HORSHAM’S Archie Harrison completed his third year of working as ball-kid at the Australian Open on Friday.
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It is something that has become a bit of a tradition for the Harrisons, with all five children in the family working at the Australian Open in some capacity.
“That’s what made me want to do it as well,” Archie said.
Being close to some of the best players in the world was also an opportunity hard to pass by.
“The best ones I got to work for this year were probably Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal,” he said.
“You have to hand them their sweaty towels if they ask for them so you always get right up close to them.
“It’s just so good to be able to watch the high level of tennis from so close to the action.”
He also had one of the best seats in the house for matches including eventual women’s champion Serena Williams, Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
A legend doubles match with Pat Cash was also Harrison’s responsibility.
There is a full week of qualifying tournaments before the main event the ball-kids also have to work.
Archie said it could be fairly tiring work, especially on the hot days.
“Some days you can be on court from 10am and finish around 10pm,” he said.
“You are normally fairly exhausted by the end of the day, because you do three matches or so.”
Archie’s mum Buffy said her children had impressed her with their work ethic over the years in order to work as ball-kids.
“My second son Ollie was a ball-kid for the first time in 2010,” she said.
“He was a ball-kid for three years and did the women’s singles final in 2012.
“The ball-kids go through months of intensive training and it’s impressive to see my children rise to the challenge.”
Buffy said the ball-kids were required to concentrate for the full match and often needed to respond to tiny gestures from the players.
Archie’s awareness was highlighted in Roger Federer’s first match at the 2016 tournament.
“Archie was at the net and a ball was called out,” she said.
“Federer clipped it quickly off court towards Archie who stretched out and caught it in one hand.”
Although that did not happen again this year, Archie said it could certainly be nerve-wracking when you first walked out in front of a large crowd on Rod Laver Arena.
“It is really crazy and surreal with the crowd,” he said.
“There are a few nerves at the start, but then they settle down and things go back to normal because you have a job to do.”
The Harrison family has built up a large collection of uniforms from each tournament.
Everything including shirts, socks and hats are provided for the ball-kids.
Archie also received an Australian Open towel at the end of the tournament, along with a JB HiFi voucher and a fitbit.
“They don’t let us hold onto any of the players’ towels though,” he said.
Ball-kids have to be between 12 and 15 years old to be eligible to work at the Australian Open.
Archie’s 15th birthday is in February, meaning he will be eligible to go a fourth time if he chooses to apply before the March deadline.
“I’m not sure whether I will or not yet,” he said.
“I’m still deciding whether to apply.”