10 lesser known facts about the Australian Open
The 2017 Australian Open has already begun with the opening two days seeing a number of shocks and scares as women’s world no. 4 Simona Halep was shown the door in the first round of the Australian Open, this time by Shelby Rogers.
The likes of Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori also stumbled a little en route to the second round.
First played in 1905, the Australian Open is only one out of the four Grand Slams that began in the 21st century. There is a lot of history surrounding the Australian Open and over the years, the tournament has witnessed many changes and incidents which many might not even be aware of.
Here is a list of 10 facts about the Australian Open you may not know.
#10 Serena Williams never won the Australian Open and US Open in the same year
Serena Williams is considered to be one of the greatest players to have ever played the sport and she has earned a total of 22 Grand Slams which is only two behind Margaret Court’s 24 for the most number of Grand Slams won.
There have been a total of seven occasions when Serena won at least two slams a year. However, none of these occasions featured a win in the Australian Open and US Open in the same year.
Serena has won the Australian Open and French Open in 2015, the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2003, 2009, 2010 and 2015, but is yet to win the Australian Open and US Open in the same year. The closest she came to doing so was in 2009 and 2015.
In 2009, Serena won the Australian Open but lost in the semi-finals to eventual champion, Kim Clijsters, in straight sets. The same happened in 2015 as she won the Australian Open but fell in the semi-finals of the US Open, this time to the eventual runner-up Roberta Vinci despite taking the first set.