Reem's Melbourne Diary: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and co. entertain crowds for annual Kids’ Tennis Day

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  • Support act: The Ninja Turtles.

    One great thing about getting to a grand slam a few days early – besides the fact that it gives you a chance to catch up with the players ahead of the fortnight and write decent previews – is that you get to roam around the grounds of some of the world’s most spectacular tennis venues with no one there except for journalists, players and staff.

    You can sit in an empty Rod Laver Arena overlooking a Rafael Nadal practice, or enjoy a cup of coffee under the sun in a peaceful Garden Square.

    But such moments are brief and fleeting and even though the Australian Open is yet to commence, Melbourne Park was overtaken by fans, families and children Saturday for the annual Kids’ Tennis Day where the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka entertained the crowds on court joined by none other than the Ninja Turtles.

    Can you imagine how mind-blowing it must be for a child to watch Federer and Donatello live on centre court?

    It may have been tough squeezing through the masses – and their baby strollers – Saturday to reach the media centre but it’s definitely worth it to see so many youngsters coming to the tennis and taking in the fabulous atmosphere.

    Once I finally made it to the media centre, navigating through the crowds outside, and stepped into the nearby Players’ Restaurant for a pre-scheduled interview, I quickly realised that every day is Kids’ Day in the players’ quarters.

    There were strollers parked outside the restaurant, the sound of infants crying or laughing providing an interesting soundtrack to a room filled with players and their coaches, grabbing a bite before or after practice.

    Just outside the restaurant, Roger Federer is seen carrying one of his adorable twin boys, introducing him to Fabio Fognini and Caroline Wozniacki as he walked through the halls, his twin daughters and other son trailing close behind.

    Lleyton Hewitt came to his press conference – the last pre-event one of his career – joined by his kids.

    With so many players still competing on tour well into their 30s, it’s no surprise there are more and more fathers – and some mothers – and accordingly their kids, showing up at the tournament’s lounges and dining halls.

    Tennis has aged and it is a fact reflected in the expanding 0-36 months demographic present at tournaments.

    I asked Maria Sharapova, one of the veterans on tour, whether she’s noticed how many more babies are around and she quickly interrupts me saying: “There are. Oh, my goodness,” the Russian reacts with a smile.

    “There are a lot of kids. I don’t know what’s going on. I mean, yeah, it starts at breakfast and it just continues through the day.

    “You get used to it. But you start thinking about it. I mean, the mothers that travel with all their children, they’re heroes. It’s really incredible to see what they have to go through, the daily challenges of having kids, being on the road. That cannot be easy. I mean, just the sounds that you hear. That’s just not easy.”

    Victoria Azarenka pointed out that you can see more kids around but only because grand slams feature both men and women.

    “That’s because it’s combined event. So probably that’s why there’s more kids. I don’t think there’s that many kids when it’s just girls because we kind of play tennis. I mean, there are (some tennis-playing mothers), but there’s not that many,” said the Belarusian.

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