The City of Melbourne will again play host to the first Grand Slam event of the tennis calendar, the 2009 Australian Open tennis tournament.
From 19 January - 1 February 2009, all the top ranked players in world tennis will pit their skills and temperaments against each other for one of the foremost prizes of the game – a Grand Slam victory.
Only the most tenacious and physically fit players will succeed – the Australian Open is notorious for uncomfortably hot playing conditions, and organisers have had to institute an Extreme Heat Policy to regulate when conditions are not viable for international competition.
In an effort to combat the effects of Melbourne's extreme weather, a retractable roof was constructed over the centre court, known as the Rod Laver Arena since the year 2000. It has proved to be an enormous success, so much so that the All England Club will soon follow suit. In the case of Wimbledon however, it will not be to protect the players from extreme heat, but from the incessant rain that has troubled the Championships for so long.
What made the 2008 event all the more thrilling was that a new surface called 'Plexicushion' had replaced the former Rebound Ace. Defending champion and current World number 1, Roger Federer, gave the new surfaces a 'thumbs up' and indicated that he was really eager to defend his title at Melbourne.
"Once again, I am very excited to start the new year's Grand Slam season in Australia and to try and defend my title once again,'' Federer said, before the 2008 event. "I am looking forward to the new surface and especially playing in front of the Australian fans … they are some of the best fans in the world!"
Federer eventually lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets at the semi final of the 2008 Australian Open, Djokovic went on to defeat France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and claimed his first grand slam title - he also became the first player from Serbia to win the title.
Maria Sharapova overcame a season riddled with injury to win the 2008 Australian Open women's championship in a 7-5 6-3 defeat against former world number one Ana Ivanovic.
The 2009 Australian Open tennis tournament promises to be an event of epic proportions – not only is the purse an astonishing AUS$20 000 000, but the amount of spectators are expected to beat the current record of 584,476 - the amount reached at the 2008 record-breaking event.
If you'd like to have a bet on the Australian Open 2009, then take a look at the tennis betting odds from William Hill.
