The doubles tournament took place in the grounds of the White Oaks embassy, which we’re obligated to point out is the only grass court in all of Washington.

The unique Aussie surface also has its own fun history, hosting both the Kennedys and the Bushes. Grass doesn’t survive well in DC’s frigid winters, so over the years it fell into disrepair. Kim Beazley let the diplomatic centre court grow over, before Joe Hockey came to town and restored the green to its old majesty. He also furnished the residence with a pair of retro Adidas tennis shoes signed by Rod Laver.

As is so often the case around social diplomatic get-togethers, if you build it they will come. The first rounds of the Kangaroo Cup saw media pairings against government. Among those repping the fake news were CNN’s Jim Acosta, Axios’ Hans Nichols, Kevin Lamarque from Reuters, Washington Post’s Ann Marimow and our very own man-in-Washington, Matthew Cranston.

They were up against the Vice President’s security adviser Phil Gordon, Jonathan Finer and Jim Miller from the National Security Council, Nicholas Snyder from the State Department and White House Biden aide Vinay Reddy.

There was also US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, who earlier this year became only the second cabinet member to ever be impeached by Congress (the charges were eventually dismissed in the Senate).

We’re told Mayorkas took a stack on the Aussie lawn. Perhaps he’s got the same footwork returning volleys as he does illegal immigrants. For the record, the seppos (Miller and Snyder) took home the trophy.

Rudd acted as umpire for some of the match-ups, surely chuffed at the crowd he drew and, as is tradition, later plied them with lamb chops and snags.

If Trump is elected later this year, there are plenty of right-wingers who think Rudd will have to go. But you just try getting him out of that umpire’s chair.