Australian Open slammed for holding final in empty arena

Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara beat Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori at the Australian Open

Australian Open chiefs have been slammed for scheduling the men’s doubles final after the women’s singles final on Saturday. The men’s match was played in front of barely any spectators after the majority of tennis fans at the Rod Laver Arena headed for the exit after watching Madison Keys defeat Aryna Sabalenka in a thriller. British star Henry Patten teamed up with Finnish ace Harri Heliovaara for their doubles showdown with Italian duo Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the showpiece match. And Patten and Heliovaara clinched the title in another epic contest as they came from a set down to win the match 6-7, 7-6, 6-3.

The first set proved to be a marathon affair as the Italian pair won the tiebreak 18-16. And the match lasted for over three hours as the sixth seeds turned the encounter on its head to lift the trophy. With the contest dragging into the early hours of Sunday morning, fans would have been faced with logistical issues over their travel plans if they had wanted to stick around to watch the action. And tennis enthusiasts on Reddit made their views known to Australian Open organisers. Nadalista2024 exclaimed: “This match should be scheduled before women’s singles final.” And those sentiments were shared by Annual_Plant5172, who wrote: “I don't understand why they don't just make doubles lead in to the singles finals. “Obviously most people are going to head home if they've already watched the showcase event that evening.”

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The Australian Open men's doubles final lasted for over three hours

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Meanwhile, Top_Operation9659 penned: “I’ve watched doubles at Miami and it’s just as entertaining as singles. It’s a shame these guys get no recognition.” Man_overb0ard insisted: “Doubles should've always been played in the courts with full access from the cheapest tickets.” And dejvipasco added: “Hopefully next year they don't schedule it after the singles final. It wouldn't have been as empty.”

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