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Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne is Australia's second largest city, and the capital of the south-eastern state of Victoria, located at the head of Port Phillip Bay.

Melbourne is Australia’s cultural capital, with Victorian-era architecture, extensive shopping, museums, galleries, theatres, and large parks and gardens. Its 4-million residents are both multicultural and sports-mad. Melbourne was ranked as the world's most liveable city in the World's Most Livable Cities ratings by the Economist Group's Intelligence Unit in August 2011 and again in August 2012.

Reasons to visit Melbourne include to attend major sporting events, to use it as a base for exploring surrounding regions such as Grampians National Park, The Great Ocean Road, and to visit Phillip Island to view the penguin parade. Many UK visitors come to Melbourne for tours of filming locations of soap opera Neighbours. The City Centre probably has the most to attract the traveller, including cafes, boutiques, department stores, and Victorian architecture, which can all be sampled on foot.

The centre of Melbourne's central business district is formed by the Hoddle Grid (dimensions of 1 by 0.5 miles /1.6 by 0.80 km). The grid's southern edge fronts onto the Yarra River. Office, commercial and public developments in the adjoining districts of Southbank and Docklands have made these redeveloped areas into extensions of the CBD in all but name. The city centre is well known for its historic and attractive lanes and arcades (the most notable of which are Block Place and Royal Arcade) which contain a variety of shops and cafés and are a byproduct of the city's layout.

Melbourne's CBD contains five of the six tallest buildings in Australia, the tallest of which is the Eureka Tower, situated in Southbank. It has an observation deck near the top from where you can see above all of Melbourne's structures. The CBD and surrounds also contain many significant historic buildings such as the Royal Exhibition Building, the Melbourne Town Hall and Parliament House. Although the area is described as the centre, it is not actually the demographic centre of Melbourne at all, due to an urban sprawl to the south east, the demographic centre being located at Glen Iris. Melbourne is often referred to as Australia's garden city, and the state of Victoria was once known as the garden state. There is an abundance of parks and gardens in Melbourne, many close to the CBD with a variety of common and rare plant species amid landscaped vistas, pedestrian pathways and tree-lined avenues.

#rogerfederer #rafaelnadal #AO

Shopping

Melbourne is known as the fashion capital of Australia with numerous malls and boutique lined streets. In the CBD itself, Little Collins Street is home to some of the world's top designers and fashion houses; Collins Street also boasts other high end shops such as Louis Vuitton. Brunswick Street (Fitzroy), and the southern end of Chapel Street in Prahran/Windsor, have clusters of stores selling an eclectic mix of vintage, rave, retro and alternative gear such as Shag, Fat Helen's and Beaut Vintage to shop around. Melbourne Central is another shopping mall based in the city, adjacent to the underground station of the same name. The Bourke Street Mall with the department stores Myer and David Jones is another city-central shopping hub. For the bargain shopper, there is a DFO Outlet Malls located on Spencer Street, Melbourne city, just north of Southern Cross Railway station. 

Bridge Road in suburban Richmond is a strip where warehouse direct outlets rule and no one pays recommended retail price. Chapel Street in South Yarra is a favourite among the locals, with its spread of exclusive boutiques, cafes and well established chain stores. There are also several huge shopping complexes in the outer suburbs, such as Chadstone and Southland (Cheltenham) in the South-East. Doncaster Shoppingtown, Eastland (Ringwood) and Knox City are in the outer East. Northland in the north, Highpoint in the west. Melbourne is also home to many of Australia's largest shopping centres; including Chadstone in Monash (the largest shopping centre in the Southern Hemisphere) which has over 530 stores, Knox City Shopping Centre which has 350 stores, and Fountain Gate Shopping Centre in Casey which includes approximately 330 stores.

Food

For the culinary traveller, Melbourne is one of the best destinations in the world. There is an abundance of affordable, high quality restaurants representing almost every cuisine. Eating out is cheaper than in Western Europe but not as affordable as North America. The service in Australian restaurants may be more discreet than many North Americans may be used to. Although service staff in Australia are paid considerably more than their North American counterparts and tipping is not compulsory, it is customary to give a 10% tip for good service in high-end restaurants. 

