MELBOURNE, November 27 (R-Sport) - Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley reveals how the season's first Grand Slam is developing, the role Lleyton Hewitt has played in Australian tennis, and why the Russians tend to do well at Melbourne Park.
What are your expectations of next year’s tournament? What makes it unique?
"Obviously, we’ll start 2013 with the first Grand Slam of the year. We’ve been able to take the Australian Open to 683,000 people who came through the gate last year and the global audience of over 300 million. So the event is really growing. The part of this growth is the redevelopment of the site, as you’ve seen, so we are adding another court with a retractable roof. Now we have three such venues. We’ve also built eight indoor courts, eight outdoor red clay courts and another five practice courts, so we have another 21 courts that we’ve built in partnership with the Victoria government. We’ve invested over $363 million in the upgrade of the facilities and we’re going to invest probably another half billion in the next few years and there will be even more development. We will have again the highest prize money in the world, $30 million. We think it is the best facility in the world, because not many have three stadiums that you can close the roof on, we have clay on the site, we have indoors. We expect top 100 men and top 100 women, like we had every year."
The question that concerns everybody is whether Rafael Nadal will be able to recover for the Australian Open 2013?
"We are fortunate that we start in January; players have some time off so that they are not injured, like Rafa Nadal whom I spoke to last week and he is going to be ready to play."
As you know, Evgeny Kafelnikov, Marat Safin and Maria Sharapova have all won the tournament. Why do you think the Australian Open is the most successful Grand Slam tournament for the Russians?
"There is a strong Russian community living in Australia and they come and support the Russian players. I also think it’s a good surface, it’s a surface that Russians generally do well on. It’s not a hard court, it’s a softer surface. It suits Maria’s game, it suited Marat’s game. Davydenko had some good runs here as well. I also think it’s the beginning of the year, the sun is shining, and they are coming from cold winter. Historically, Maria always comes early, historically, the Russian players always come early too. We always believed that the earlier you get here, and we’ve got statistics to show, the more success you have at the Australian Open. You can’t acclimatize in three days, you need a couple of weeks to acclimatize to the heat and the Australian summer. And the Russian players generally have been here earlier than others. Last year, Maria was here two-three weeks before and she’s going to be early this year training. I think it’s helpful."
Who will be the first man in the Open Era to win the tournament five times: three-time winner Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer, who holds four titles?
"Novak is younger, so he has more time. But one thing I always tell people: you can’t rule Roger out. You know, someone who has won so many Grand Slams is going to win more. Novak kind of claimed the Australian Open as his most successful snap, like Roger did at the Wimbledon and Rafa at the French Open. He gets very comfy when he comes to play here and the surface suits him, but I think the next year on the men’s side Andy Murray is going to be difficult to beat."
Who are the main favorites in the women’s draw?
"In the women’s draw, I think, Maria. I think she was probably playing the best tennis at the end of the year. Azarenka is playing great tennis and she won here last year obviously and this was her first breakthrough."
Australian No. 1 Sam Stosur has already taken the U.S. Open title. Do you think she is capable of winning at her home Grand Slam event?
"Speaking of Sam Stosur, if the Russians had Grand Slam in Russia, the Russian players would find it hard. Because the expectations are so great, you hear even in the coffee shops people talking about tennis, when you go shopping. I think for a local player to win the Australian Open is a lot harder than to win Grand Slam tournament overseas. So when Sam is at the U.S. Open the pressure is different, French Open finals or semifinals it’s different, but here the pressure is greater. So I think it’s harder, but she is capable of winning it. You are going to play for two weeks, play seven great matches, and the players who play the most consistently win. Maria has done that, Serena has done that, and Sam did it at the U.S. Open."
Which is your favorite final in Australian Open history?
"Nadal-Djokovic last year. I was sitting on the courtside for six hours. And the ball was going so fast and it was the drama. It was my favorite final."
And why do you think Lleyton Hewitt couldn’t achieve his best results here? Was it the surface or something else?
"He got to the finals in 2005. I think the surface is actually good for Lleyton. He had some very difficult draws, he had been injured a couple of times. I think the surface now is better for him, than it was before 2005. The old surface used to change a lot in the weather conditions: if it was shade or sun, the speed would change a lot. Now it doesn’t matter whether you’re in shade or you have direct heat, it still plays the same."
Why do you think Lleyton didn’t win the title in 2005, when he was 1-0 up in the final against Marat Safin but lost in four sets?
"Two-thousand and five is long time ago really. Lleyton was playing his best tennis just before that, he was No. 1, he won Wimbledon. I think Marat should have won more, in my opinion. When Marat wanted to beat you, he could beat you, beat anyone. I think Roger was right, when he said that he was probably the most talented player he played against. I was expecting Marat to win 10 Grand Slams. And I think when Marat played in the finals, it was he who decided who was going to win and who was going to lose, it doesn’t matter who the other player was. Lleyton played great tennis, but Marat was just much better."
What do you expect of Lleyton now?
"He is at the end of his career. Lleyton has been great for the Australian tennis, because he was the top player in the world. I don’t think that I have met anyone who was a bigger fighter than Lleyton. He was very quick, but age now comes so he becomes slower and that’s what becomes difficult for him. He wants to play a few more years, but it will depend on his body."
