With the focus firmly on Rod Laver Arena now as the main draw reaches the pointy end of the tournament, crowds on the outside courts are beginning to thin.
But a small group of dedicated fans out on Court 7 are chanting and cheering for their favourite player, Australia’s Daniela Di Toro.
About 20 fans, dressed in matching white shirts saying “Di Toro” with a bull underneath, are some of the most passionate tennis fans you can find.
Di Toro is one of the competitors in the women’s wheelchair singles, but the crowd at her first match was more boisterous and loud than most first-round matches in the main draw singles.
One of the toughest competitions around, wheelchair tennis is simply breathtaking to watch.
Competitors literally push themselves around in their wheelchair on a tennis court, sometimes using only one hand, chasing down balls anyone else would struggle to retrieve.
Matched with heavily top-spun balls, 360-degree turns and a fierce desire to win, wheelchair tennis is a sight to behold.
The fans supporting Daniela, dubbed the “Di Toro Bulls,” began as a group of mates supporting her at the Australian open six years ago and they haven’t missed one since.
“It’s the only time that we as a wheelchair family get a big crew of people watching. It looks good for tennis and it’s good for us (the wheelchair community),” Di Toro said.
“I think they are respectful and they are really aware of good tennis. I just love it, I think its awesome.
Although Di Toro went down in her singles match earlier on Wednesday 6-2 7-6(3), she guaranteed her crew would still be cheering for other Australians, and would be around on Thursday cheering her on in her doubles match, when she partners Annick Sevenans.
“They bring crowds in actually. When I played Esther Vergeer in the final last year on Margaret Court [Arena] you wouldn’t have known we were there except they were so loud,” Di Toro said.
The aforementioned Esther is one of the most successful sports stars on the planet. If you thought Novak Djokovic’s run of 43 straight wins last year was impressive, check this out. Vergeer hasn’t lost a singles match since 2003, a run stretching more than 435 matches.
So, how do you beat someone that never loses?
“Facing an Esther Vergeer ball is like trying to face an able-bodied tennis player. She has full glutes, full trunks and full rotation and she is six-foot whatever,” Di Toro jokes.
“Those balls are so heavy; there is so much topspin and so much depth to every single one of those balls. In wheelchair tennis, you are very much looking for those short balls, but they don’t come. You can play the best tennis of your life, which I have done, and still get nothing.
“She puts you under so much pressure, every ball comes back, and she doesn’t go for the winner, it’s percentage tennis.”
Competition in the wheelchair draw began on Wednesday, in three forms – men’s, women’s and quads.
In the three events, players compete across singles and doubles, with one main difference to able-bodied tennis - two bounces are allowed.
The quad event is for players with quadriplegia, where players are allowed to tape the racquet to their hand and to use electric-powered wheelchairs, unlike the men’s and women’s event, where players must use their hands to manoeuvre themselves around the court.
Semifinals for most of the wheelchair events will begin Thursday.
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