Australian Open: Who was the last Australian to win the tournament on home soil?

It is safe to say that Ashleigh Barty has been the biggest draw at the 2022 Australian Open. TV ratings have confirmed this fact, with her fourth-round match against Amanda Anisimova breaking all past viewership records at the tournament.

All five of Barty's matches so far have been allotted the day's prime-time slot in front of a packed Rod Laver Arena, upstaging even 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. The simple truth is that Aussies are desperate to watch one of their own win the 'Happy Slam'.

Before Barty, the last instance of an Australian winning the women's singles title came 44 years ago, in 1978. Chris O'Neil became the first unseeded woman to win the Melbourne Major in the Open Era when she defeated Betsy Nagelsen 6-3, 7-6(3).

It took another 29 years for O'Neal's feat to be matched, when former World No. 1 Serena Williams won the 2007 edition. O'Neil could not repeat her success at any of the other Slams, with her best finish outside of Australia being a third-round appearance at the 1974 Wimbledon Championships.

Since then, only one Australian woman has reached the final at the event -- Wendy Turnbull, who suffered a straight-sets defeat against Hanna Mandlikova in 1980.

Who are the most recent Australians to have won the Australian Open in other categories?

Dylan Alcott has won 11 titles at this tournament.

Mark Edmondson's only Grand Slam came at the 1976 Australian Open, when he defeated compatriot John Newcombe 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, 6-1 in the men's singles final. Edmondson was the World No. 212 at the time, making him the lowest-ranked player to win a Major since the introduction of the rankings in 1973.

Barring the first round, Edmondson defeated a seeded player in every round, including No. 1 seed Ken Rosewall in the semifinals in four sets. His final opponent, Newcombe, was the second seed.

John Peers teamed up with Finland's Henri Kontinen to win the 2017 Australian Open men's doubles, defeating the Bryan brothers 7-5, 7-5 in the final. It was the pair's maiden Grand Slam title, and their only one till date.

With unseeded local teams of Nick Kyrgios/Thanasi Kokkinakis and Matthew Ebden/Max Purcell setting up the men's doubles final this year, Australia is guaranteed to have winners in this category.

Samantha Stosur won the 2019 Australian Open women's doubles alongside China's Shuai Zhang, defeating defending champions Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic 6-3, 6-4 in the final. Barty herself reached the final of the event in 2013 alongside compatriot Casey Dellacqua, but fell to top seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in the final.

Jarmila Gajdosova and Matthew Ebden are the most recent Australians to triumph in mixed doubles. The Aussie pair beat Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak 6-3, 7-5 in the final of the 2013 Australian Open to lift their maiden mixed doubles Grand Slam.

Aussie Dylan Alcott has been very successful at his home Slam, having triumphed seven times in the wheelchair quad singles and four times in the wheelchair quad doubles categories.