ryan harrison
yes finally getting round to add more photos to a new gallery melbourne 2012
… still adding
more ryan harrison
and more to come… (but no more ryan harrison for now!)
richard gasquet at practice
a glimpse of rafa! how lucky
all photos here are taken by famous french photographer C.Dubreuil... LOL NOT
a question from Alex Bogomolov
Michael Llodra has the answer
David Ferrer - awe-inspiring leap of service
Nicolas Mahut celebrates
victory roar from Frederico Gil
Cermak and Polasek queuing up for service
... as Benneteau and Mahut immersed in talks
Barty and Robson shake hands with Cibulkova and Craybas
Ryan Harrison makes a point
Ryan Sweeting makes his point
an icon of style - Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Elena Vesnina smiling at practice
Nicolas Almagro having fun
shirtless hitting on a hot day - Pere Riba
Kei Nishikori at match
Daniela Hantuchova modelling Stella McCartney
Maria Sharapova clenches fist
Janko Tipsaveric also clenches fist
Marion Bartoli ... more fist clenching
Marion's 3 o'clock serve
It's Ana at practice again!
Jelena Dokic at practice
Feliciano Lopez rarely seen on this blog with a shirt on - but the guy does actually play
small ambition - Leonardo Mayer
all smiles between hitting partners Kvitova and Zheng
Zheng Jie on the road to some upsets this year
a mouthful for Petra Kvitova
as if we all know who the guy is
Gilles Simon at practice
Gael Monfils hitting with Simon
not his day for Jeremy Chardy
finally gets to the end and I'm still standing - Bernard Tomic
Alexandr Dolgopolov - I don't look after hitting
Ana Ivanovic poses on court
players practice is now fenced in - some of new 'security' this year
always smiling Ana
Li Na not so happy at practice
statuesque Anastasia Pivovarova
determined Alize Cornet
John Isner and entourage
Jelena Jankovic at practice
del Potro's turn on centre court
Urszula ... pink all the way to finger tips
… just a note to alert people to this opportunity with tennis australia
link to Photo Assistants – Volunteer
i would do it if i were studying, and in melbourne for january. but now i’ll pass this on 
leave a note if you want to show interest… but please don’t ask for help ;p
ok my pics are going back in time in a random order. and this post is going to be big if i’m posting every pic that i want to throw in…
two years in a row and the sunday before the tournament is again slotted for a charity show featuring all the biggest names (as far as australia is concerned?). in case the patrons are tired of the same old format and faces, this time twice as many stars join the show. djokovic certainly finds new things to play with. and we happily donate twice as much as last year (blissfully unaware that we’ll be slugged with a flood tax anyway).
robin soderling at practice... well no one invited him
fans with banners
a team - guess who?
Azarenka enjoys team fun
Caroline and Novak sharing smiles
Novak and Caroline hi-fives... Justine still prefers watching the opposition
team roddick and azarenka
Zvonareva also having fun
novak djokovic in joker mood
djokovic eyeing the robot camera
ana ivanovic
caroline poking into ana's dress.... hmm
lleyton serves while novak cooperates
hand signal needs translation
unlikely pair, rafter and zvonareva
murray and djokovic play tennis football
fatherly encouragement from hewitt
wozniacki plays nanny while father hewitt picks up the pieces
elton john arrives to play
djokovic picks up the largest equipment and becomes centre of focus
rusty rafter getting a volley
all eyes go up
enters rafa
rafa and roger celebrate together... rare scene
i don't win, you don't win, ok?
others giggle, rafa roars in laughter
rafa still jubilant
end of show, stosur about to hit balls to the stands
outside the stadium... gisela dulko at practice
french retirees having their own fun too... here's nicolas escude
... and amelie mauresmo
and to make the bias even more obvious… these were taken during the first two sets (well there’s enough light :p)
this was before the first official ball was struck. arnaud making his rules known...
already needing towel after one game in a cool evening
first change of ends
first shift of french supporters
first complaint to the umpire
more talking during the shirt change
zealous security... and he got to stand in front of the crowd during play
umpire carlos was a fan of the match
second shift of french supporters... escude looked like ready for snow
literally last ray of sunshine
the scoreboard looked best at this point... and end of my pics of the day
for more pics of arnaud you can visit my gallery, or use the search box at the top of this page
of course there will be more but here are some first ones to go up on this blog…
rafa fans cheer banners
some excited fans, and various reaction from people nearby!
rafa fans won't like this - seriously looking like thinning hair at front top
another odd thing about rafa - right finger spasms while hitting with the left
more finger spasms
(ok i can be accused of being sour grapes, as i couldn’t get anything out of the rafa practice sessions, squashed among the stampede of the crowd ;p)
lucie safarova clenches fist
robin soderling at practice
samantha stosur waves to crowd
stosur won easily to the delight of the home crowd
juan martin del potro at match
john isner... serving above the fence, scary! 
roger federer signing for fans
it’s still (barely) possible to shoot federer at his practice, but it’s mission impossible at nadal’s, unless you’re early, or incredibly tall. sign of the times….. !??
