Australian Open diary: 'Happy Slam' living up to its billing

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  • Getting a glimpse: Fans watch Nick Kyrgios train.

    Picture the scene.

    Fabio Fognini on a stationary bike connected to a blender, trying to pedal as fast as he can to make a smoothie in a record time.

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    As odd as it sounds, this was the scene at the players’ restaurant here on Saturday.

    The more I stay here, the more I realise why everyone loves the Australian Open and why the words “Happy Slam” are an apt way to describe it.

    Whether it’s with the media, players or fans, the people behind the Australian Open make sure they’re making your life easier, and more fun than at any other tournament.

    Where else would you receive an email saying members of the media can book massages in the press room, and can have lunch orders delivered to their very own desk?

    And where else can you enter the terrace of the players’ restaurant and find koala bears and other strange spiky animals getting acquainted with the tournament’s stars, let alone seeing Fognini pedal his way to a free smoothie?

    I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m totally sold on Melbourne Park.

    Underlying meaning

    It’s always interesting to know about the meaning behind some of the things players say, do, wear or have tattooed on their bodies.

    Behind every little detail, lies a hidden story or explanation and every now and then the players let us in on the message behind the material.

    Aussie teenager Nick Kyrgios was seen bowing his head and kissing a tattoo on his middle finger after a testing first round against Federico Delbonis. We later found out the tattoo, which reads “74”, is a tribute to his grandmother who died last year at that age just as he was climbing the rankings.

    He then signed the camera lens “74” and was touched that fellow Australian Bernard Tomic also did the same following his own match.

    Elsewhere, world No1 Serena Williams revealed she is wearing special tribute shoes given to her by Nike in honour of February’s Black History Month and the American said she has her own reasons for starting it early.

    “My shoes are Black History Month shoes, so I’m starting Black History Month a little bit earlier. It’s been a great opportunity with Martin Luther King’s birthday just passing and all the stuff that’s going on with (Ferguson) over in the States as well,” said Williams.

    “I’m really honoured and proud to represent Black History Month by wearing my special Black History Month shoes that Nike made for me. And also just to support African Americans in the United States. I always try to have a voice of reason and be positive.”

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