The Grand Slam of Asia Pacific, the players favourite, the largest sporting event in the Southern Hemisphere. No matter how you label it, the Australian Open has become not only synonymous with summer in Australia for tennis fans – it is also a carnival of off court action and fun for entertainment junkies across the board. Australian Open 2012 will be no exception…in actual fact, 2012 offers more than ever and as an Official Travel partner, Sportsnet Holidays can’t wait to provide tennis fans from across the globe with an unforgettable experience.

Melbourne & Olympic Park is possibly the most advanced and all encompassing sporting precinct on the planet, and Rod Laver Arena is the jewel in the crown (don’t tell Collingwood supporters this!). Sure it is used year round for concerts, moto x and even rodeos. But Rod Laver Arena IS tennis. Just walking into a twilight session with the roof open is enough to make you stop and say…”Yeah, this is the business,” No matter where you’re sitting within this incredible stadium, you can almost feel every booming serve, crisp volley and devastating groundstroke, especially when the roof is closed. You get lost in time and I know I’ve walked out after a few marathon matches without even knowing it was past midnight! Thank goodness for Melbourne’s awesome train and tram network.

Rod Laver Arena at sunset. Simply unbeatable.

Though the main action is at Rod Laver and Hisense, there is so much more to AO for me. The first week is the best in my books. Walking around the outside courts you invariably catch a gem of a match between players you might not have even known were competing. Fair chance also that you’ll bump into, sometimes literally, a star of today or yesteryear. This is exactly how we managed to hook up with our favourite Sportsnet guest host and former Aussie Davis Cup player and captain, the Cockaleechie Kid himself, John Fitzgerald. You can catch him at any number of our functions over Australian Open 2012. Then of course, there’s the attractions off the court.

One of my favourite memories of Australian Open was in 2009. My best mate and I headed to the tennis and he was like a kid in a candy shop. I’m not a morning person you see, and he demanded that we get the tram at 9am, to arrive at the gates AS THEY OPENED!! For the love of God! Bleary eyed I tried to keep up with him (he’s pushing 40 mind you) as he bounded from the Nintendo interactive experience to the serving speed gun, next a hit on the mini courts (where we whipped a couple of 7 year olds – tubing? You bet!), then off to all the merchandise stands located between the stadium and outside courts. All this by midday. Then…finally we sat down on the lawn, amongst the bronze busts of our Aussie tennis greats and enjoyed some of the major sponsors finest offerings, the first of many for the day. After this we headed to the outside courts before settling in MY favourite, Margaret Court arena which by the way is soon to be the 3^rd stadium court with a roof at Australian Open. That’s MASSIVE (Flushing Meadows…have a good hard look!). We never set foot in RLA, and still had the best day imaginable.

Summer, Heineken, Australian Open & Garden Square - what could be better?

On top of all the action at Olympic Park, Melbourne seldom puts on a better face than over Australian Open. It could be the outstanding weather that almost invariably presents itself in January, drawing everybody out of their homes to the beaches, nightspots, restaurants and bars of this beautiful city. Hearing the number of accents getting around Melbourne makes you proud to live here as we lay out the red carpet for our interstate and international visitors alike. AO is massive for the local economy too, and whether it’s as a ball-kid, program seller or waiter in the city, you’re bound to be better of during Australian Open than almost any other event Victoria hosts.

I simply cannot wait for the 2012 edition. I was lucky enough to catch up with tournament director Craig Tiley a few weeks back and learnt of some cool improvements to the tournament which once more is determined to be THE Grand Slam the players, AND us the fans love. Did you know the players cafe is getting it’s third full refurbishment in five years? Talk about being one step ahead of the competition.

What’s your favourite memory of the Open? A classic match or just a day spent with a few quiet beers in Garden Square or Grand Slam Oval? No matter what, make sure you join us as Sportsnet Holidays ensure your Australian Open 2012 experience is one to remember.

Thank you linesmen, thank you ball boys.

The Grand Final Parade was a perfect way to get into the spirit of the whole event – especially for someone who is a fair-weather supporter at best. I was born into a life of being a Carlton supporter and it’s an indoctrination that has a depth I only just realised last week when I decided I might change AFL teams. As I started weighing up the pros and cons of all the teams and had them all up for grabs in my brain I just couldn’t do it. I FEEL like a Blues supporter! It’s in me. As part of the Sportsnet special package to the AFL Grand Final, an exclusive event overlooking the parade is included. It was in the Martini Bar which is part of the Westin hotel and is PERFECTLY situated overlooking the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets- exactly in the path of the parade. Miraculously, after a very wet week (one day being the wettest in 56 years), the heavens CLOSED for the exact 2hr parade timeframe and tens of thousands of fans lined the Melbourne City streets to join in.

Me & Brad. That smile IS for real everyone!

We could weave our way down to the street any time we wanted, but the view from the balcony of the Martini bar was truly the best vantage point – not JUST because of the gorgeous food and endless drinks served by the super delightful staff.

Awesome view from Westin's Martini Bar

Sportsnet had arranged for Brad Johnson and Jason Johnson to join us and we had a chance to have a chat to them about being an AFL star and some of the questions from the crowd were hilarious!

Footy fans are certainly not shy of a bit of heckling of each other are they? People breaking out into debates about the good-lookingness (or not) of ‘ranga’ Cameron Ling. Cats fans ribbing Pies fans about an emotional Mick Malthouse….. I had a great chat to a few groups of people at the event – all who’d flown in from different locations to have an AFL experience. They were all completely over the moon that they had a few experiences lined up like a night at Moonee Valley (sorry guys – I did appreciate the earnest invitation but I couldn’t get there!), an official footy-club breakfast, shopping. One family were even here to tick off the Dad’s next bucket-list item (a grand final). They said they’d be back for a Bathurst experience and also the Gallipoli one.

Walking back to the car there was a real peace and happiness in the streets of Melbourne. The next day was gloomy and dark but some of us gals see that as a great opportunity to wear boots and a couple more layers than usual – a real Melbourne experience! As I’d mentioned in my last blog post, my father had insisted that I make sure I focus on the first bounce and completely soak that moment up so I did…… There was a countdown timer on the big screen … counting down to the first bounce. 5….4…. at this stage the crowd became completely animated, the roar was electric and friendly and excited and very very deep! 3….2….. the exhilaration reached its peak and as the countdown timer reached 1 the crowd went completely silent. The ball was bounced and the crowd roared again – this time it was a roar that did not stop for the whole game. It was awesome to have seats undercover because the weather was gloomy. The fantastic thing, though, is that you can go for a wander around the stadium and even walk right down to the very front row of seats to see if there are any free. We did this and had a great 2^nd row vantage point for about 10 minutes before the seats were reclaimed by their owners!!

As a Carlton supporter, I was certainly filled with Glee to see Collingwood lose to Geelong and I hope I can do it all again next year with my Blue Boys winning the flag.