Grand Slam tennis is back as the 2017 Australian Open kicks-off on Sunday, with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray the favourites to rule Down Under.
The tournament has thrown up plenty of surprises over the years, however, so don’t bet against an outsider coming from nowhere to lift the trophy.
Sport360 explores all the stats and numbers from the Australian Open.
No.1 – The ATP world No.1 Ranking could change hands at this year’s Australian Open. For this to happen, Djokovic needs to win the title and Murray needs to lose before the semi-finals.
The last time the No. 1 spot changed hands at the Australian Open was in 2004 when Roger Federer leapfrogged Andy Roddick to become the world’s top player for the first time.
11 – Consecutive quarter-finals for Federer (2004-14), the Open era record for QF streak at the Aussie Open. Djokovic has made the last nine quarter-finals down under (2008-16).
11 – Consecutive semi-finals for Federer (2004-14), the Open era record.
3 – Consecutive finals played by Mats Wilander (1983-85), Ivan Lendl (1989-91) and Djokovic (2011-13) – the Open era record. Swedish great Wilander featured in four consecutive Finals (1983-88 – incl. skipped events); the Australian Open was not held in 1986 due to the Open changing dates from December to January and Wilander skipped the event in 1987.
3 – Consecutive titles won by Djokovic (2011-2013), the Open era record. At the 2017 Open, Djokovic will bid for a second triple down under. American great Andre Agassi won three successive titles (2000-03; incl. skipped events). Agassi withdrew from the event in 2002 (wrist injury).
26 – Consecutive match wins for Agassi in Australia (2000-04; missed 2002), the Open era record. Djokovic registered a 25-match win Streak Down Under from 2011-2014.
2 – Players in the Open era have won the Austrailian Open without dropping a set:
1971 – Ken Rosewall (5 matches)
2007 – Federer (7 matches – the only man to achieve this feat on a hard court)
5 – Players have won the Aus Open on their tournament debut in the Open era: Jimmy Connors (1974), Roscoe Tanner (1977 – Jan), Vitas Gerulaitis (1977 – Dec), Johan Kriek (1981), Andre Agassi (1995)
48 – Games lost by Agassi en route to winning the Australian Open in 2003, the Open era record for least games lost while winning the tournament; the American won 71.6% of games (121-48) in 2003 – the best games winning % at a single tournament in Melbourne.
20 – Consecutive appearances by Aussie legend Lleyton Hewitt (1997-2016) at his home Slam, the Open era record for most appearances at the Australian Open.
12 – Quarter-final appearances for Federer (2004-14, 16), the Open era record.
Federer is unbeaten in Aus Open quarter-finals (12-0) – only two men in the Open era hold a 100% winning record in QF matches at a single major (with atleast 10 quarter-finals)
Federer – 12/0 (Australian Open) 2004-14, 2016
Djokovic – 10/0 (US Open) – active streak 2007-16
12 – Semi-final appearances for Federer (2004-14, 16), an Open era record. Federer has, however, lost his last five semi-finals in Melbourne (2011-14, 16).
6 – Australian Open finals for Djokovic (2008, 2011-13, 2015-16), the Open era record. He is followed by Stefan Edberg, Federer and Murray – with five finals apiece.
Djokovic is 6-0 in Australian Open Finals (100%); only four players in the Open era have a 100% record in finals at a single Grand Slam (with at least six finals)
Björn Borg (6-0) – French Open
Pete Sampras (7-0) – Wimbledon
Rafael Nadal (9-0) – French Open
Novak Djokovic (6-0) – Australian Open
6 – Times Djokovic has won the Australian Open (2008, 2011-13, 2015-16), the Open era record. He is followed by Agassi and Federer with four Australian Open Titles apiece. The Serb shares the all-time record with Aussie great Roy Emerson who also won six titles down under (1961, 1963-67).
90.57% – Match winning percentage for Agassi at the Austrailain Open (48-5), the Open era record (for minimum 20 wins). Djokovic has a 90.48% match record (57-6) and is closing in.
14 – Consecutive match wins for Djokovic (2015-16). His last loss came at the hands of Stan Wawrinka (2014 quarter-finals).
80 – Match wins for Federer (80-13) the Open era record at the Australian Open. Federer has also played a record 93 matches at the Aus Open.
30 – Consecutive sets won by Federer from 2006-08. Agassi won 27 consecutive sets in 2003-04.
51 – Men have reached the Australian Open Final in the 48 editions in the Open era.
4 – Australian Open Finals between Djokovic and Murray; the record for most Open era finals meetings in Melbourne → 2011, 2013, 2015-16 (All won by Djokovic). The only other pair to have played in four finals at a single Grand Slam is Federer-Nadal (French Open).
2 – Australians have reached the final since the event has moved to the Melbourne Park (1988). Pat Cash (1988) & Lleyton Hewitt (2005) – both finished as runners-up.
9 – Appearances for Czech Petr Korda (1998) and Swiss Stan Wawrinka (2014) before winning the Aus Open, the Open era record for most appearances before winning the title. Murray will be attempting to win his 1st Australian Open on his 12th visit (could set a new record!).
12 – Successful title defences have occurred at the Aus Open. Djokovic leads the pack with three (2011-13, 2015-16).
26 – Players have won the Australian Open title in the Open era
