Brisbane International Tennis - Australian Open Series

Crowds flock to opening day

Crowds flock to opening day

Tennis Australia Sunday 4 January 2009 18 Comments »

Crowds descended on the first day of play at the Brisbane International with 8824 tennis fans attending the new sporting event.

The French were the day’s standouts with the seventh seed Richard Gasquet and women’s third seed Marion Bartoli both winning their first-round matches, Bartoli defeating Brisbane’s own Monika Wejnert 6-1 6-2.

Jarmila Gajdosova flew the Australian flag in the women’s draw winning 6-4 6-2 against a higher ranked player, Shuai Peng and will meet Victoria Azarenka, the tournament’s second seed, in the next round.

Gajdosova said “I was pretty happy with what I have achieved today.  The game was a great experience for me after having not played many matches since October.  I am hoping that my performances will continue to improve throughout the tournament.”

Gajdosova’s next opponent Azarenka defeated Kateryna Bondarenko from the Ukraine 6-0 6-2.

Brisbane International Tournament Director, Steve Ayles said he was please with the first day of the tournament.

“Today has exceeded all expectations.  The event has already generated a media spot on Brisbane and the crowd attendance has been amazing.  Today is a testament to Queenslander’s love of tennis and I know the enthusiasm will continue to build.”

Crowd favourite and local girl Samantha Stosur was also due to play on Pat Rafter Arena today but has been rescheduled to play tomorrow against Ai Sugiyama from Japan after Russian Maria Kirilenko was forced to withdraw due to injury.

In men’s qualifying singles three Australian boys shined with Sam Groth, Joe Sirianni and Peter Luczak all progressing through to the second round after straight-set victories over their higher ranked opponents.

Sam Groth, No.278, defeated Canadian Frank Dancevic, No.130, in a strong straight-sets performance with Peter Luczak, No.156, ousting Russian Andrey Golubev, No.89, 6-3 6-1.

Groth broke back in the ninth game of the second set and saved three set points in the 12th before going on to win the match. Groth will play top seed Teimuraz Gabashvili from Russia in the next round. 

Post match, Joe Sirianni who defeated Peter Polansky from Canada, said “I played well and I felt I was a lot more solid than last time when he beat me.  This time I was able to exploit his weakness.”

Fellow Australians Colin Ebelthite, Carsten Ball, Greg Jones, Chris Guccione, Robert Smeets and Mark Verryth were defeated in the qualifying rounds.

Today’s results are as follows:

Men’s Qualifying Singles -1st Round
T Gabashvili (RUS) d I Bozolac (SRB) 4-6 6-3 6-4
S Groth (AUS) d F Dancevic (CAN) 6-3 7-6 (1)
E Korolev (RUS) d M Fischer (AUT) 6-2 6-1
K Anderson (RSA) d G Jones (AUS) 7-6 (3) 6-4
B Reynolds (USA) d M Elgin (RUS) 4-6 6-2 6-3
L Gregorc (SLO) d J Huta Galung (NED) 6-4 6-4
P Luczak (AUS) d A Golubev (KAZ) 6-3 6-1
M Zverev (GER) d G Lapentti (ECU) 6-3 6-4
M Kukushkin (KAZ) d R Smeets (AUS) 7-5 6-4
A Delic (USA) d C Guccione (AUS) 6-4 7-5
T Bellucci (BRA) d C Ball (AUS) 6-4 6-3
J Sirianni (AUS) d P Polansky (CAN) 6-2 6-4
M Crugnola (ITA) d M Verryth (AUS) 6-4 6-4
G Muller (LUX) d C Ebelthite (AUS) 6 (3)-7 6-4 6-4
A Stoppini (ITA) d J Isner (USA) 7-5 6-3
X Malisse (BEL) d S Stadler(GER) 6-2 6-1

Men’s Singles First Round
R Gasquet (FRA) d M Gicquel (FRA) 4-6 6-2 6-2
R Soderling (SWE) d S QUERREY (USA) 6-3 6-3
J Benneteau (FRA) d R Ginepri (USA) 3-6 6-3 7-5
T Dent (USA) d S Darcis (BEZ) 7-6 (0) 6-2

Women’s Qualifying Singles Final Round
S Karatantcheva (BUL) v E Rodina (RUS) 6-1 7-6 (4)
R Vinci (ITA) d K Sprem (CRO) 3-6 6-3 6-2
A L Groenefeld (GER) d J Coin (FRA) 2-6 6-4 6-4
M Czink (HUN) d Z Yan (CHN) 6-4 4-6 7-5

