Original piece by Francesco Rio, for Ubitennis.com
1960 – Rod Laver b. Neale Fraser 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 8-6, 8-6
Back in 1960 the Australian Open were still called Australian Championships. All players participating were from Australian nationality – all but South African Trevor Fancutt – and to take the spotlight was 22-year old Rod Laver. The win at the Australian Open remains the first greatest win for one of the all-time greatest. The grass in Australia perfectly suited Rod’s attacking game and supreme power at the net. Seeded at No.3, Laver first beat 2nd seed Roy Emerson in the semis, then won against expert Fraser in the final. Fraser won the first two sets quite comfortably, until Laver managed to break his opponent’s serve for the first time in the third set. From that moment on the match turned around and Rod entered tennis history.
1965 – Roy Emerson b. Fred Stolle 7-9, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-1
Five years after Rod Laver, Roy Emerson put together another stunning comeback in the finals of the Australian Open. Seeded No.1, Emerson had beaten John Newcombe in the semifinals in three sets. In the last act of the tournament he managed to come back from 2 sets down, winning against No.2 seed Fred Stolle. It was Roy’s 4th title at the Australian Open, surely the most intense and emotional triumph.
1988 – Mats Wilander b. Pat Cash 6-3, 6-7, 3-6, 6-1, 8-6
After losing 12 months before in the final to Stefan Edberg in Australia, Pat Cash was determined to take the title home the following year. Another Swede though, broke Pat’s dream. Mats Wilander had already won the AO title in 1983 and 1984 and surely knew how to conquer the Australian heat. The two battled for 4 hours and 28 minutes, the longest ever before Djokovic and Nadal in 2012. It was Mats’s 5th Grand Slam title, the first conquered on hard courts. For Cash, champion in 1987 at Wimbledon, that became the second defeat in a major final.
1991 – Boris Becker b. Omar Camporese 7-6, 7-6, 0-6, 4-6, 14-12
Back in 1991 Boris Becker arrived in Australia having already won 4 Grand Slam titles and finishing runner-up the year before at Wimbledon. Boris faced 22-year-old from Bologna, Italy, Omar Camporese in an incredible third round match. After 5 hours and 11 minutes, Boris managed to win the match. The German would then end up winning the title beating Ivan Lendl in the final. The match remains one of Italy’s all-time highest moments at the Australian Open.
1995 – Andre Agassi b. Pete Sampras 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeKtGHtObZ8
The final in 1995 put one against the other the two best players of the World at the time. No.1 Pete Sampras vs. No.2 Andre Agassi. Pete had to fight hard to reach the last act in Melbourne. Agassi had to come back from two sets down in the 4th round against Magnus Larsson and then again in the quarter-finals against compatriot Jim Courier. Agassi had a much easier path to the final, without dropping a set. After losing the first set, Agassi just played one of the best matches of his career, becoming unbeatable on court that day.
2003 – Andy Roddick b. Younes El Aynaoui 4-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4, 21-19
Quarters-final match between 9th seed Roddick and 18th seed El Aynaoui. What was supposed to be an easy match for the American turned out to be a 4 hours and 59 minutes battle, an 83-game match. The quality of the match was stellar.
2005 – Marat Safin b. Roger Federer 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6, 9-7
After conquering 3 Slams in 2004, Roger Federer was already being pointed out to be the next great thing ever seen in tennis. At the Australian Open in 2005 the Swiss was the obvious favourite and defending champion. Safin had lost in the final to Federer in Melbourne the year before in his comeback tournament, after falling down in the rankings. The 2000 US Open champion played a superb match, impeccable on his backhand, to take the win and conquer his second Grand Slam title two days after, beatin Lleyton Hewitt in the final. Probably one of Safin’s all-time best performances.
2009 – Rafael Nadal b. Roger Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2
After playing what was defined as the best match in tennis history in 2008 in the finals at Wimbledon, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal met again in a Grand Slam final, this time in Melbourne. Beating the Swiss after a tough start, Nadal won his first and so far only title at the Australian Open, to then complete the career Grand Slam one year after winning the US Open. The match went down to history also for Federer’s tearful speech after losing the final and seeing Rod Laver hand the trophy to his historic rival.
2012 – Novak Djokovic b. Rafael Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JInQVyVaAfI
The longest final in the history of the tournament. Almost six hours of impeccable baseline battle. The Serb came to the final after finishing an incredible 2011 season with 3 Grand Slam titles, and having wont the title in Australia twice already in 2008 and 2011. In the longest match in the two’s rivalry, Djokovic came out on top. At the end of the marathon match, the two could hardly stand still during the trophy presentation.
2014 – Stan Wawrinka b. Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7
One of the most memorable quarter-finals ever witnessed at the Australian Open. That year Stan Wawrinka exited the shadow of fellow countryman Federer to move on and take the spotlight all for himself. In an incredible 4-hour marathon, Stan didn’t stop playing at his best on his one-handed backhand and ended up beating the Serb in five sets. The two best backhands on the tour facing one another. Few days after, Wawrinka celebrated his first ever Grand Slam singles title, beating Rafael Nadal to finish as champion of Melbourne Park. The name “Stanimal” was born.