Excellent eateries can be found sprinkled throughout all of the inner (and some outer) suburbs, while certain neighbourhoods have become magnets for residents and restaurants of particular countries. A large range of restaurants and cafes offering high quality food, and representating various cultures and countries, are scattered through the central city, Southbank, Carlton (mostly Italian and touristy), Victoria Street in Richmond (many low cost popular Vietnamese and South East Asian restaurants), Docklands, South Yarra and Prahran. Sydney Road in Brunswick and Coburg is known for its many Middle Eastern, Lebanese, Greek and Turkish restaurants. The popular tourist area of St Kilda offers a large range of good quality restaurants and cafes, especially on Acland Street, and Fitzroy Street. 

English-style fish and chip shops are scattered through the suburbs - particularly in bayside areas. Souvlaki and gyros are very popular in Melbourne and outlets are plentiful through the inner and outer suburbs. Japanese nori rolls and sushi is very popular and many stores through the city and suburbs sell these items. 

Melbourne has a long and rich coffee culture beginning with Victorian era coffee palaces and further enhanced by Italian migrants arriving in the aftermath of World War II. Perhaps the most famous Italian style cafe is Pellegrini's, 66 Bourke St, Melbourne city. Fitzroy is known for funky, bohemian-style cafes. Collins Street features many elegant cafes. Many Italian style cafes are found in Carlton; Brunetti's is open late and always packed. Serious espresso connoisseurs would enjoy visiting St Ali cafe/roastery in South Melbourne, Auction Rooms (Errol St) in North Melbourne, or the Maling Room café in Canterbury. 

Melbourne nightlife is 24 hours, loud, colourful and anything goes. Door policies can be strict but once inside high quality entertainment is guaranteed. DJ's, live music, artists, beautiful people and so much more can be found. There truly is something for everyone and every taste. It has a massive live music scene, with many inner-suburbs pubs catering many genres, with drink and food specials all week. The key is to find one you like the most! Alongside it's many clubs, Melbourne is also a fast-rising festival city. Global event companies such as ID&T, Global Gathering, Ministry of Sound and Trance Energy have begun taking notice of the city and bringing their events. 

Formally known to be seedy and run down, there has been a revival over the past twenty years as young professionals and travellers have increased in numbers. You are truly spoilt for choice when it comes to eating in St Kilda, with over 100 eating-out venues available. The main streets in this area, Acland and Fitzroy Streets, have every type of take-away and restaurant. On Fitzroy Street, you can really see a contrast with upmarket restaurants with white table cloths rubbing shoulders with fish and chip takeaways. Both streets are attractive eating and drinking streets with all cool cafes, elegant restaurants and trendy bars. Acland Street is a hive of wine bars and world-famous patisseries, while Fitzroy St is great for sitting in an outdoor cafe with a cup of coffee. 

Also located in St Kilda ist he Luna Park. Built in 1912, the historic mouth is a present fixture in postcards of Melbourne and rightly so. Luna Park is a historic amusement park located on the foreshore of Port Phillip Bay in St Kilda. Great day out for the family. 

St Kilda is a vibrant suburb of Port Phillip, in south-eastern inner Melbourne. St. Kilda is famous for its beach life and the bar and resturant scene along Fitzroy Street. Kick off your shoes and walk along the sand of one of Melbourne's most famous beaches.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Melbourne
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne

Australian Open Rod Laver Arena

Legend Tournament- review of players

The Australian Open Legends Tournament at Melbourne Park. Twenty-five players from ten different nations

Australian Open Macca’s Legends field
Men
Goran Ivanisevic (CRO)
Henri Leconte (FRA)
Jonas Bjorkman (SWE)
Magnus Norman (SWE)
Mansour Bahrami (FRA)
Mark Philippoussis (Vic)
Mark Woodforde (SA)
Mats Wilander (SWE)
Michael Chang (USA)
Pat Cash (Vic)
Thomas Enqvist (SWE)
Thomas Johansson (SWE)
Todd Woodbridge (NSW)
Wayne Arthurs (Vic)
Wayne Ferreira (RSA)
Yevgeny Kafelnikov (RUS)

Women
Kim Clijsters (BEL)
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (ESP)
Lindsay Davenport (USA)
Marion Bartoli (FRA)
Martina Navratilova (USA)
Barbara Schett (AUT)
Iva Majoli (CRO)
Nicole Bradtke (Vic)
Rennae Stubbs (NSW)


Past legend tournaments participants.

