Day one of the Australian Open saw local and international celebrities flock to Melbourne Park to enjoy the tennis, joining a record crowd of 77,944.
German NBA basketballer Dirk Nowitzki, who is a keen tennis fan, was on Rod Laver Arena to watch Iga Swiatek win a tough first round match against Jule Niemeier 6-4 7-5.
MORE: All the scores from Day 1 at AO 2023
Day one is known as Musical Monday at the Australian Open, with many well-known faces attending over the years on the first Monday of the tournament.
Earlier in the day the stars of Phantom of the Opera were enjoying proceedings; Josh Piterman watched Rafael Nadal win a tough first round against Jack Draper with his castmates.
Phantom of the Opera is attracting huge crowds at Melbourne’s Arts Centre night after night although Piterman hasn’t been able to attend the AO for years as he has always been performing elsewhere.
“I don’t think I’ve been here since I was 15 or 16, I have always been somewhere else in the world,” Piterman said.
“It’s great to be back at my home city, at the Australian Open, with my castmates.
“We don’t get to go to a lot of social events together as we are so busy.
“So it’s nice to take the make-up off, have a great day off together and enjoy some amazing tennis.”
Other celebrity guests on Monday included Nathan Buckley who was a guest of Piper Heidsieck, and influencer Sophia Cachia who was a guest of Emirates.
As for Dirk Nowitzki, he has been in Melbourne a week and was at Melbourne Park to watch qualifying.
He even managed to fit in a hit of tennis with his friend and fellow German superstar Alexander Zverev.
Dirk is back on site on Day two at Melbourne Park for one last day of Australian Open tennis before he leaves Melbourne.
More big name guests will be at the Australian Open soon, including Billie Jean King who is expected to arrive at Melbourne Park later in the week.