The Australian Open is one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world. It's ok, you've probably watched as many Aussie Open tennis matches as you have Home Alone movies without Macaulay Culkin. Don't worry, you're not alone. The Australian Open has always kind of been the red-headed step child of the tennis world for a number of years, but not anymore. Here's why you should tune in.
The Players Love It: The tennis calendar is crazy. It's 11 months long and spans five continents. Remember, tennis is an individual sport and tournaments are single-elimination. Win and get paid, lose and fly to the next tournament which is most likely in another country. It's kind of like Street Fighter II, but with more tennis racquets (and less Dhalsims). Realistically how long can a top tennis player deal with practice, travel and grueling matches without getting hurt, fatigued or having an off-day? Most people have a hard time cutting grass in two locations (the front yard and backyard) let alone playing professional sports all over the world. But the Australian open is different because it's at the start of the tennis season. The players are happy, well-rested and ready to battle. Most importantly they've had 4-6 weeks to train for the tournament. There will never be another time in the year a tennis player will go 4-6 straight weeks without a tournament and the travel that goes with it. So they'll have no time to set aside time to truly rest and prepare for any tournaments. Except the Australian Open.
It's in January: Let's just say it. January sucks for North Americans. The holidays are over, its dark and cold at 4:30 in the afternoon, we're five months away from good movies and basketball, baseball and hockey are still months away from playing important games. But don't fret! On the other side of the world the sun is shining and one of the world's biggest tennis tournaments is happening. And, because of the time zone difference between Australia and North America, most matches start in prime time. World-class sports in January! What else are you going to do on a random January Wednesday night? Sing Super Bowl carols?
It's The Most Technologically Advanced Major: For years, tennis' Grand Slams have been derailed by rain. When it rains you can't play. This obviously causes problems for TV broadcasters, fans, ticket holders and ball kids that may now have to work past their bedtimes. I know! The logical solution to the problem is build a roof to cover the stadiums...that way they can play. Right? After all, tournaments for 10-year-old kids run rain or shine on indoor tennis courts all over the world and JV basketball leagues seem to run regardless of outdoor precipitation. Call me Aquaman, but shouldn't professional tennis tournaments with millions of dollars on the line enjoy similar luxuries? In this day in age it's silly for something to be cancelled on an account for rain.
Well guess what? To this day still only two of the four slams have roofs (Wimbledon and the Australian Open, with the U.S. Open to follow). However, the Australian open has multiple roofs covering multiple stadiums! Three in all! That's more roofs than all the other slams combined. Leave it to the Aussies, who get very little rain in January as it is, to have the common sense to take rain out of the equation of derailing their event.
It's Played In Melbourne: For those of you that don't know, tennis' other three Grand Slams are played in London (Wimbledon), Paris (French Open) and New York (U.S. Open). So basically three of the world's most iconic cities, and then the Australian Open in Melbourne. Melbourne!? Be honest. Half of you are probably thinking, "where is that?" While the other half is thinking, "isn't that the brand of cigarettes grandpa used to smoke with the guy wearing the cowboy hat?" Believe it or not Melbourne is something of a sports mecca and has actually won awards as being the world's greatest sports city. Also, the sweltering Melbourne heat (temperatures are usually in the 80s and 90s) make the tournament more intense than any of the others and arguably the toughest Grand Slam to win. All this makes Melbourne an ideal place for Ferris Bueller to spend his next day off.
You don't need to hide your head in shame if you've never watched the Australian Open. Lord knows you're not alone. Just make sure to tune in now. Because while you've been watching Seinfeld reruns or meaningless January sporting events the Aussie open has become one of the best tennis tournaments in the world. The little Grand slam in the little city down under is all grown up.