Australian Open- The Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific is the first of the four Grand Slams tennis tournaments held every year. Australian Open is held in January each year in Melbourne park. The 2012 Australian Open will mark the 100th staging of the event. The tournament was a grass court tournament until 1987 and since 1988 the tournament has been held on hard courts at Melbourne Park.
Similar to other Grand Slams, there are men’s and women’s singles competitions, men’s and women’s doubles, mixed doubles, juniors, wheelchair, legends and exhibition matches. There are two main courts used in the Australian Open – The Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena. Australian Open takes place in the middle of Australian summer and thus, the temperatures are very high. The two arenas feature retractable roofs which are shut owing to extreme heat or rain. The Australian Open and the Wimbledon are the only Grand Slams which provide indoor play facility.
The Australian Open has always had very high attendances, with the 2010 Australian Open marking the highest attendance ever in a single day for any Grand Slam. The attendance was 77,043 whereas the overall attendance throughout the tournament was 653,860.
Australian Open 2010 Facts –
Venue – Melbourne Park
Surface – Plexicushion Prestige
Official Ball – Wilson
Tournament Director - Craig Tiley
Tournament Referee - Wayne McKewen
Men’s Singles – 128 players (104 direct entries based on ATP rankings, 16 qualifiers and 8 wild cards)
Women’s Singles – 128 players (108 direct entries based on rankings, 12 qualifiers and 8 wild cards)
Mixed Doubles – 32 pairs (upto 7 maybe wild cards)
Women’s Doubles – 64 pairs (upto 7 maybe wild cards)
Men’s Doubles – 64 pairs (upto 7 maybe wild cards)
Trophies –
Women’s Singles
Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup
Australian Women's Singles Championship
Donated by the NSW Lawn Tennis Association
Men’s Singles
The Norman Brookes Challenge Cup
Singles Championship of Australia
Presented by the friends of Mr. Norman E. Brookes and State Lawn Tennis Associations
Mats Wilander is the only male player who won the Australian Open tournament on grass as well as hard court. In 2010, Roger Federer won the men’s singles title whereas Serena Williams won the women’s singles title. Bob and Mike Bryan won the men’s doubles title; Venus and Serena Williams won the women’s doubles title; Cara Black and Leander Paes won the mixed doubles title.