10 lesser known facts about the Australian Open

#5 Mats Wilander is the only player to have won the tournament on both grass and hard courts

Mats Wilander is the only player to have won the tournament on both grass and hard courts

As you read in the previous slide, the Australian Open used to be played on hard courts from 1905 to 1987. However, since 1988, the tournament has been played on hard courts. Several top players have played the tournament on both grass and hard courts but only one of them has won the tournament on both surfaces and that is Mats Wilander.

The Australian Open is perhaps Wilander’s favourite Grand Slam, and he won the tournament twice when it was being played on grass courts, in 1983 and 1984. Wilander beat Ivan Lendl in 1983 and South African Kevin Curren in 1984.

Wilander won the first ever Australian Open which was played on hard courts, thus becoming the first and only player to have won the tournament on both surfaces. The only person who came close to achieving this feat was Wilander’s compatriot Stefan Edberg who won the tournament in 1985 but ended the runner-up of the tournament on three occasions when it was being played on hard courts.