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The Australian Open has over the years been the curtain-raiser to the tennis season and is billed as the 'Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific'. The Australian Open is the largest sporting spectacle in the Southern Hemisphere attracting lakhs of people. The first edition of the Australian Open was played in 1905 and the tournament was then called 'The Australasian Championships'.
Until 1988, the Australian Open was played on grass. From 1988 until 2007, the Australian Open was played on Rebound Ace surface and from 2008 onward the court surface is the blue coloured Plexicushion. It is also noteworthy to mention that the Rod Laver Arena and the Margaret Court Arena were the first two stadiums among Grand Slam hosting venues to get a retractable roof to enable play even during rain.
Australia leads the pack with the most title wins by its players at 50 followed by the United States of America at 18. The USA, however, leads the tally with 15 trophies in the Open Era. We revisit history and take a look at 5 of the oldest champions in the competition's history.
#5 Andre Agassi
Widely considered by tennis pundits to have the best service return that the game has ever had, Andre Agassi dominated the tennis scene in the 1990's and early 2000's along with his fellow American and rival Pete Sampras. Agassi is the only man in tennis to achieve the 'Career Super Slam' as described by Sports Illustrated Magazine. It involves winning all 4 Grand Slams, the Olympics Gold and the ATP Finals. Agassi won 8 Grand Slams including 4 Australian Open titles. His last Grand Slam came at the 2003 Australian Open where he beat German Rainer Schuttler in the final. He was 32 years, 272 days old at the time.
#4 Norman Brookes
The man in whose honour the Australian Open Men's Singles trophy is named was an accomplished Australian tennis player in the pre World War I era. A 5-time winner of the Davis Cup with Australia, Norman Brookes won the Australian Open in 1911 at the age of 34 years, 11 days. He was also the first Australian to win the Wimbledon Championships in 1907. He also holds the record for being the oldest Doubles Champion at the Australian Open - a feat achieved in 1924 at the age of 47.
#3 Horace Rice
Australian Horace Rice won the 1907 Australian Open at the age of 34 years,353 days. He was runner-up in 1910, 1911 and 1915. In the 1915 Australian Open, he became the oldest ever-player male player to compete in any Grand Slam final - a record he holds to this date. He was 42 years at the time. He won the Australian Open Doubles title that year. His last Grand Slam title came in the Mixed Doubles' Category in 1923 at the age of 50 years and 347 days making him the oldest male winner of a Grand Slam across all categories.
#2 Roger Federer
The 2018 Australian Open was the 50th edition of the tournament in the Open Era and also the 200th Grand Slam in the Open Era. The 2018 Australian Open also created a record in terms of crowd attendance over the duration of two weeks with 743,667 people attending the event. Roger Federer successfully defended his Australian open crown by defeating Croat Marin Cilic in an epic 5-set match. The win gave Federer his 6th Australian Open title and 20th overall. Federer was 36 y,173 d at the time of winning his 6th Australian Open title.
#1 Ken Rosewall
Prior to the advent of the Open Era in 1968, many professional players played in Pro-Tour or Pro-Slam tournaments to earn prize money as the Grand Slams forbade professionals from competing in their events. In this regard, it is noteworthy to mention that Australian Ken Rosewall won a record 15 Pro-Slam titles.
His total Slam tally of Grand Slams and Pro-Slams is 23, putting him well ahead of any other player. Rosewall was a serial Grand Slam winner with 8 Singles and 9 Doubles trophies. He won the Australian Open 4 times and his last Australian open triumph came in 1972 at the age of 37y, 62 d making him the oldest player in the Open Era to win any of the 4 Grand Slam titles.
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