The Australian Open has earned the moniker of “the Happy Slam” as it is the most laid back and relaxed of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
It is also known as “the Unpredictable” Slam
The Australian Open has a long history of long-shots advancing deep into the tournament and also claiming the men’s and women’s singles titles.
The tournament has produced more than the normal unpredictable singles champions, finalists and semifinalist. Since the tournament begins in the third week of the tennis season, the Australian Open is an early – albeit major – test of players form. It often reveals which players worked the hardest during the short winter off-season and who could have trained more.
On the men’s side, some most recent surprise performances have been champions Petr Korda (1999), Thomas Johannsson (2002) and also Marcos Baghdatis, Fernando Gonzalez and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who made their only major singles final appearances in 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively. Since then, winners and runners-up have been among the elite of the elite – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray – with the lone exception being Stan Wawrinka, who was ranked No. 9 when he won his first major title in Melbourne in 2014.
Top-seed and five-time runner-up Murray and No. 2 seed and six-time champion Novak Djokovic appear as the heavy favorites to meet again in the final (for a fifth time) in 2017, but could a surprise finalist again be a spoiler?
Many expect Canada’s Milos Raonic, the world No. 3, to be the next player to break through and win his first major title. In 2016, he reached his first major final at Wimbledon and lost a five-set semifinal in Melbourne (losing both times to Murray). Austria’s Dominic Thiem, ranked No. 8, and Germany’s Alexander Zverev, ranked No. 24, are also poised for greatness. Australia’s immensely talented Nick Kyrgios, ranked No. 13, could put his temperament aside and rise the tide of local support to fulfill his massive potential. Jim Courier, the U.S. Davis Cup captain and commentator, says American Jack Sock could be a break-out player.
On the women’s side, Angelique Kerber was the Australian Open surprise in 2016, winning her first major title with a final-round upset of world No. 1 Serena Williams. Now in 2017, Kerber has replaced Williams at No. 1 and Williams comes into the Australian Open – as she almost always does – with a question mark as to her form and fitness having only played two matches (reaching the second round in Auckland in the year’s first week) since the U.S. Open and her off-season engagement to be married.
Agnieszka Radwanska, ranked No. 3, could prove to the Australian “surprise” and could throw off her distinction of perhaps being the best player in women’s tennis who has not won a major title. Karolina Pliskova, who was the surprise finalist at the U.S. Open last summer, is ranked No. 5 and fresh off a title in Brisbane in the first week of the season. Johanna Konta of Britain, ranked No. 9, is also entering the event having won the title in Sydney and was a surprise semifinalist in Melbourne last year. Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova was a surprise runner-up in Australia in 2014 (falling to Li Na) and could be a surprise winner with a No. 6 ranking and having won the year-end WTA Championships in Singapore to end 2016.
