Friendly encounter at Australian Open between Sarah Murdoch and Ryan Stokes

The Murdoch and Stokes families have long been fierce media competitors, but when they meet in real life relations are much friendlier.

So it proved when Ryan Stokes, chief executive of Seven Group Holdings and son of former Channel Seven chairman Kerry, bumped into – quite literally – Sarah Murdoch, daughter-in-law of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and wife of Lachlan Murdoch, the executive chair and chief executive officer of Fox Corporation, chairman of News Corp and executive chairman of Nova Entertainment.

Both were inhabiting the 21st-century equivalent of the Gilded Age – the corporate hospitality zones of the Australian Open. Stokes, walking alone, was heading into ANZ, which has enjoyed a renaissance, after several lean years at the Open, coinciding with the arrival of its tennis-nut chief executive Nuno Matos.

Murdoch, meanwhile, was heading in the opposite direction, to the Emirates marquee, along with her friend Rebecca Tomsic and a few Tennis Australia minders.

Stokes veered towards Murdoch as the pair recognised each other and exclaimed welcoming greetings.

They stopped for several minutes of intense private conversation while delighted photographers zoomed in for a shot, dodging said minders.

Murdoch, who days earlier had been snapped in the company of Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates, grew more and more concerned as she listened to Stokes.

Open Season was not close enough to hear the discussion but pondered if the conversation centred around the trials and tribulations of dealing with ageing parents. Kerry, of course, is stepping down as chairman of his media company this month as part of its merger with Southern Cross Media.

The pair had seen each other in December at the Murdochs’ famous Christmas party. They eventually parted with a promise to catch up later.

In a case of life imitating art, actor Sarah Snook, was just a few doors down in the blue and white styled Ralph Lauren marquee.

Snook shot to fame in Succession, a show about the fictional Roy family which displayed even more dysfunction than the generational wealth and power disputes engulfing the Murdoch family. Perhaps she could have weighed in with some words of advice.

Minutes earlier actor Liam Hemsworth – wearing impenetrable sunglasses and unable to crack a smile – had sauntered past in the direction of the Polo Ralph Lauren marquee with no fewer than seven lanyard-swinging minders.

He then ran the gauntlet of an enormous crowd gathered outside the door, whose greeting of him was nothing compared with the excitement they exhibited for K-pop star DK.

Generation game

Celebrity chef Guillaume Brahimi and billionaire chicken heiress Tamie Ingham are expecting their first child together three years on from their glamorous celebrity-filled wedding in Paris.

On their way into a pre-game dinner in the lavish Emirates marquee, Brahimi and Ingham labelled the upcoming game “amazing”.

“Two generations playing against each other. It’s very exciting,” Brahimi said.

Ingham said that despite her condition she was still in it for the long haul even if the game went to five sets.

“Absolutely,” she said.

Nadal and Webber in the top seats

Heading up the guest list at Tennis Australia’s swanky O enclosure, with its direct access to the best seats at Rod Laver Arena, was 22-time grand slam champion and two-time Australian Open winner Rafael Nadal.

Given many call Carlos Alcaraz the new Nadal, perhaps he had some tips for Alcaraz on how to best take on his old rival Novak Djokovic.

Nadal was joined in O by former Formula 1 driver Mark Webber and former America’s Cup-winning sailor John Bertrand, now president of the Australian Sport Hall of Fame.

Corporate heavyweights in attendance included trucking magnates Lindsay Fox and Andrew Fox and Myer family scion Rupert Myer.

They were joined by former Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci, who is now heading ticketing giant Ticketek and Sir Rod Eddington, who chairs booze conglomerate Lion.

The pre-game dinner was presided over by Governor Margaret Gardner and Tennis Australia chair Chris Harrop.

Harrop was once again alongside former chair Jayne Hrdlicka, backing it up from Saturday night at the women’s final and well, every other night, along with Major Events Minister Steve Dimopoulous, who told us he still shells out each year for AO ground passes for himself and his nephews, now aged 20, 19 and 16. Full credit to the Gen Z’s for hanging out with Unc.

Nine’s new friends

Every year, the Open gives the nation’s corporate and political powerbrokers a chance to rub shoulders with friends old and new, in view of the cameras. A lot is often made of who sits with whom, and what can be read into who is jostling for favour.

At Nine, owner of this masthead, the answer appears to be the highest bidder. Nine chief executive Matt Stanton sat to watch Carlos Alcaraz take on Novak Djokovic next to Craig and Suzie Laundy, heirs apparent to the Laundy pub empire, which struck a $56 million deal to snap up Nine’s radio assets, including 3AW in Melbourne and 2GB in Sydney.

To his other side sat Chris Hadley, executive chairman of private equity firm Quadrant, from which Nine bought the outdoor advertising business QMS. The two deals were both announced on Friday, and if Sunday night’s seating plan is anything to go by, Nine is playing happy family. Next to Hadley sat Nine’s long-time banker, Jefferies local boss Michael Stock, and a contingent from QMS, including chairman Barclay Nettlefold and his wife Tina, and chief executive John O’Neil.

The Nine corporate contingent was represented by Stanton along with broadcasting chief Amanda Laing and the company’s sales boss, Matt James. Queensland Origin coach Billy Slater and his wife, Nicole, were also in the Nine seats. As was Michael Brooks, the local managing director of Warner Bros Discovery, and the company’s regional boss, James Gibbons, whose employer has a deal with Nine to help it sell advertising on its streaming platform, HBO Max.

Who stayed away

It was only two months ago that Communications and Sport Minister Anika Wells found herself at the centre of a parliamentary expenses scandal that showed no sign of letting up. So it’s no surprise that the minister, usually a mainstay of the nation’s biggest sporting events, stayed away this year.

Wells, it would seem, is in a Labor-operated witness protection program, given her sparse public appearances during the summer’s premier sporting events, where she is usually among the first names on the guest list. With the exception of two low-profile events in Brisbane, the minister seems to have well and truly gone to ground.

Save for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s appearance at Melbourne Park on Friday, the federal political contingent has been relatively thin on the ground. And it’s hardly a surprise. They are all set to descend on Canberra this week for a parliamentary sitting week starting on Tuesday.

No sign either of Governor-General Sam Mostyn. Unlike Wells, however, we should note that Mostyn, who went along to the Ashes in Sydney last month, has not gone to ground. The governor-general’s office told Open Season that she was unable to attend due to “programming commitments”.

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