AO Arena in Manchester, Great Britain, was the venue for this week’s big-ticket Davis Cup clashes. However, Manchester’s tennis fans were left appalled and disappointed with the lack of organization on the opening day of the prestigious tournament.
Davis Cup features many of the top-tier tennis players, including the British sensation Cameron Noorie, Serbian legend Novak Djokovic, and Australia’s entertaining Alex de Minaur. Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise that fans flocked to the AO Arena in thousands to watch their favorite players in action.
Another reason for the humongous crowds was the fact that the Davis Cup was previously hosted in Manchester almost three decades ago. Many fans expressed their frustration with the poor management of the event on social media platform X.
I’m checking their website – can’t even see if they provide water bottle filling points
— Cat Astrophe (@Gindoctrination) September 10, 2023
Fiona McMurdo said, “I queued for 50 minutes and missed a set of tennis to get some water. Never known anything like this.”
Some users complained about the stadium staff not allowing fans to carry their own food and water, forcing them to queue up for over an hour only to find out it was out of stock. Others shared how they had to miss matches to look for water in the middle of the ten-hour-long event.
Another X user, Maureen Stewart Jones said, “What wasn’t fantastic was the miserably woeful catering at the AO Arena. Long queues for food ran out early afternoon. Appalling organization.”
The winning moment 🇷🇸💪#DavisCup | @DjokerNole | @TSSRBIJE pic.twitter.com/hf0A7YRyRk
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) September 15, 2023
The AO Arena team gave out a statement apologizing to the fans and took swift action to ensure a good experience for the fans the following day. They also talked about how proud they are to be able to host the Davis Cup in the heart of Manchester.
Manchester crowd did not disappoint despite poor arrangments on opening day of Davis Cup
Despite all the organizational issues on the opening day, the Manchester crowd kept the spirits high and did not disappoint. The AO Arena even had a DJ present to keep the energy high in between the matches.
The city of Manchester is known for its energetic soccer fans, who are known to get rowdy at times. The tennis fans from Manchester proved how passionate they are about the sport by maintaining an energetic vibe.
The audience during tennis matches is usually supposed to maintain silence to allow players to focus on their game. However, the Manchester crowd made their voice heard whenever they got an opportunity.
The excitement of the crowd was particularly apparent during the clash between the home hope Jack Draper and his Australian opponent Thanasi Kokkinakis. The young Brit bounced back from a set down to win the match 6-7(6) 6-3 7-6(4).
After the victory, Draper said, “There’s an amazing crowd in here. It was amazing to play my first Davis Cup tie here and I’m so happy Leon (GB captain) trusted me and put me out here today.”
Most international tennis events in Great Britain usually take place in London. Even though it is rare for Manchester to host a tennis event of this scale, the Davis Cup gave the tennis fans in the city an opportunity to witness the prestigious event in person.