Women’s Singles First Round
J Gajdosova (SVK) d S Peng (CHN) 6-4 6-2
V Azarenka (BLR) d K Bondarenko (UKR) 6-0 6-2
M Bartoli (FRA) d M Wejnert (AUS) 6-1 6-2
A Kleybanova (RUS) d K Kanepi (EST) 6-1 6-4

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  • sarah

    A thoroughly enjoyable day at the tennis! The centre and main court are great with the court easy to view from most angles. A couple of comments I would like to make:
    - the queue at the start could have moved more rapidly with an increased number of security guards. We were however, informed of why we were waiting and kept up to date.
    - information signs about the tennis would have given people something to focus on and an idea of what to expect while in the queue. eg. cameras with lenses over 200mm will be confiscated, access to seats on the main court only allowed every second game
    - the official program could be improved by including the draw, a map of the centre and the seeded players
    - an information centre inside
    - strawberries and cream!

    Thanks Queensland tennis for a great day out!

  • hayley cotter

    What a fantasic day out! The facilities are incredible. Easy to get around the outside courts with a great atmosphere surrounding all the courts. Well done tennis australia.

  • Rhonda Hawthorne

    Thank goodness Brisbane again has tennis. The arena is spectacular and the tennis was sensational. The queue to get in was totally unexpected as it went for what felt like miles. More security guards are definitely needed and more food outlets and coffee stands are a must. People should be informed that EFTPOS is not available and there is only one ATM. The queue for the ATM stretched for ever. Bring lots of cash, be patient, and you will have an awesome day.

  • Anne

    it was great in the pat rafter arena and especially seeng pat was even better. Great sights from all vantage points. We were stittng in rows up the back and could see great! Long time coming Brisbane!!!!! I also agree with sarah on more warning signs and yes the dacquiris were nice too. Enjoyed my day immensely and being a tennis family made it even more exciting. Just need a better crossing area from train area though but worth the long wait in line!

  • Jan Nolan

    I am a first time tennis goer ever at 50 and was very very pleased wih the venue.Thought the crowd control was good.Thought that the players could have been introduced to the crowd as I did not know who was who and thought it a little rude.( I only watched outside court matches )
    ALSO PLEASE PLEASE get good quality toilet paper in the toilets. Honestly so tacky and most of it was on the floor.
    Thanks for the tennis. I will go back next time.

  • Wayne Camp Hill

    A Great Day Out Brisbane should be proud,only thing I would have liked to see like The Australian Open has a TV Screen relaying matches in Progress on out side courts, so you can leave Ctr Court and visit the outside matches for other matches you want to see.

  • Karen

    I to am a first time tennis goer. Had a wonderful day. Were lucky enough to get seats in a corporate box (apparently they did not sell to businesses so open to public)so had a fantastic view, although I think all seats would be great viewing.I agree strawberries would have been great. The seat were really comfy but could be slightly bigger in size. They need more rubbish bins, TV screens out side whilst you are waiting to be let in ,in the middle of a game would be great so that you can see what is going on. Whilst there was enough on street parking around the yerongpilly train station, I didn’t see any shuttle buses going from there.(This was advertised in Sunday Mail). The walk from there to the centre is not far 800m and it a pleasant flat walk. It is a shame that the Tennyson station is not opened and that the city cats are not utilised for such an event after all it is only for one week. All in all a great Day. Well done Tennis Australia.

  • Davie

    Good Day, Good Play, Excellent Stadium. Biggest problem today was the long, long queue to get in. The bottle neck obviously being the small capacity turnstile gate system. Needs to be doubled for a major event such as this. Made more crowded by the bag inspection area, being so close to the turnstiles. Take a leaf out of Suncorp Stadium, big day events, the bag inspection area is situated further away, so it does not block and restrict the movement through the turnstile area. Or, a second public entry point being looked at for a major event such as this. Food and drink, as usual with these events, overpriced and basic tucker (only reason I ate my doughy $7.50 pizza, was because it cost so much), and again the long queues for basics such as a cup of coffee. I agree with Rhonda of Hawthorne, “More security guards/(i.e. ticket checkers) are definitely needed and more food outlets and coffee stands”. One curious question I have is, I know we had to scan our ticket to get in the venue, but why did we again have to queue and scan our ticket to get out?? Lets hope these are only teething problems.

  • Rose

    Had a great day, one suggestion would be score boards on all courts not just show courts as you are not able to here umpire from fences and may not know who it is that is playing.
    Great to have tennis in Brisbane.

