Australian Open 2013!

My parents have just left Melbourne after a week long visit. We saw the penguins at Phillip Island (which underwhelmed my mother), as well as the Twelve Apostles (which left her suitably impressed). We also took in some tennis at the Australian Open.

If there's one thing I've noticed about tennis fans I meet, it's that most everyone is a fan of Roger Federer. It's truly a universal feeling. People like how class he is. They like that he's a married man. They like that he's not too good looking. They like that his wife isn't too good looking. They like how he plays tennis. They like how he answers questions. People just really like him.

I've always been a huge fan. He's just really, really good at the game of tennis. There's a famous essay by David Foster Wallace about Roger Federer, that is worth reading. I don't think he's quite at his peak anymore. And the field has progressed. He's certainly no longer a sure thing.

In any case, he's one of the few athletes, that I really had hoped I'd be able to watch live someday. (The other obvious one would be Messi.) With this in mind, I had purchased some semi-final tickets. It's tricky buying tennis tickets because you really don't know who you'll be watching. You have to hope that the player you want to watch will make it that far in the tournament, and you have to hope that you picked the correct side of the draw.

After some nervous moments (I would have been soooo sad had Tsonga won.), I am happy to report that I am going to see Roger (LIVE!) tonite at Rod Laver Arena as he takes on Andy Murray.

So excited!