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Australian Open

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Sports events

                                           Australian Open
                                             Grand Slams
                              * Flag of Australia Australian Open
                              * Flag of France French Open (Roland Garros)
                              * Flag of United Kingdom Wimbledon
                              * Flag of United States U.S. Open

   The Australian Open is the first of the world's four Grand Slam tennis
   tournaments, held each January at Melbourne Park. The tournament was
   held for the first time in 1905. Like the other three Grand Slam
   events, it was contested by top-ranked amateur players and known as the
   Australian championships until the advent of open tennis in 1968.
   Originally based at the grass courts at Kooyong in the city of
   Melbourne's inner south-east, the tournament was in danger of fading
   into irrelevance before being revived in 1988 with a shift to Melbourne
   Park (then called Flinders Park), a new ( Rebound Ace) hardcourt venue
   next to the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the southern fringe of the
   central business district. Mats Wilander was the only player to win the
   tournament both on grass and on Rebound Ace.

   Like all the Grand Slam tournaments, there are men's and women's
   singles competitions, men's, women's, and mixed doubles, as well as
   junior and master's competitions.

   The Australian Open was held in December from 1977 through 1985,
   returning to its original January date in 1987. In 1986, because of the
   return to January, no tournament was held.
   Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open. Rod Laver Arena, the
   centre court, in the background.
   Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open. Rod Laver Arena, the
   centre court, in the background.

   The two main courts are, Rod Laver Arena and Vodafone Arena, are
   unusual in that they feature movable roofs which can be shut in case of
   rain or extreme heat. It is the only Grand Slam tournament that can
   feature indoor play. However, Wimbledon has plans to build a
   retractable roof for Centre Court in 2009.

   Held in the middle of the Australian summer, the Australian Open is
   famous for its notoriously hot days. An extreme-heat policy is often
   put into play when temperatures (and humidity) reach dangerous levels.

Awards

   Names of the winners are inscribed on the perpetual trophy Cups.
     * The Women's Singles winner is presented with the Daphne Akhurst
       Memorial Cup.
     * The Men's Singles winner is presented with the Norman Brookes
       Challenge Cup.

History

   The Australian Open is now 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. 2006 was
   the 94th staging of the event (over a 101 year period due to
   interruption of the War years), with the tournament celebrating its
   Centenary in 2005.

   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
   in five different cities as follows: Melbourne (50 times), Sydney (17
   times), Adelaide (14 times), Brisbane (eight times), Perth (three
   times), as well as in New Zealand, (twice) in 1906 and 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 percent increase in attendance in 1988
   (266,436) on the previous year at Kooyong (140,000).

Recent attendances

     * 2007 - 554,858
     * 2006 - 550,550
     * 2005 - 543,873
     * 2004 - 521,691

Records and trivia

   See: Australian Open records and trivia

Champions

   Main article: List of Australian Open champions
     * Men's Singles
     * Women's Singles
     * Men's Doubles
     * Women's Doubles
     * Mixed Doubles

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Open"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
