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Breaking Records at the Aussie Open


 

Originally published on: 14/01/12 00:22

Points and Prize Money

Total prize money for the men’s singles is AUD $9 291 600

The Champion will walk away with a cool AUD $2 300 000 (that’s around £1.5 million), not to mention the all important 2000 ATP Ranking points.

When Rod Laver defeated Andres Gimeno in the final of the first Australian Open his prize was a modest AUD$500.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is looking to win his third consecutive Grand Slam title after his wins at Wimbledon and the US.

That would create another record as only 4 different men on 5 occasions have won 3 or more consecutive Grand Slams

Rod Laver (1969 Australian Open, 1969 Roland Garros, 1969 Wimbledon, 1969 US Open)
Pete Sampras (1993 Wimbledon, 1993 US Open, 1994 Australian Open)
Roger Federer (2005 Wimbledon, 2005 US Open, 2006 Australian Open)
Roger Federer (2006 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open, 2007 Australian Open)
Rafael Nadal   (2010 Roland Garros, 2010 Wimbledon 2010 US Open)

Djokovic is also bidding to become just the 4th man in the Open Era to win 3 or more Australian Open titles, alongside these guys:

Andre Agassi   4 titles  (1995, 2000-1, 2003)
Roger Federer  4 titles  (2004, 2006-7, 2010)
Mats Wilander  3 titles  (1983-4, 1988)

And as the No.1 seed this year the Serb might like to know that of the 43 Australian Opens played since 1969, 14 top seeds have gone on to win the title.

Roger Federer
Federer is bidding for his 17th Grand Slam title. By winning his 16th title at the 2010 Australian Open he extended his lead at the top of the all-time Grand Slam titles list in men’s tennis.

Maybe he can match the awesome record of some of the ladies (24 Grand Slams for Margaret Court, 22 Slam titles for Steffi Graf, 19 for Helen Wills Moody and 18 for Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova).

Feds would also become only the 2nd man in history to win 5 or more Australian Open single titles. The only man to collect more than 5 titles was Roy Emerson.

Federer could also overtake Jimmy Connor’s record for the most Open Era Grand Slam wins if he reaches the final here. The Americans win-loss record is 233-49 and the Swiss is currently on 228-34. Really, stats amazing, to have played 262 matches at a Grand Slam event and to have lost only 34, wow!

So, there’s plenty of records up for grabs here in the next fortnight  and if you haven’t already got a ticket for Melbourne Park rush off and get one now, or alternatively book a fortnight off work so you can watch the action all streamed online or on TV. The 2012 Australian Open is going to be a corker and there’s bound to be a record or two broken somewhere soon.

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.