MELBOURNE, Australia — It's sunny. It's hot. Tennis is being played. Sounds like the Lindner Family Tennis Center in August, right? Nope, it's Melbourne, Australia, in the middle of January.
Our Cameron Hardin is in the land down under for the Australian Open, where the world's best take the court, hoping to capture the year's first major.
Two of the stars competing in the open are Cincinnati's own Caty McNally and Peyton Stearns. Both already won their first round match and are looking for their second win of the tournament.
We caught up with McNally, a Madeira native, before her match later today to discuss what it's like to represent Cincinnati on one of the world's biggest stages.
"I'm extremely grateful to be here and love supporting my hometown ... they love to get behind their teams and their sports, so yeah, it's really cool to be from Cincinnati and then be here in Australia," McNally said.
Watch: Check out the sights and sounds of the Australian Open
And it's never too early to start talking about the Cincinnati Open. We were able to speak with Peter Holtermann, the tournament's media director, about the excitement for this year's open.
"Tickets are going on sale here at the end of January," Holtermann said. "It seems early to be planning for August, but you don't want to miss out on the opportunity."
Last year, Holtermann said ticket packages sold out within a week. Single-session tickets will go on sale in March.
"Tennis is booming right now," Holtermann said. "Over 100,000 people (go) through the gates every day so far at the Australian Open, and we're expecting big crowds in Cincinnati in August as well."
McNally plays Tuesday night, while Stearns will play Wednesday. If they win and get into the third round, it'll guarantee them a check for $325,000 — not a bad way to start the year.
