Tennis: Game, set and Moet for fans

Makere Bradnam and Courtney Rupe enjoy the tennis. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Champagne flows in the corporate boxes as spectators enjoy the action at ASB Classic.

Champagne bottles glistened in buckets of ice as beautiful people in stylish sunhats, designer glasses and perfect tans followed theaction at the ASB Tennis Classic in Auckland yesterday.

The crowds packed into the stadium for the fourth day of the tournament and corporate boxes and umbrella stands were full of champagne-quaffing tennis fans.

They included fashion designer Juliette Hogan, dressed in a casual white T-shirt and long pleated summer skirt, and SPQR manager Courtney Rupe, looking glam in a white playsuit, with her sports presenter pal Makere Bradnam.

National MPs Nikki Kaye, Maurice Williamson and Judith Collins were also spotted in the crowd.

National MP Maurice Williamson

Punters could enjoy the game while sipping on sponsors' Moet & Chandon champagne or Heineken beer, and chow down on food from top Japanese restaurant Masu.

And it seems they were - with more than 300 bottles of the upmarket bubbles sold since Saturday.

Even the players were indulging in some of the good stuff - with semi-finalist Barbora Zahlavova Strycova sipping on a sparkling rose at the Moet & Chandon Champagne Lounge after her win against American Coco Vandeweghe. "It's my recovery drink," she joked before saying: "Don't say to my coach."

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova

But it's not just the bubbles that were going down well in the summer sun - more than 1042 scoops of Kapiti icecream have been gobbled up since Saturday, with 104 sold between 11am and 2.45pm yesterday. Over in The Bach food tent, duty manager Aditya Mishra said the usual crowd favourite of jam and cream doughnuts had been outdone by the strawberries and cream.

However, the Wimbledon classic couldn't beat the Kiwi favourite of chicken and avocado wraps, by far the most popular food item sold by the shop, Mr Mishra said.

When they weren't eating and drinking, punters were cheering on local girl Marina Erakovic, who starred in the mid-afternoon doubles match alongside Monica Puig.

Fans were disappointed as Erakovic and Puig lost to Czechs Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka. But they still received a standing ovation. NZME.