The Melbourne grand slam launches with a bang thanks to glorious weather, a Sunday first and Aussies on every court
“Aussie-Aussie-Aussie, oi-oi-oi,” squealed the young fan in John Cain Arena on Monday. “Shut up,” came the retort from another. Giggles and murmurs from the rest. After all, the match was Australian Alexei Popyrin against Australian Marc Polmans, in the first round of Australia’s grand slam tournament, on the day the event broke its day session attendance record. The oi-oi-oi went without saying.
Monday presented nine matches involving local players, building towards the evening clash pitting Canadian Milos Raonic against the world No 10 – Australia’s top dog Alex de Minaur. There were banks of green and gold watching Popyrin and Polmans, Australian flags doubling as fans as the temperature climbed towards 30C.