MELBOURNE, Australia – “It is so great to see people.”
It was Naomi Osaka, three times Grand Slam champion, moments after her victory in the first round on Monday afternoon at the Australian Open. She stopped at a microphone on the Rod Laver Arena court and looked at a crowd that looked, if not normal, at least something like that.
That’s how it happened across Melbourne Park grounds on Monday, where international sports returned, albeit temporarily, to something like that before most people knew the difference between a coronavirus and seasonal flu or used the phrase “detachment.” “every third sentence.
Spectators lined up for tickets. They waited in the security lines and found out if they wanted to eat hamburgers, stuffed pitas or fish and chips, and decided how many $ 13 beers they could swallow. Despite a light gray sky, a strong breeze and low temperatures of 60 degrees, some rested on the grass or on sofas. The chicest people went to the restaurant with a champagne sponsor.
This could only happen safely now because the Grand Slam tennis season begins in a country that has undoubtedly controlled Covid-19 better than any other, thanks to months of forced blocking, closed borders, thorough testing and contact tracking. Only 909 people in Australia, which has a population of more than 25 million, died from Covid-19. The country has received an average of half a dozen cases a day for the past two weeks, almost all of them international arrivals.
Photographers lined up on the exhibition blocks that featured the stars, producing a clicking noise at moments of choice. A video camera operator wandered the stands, capturing fans who wanted to dance and wave on the stadium screens. The music exploded and the stadium MC encouraged them to act goofy during the action breaks.
And then there were the roars, lost since the games popped back to life inside almost empty stadiums, especially when a winning or perfectly played volley came out of an Australian player’s racket or one of the stars. The two were on the court on Monday – sisters Williams, Osaka, Novak Djokovic and local favorite Nick Kyrgios.
The smaller the venue, the bigger the roar, as in Court 3, a cozy jewelry box court where John Millman, from Australia, played in front of a crowd of about 1,500 fans.
“This is one of the biggest motivations we have, the source from which we extract our energy, strength and motivation,” said Djokovic, the number one in the world, anticipating the noisy reception he received at Rod Laver, on the court where he won this championship eight times . “Especially at my age and stage of my career, I try to feed on the energy of the crowd.”
Players had to go through several quarantine degrees for two weeks after their arrival, and 72 of them were forced to stay in their hotel rooms for 14 days after 10 people on three chartered flights tested positive on arrival. Then they were released, and after a week of preparation, Monday returned.
“It’s definitely good to have a few people, a lot of people out there,” said Serena Williams, 23 times Grand Slam champion, after beating Laura Siegemund of Germany 6-1, 6-1.
With viewers limited to 30,000 a day, about half that in normal times, Day 1 in Melbourne Park was very different from the summer festival that this tournament was supposed to be. Only 17,922 fans showed up, with many tickets unsold for a variety of reasons – weather, a revamped schedule that delayed the tournament by three weeks, Australian children no longer on summer vacation, anger at tennis players, tournament officials and members international media obtained special exemptions to enter the country and brought new cases of Covid-19.
Fans who attend will find differences from previous tournaments.
There were QR codes on each gate with viewers expected to register their seats to allow contact tracking if anyone in their section tested positive.
There were many masks and rules about where and when they It should be used. Local rules require that they be indoors, but this does not include indoors, unless the retractable covers are closed. The corridors between the outdoor area and the rest area count as indoor space, so masks should be used there, unless a spectator is eating or drinking in that area.
The workers painted large circles on the grassy hills where spectators participate in the action on big screens to outline where each group of fans arriving together should sit.
Ryan Knight, who lives 40 minutes by car and comes every year, he tried to get used to the whole open space.
It was just after noon and Knight was enjoying hamburgers and fries with his mother, Louise, and his partner, Danielle Locke, in a picnic area where he had his choice of tables.
When organizers confirmed in December that the tournament was taking place, Knight knew he would not miss the opportunity.
“You can’t live your life in a box,” he said.
How long it will take for everyone who used to participate in big events like this to think and act like the Knights do is unknown. Players hope it won’t take too long.
“A crowd with that kind of noise, someone behind them, can really light things up for someone,” said Milos Raonic of Canada, who defeated Federico Coria of Argentina in straight sets on Monday.
Even the usual hassles were easier to bear. In the second set of their fight, Venus Williams had to step away from his serve while a mother left the arena to comfort her restless baby.
Williams was later asked if she appreciated the normalcy of the crowd more after not seeing fans for so long.
“Yes, I definitely had to live without it before I could enjoy it, which is often the case in life for us humans,” she said. “I am grateful now.”
Karen Crouse contributed reporting.