Melbourne Park abuzz with tennis fans ahead of Australian Open
Melbourne Park is buzzing with the arrival of the world's top players as they get ready for round 1 of the Australian Open. With a Sunday start, shorter days on court and $10m more prize money, this year's event looks set to draw record crowds once again.
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00:00 The silverware has been polished and the countdown is on.
00:06 It is just going to go booyah, like it's going to be fantastic.
00:10 Some big changes are coming for the 15 day tournament which gets underway next weekend.
00:16 To really have a massive opening on a Sunday night, it will be something special.
00:19 Security will be tight as usual.
00:22 Russian and Belarusian colours are still banned as players from both nations continue to compete
00:28 as neutrals.
00:30 As for displays of Palestinian and Israeli flags in the stands...
00:34 Players competing in the event, those flags are allowed to be displayed.
00:39 Fans can expect more shade at the venue and fewer late nights thanks to scheduling adjustments
00:44 that include an extra day of play.
00:47 You cannot guarantee how long a match is going to be, but the likelihood is extremely low.
00:51 The move is welcomed by three time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray, who blasted officials
00:56 last year after a 4am finish against Tenasi Kokonarkis.
01:01 Tennis Australia says ticket sales are already up and it's confident the changes it's made
01:06 to the tournament will help break last year's record 840,000 people through the turnstiles
01:13 for this year's main draw.
01:15 Ten years on from his men's singles win, world number 49 Stan Vavrinka has his sights set
01:22 high.
01:23 I think I'm playing well, I had some big matches, big wins, so hopefully I can keep getting
01:28 better in the ranking, winning some good battles and why not take a trophy home.
01:34 He and world number four Yannick Sinner had a hit this afternoon, the Italian eager to
01:39 improve on his fourth round exit last year.
01:41 [BLANK_AUDIO]