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The Australian Open Championships

16 – 29 January 2007

The Australian Open

The Australian Open is the first of the four Tennis Grand Slam events to be held each year, the others being The US Open, Wimbledon and The French Open (also known as The Roland Garros).

Since it began in 1905, it has grown dramatically and attracts the top tennis players in the world.

Betting on tennis matches is becoming increasingly popular, and The Australian Open is an ideal place for novices to gamble, as it offers a large number of matches and betting opportunities.

For more about the history of The Australian Open Championships, visit our History of The Australian Open page.

Qualifying for The Australian Open

There are three ways in which a tennis player can qualify to play in the main championship events at The Australian Open. Firstly, they will automatically qualify if their computerised tennis ranking is high enough.

If they do not have a high enough ranking, they may be lucky enough to qualify automatically as a wild card player. Wild cards are discretionary qualifications issued by Tennis Australia, and they are usually awarded either to players who have performed well in past Australian Open tournaments, to players who are likely to attract audiences (such as top Australian players), or players who have won other major tennis tournaments recently.

If a player does not qualify by either of these methods, they must compete in a qualifying competition, which is held the weekend before The Australian Open event itself.

Format of The Australian Open

The Australian Open includes a number of championships. The main events are:

· The Men's Singles

· The Women's Singles

· The Men's Doubles

· The Women's Doubles

· The Mixed Doubles.

The most recent addition to the events at The Australian Open is the Wheelchair Classic 8's.

The Championships also include The Australian Open Junior Championships, which are held in the second week (23 – 29 January 2006).

Previous Winners of The Australian Open

The Australian Open Championship events have been won by some of the most famous tennis players in history. Winners of the Men's Singles title include Fred Perry, Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, Stefan Edberg, Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

Winners of the Ladies' Singles titles have included Billie Jean King, Virginia Wade, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis and Jennifer Capriati.

The last five winners of The Australian Open Men's Singles title were:

Year Winner Seed

2006 Roger Federer 1

2005 Marat Safin 4

2004 Roger Federer 1

2003 Andre Agassi 2

2002 Thomas Johansson 16

The last five winners of The Australian Open Ladies' Singles title were:

Year Winner Seed

2006 Amelie Mauresmo 3

2005 Serena Williams 7

2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne 2

2003 Serena Williams 1

2002 Jennifer Capriati 1

Betting on The Australian Open

The Australian Open offers a wealth of betting opportunities whether you want to bet on the ultimate winners of the Championships or on individual matches.

If you are thinking of placing a bet on one of the many Australian Open tennis matches, here are a few things to consider:

• The tennis styles of the players: One of the key things to look for when deciding whether or not to back a player in a tennis match at the Australian Open is whether or not their playing style is suitable for hard-court tennis. Look to see whether they have a history of being successful on hard courts. Hard courts tend to suit players who prefer to stay at the baseline because the play is slower than on grass courts.

The type of tennis courts at the Australian Open are known as Rebound Ace courts, and are made up of rubber and fibreglass on an asphalt base. They have a reputation for having a sticky surface, which can make play tough on a player's joints, particularly their lower back and legs, so players need to be very fit and have excellent stamina in order to play well on them.

An additional challenge for players at The Australian Open is that the heat of the Australian summer can not only be extremely tiring, but can also cause the tennis balls to react unpredictably as they shrink and expand.

• The current form of the players: Another key factor in deciding which Australian Open player to bet on is the form of each player. As this is the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, many players won't have played for a while, so it's difficult to predict what kind of form they will be in. However, if they have recently been injured, they may not have recovered to full fitness.

• Head-to-Head records: It's always worth taking a look at the results of previous matches between the two tennis players in the match you are considering betting on, to see if they have been dominated by one player. However, even if one player has won every time the two players have met, this doesn't mean that they will win again – the players' styles and form should still be your main guide when placing a bet on an Australian Open tennis match.

• The players' Australian Open seedings: Although the title doesn't always go to the top seed at The Australian Open Championships, it's rare for unseeded players to win. There have only been two unseeded winners of the singles tournaments. Mark Edmondson won the Men's Singles title in 1976 and Chris O'Neill won the Ladies' Singles title in 1978.

Another thing to bear in mind when placing your bet is that although a home advantage can be significant in many sporting events, Australians have not historically done well in their own Grand Slam event. A number of top Australian tennis players including Pat Cash and Pat Rafter have managed to bag Grand Slam titles abroad, but have failed to win the Australian Open Championship.

Some bookmakers offer you the chance to bet on which players will win The Australian Open titles well in advance of the event itself, so you don't need to wait in order to bet on it. For the latest odds on the 2006 Australian Open Tennis Championships from a range of bookmakers and betting exchanges, visit our Latest Odds section.

The Australian Open is only one of many events in the tennis calendar. Check out other tennis events!

If you are new to betting and want to place a bet on The Australian Open, be sure to check out our Tennis - How To Bet and Tennis Betting Strategy sections for some betting hints and tips.

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