Men's Tennis : 5 oldest Australian Open Champions

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.