This is an image of a night match at Rod Laver Arena in Australia at the AO. This is the first major of the year that starts around late January and sneaks into early February. What is special about this tournament is the freshness of a new year and how healthy the players are. The break in the tennis calendar year is from about two months from December till the AO in late January. Which is why the players are so healthy at the start of this tournament. One could argue that the break is after the U.S. Open in September but there are still Masters 1000 tournaments left to play in the fall.
All four of the majors have a centre court or main arena and at the AO, its Rod Laver Arena. A legend of the game he has done what no other man could accomplish by winning the ‘Grand Slam’ twice! The ‘Grand Slam’ is winning all four majors in the same calendar year. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have all come close and even held all four, which means winning all four majors out of order (did not win AO first and then the rest). Rod Laver is a legend in Australia, in the history of tennis and that is why his name is on the centre court at the Australian Open.
This is Novak Djokovic. He is an 8x winner here at the Australian Open. This year in 2020 he beat Dominic Thiem in the final in the 5th set. The reason why he excels at this tournament has to do with his fast paced play. His style of play would best be described as a grinder. He loves a consistent play and when he gets to set the rhythm. He does not miss much and he whips over his forehand giving him net clearance and blocks his backhand deep and low which becomes a nightmare for opponents. He does not have many weaknesses at the AO and that is why he is a master on hard court down under.
Tennis Talk 