As midnight approached, long after the end of the final match on Margaret Court Arena, the beast was let loose. A blackened shroud was removed from his eyes and Oorik, the wild child wedge-tailed eagle from Full Flight Birds of Prey in Ascot Vale, stretched his enormous wings and flapped. 
Tethered to his trainer, he flew around a little, surveying the grandstands before landing on the bright blue synthetic turf.
With uncommon vision, an enviable wing span and an inbuilt killer instinct, he belonged in this place as much as any tennis player. Holding court on centre court, he walked slowly, claw foot by claw foot, exploring the now empty space where Daria Gavrilova had only just dispatched Petra Kvitova. Then he sat still in the vacant stadium, perched on the net, feeding on a bit of fresh rabbit meat, like a dragon alone in his lair.
Such is life for the young rescued raptor, one of many birds raised in captivity and now a star. He is at the Australian Open under a pest control research program, with permission from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. It is the first major study of its kind locally.
Of course Oorik is not alone in his work, which entails - by his presence alone - scaring away lesser birds and entertaining crowds at sporting events. Syd the barking owl is here, too, and also Pepper the masked owl. And birds of prey perform such roles the world over.
None are more famous, perhaps, than Rufus the American Harris hawk, who appears every year at Wimbledon for a fortnight of celebrity, scaring away the mass of pigeons than otherwise infest the 17 hectares of grounds at the grand slam.