Hopman Cup 2013

In an attempt to lighten my misery about being in the office on New Year's Day and an early anniversary present I booked tickets for David and I to go to the Hopman Cup tie between USA and France last night. I  had already bought David tickets to the final as a Christmas present but considering tickets to the session weren't too expensive I thought we may as well head along for a little treat. 

The beautiful blue interior

Although it's received a bit of negative press re Novak Djokovic's unfortunate injury the other day, I was again blown away by Perth Arena. I went to the opening night back in November and just fell in love with the building. I love the lines inside, I love the little additions like cup holders in the seats in front and the comfort you're offered as a guest and I especially love the fact I don't have to wait in line in any of the loos because there are plenty and they are always spic-and-span.

 We were literally in the back row in the upper tier of the arena but we could still see and hear perfectly. The stairs were a bit daunting but if you don't need to go up and down them repeatedly it's not too bad. The only hiccup was the lines for food. Although it can't be helped that there are going to be lines for drinks and food at events like this, the setup of the cash registers so close to where you file through to pick up what you're after gets a little chaotic. 

Apologies for the awful pictures, I only had my phone and even a Galaxy can't zoom that well 

We're Jo Wilfred-Tsonga fans and it was a real treat to watch him play out a reasonably comfortable win over the American John Isner. The real surprise for me though was watching Venus Williams. I'd never been too fussed with the Williams sisters before, but watching the way she plays and the power she has really impressed me. I'd always thought they were a bit over-emotional in the way they play, but it just added to the excitement of the match. You go on a journey with them and you actually feel a part of the match, not just a spectator. 

I downloaded a new  camera app during the match, here's my kaleidoscopic court

France's Matilde Johannson serves during her match with Venus Williams 

The USA went onto take the tie, which surprised me because we actually left during Venus's fightback from losing the first set of her match in the singles (it was a school night). It just proves what a talent she is though. 

After the match we walked down a misty Wellington Street, enjoying the light sprinkling summer rain and I felt lucky to live in a city where you can pop to a fantastic world-class tennis tournament in a world-class arena on a Tuesday night.