Other tennis stars: Melbourne 17/01/07 Part IV

Filled with excitement after seeing Rafael Nadal, I went around checking out who's playing in the other courts. At showcourt 3, there was Thomas Johansson from Sweden playing David Ferrer from Spain. I was going for David Ferrer to win this encounter. David is a very big hitter, not a very good all-rounded player, but he still has enough tricks in his bag to show Thomas to the locker room. Thomas Johansson is pretty much past his prime I feel. Sure enough, David won, albeit in 5 sets.



Thomas Johansson

David Ferrer

The Swedish contingent of supporters for Thomas Johansson. The man in the red circle couldn't bear to watch any longer

After the Johansson-Ferrer match, it was about time for lunch. So I made my way to one of the many food stalls within Melbourne Park. I have to say that the organisers of the AO really knew how to bleed the fans, because I got a stupid ham sandwich which costs a whopping 7 bucks! A stupid hotdog costs about $5.90 too, a stupid bottle of coke costs $4.20 and sushi was also up there in the price rankings. So bled, so bled. Unless you exit the grounds, take a tram to the city and get your lunch and then travel back, the best you can do is to have your lunch there if you're hungry.

Walking around the other courts, I got to see many other tennis players.

Elena Dementieva, from Russia (with love)

Max Mirnyi, from Belarus

A junior doubles match featuring two Taiwanese girls

The guy circled is Michael Llodra, one half of the successful doubles team which won the Australian Open twice and the tennis masters cup. His partner, Fabrice Santoro, is not in this picture

The next match will be one played between French young talent Richard Gasquet, who has a history of defeating Roger Federer, and an American, Amer Delic.