Men

Fabrice Santoro (FRA)
Goran Ivanisevic (CRO)
Henri Leconte (FRA)
Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)
Jonas Bjorkman (SWE)
Mansour Bahrami (IRI)
Mark Philippoussis (AUS)
Mark Woodforde (AUS)
Mats Wilander (SWE)
Michael Chang (USA)
Pat Cash (AUS)
Thomas Enqvist (SWE)
Thomas Johansson (SWE)
Todd Woodbridge (AUS)
Wayne Arthurs (AUS)
Wayne Ferreira (RSA)

Women

Barbara Schett (AUT)
Iva Majoli (CRO)

Jelena Dokic (AUS)
Lindsay Davenport (USA)
Marion Bartoli (FRA)
Martina Navratilova (USA)
Nicole Bradtke (AUS)
Rennae Stubbs (AUS)

Henri Leconte commentator


20100126 - AO - Day 9 - Henri Lecont commentary von zenki198

Australian Open

 

Australian Open in general: 

The Grand Slam tennis tournaments include men’s, women’s, singles, doubles and mixed competitions, junior’s, wheelchair, exhibition, and legends’ competitions. The tournament is held at the Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena which feature retractable roofs that can be shut during rain or extreme heat.
Henri Leconte is each year at Melbourne Park bringing all the entertainment and news from Australia's Grand Slam. Henri has his own show Avantage Leconte on Eurosport plus he is commenting for the local TV station Seven.


Australian Open 2018 results - Men's singles

 

Final

 

2) Roger Federer (Swi) bt 6) Marin Cilic (Cro)

 

Semi-finals

 

(2) Roger Federer (Swi) bt Hyeon Chung (Kor) 6-1 5-2 (Chung retired)

 

(6) Marin Cilic (Cro) bt Kyle Edmund (Gbr) 6-2, 7-6, 6-2

 

Australian Open 2017 results - Men's singles

ROGER FEDERER WINS AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Roger Federer has beaten his great rival Rafa Nadal in the final of the mens Australian Open, his 18th grand slam title.

 


Australian Open 2016 results - Men's singles

 

Novak Djokovic wins AustrLian Open.

 

 

2015 Winners

Novak Djokovic won the men’s singles crown by defeating Andy Murray .
Serena Williams won the women’s singles championships by defeating Maria Sharapova


Australian Open News 2014:
Some friends of Henri Leconte have teamed up with current ATP stars:
Lendl and Murray, Edberg and Roger Federer (alongside Severin Lüthi), Becker and Novak Djokovic, Chang and Kei Nishikori (with Dante Bottini), and Ivanisevic and Marin Cilic – with Courier the smooth-talking master of ceremonies gilding their efforts at the courtside microphone for television


Seven's summer of tennis is hosted by JOHANNA GRIGGS, JIM WILSON, MATT WHITE, HAMISH MCLACHLAN, RYAN PHELAN, LUKE DARCY and BASIL ZEMPILAS.

BRUCE McAVANEY will be in the commentary chair throughout the Open, with expert commentary from four-time Grand Slam champion JIM COURIER and when his playing commitments allow LLEYTON HEWITT will also return.

Joining them in the Seven commentary box will be the most successful doubles player in men‘s tennis history TODD WOODBRIDGE, along with HENRI LECONTE, SAM SMITH, RENNAE STUBBS, NICOLE BRADTKE, JOHN FITZGERALD, PETER DONEGAN, DAVE CULBERT, ALLAN STONE, GEOFF MASTERS, KERRYN PRATT, FRED STOLLE and expert analyst ROGER RASHEED.