On the first day of the 2015 Australian Open there was no betting scandal, but at least the odds of seeing an Australian playing tennis were decent. As the Monday afternoon temperature climbed, spotting a local in action while armed with only a ground pass was akin to landing a 50-1 shot - of 100 players on show court two and beyond, just two had an "Aus" next to their names.
The committed who snared an early Hisense Arena seat for their $39 outlay had a long and sweaty wait before sighting their favoured runner on the day one program. They saw Kei Nishikori breeze through then a couple of upsets - Qiang Wang against Sloane Stephens and former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki dumped by Yulia Putintseva - before Nick Kyrgios strode out for his evening's entertainment at 7pm. 
Overt patriotism is a dead-set certainty at a tennis major, and with such sparse home-grown fare on offer the tennis fan takes what he or she can get. And so when Ajla Tomljanovic hit her first ball against Kateryna Bondarenko around 5.15pm, she was greeted as if her name was Goolagong.
"Let's go Tommy" and "come on Aussie" rang out for the 22-year-old native of Zagreb, who became "Aussie Ajla" in mid-2014 when coached by Sam Stosur's mentor David Taylor. The bond hasn't fully set; Tomljanovic is a resident but not yet a citizen, playing as an Australian in the majors but a Croatian at all other WTA tour events.
Against experienced Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko, a 29-year-old who took three years off the tour to start a family, she toiled admirably before succumbing 7-6, 6-3. Kyrgios' pending appointment with Pablo Carreno Busta prevented him from urging his rumoured love interest to greater heights.
A less titillating but still passionate affair unfolded on court seven, where 18-year-old Omar Jasika - short, fair, left-handed and antithetical to his mate Kyrgios - made his grand slam debut.
This is the territory of Australian Open cult heroes, where Andrew Ilie in the past and Marinko Matosevic more recently have ranted and roared and occasionally ripped clothing to the delight of fans clad in green and gold brandishing flags and blow-up kangaroos and singing in solid strine but rarely in tune.
Front and centre were the "Omar Army" (complete with hashtag and personalised t-shirts), and of course the Fanatics, declaring their love for Jasika with a zeal and volume as striking as the silence that accompanied each point won by Illya   Marchenko, a Ukrainian who must have longed for home. Jasika is a Melbourne boy; his family and mates were in the crowd too, revelling in an occasion to remember, whatever the result.
He has a strong apprenticeship behind him, peaking with the rare double of junior singles and doubles titles at last year's US Open. A wildcard secured his grand slam debut, but Jasika was under no illusions about the difficulty of transitioning to the big boys' tour.
Last year he played in China, America, Canada, Korea and Japan, but also in Traralgon and Alice Springs. Even with blanket support, Melbourne Park against a top-100 opponent was a whole new ball game.
At least he wasn't burdened with chasing Australia's first win of AO2016, a feat achieved by another import, Daria Gavrilova, who disposed of Lucie Hradecka 7-6, 6-4 in the opening Margaret Court Arena match of the tournament.
A relationship with Luke Saville lured Gavrilova from Moscow to Melbourne, where she is coached by Nicole Pratt. Dual Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova awaits in the second round. "Oh, another Czech," she said, rolling her eyes. "She hits a big ball too."
Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic hogged the spotlight on opening day last year, but another 11 locals were scattered about Melbourne Park. This year's scarcity of "oi, oi, oi" options was a quirk that will be remedied on day two; 18 Australian men and women made this year's main draw, the same number as in 2015. As shadows lengthened on court seven, only one mattered. Jasika had taken the first set off   Marchenko, and a bubbling crowd was in the mood for love.