
A last-minute decision to hike ticket prices for Nick Kyrgios' match impacted Australian teenager Maya Joint from experiencing a packed-out John Cain Arena last night.
The stadium is free for fans to attend if they own a ground pass, with the Arena well-recognised for hosting a hostile and rowdy atmosphere in favour of the Australian contingent.
However, seats became reserved for those willing to purchase tickets, leaving thousands of spectators with no hope of catching a glimpse of the night session.
The First Serve reports that security at the door were not 100 per cent sure about what was happening, with one security member advising that media seats would become ticketed for the general public, although this did not prove to be the case.
Joint suffered a 6-3 6-0 loss against No.7 seed and last year's US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula.
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Before her highly-anticipated opening round clash, the 18-year-old Aussie was looking forward to playing in front of a supportive crowd.
"I got a feel for the court [on Sunday morning during practice]. Hopefully it will be full of Aussie fans. Excited to play on it," she said.
Fans on social media were left far from impressed with the commitment to prioritise money over people waiting hours in line.
A comment read: "Overselling ground pass tickets to then hand out allocated tickets for the Kyrgios match a bit of last minute poor planning for the average punter. Not a great experience - was told it was last minute decision. They couldn’t predict a popular showing?"
"Thousands of people queuing up outside of John Cain Arena in near 30 degree heat as the morons controlling ticketing cannot issue general public seating. They have decided to make everyone line up for 2 hours to give tickets for Kyrgios tonight. Melbourne you are an embarrassment," wrote another X user.
There has already been finger pointing directed at a lack of organisation, including Sunday's Day 1 session where failed technology disrupted a virtual queue system.
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