Distance and Timing Play Roles in Decline of Australian Open

The Australian Open is played in a futuristic stadium on a Space Age surface, but the allure of the event is a relic, like grass.

That’s too bad. The Australian has been the scene of many memorable matches--Rod Laver’s 7-5, 22-20, 9-11, 1-6, 6-3 victory over Tony Roche in the 1969 semifinals comes to mind, and the legacy of Laver, Roy Emerson, John Newcombe and all the other great Aussies is worth upholding. But look at the number of absentees from Melbourne this week.

Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez are skipping the event. So are Andre Agassi and Brad Gilbert. Michael Chang wasn’t planning to go, even before he got hurt. The Australian, because of its faraway location and awkward place on the tennis calendar, no longer is the attraction that it used to be for many players.

Even John McEnroe, who is there, said, “It’s silly. You’re playing in, like, your first tournament of the year, and already it’s a Grand Slam.”

The issue is hardly new. Top draws such as Chris Evert often passed up the Australian, especially after 1977 when the tournament was moved from January as the first Grand Slam event on the schedule to December as the last. Back then, Evert and others cited a desire to stay home around Christmas after a long year on the tour.

The return to a January date in 1987 appeared to rekindle much of the interest among players, but their enthusiasm is fading again. Also, the tournament has suffered other blows recently, despite the move last year to the $42-million, ultra-modern National Tennis Center.

First, the soaring popularity of tennis in Europe has closed the gap in importance between the French Open and the other two Grand Slams--Wimbledon and the U.S. Open--leaving the Australian a distant last. And with more players specializing in surfaces, fewer than ever are willing to go to Melbourne to play on the new Rebound Ace, a rubberized hard court unlike any other.

McEnroe has suggested moving the Australian closer to the middle of the calendar. And the proposal has some merit.

If the Australian were played in March, more toward the heart of the season, the tournament would seem like less of a second cousin to the other Grand Slams. In addition, the temperatures in Australia in March are milder than in January, when the continent is at the peak of summer and heat is not uncommon.

Naturally, the big obstacle to such a shift is that the Australian has already bounced around twice on the schedule, and officials are reluctant to tamper too much with tradition. And the timing of the event coincides with Australia Day, the national holiday.

“All the same,” McEnroe said, “it’s something we should think about.”

The Australian Open is kicking off a new year in tennis, but it’s not just another year.

The women’s circuit has a new umbrella sponsor and, with that, a new name--the Kraft-General Foods World Tour. But former sponsor Virginia Slims will continue its 19-year association with women’s tennis by promoting 13 U.S. events on the tour, including the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships at Madison Square Garden.

The marketing changes are equaled by the turbulent times on court. Of the top 20 players, 12 had their best career rankings last year, led by Gabriela Sabatini (3), Zina Garrison (4), Sanchez (5), Seles (6) and Conchita Martinez (7).

On the other side of the net were Pam Shriver, who sank from No. 5 to 17; Natalia Zvereva, who dropped from No. 7 to 27, and Barbara Potter, who, because of a back injury, plunged from No. 10 to 105.

Zvereva may be on the way back, however. She won both Australian Open tuneups in Brisbane and Sydney the last two weeks for her first career tournament victories.

The most dramatic change of all for 1990 has taken place on the men’s tour. After much ballyhoo, the Assn. of Tennis Professionals has taken over operation of the circuit from the defunct Men’s Tennis Council, so the old Grand Prix tour is now the ATP Tour.

While the ATP Tour, run by the players and their representatives, is starting to overhaul the way men’s tennis conducts its business--changing rules, moving tournament sites, improving the ranking system--McEnroe pleaded for a little patience from the public.

“Everything’s not going to be great right away,” he said. “Don’t judge us on the first year.”