Australia Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments held each year. The tournament is held each January at Melbourne Park. The tournament was first held in 1905 and was contested on the lawn from then and until 1987. Since 1988, the tournament was held on hard courts at Melbourne Park. Mats Wilander is the only man who has won the tournament in both grass and hard courts.
Like all the other Grand Slam tournaments, doubles for men and women singles competitions for men, women and mixed, and young teachers contests.
The two main courts used in the tournament are Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena and have retractable roofs, which can be closed in case of rain or extreme heat. Australia Open and Wimbledon is the only Slam includes games.
Held in mid-summer in Australia, the Australian Open is famous for its notoriously hot days. An extreme heat policy comes into play when the temperature (and humidity) when a dangerous level.
Australian Open typically has very high participation, with the Australia Open 2009, achieving the highest in a single day to day / night attendance list record for a Grand Slam tournament (66,018). [2] The event is worth around £ 38 million the Australian economy [3].
In 2008, the Rebound Ace surface, which had been in effect for the last 20 years at Melbourne Park, replaced by a block, an average rate [4] acrylic surface known as Plexicushion Prestige. The main advantages of the new surface is more consistent and less heat retention (due to a thin layer above). This change was accompanied by changes in the surface of all the tournaments leading up to the Australia Open. The change was controversial, mainly because of the similarity of the surface of the new [edit] to DecoTurf, the area is already used in the U.S. Open.
The individual winners in 2009 were Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams. In Men's Doubles winners were Bob and Mike Bryan and women's doubles winners were Serena and Venus Williams - the first time in history that both doubles titles won by brothers. In mixed doubles winners were Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi.
Sit down and shut himself up in Australia Open's most breathtaking of the modern era.
The wide open call.
Once again, the superstar of the world No 1 Roger Federer and Serena Williams is the favorite of men and women in the title but his rivals are queuing up in 2010.
"It's like the Melbourne Cup - anyone can win," leading Australian bookmaker Gerard Daffy said.
"This is the most open Open in history."
But when his Grand Slam rivals are growing in number, pack hunting, Federer has come to Melbourne as hungry as ever for plunder even more important.
Marriage, parenthood, a career-defining French Open crown and a record 15th Slam at Wimbledon has been able to meet Federer, who is convinced that he can overcome his remarkable 2009th
The Swiss marvel reached all four Grand Slam finals last year, the distance before losing to Australia and the United States who choose Open in five sets to Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro.
If not for petty lost two games, Federer has completed the first year calendar Slam since Rod Laver 40 years earlier.
"I think I can, surely, if my body allows me to win many more tournaments than I did last year," the 28-year-old, ominous, he said.
"I had to focus only on the big tournaments, the most important events in the last year. It is clear that this is the hardest to win, and are reflected in the tournaments, I had the chance to win.
"I can not carry out any minor events, but if I'm healthy this year, I can win many more tournaments.
"And also make me more confident, more dynamic and more things could be possible - although last year was fantastic.
"I would like to stay No.1 in the world, is a prime target, there are no secrets about it ... and I would stay there as long as possible."
Federer's optimistic attitude heading into the new season spell problems for his rivals, who would have expected of her happy life had softened its position.
However, the Swiss will have to be strong in their adult best to hold off his pursuers.
Highlight the incredible depth in men's tennis today, the defending champion Nadal, the third-seeded Novak Djokovic, Del Potro, the world No. 5 Andy Murray and red-hot Russian Nikolay Davydenko is coming - according to their own rules - even extraordinary season 2009.
Nadal swept all before him in the first half, accumulating five titles, including his first major court drive in Australia Open final longest ever staged at Melbourne Park, until its progress was slowed by knee and abdominal injuries.
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Djokovic, winner of the '08 Open, was ultra-consistent, resulting in a Tour in games played (97) Careers (78) and - significantly - throughout his career on hard courts (53).
Del Potro has rocketed to a career high world prices for No.4 to avenge his five-game French Open semi-final loss Federer at Flushing Meadows, where, at 20, became the youngest world champion since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001.
Murray is still desire their advance slam, but it could not be lack of confidence after landing six degrees of height at one point climbing to second place in qualifying and winning each of its major competitors.
Davydenko signed his season with victories over the years all three Grand Slam winners in 2010 and opened as destructive way with back-to-back wins over Federer and Nadal in Doha.
Once again, Hewitt in his Open 14, which bears the hope of a nation like Australia is a real chance to make a career only for the second week of men's championship.
Williams, six million of its own world women tennis dollars, they are very serious test of his brilliant career trying to claim the crown in the Women's Open fifth.
Williams already has all time great Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Martina Hingis is now covered and the edge of the old legend Steffi Graf (4) Monica Seles (4) and Evonne Goolagong Cawley (4) the title to open classification.
However, the top seed and defending champion deal with at least seven former world number 1, with the return of Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, who gives the 128-man draw unprecedented depth.
"With two young Belgians again, Women's tennis is more competitive than it has been a long time," Williams acknowledged last week.
Despite the high stakes - Williams, who last year became the first woman to win the $ US6 million ($ NZ8.1 billion) in a season - feel as relaxed as never has been on the road in a Slam.
"I have no pressure on myself. I feel I win or lose, I will give my best.
"My goal is to do good, of course. But I think, can not put much pressure on myself to win or lose.
"If I play my best game I've always said that I am very hard to beat."
Challenging only his third tournament after two years to start a family, Clijsters capped his spectacular return with a controversial victory over Williams on the way to U.S. Open title in September.
Henin is now proposing to add to his collection of Grand Slam in only his second event after a break of 20 months after losing three sets last week's Cliffhanger final to Clijsters in Brisbane.
"I do not think anyone was more surprised by what Kim was able to do, and Justine," said Williams.
Not only Belgians that Williams will try, however.
Older sister, Venus, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivanovic are proven winners with big patterns in the Daphne Akhurst Trophy, while former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina are equally desperate to break Grand Slam duck in Melbourne Park.
The second ranked Safina is happy to fly under the radar, with the Russian Federation, described the long shot 25.1 after only to return to court in Sydney this week after nearly two months with a back injury.
But I dare not say Open runner-up last year that it is ready to fight for the title again.
"If I was not able to come here," snapped Safina.
"It makes no sense if you are not likely to come up."
A month ago, Samantha Stosur sees itself as a legitimate challenger for the title after passing all the players in the top five in 2009.
Now the world No 13 struggling for confidence after losing three of his four years leading up games this summer.
So expect the 32-year title drought on the local women to continue.
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