Australian Open history: 5 Memorable moments from past editions ft. Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal epic 2012 final

The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam of the year. The tournament is played on the hard courts of Melbourne Park in January every year, one of the two Grand Slams played on hard courts.

The tournament, however, was played on grass courts prior to 1988. The Rod Laver Arena, which contains the center court, is one of the grandest sporting arenas in the world.

Over the years, the Australian Open has witnessed many wonderful moments. We will look at five of them in this article.

#5. Serena Williams winning the Serena Slam in 2003

Serena Williams made her ascent to the top of women's tennis in the early 2000s. She won the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in 2002 to complete a wonderful year.

Williams then reached the final of the Australian Open in 2003, where she met Kim Clijsters. She beat Clijsters in a pulsating final in three sets to win the title and thus held all four Grand Slams at the same time. It was known as the "Serena Slam."

#4. Li Na became the first Asian singles champion in 2014

The only Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific had to wait until 2014 to get its first Asian singles champion. Li Na of China won the title that year, beating Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia in straight sets in the final.

It was the second of the two Grand Slam titles she won. Na retired at the age of 32 in 2014 but managed to etch her name in the history of the Australian Open permanently before that. No Asian man or woman has won the title since.

#3. Roger Federer revived his career in 2017

Federer won 20 Grand Slams in his illustrious career. However, he could not win a single one for more than four years after winning the Wimbledon in 2012. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray made Federer's job difficult in Grand Slams during that period.

However, the Swiss maestro won the Australian Open in 2017 beating Nadal in a thrilling five-setter in the final. The match lasted for more than four hours and gave Federer a much-needed boost to help him win two more Majors thereafter.

#2. Novak Djokovic won his 10th Australian Open title in 2023

Only two men have won 10 or more titles at a single Grand Slam, Nadal being the other with 14 French Open titles. Djokovic enjoys playing in Australia a lot, but the controversy surrounding the COVID vaccination, which did not allow him to take part in the 2022 edition of the tournament, meant that the focus was entirely on the legendary Serb next year.

Djokovic did not have much difficulty in dispatching a much younger rival in Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final to win in straight sets. He thus won his 10th Australian Open title to equal Nadal’s tally of 22 Grand Slams. He has won a couple of more Majors since then.

#1. Djokovic vs Nadal epic 2012 final

It might very well be the greatest tennis match played ever. The match went on for five hours and 53 minutes and finished at 1:37 A.M. local time. Djokovic triumphed in five sets, but the game of tennis was the real winner, as the two warriors exchanged blows to enthrall the spectators.

The two players could barely remain standing for the presentation ceremony after the match. It ranks right up there as one of the greatest matches of all time and is undoubtedly the best-ever match in the history of the Australian Open.