MELBOURNE – Inside an empty Rod Laver Arena, the fluttering of a photographer's camera suddenly seemed all too distracting before a player served.
Other sounds not normally heard also felt amplified: the creaking of electronic sunshades rising into position on changeovers, the pitter-patter of the ball kids' shoes.
Terrific rallies were greeted with the lonely claps of a coach and physio. The cries of the new electronic line-calling system suddenly felt unnecessarily loud and obtrusive.
Crowds were gone from the Australian Open on Saturday because of a five-day hard lockdown imposed by the state government to contain an outbreak of COVID-19 cases.