The self-proclaimed sporting capital of a nation not shy on consuming vast slabs of live action, Melbourne provided a disappointingly sparse backdrop for former Sydneysider Johanna Konta’s Australian Open quarter-final win over China’s Zhang Shuai on Wednesday.
Those at Rod Laver Arena were actually witnessing a historical event of sorts because in front of their eyes, Konta became the first British woman in 32 years to feature in grand slam finals action. The Brit received hearty applause when introduced but the stadium was still only half-full by the time she’d wrapped up the first set. There was also plenty of love for Zhang, who has delighted so many Melburnians over the past week after failing to progress beyond the first round of grand slam tournaments in every one of her previous 10 attempts. Australian sports fans are nothing if not appreciators of an underdog battle.
In fairness, a midday scheduling on a Wednesday in late January was never going to be favourable to a bumper crowd and this one was also probably reflective of the need for forward planning; most present had pre-booked tickets today not knowing who they’d be seeing in action. That they could lay some kind of claim to Konta might have been a bonus, but you could hardly tell from the subdued atmosphere. And as far as celebrity-sports-fan-spotting went, former Australian cricket coach John Buchanan’s presence probably sat at the lower end of the Bieber-Nicholson continuum.
To look around the stands today provided decent evidence to suggest that Australia’s slightly desperate claim to Konta is of interest primarily to the media. The loudest and most sincere support here was actually for 133rd ranked Zhang, though neither player drew outright chants of appreciation. Perhaps this represents a gap in the market for active fans. As it stands Australia’s ever-present “Fanatics” supporter group appear to have packed up their yellow singlets and zinc tubes for the summer, which is a shame. Today they would have appreciated Zhang’s Hewitt-esque cry of “c’mon” in the rare instances in which she gained some momentum. Konta is rarely demonstrative enough for her fading Australian accent to be be heard.
If patriotic stirrings were few and far between in the arena itself, some credit should be paid to Konta for mostly ignoring the demands of the local media to play up her Australianness over the last week. Throughout she has been at pains to emphasise a sense of loyalty to Britain, her adopted home once she relocated with her Hungarian-born parents as a 14-year-old.
In any case, duelling with Konta’s rise to prominence in this tournament has been that of Russian-turned-Australian Daria Gavrilova, who thrilled locals with her barnstorming fourth round run here. Not that the balance of trade has been noted by all.
The notable outlier in the crowd on Wednesday was Michael Collings, a local tennis diehard who has worn an Australian flag cape, top hat and face paint to a number matches involving his countrymen this year and was happy to adopt Konta for the day. The face paint was the idea of his younger siblings, who he’d brought along with him throughout the tournament. “They loved it and so I just decided to keep doing it,” he told Guardian Australia. “With two non-seeded players it was pretty interesting,” he said moments after Konta had secured her win, “but it was a really good match. [Australians] will definitely get behind her now that she’s in the semis.”
And they probably will, of course, because they have a long-standing tradition of claiming stars with even the most tenuous connection to Australia once they’re doing well. It’s a concept that becomes apparent when you trawl online archives for mentions of “Aussie Kim” Clijsters or “Aussie Ana” Ivanovic, a title that’s perhaps now a more meaningful gauge of national sentiment than the maligned Australia Day honours system.
Even so, “Aussie” Jo Konta feels about as plausible as “Aussie” Joe Bugner. Tennis players being the jet-setting, multiple-luxury-compound-owning, tax-haven-lovers they are, it’s a wonder we still bother imposing this grasping sense of patriotism on them anymore, but tennis crowds always are oddly fascinating in their mores.
The next few days will probably be another decent test case as to how shameless Australians can become with a grand slam opportunity suddenly on the table. By the time Konta booked her place in the semi here, half a dozen union jack flags had been unfurled and enthusiastically waved by expats and travelling fans. At the very least, they will multiply by her next outing, on Thursday.
