Saturday night might be alright for Elton … but Monday night would be better for Tennis Australia and the Australian Open.
Tournament organisers are hoping the great Sir Elton Hercules John will be at the event when the grand slam begins in Melbourne next Monday.
Organisers want Elton John to make an appearance at the Australian Open. Credit:AP
First Serve has been told an invitation has been extended to John to attend the tournament as a special guest. Tournament officials have gone as far as trying to entice the musician by getting his close friend Billie Jean King to convince him to attend.
John is in Australia on tour and will perform in Melbourne on the Friday and Saturday before the tournament begins on Monday, January 16.
King is one of John’s closest friends. His 1975 song Philadelphia Freedom was a tribute to the American, who formed a close bond with the Englishman after meeting at the Troubadour in West Hollywood in 1971.
If Elton John comes it will be as a guest of the tournament, but you’d like to think tournament organisers will have a piano on hand in case he does make an impromptu visit to Melbourne Park.
Tennis Australia only has one day to play with if they are to convince him to pop in. He’s due to perform at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium on Tuesday, January 17, one day after the tournament starts.
Kyrgios ready for Netflix stardom
Nick Kyrgios has been talking to his mates on tour about the upcoming Netflix documentary. To say he’s excited would be an understatement.
While he’s had a frosty relationship with certain sections of the media throughout his career, he learned to enjoy having the cameras in his face throughout the filming of the documentary which drops on January 13.
“It’s funny, at first you notice the cameras everywhere, and then they just blend in and become a part of everything you’re doing,” Kyrgios told First Serve ahead of the launch of the Break Point series.
“It was important to me that Netflix saw me for me, and not the same narrative general media talks about. I had the team follow me around quite a lot in major points of the year so hopefully this gives people a better insight to me as a person, rather than just a tennis player.
“I know this will ultimately help the sport grow and bring in new fans. I had a nice time with the crew. They ate with my family, we shared stories about life. It was a cool experience. [I] enjoyed seeing how it was all filmed and now to see the finished product is pretty special.”
Fritz caught off guard by Djokovic’s ongoing US ban
American Taylor Fritz was unaware that Novak Djokovic was still banned from entering the United States because of his vaccination status.
Fritz was asked about the US government’s decision to extend its ban on unvaccinated tourists until mid-April, meaning Djokovic will not feature at Indian Wells this year.
“He’s not playing?” Fritz fired back. “I didn’t know that. There is my live reaction to that. Yeah, I don’t know. I think obviously from like a player standpoint, wanting to defend my title, it makes the draw easier that Novak is not in the draw, but I don’t know.
“I feel like we are at a certain point where he should probably just be allowed into the country. But I don’t make the rules.”
Kings duo at United Cup
There were a few notable faces in the crowd at the United Cup over the weekend.
Sydney Kings owner Paul Smith and Kings player Shaun Bruce were inside Ken Rosewall Arena for the final between the United States of America and Italy on Sunday night.
Former Australian swimmer Elka Whalan (nee Graham), who won silver at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was spotted at the semi-final the night before.
League voices boost Australian Open coverage
Channel Nine have added some of its rugby league talent to its coverage of the Australian Open. Respected caller Peter Psaltis and journalist Emma Lawrence will be in Melbourne as part of the coverage that already includes James Bracey, Danika Mason and Roz Kelly.
Former Australian player Sam Groth won’t be part of Nine’s broadcast after entering politics when he was elected as member of Nepean in Victoria last year. Coverage begins on Monday, January 16.
US cruise past Italy in United Cup final
The United States have won the inaugural United Cup after ice-cool go-to man Taylor Fritz gave Team USA an unassailable 3-0 lead over Italy in the best-of-five-rubber final in Sydney.
As he did in a similarly tight semi-final triumph over Hubert Hurkacz, Fritz held his nerve in the key moments to notch a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (10-8) victory over 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini last night. The world No.9’s clutch win followed straight-sets singles wins also for Jessica Pegula and Frances Tiafoe.
“It’s amazing for the team to win this event,” Fritz said after being crash-tackled by Tiafoe amid wild celebrations. We came in with really high hopes, or at least I did, for the event so I was really happy to be in that position to clinch the match. The emotions when you win and everyone comes running out here, it’s amazing.”
Pegula continued her hot summer to give the US a perfect start with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Martina Trevisan before Lorenzo Musetti retired injured after losing the first set 6-2 against Frances Tiafoe. The back-to-back defeats left Berrettini needing to topple Fritz to keep Italy’s hopes alive at Ken Rosewall Arena.
He couldn’t as Fritz overcame the disappointment of failing to convert nine break points to nab both tiebreakers, as he did against Poland’s big-serving world No.10 Hurkacz on Saturday. – AAP
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