Australian Open: Of history, curiosities and records
The Australian Open is today considered the most futuristic and cutting edge Slam of the season. The facilities of Melbourne Park are among the best sports facilities in the world, and the reception for players, fans and the media has very high standards, which many other sports cannot have. But it has not always been this way.
Started in 1905, the tournament was hosted in five locations: Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Christchurch and Hastings. Melbourne Park was built in 1988 to replace Kooyong. The transition to Melbourne Park was an immediate success. At the beginning, due to its geographical distance, very few foreign players participated at the tournament.
The tournament had several names, including Australasian Championships and Australian Championships. Until 1987, the playing surface was grass, after it passed to Rebound Ace. In Brisbane, the tournament was played in August.
In the men's singles, the most successful players are Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Roy Emerson with six titles. In the men's doubles the most titled tennis player is Adrian Quist, with 10 titles.
In the women's singles, the most winning tennis player is Margaret Smith, with seven titles. In the women's doubles, Thelma Coyne Long holds the record for titles won (12).
Nancye Wynne Bolton is the most successful and best-selling Australian Open player, with 20 total titles (six women's singles, 10 women's doubles and four mixed doubles). The youngest player to win a title at the Australian Open was Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who in 1998 won the women's doubles, at the age of 15 years and 10 months.
The oldest player to win a title at the Australian Open was Horace Rice, in mixed doubles of 1923, at the age of 52. The longest match ever documented was the 2012 final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, which lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes.
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from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2Fo7Ocd
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