance that takes place every hour.  

There are many parks throughout the city and the streets are lined with beautiful huge green trees.

We arrived at the tennis arena in time to see the American Sofia Kenin win and advance to the Semi finals where she will play Ash Barty.  We saw Barty’s Quarterfinal match against Petra Kvitova who has always been a tough competitor but was no match for Barty.

I know I should be cheering the American on but I am a big Barty fan and if she wins the tournament, she will be the first Aussie woman to win since 1978.
It was fun to sit close to Barty’s fan club as they shouted their cheers.

Another nail biter from Roger Federer.  He had me on the edge of my seat the other night when he won in 5 sets against Millman.  But to sit so close to him and hope he hears as you cheer him on and gasp when he hits the ball out of the court, is absolute nerve wracking.  And who is this guy Tennys Sandgren anyway to think he could take Roger down?  Well, he serves as fast and hard as the best of them and has biceps the size of my thighs.  Roger took a medical time out and looked almost angry at times; so unlike himself.  But just when I thought he was a goner, he came to life and showed why he is the GOAT.  He won the 4th set tie breaker 10-8 and beat Sandgren 6-3 in the 5th.  Way to sit on the edge of your seat!

We visited the ESPN production offices and met Chrissy Evert & Pam Shriver.  We have been invited to the talent meeting tomorrow morning so that should be cool.

Back to our seats for the Djokovic-Raonic match.  Oh did I mention our seats are under cover and in the cool shade of the sun?  We have not experienced any smoke anywhere on our trip and for that we are extremely grateful.  There are still fires burning in mostly remote areas but the cities are clear.

Sadly for Raonic, he was no match for Djokovic.  He lost to him in 3 sets.

John MacEnroe did the post interview with Djokovic.  He asked him about Kobe.  Novak had a KB embroidered on his jacket along with a red heart.  He teared up when he talked about his friend of 10 years; who meant so much to him, who was always there for him, sharing his advice and experience whenever he needed him.  Yet another whose life Kobe enriched....from all corners of the world.

The two women’s quarterfinal matches should be good but they will be no match for the excitement of seeing Stan the Man Wawrinka play the young Zverev only to cap the day off seeing Rafa and Dominic Thiem go head to head.  

Stay tuned....