Fun Facts About the Australian Open

I’m a little in getting this post done but better late than never. I’ve also not really followed the recently completed Australian Open, here are a few fun facts about the first leg of the Tennis Grand Slam that every tennis fan should know about:

Youngest of the Grand Slams : In tennis, there are four Grand Slam Games. Wimbledon (established in 1877), the US Open (1881) and the French Open (1891). The Australian Open started in 1905.

The first-ever match was played on a cricket field : When the Australian Open was first held, the very first game was held on a cricket field at the Warehousemanā€™s Cricket Ground. Today, the facility is known as the Albert Reserve Tennis Centre.

Ken Rosewall is the youngest and oldest player to win the championship : Ken Rosewall is a prominent name in the tennis world, with several Grand Slam singles titles, nine slams in doubles, and a career double grand slam. But he is also the youngest player to win the Australian Open at 18 years old in 1953 and the oldest at 35 in 1972. Meanwhile, in the womenā€™s division, Martina Hingis is considered the youngest to win the tournament at 16 years old, and Thelma Coyne Long is the oldest at age 35.

Australian Summer Heat : The biggest challenge for players in the Australian Open is the Australian heat. The tournament is in January when summer in Australia is full of swing. And with summer comes the sweltering heat that can reach up to 40 degrees Celsius. Being out in the heat is hard, much more so if youā€™re playing tennis. That is why players are encouraged to use braided ice towels to keep cool in between sets. And in 1988, the Extreme Heat Policy was put in place wherein the referee could stop the game at any time if the temperature reached 40 degrees.

The longest Match is 5hrs and 53 minutes : Unlike sports like basketball or American football, tennis does not have a time limit. That is why matches can sometimes last for hours on end, and in the Australian Open, the longest game lasted for five hours. That game was between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic during the final match at the Australian Open in 2012. Djokovic ended up defeating Nadal 7-5.

1977 and 1986 : The Australian Open has had its fair share of hiccups over its existence. One of which happened in 1977. Before, the games were from December to January. Following the games from December 1976 to January 1977, the organisers wanted the second tournament for that year to be held in December 1977. The drawback was that not a lot of players competed.

But if the tournament happened twice in 1977, it was not held at all in 1986. During the 80s, the games were held from the last week of November to the first week of December. That was the setup till 1985. After that year, the games have since been held in the middle of January, starting in 1987. And that was why there was no Australian Open in 1986.

1991 Music Nostalgia : For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge By Van Halen

1991 – the year we started to get MTV in India with the introduction of cable tv which until then was something we only heard off & seen in foreign movies & tv shows. MTV used to play Poundcake & Runaround continously and I was hooked. I had listened to some songs of VH till then and knew about them – Jump & Panama were my favs but this album made me into a bonfide fan and it was also the first VH album I bought. Ofcourse I would get their entire catalog till that time soon but I am a Van Hagar guy.

With songs like the aforementioned Runaround & Poundcake leading the pack, we also get Spanked, Top Of The World, the lovely 316, The Dream Is Over and the brilliant Right Now they had the hits comings one after the other. Poundcake was the first song to be released as a single from the album, reaching number one on the US BillboardĀ Album Rock TracksĀ chart and number 74 on theĀ UK Singles Chart. It is a one of their best rockers. Judgement Day is all harried rhythms and excellent drumming from Alex Van Halen. They slow things down with the suggestive Spanked and the slower pace makes it a memorable song.

One of my favourite VH songs is up next in Runaround with one of Eddie’s awesome riffs leading the way through. The music video has the band play in a warehouse kind of place and features glimpses of the elusive red & white stripes version of Eddie’s Music Man EVH guitar. Pleasure Dome starts off with some deliciously intricate riffage before becoming more hard & heavy. In N Out talks about how we as a society are making money and then spending it or paying bills. Up next is Man On A Mission which is about a man who will not rest until he makes love to the woman he desires. When things go wrong despite the best intentions and the best laid plans, what do you do? You Dream Another Dream which has a nice riff and a popular music video.

Right Now with it’s awesome opening piano piece, that award winning music video and a great song, a song that reflects on living for the moment and not being afraid of making a change. The instrumental “316” is named for the March 16, 1991 birthday of Eddie’s son Wolfgang, who later went on to be Van Halen’s last bass player, although the song predates his birth. Top Of The World released as the second single from the album, and spent four non-consecutive weeks at the top of theĀ BillboardĀ Album Rock TracksĀ chart in the U.S., becoming their eighth number one on this chart. It was the only single off the album to crack the top 40 on theĀ BillboardĀ Hot 100, peaking at #27. The main guitar riff from “Top of the World” is actually carried over from the closing guitar background riff from 1984’s “Jump”.

During the long world tour they recorded a live album and concert film at two 1992 F.U.C.K. tour shows in Fresno, California called Live: Right Here, Right Now. Great album for a 15 year old to get into.