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2006 Australian Open Championships | Tennis Wagering | Tennis Grand Slam

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Australian Open a long tradition

The Australian Open is managed by Tennis Australia, formerly the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia (LTAA), and was first played at the Warehouseman's Cricket Ground in St Kilda Road, Melbourne. 2004 was the 92st staging of the event (99th year due to interruption of the War years).

The tournament was first played in 1905 as The Australasian Championships, became the Australian Championships in 1927 and the Australian Open in 1969. Since 1905, The Championships have been staged at six different venues as follows: Melbourne [46 times], Sydney [17 times] Adelaide [14 times], Brisbane [eight times], Perth [three times] and New Zealand [twice] in 1906 & 1912.

In 1972, it was decided to stage the Tournament in the one city each year, as opposed to visiting various states across the nation, and the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club was selected due to Melbourne attracting the biggest patronage.

Melbourne Park (formerly Flinders Park) was constructed in time for the 1988 Open to meet the demands of the evolving tournament that had outgrown Kooyong's capacity. The move to Melbourne Park was an immediate success, with a 90 per cent increase in attendance in 1988 (266,436) on the previous year at Kooyong (140,000).

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The Winners of Australian Open 2005

* Serena Takes the Title

No.7 seed Serena Williams has rallied from a one-set deficit, and a lower back injury that troubled her early, to beat No.1 seed and fellow American Lindsay Davenport and claim her second Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup as Australian Open women's champion, winning 2-6 6-3 6-0.

* Safin's Second Slam Satisfaction

When Marat Safin won the 2000 US Open, he felt like it was a victory he didn't fully deserve because it came too easily, but with his second Grand Slam triumph at the Australian Open - after the disappointment of two Melbourne Park final losses - he now feels like he belongs. | Odds to win Australian Open Tennis

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2005 Australian Open Tennis - Grand Slams in Tennis

In tennis, a Grand Slam is winning all four of the following championship titles in the same year:

• Australian Open
• French Open
• Wimbledon
• U.S. Open

These tournaments are therefore also known as the Grand Slam tournaments, and rank as the most important tennis tournaments of the year in the public mind as well as in terms of the ranking points and prize-money awarded for performances in them. The titles are known as Grand Slam titles.

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Youngest Champions

Men's singles: Ken Rosewall (18 years, two months) in 1953.
Women's singles: Martina Hingis (16 years, three months) in 1997.
Men's doubles: Lew Hoad (18 years, two months) in 1953.
Women's doubles: Mirjana Lucic (15 years, 10 months) in 1998.
Mixed doubles: Venus Williams (17 years, seven months) in 1998.

Oldest Champions

Men's singles: Ken Rosewall (37 years, two months) in 1972.
Women's singles: Thelma Long (35 years, eight months) in 1954.
Men's doubles: Norman Brookes (46 years, two months) in 1924.
Women's doubles: Thelma Long (37 years, seven months) in 1956.

Most successive doubles

Men: Adrian Quist (10) 1935-1950.
Women: Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver (seven) 1983-1989.

Triple titles (singles, doubles, mixed doubles)

Men: John Hawkes 1926; Jean Borotra 1928; Jack Crawford 1932.
Women: Daphne Akhurst 1925 / 1928 / 1929; Nancye Wynne Bolton 1940/1947/1948; Thelma Long 1952; Margaret Smith 1963.

Junior and Senior Champions (singles champions who previously won a junior singles title)

Men: Jack Crawford, Vivian McGrath, Adrian Quist, John Bromwich, Dinny Pails, Frank Sedgman, Ken McGregor, Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad, Rod Laver, John Newcombe, Stefan Edberg.
Women: Joan Hartigan, Emily Westacott, Thelma Long, Beryl Penrose, Mary Carter-Reitano, Kerry Reid, Evonne Cawley, Chris O'Neil.

Left-handed Singles Champions

Men: Horace Rice (1907), Norman Brookes (1911), John Hawkes (1926), Mervyn Rose (1954), Rod Laver (1960/1962/1969), Jimmy Connors (1974), Guillermo Vilas (Dec. 1978/1979), Roscoe Tanner (1977), Petr Korda (1998).
Women: Martina Navratilova (1981/1983/1985), Monica Seles (1991/1992/1993/1996).

Biggest Gap between First and Last Singles Titles

Men: Ken Rosewall (20 years) 1953-1972.
Women: Nancye Wynne Bolton (15 years) 1937-1951.

Whitewash Result

Men: (6-0 6-0 6-0) Recorded by six men - James Anderson (first round 1925), Fred Perry (quarter final 1935), John Bromwich (first round 1949), Neale Fraser (first round 1953), Martin Mulligan (first round 1960), Richard Russell (first round 1966).
Women: (6-0 6-0) Recorded by 13 women, including four in 1998 (Mary Pierce achieving the feat twice). Margaret Court achieved the feat four times and Wendy Turnbull three times.

Unseeded Champions

Men: Mark Edmondson (1976).
Women: Chris O'Neil (1978).

Champions Abroad but not at home

(Seven former Australian players who won Grand Slam singles titles overseas but failed to capture their native crown):
Neale Fraser: three-times Australian runner-up (Wimbledon and US champion).
Fred Stolle: twice Australian runner-up (French and US champion).
Mal Anderson: twice Australian runner-up (US champion).
Tony Roche: Australian semi finalist (French champion).
Lesley Turner Bowrey: twice Australian runner-up (French champion).
Pat Cash: twice Australian runner-up (Wimbledon champion).
Pat Rafter: Australian semi finalist (US champion)

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Visit 2006 Australian Open Championships - The 2006 Australian Open Tennis Official Website at http://www.ausopen.org