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Australian Open Tennis Tournament Guide

Australian Open 2007 Andy Roddick The Australian Open tennis tournament is the first of four Grand Slams in the international Tennis calendar, and is hosted in the city of Melbourne. Matches are played at the modern Melbourne Park facility on hard-court surfaces.

Australian Open Melbourne

The Australian Open was first contested in 1905 as the Australasian Championships, and was contested by the best amateur players from Australia and New Zealand. Whilst the tournament was regularly held in Melbourne, other cities in Australasia also had opportunities to host the Championship and it was only in 1972 that Melbourne became the permanent home of the Australian Open tennis tournament.

As Australia's sporting capital, Melbourne is an ideal venue for the Australian Open. The sports mad city ensures capacity crowds at Australian Open games, and offers Australian Open travellers a host of cultural and entertainment experiences.

One issue with the location of the tournament in the past has been the high temperatures experienced in Melbourne during the competition. The Extreme Heat Policy and the construction of covered tennis arenas are both a response to this issue.

Australian Open Facilities

The modern Australian Open is blessed with some of the finest facilities in world tennis. The Vodafone Arena and the Rod Laver Arena are the venues for high profile matches and between them can accommodate over 25,000 tennis fans. The courts used at the Australian Open feature Rebound Ace surface, a highly cushioned surface manufactured in Australia.

The Rebound Ace surface was replaced by Plexicushion in time for the 2008 tournament due to controversy over the performance and safety of the surface.

Australian Open Format and Administration

The Australian Open tennis tournament is organised and managed by Tennis Australia. Tennis Australia also presides over the smaller Australian competitions and acts as the official governing and regulatory body of the sport at all levels in Australia.

Five different titles are up for grabs at the Australian Open. The are the women's and men's singles titles, the women's and men's doubles titles and the mixed doubles titles.

Men's singles champions are presented with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, whilst the women's singles champions are presented with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. The total prize fund for the Australian Open Tennis tournament is AS$20 million.