Could China really get a Grand Slam?

MELBOURNE: A call by Chinese number one Li Na to move the season's opening Grand Slam to Shanghai appears fanciful, but at least one leading commentator has warned Australia's hold on the tournament is waning.   

A year ago the concept of shifting the Australian Open was not an issue, but the growth of China as an economic and sporting powerhouse and the aging facilities at Melbourne Park have thrust the possibility into the spotlight.   

For the past few years organisers have taken to promoting the Open as the Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific, and on Sunday Li backed the prospect of rotating the tournament around the region.   

"I'd like it in Shanghai," the tournament 24th seed said.   

"The weather for us is tough, it's so hot in Australia. It wasn't too bad this year but last year it was tough. "In China at this time of year it's colder better weather for tennis."   

For former Australian great Pat Cash, it is not the weather that would force the tournament away from Australia, but rather its dated facilities and the hooliganism that has marred it for the past two years.   

The former Wimbledon champion said the ethnic violence last year and the use of pepper spray to subdue fans this year 'is gravely endangering the future of the Australian Open'.   

"Hooliganism has become a constant threat," he wrote in a column for London's Sunday Times.   

"Getting tickets for the outside courts is a simple, inexpensive business, and those who want to be violently xenophobic see the tennis as a perfect battleground.    

"I was horrified to see the mass brawl between Serbs and Croats in 2007, and the scenes of police using capsicum spray on unruly Greek supporters last week must have helped the Chinese cause as much as any multi-million-dollar inducement.   

"Tennis does not need to have its image tarnished by stories that flash around the world of Melbourne's hooligan problem.    

"Any complacency by Tennis Australia could be fatal."    

Despite his concerns, Cash is appalled by the thought of the tournament moving to China.   

"It would be appalling for one of the sport's institutions to be uprooted and shifted to a country that started to become interested in tennis less than a decade ago," he said.   

"Since the Korean car-maker Kia became sponsor of the Australian Open in 2002, there has been an Asian flavour to the event. A year later it officially became the Grand Slam of Asia and the Pacific.    

"Because of this, the Chinese, who stage the year-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai and will host the Olympic Games in August, believe they have just cause to mount a bid."   

Australian Open defending champions, Roger Federer and Serena Williams, have both vigorously backed the tournament remaining in Melbourne, citing its history, and organisers appear to be taking the bull by the horns.   

Authorities have adopted a 'zero tolerance' approach to hooliganism this year and last week announced plans to ensure the tournament remains in Melbourne after its contract runs out in 2016.   

A business plan was launched to determine how to redevelop the venue at Melbourne Park, where players complain about sub-standard locker rooms and the paucity of indoor practice courts.   

"There are some flaws. The venue is 20 years old. The players' facilities are very inadequate. There are bottlenecks as you move around the site," Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard admitted.   

"There are some other improvements that we would certainly like to make to take this venue well into 2016 and well beyond that."    

Moves being considered include a possible new stadium and improved spectator, player and media facilities to ensure China keeps its hands off a tournament many players rate their favourite.