It was the question flooding Twitter feeds all over the country on Monday night, as Channel Seven's Open coverage kicked off. Where was Bruce McAvaney? Something felt wrong in the universe but there's nothing to worry about: Bruce is fine. After a long year (AFL, Olympics and racing season) he has opted for a proper holiday this summer. Rather than burying his head in tennis results, the renowned researcher instead spent last week down the Great Ocean Road with his family. The good news is he will be back on our screens soon, for next month's Nitro Athletics series in Melbourne followed by the new footy season.

Not drowning, waving

Alex De Minaur was born in Sydney and lived on the northern beaches for five years before moving to the waterside town of Alicante in Spain when he was five. Yet somehow, he can't swim. While staying with Lleyton Hewitt and his family in Sydney recently, De Minaur required some special assistance from the former world No.1 as he struggled to stay afloat in the water at Clovelly Beach. The 17-year-old, who will take on American Sam Querrey in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday, has admitted Hewitt has become his mentor. Clearly it's not just limited to tennis advice.

Roger the Showman

Would it surprise you to hear that Roger Federer has a habit of sobbing at musicals, before giving standing ovations? Of course it wouldn't; he's a classy, emotive man. "I'm always one of the first guys to give standing ovations. I think it's really important because these guys do amazing," said Federer, when his first post-match media conference made a very natural detour into his passion for musical theatre. "We don't have that many musicals in Switzerland. I went to see Singing in the Rain in Perth. I met the cast afterwards. I really enjoyed that," said Federer, who had earlier caught showings of Hamilton and Finding Neverland in New York. "I liked both of those," he said. "They were completely different. Finding Neverland was super emotional. We were all crying, all seven people that were there. My daughters, my wife, my mom, everybody. It was a lot of fun. Hamilton was just completely different. Sort of the rap about American history. I enjoyed it. I think it's a great way to see something else. I saw Elephant Man with Bradley Cooper in London. I just admired that kind of performance. It's life. I can relate to that. The amount of memorising they have to do, I find that mind-blowing. I'm not very good at remembering stuff like that."

More on music

Milos Raonic has a curious nature and in a pre-tournament interview with The Age's Linda Pearce said he would be going to check the National Gallery of Victoria's latest exhibition even though he wasn't particularly excited by the program. "I'll make the time," said the Canadian, "because I think the biggest tragedy would be if I had the arrogance to think that it wasn't worth seeing." Raonic was also asked about a celebrity recently lost, and said he had learnt things about Canadian songwriter Leonard Cohen since his death. "I was actually surprised reading about him how many books he actually wrote," he said. "I'm sure when most people mentioned his name they were completely or pretty unaware of [them]. But I liked his music for a long time, but I wasn't really too aware of his philosophy. I guess, in a sad way, I do like that darker perspective on music." His favourite songs, for the record: So long, Marianne, and Bird on a Wire.

And more...

Q: What was your first thought when you heard  that George Michael had died?

Serena Williams: I was devastated. Totally devastated. I loved George Michael.

Q: Spinning the Wheel?

SW: Pardon? Spinning the Wheel?

Q: Your favourite song by George?

SW: Oh. Faith.

How many lives?

Nine. That's the number of match points saved by Lucie Safarova in the second set of her first-round match against Yanina Wickmayer. After dropping the first set she scraped through the second set tiebreak 9-7, going on to win the third set with much less stress, 6-1, to set up a second-round clash with Serena Williams.

Quote of the day:

"Oh, no, it wasn't a bee. It was a moth. But I just saw it go between my legs, and I didn't see it come out, so I was like, Oh, no, is it under my skirt?" - Johanna Konta of Great Britain