  • trent

    i agree with all that it was a great day out at the tennis, i have the sunburn to prove it!! the lines to get in were very unexpected and those patrons who wr in line and discovered pre paid tix need to be collected first, were not happy when they had 2 leave and then go 2 the end of the line!!
    i agree video screens outside pat rafter arena 2 c centre court action when ur stuck outside wood b good. also i reckon the electronic screens that display players names and scores shood be on all the outside courts, not just show court 1 and 2, and court 14 n 16. it was very hard to hear umpire calls and scores a lot of the time.

    tennis qld and tennis australia should be very proud of the facilities and tournament we are about 2 witness. well done!!

  • Amanda

    Had a great day out yesterday but one thing that needs to be fixed is the long queue to get in….that was ridiculous….two lines at either end would be more sensible than walking from one end to the other…..there needs to be something done quickly about this….maybe two queues not one.we had to walk a mile away to the end of the queue.Other than that when we got in it was great…the facilities are excellent and the views from outside courts are fantastic.The centre court is very well done and you can pretty much see from any seat…well done great design and layout.Overall we had a great day thanks Tennis Australia.one more thing….make sure you buy your tickets before starting to queue in line..

  • Anna

    We had a great day at the tennis yesterday. It was a shame that the big screen at Heineken Hill didn’t show any tennis. I also wonder why there are so few women’s toilets??? More are definitely needed. It would be great if the food/drink stalls could be moved away from the outside courts so that more people can watch the games (i.e. Heineeken Hill) How about a big screen with play schedule and score updates somewhere for all to see?

  • Alicia

    I am going to the tennis tomorrow….can you take your own food and popper juices in??

  • Paul Murdoch

    Agree that it is great that major tennis is back in Brisbane, and enjoyed the day. TA will hopefully overcome a range of teething problems by Thursday (my next scheduled visit), including the queue to access the centre, and PA system & scoreboard glitches.
    Some more major problems need attention, including: Public transport – its great that event tickets include public transport, and that no cat parking is provided – but need to ensure additional services, City Cat stop, walkover from Yerongapilly railway station & all GC trains should be stopping at Yerongapilly during the tournament;
    Toilets – more needed;
    More seating, TV screens and shade trees needed on walkway from station & on outside courts.
    Let’s make this the best tournament leading in to the Australian Open!!! Go TA

  • Kevin

    For less than $10 for a grounds pass this is a steal of a deal to see some very high level tennis. The weather was mild making for a great day of watching tennis. The stadium court looks superb with roof and all. The players played on hardcourts but there were also 4 clay courts and looks to be 4 grass courts on the way for a total of like 23 courts.

    Problems that I noticed that hopefully will get corrected in the future include: not opening at 9AM but at 9:15 which caused about a 30 minute wait to enter the grounds. Not enough seating for the mass of people on opening day. Only 3 courts have any seating and there was maybe 8 courts with matches being played. So a couple rows of seats should have been built in on some of the other courts as well as the 3 main courts. No shade on the 2 outer courts that did have seating but strangely the players played in the shade. Umpires should have been positioned on the opposite side as the fans since the umpire chair blocked views. Not enough lines judges including only 1 on each end (how can they see through the net 80 feet away). Many serves were long and/or wide but the umpires rarely over ruled. Food was steep and Coke was $4.50 but you could bring your own food and drink in which we did. Despite all my complaints it was still a great day getting to watch 8 hours of pro tennis for less than $10.

  • Chris

    What happened to my first attempt??
    As I said, it’s wonderful to have the tennis back in Brisbane. But shade for the players and not for the poor spectators on Show Courts 1 and 2?? It shouldn’t be all that difficult to provide for both.
    I’d have the umpire on the other side of the Show Courts as everybody seemed to be saying. And yes, nobody hanging over the fence on the other side either. Sit on the grass!! Court 2 seemed to be able to organise themselves okay. Why not Court 1?
    We do need CityCat transport or at least the ferries. Otherwise transport was excellent.
    Great day! Will definitely be back.

  • Tamara

    Had a great day yesterday. 2 big problems – the parking area which volunteers were telling people on Saturday was open to the public during the main tournament(like it was the 2 qualifying days) was corporate only, and took around 10 minutes finding a street park. Also lack of view on most of the outside courts. There needs to be at least 1 additonal court with permanent seating around the court. And 3-4 other courts with temporary seating brought in for the event. And unlike a lot of tennis venues the courts are all together with no space in between so you have to watch at the end through the mesh. So it’s difficult to watch players pratice.

  • http://brisbaneinternational.com.au Jemma

    Had a great day yesterday and today as well! When my mum looked at the website yesterday we saw that we were on this article! (The photo) I am the little girl in the grey top!!! I saw awesome people playing Tennis!! I will definitely be back next year!! WOW! I can’t believe there is tennis in Brisbane/Queensland!!I love Tennis!!!!!!

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