2008 Australian Open

2008 Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
Date	14–27 January 2008
Edition	96th
Category	Grand Slam(ITF)
Surface	Hardcourt (Plexicushion)
Location	Melbourne,Australia
Venue	Melbourne Park
Champions
Men's singles
	Novak Djokovic
Women's singles
	Maria Sharapova
Men's doubles
	Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram
Women's doubles
	Alona Bondarenko/Kateryna Bondarenko
Mixed doubles
	Sun Tiantian/Nenad Zimonjić
Wheelchair men's singles
	Shingo Kunieda
Wheelchair women's singles
	Esther Vergeer
Wheelchair quad singles
	Peter Norfolk
Wheelchair men's doubles
	Shingo Kunieda/Satoshi Saida
Wheelchair women's doubles
	Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer
Wheelchair quad doubles
	Nick Taylor/David Wagner
Boys' singles
	Bernard Tomic
Girls' singles
	Arantxa Rus
Boys' doubles
	Hsieh Cheng-peng/Yang Tsung-hua
Girls' doubles
	Ksenia Lykina/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

The2008 Australian Openwas atennistournament played on outdoorhard courts.It was the 96th edition of theAustralian Open,and the firstGrand Slamevent of the year. It took place at theMelbourne ParkinMelbourne,Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.

After twenty years of playing onRebound Ace,the courts were changed toPlexicushion,a marginally faster surface. The new surface is thinner, and therefore has lower heat retention. This decision was made in a bid to reduce the "stick" of the court and the frequency of theextreme heat policybeing invoked.^[1]However, the new surface faced criticism for being too similar toDecoTurf,the surface used at theUS Open.^[2]Player reaction to the change of surface was generally ambivalent.^[3]^[4]

BothRoger FedererandSerena Williamswere unsuccessful in defending their 2007 titles; Federer losing toNovak Djokovicin the semi-finals and Williams losing in the quarter-finals toJelena Janković.Djokovic won his first Grand Slam singles title, defeating unseededJo-Wilfried Tsongain the final;Maria Sharapova,runner-up to Williams in 2007, defeatedAna Ivanovicto win her first Australian Open title and third Grand Slam title.

For the mixed doubles, in every game, the first team to score four points, won the game. In other words, when a deuce happened in a game, the team who won the next point won the game.

Notable stories

Surface change

On 30 May 2007, Australian Open tournament directorCraig Tileyannounced that as of the 2008 Australian Open, theRebound Acesurface that had been used since 1988 would be replaced by a newer, fasterPlexicushionsurface. The Rebound Ace surface had been criticized for several years, from players includingAndy RoddickandMark Philippoussis,who claimed that the "stick" of the court was a contributing factor in many players injuring themselves.^[5]This "stick" was a result of the thick rubber mat (10 mm) laid beneath the surface,^[2]the high heat retention because of this, and the high temperatures present during the Australian summer, which intermittently resulted in theextreme heat policybeing invoked. Conversely, players such asPete SamprasandMarat Safinput the high number of injuries down to lack of preparation from players; partly due to the fact that the tournament is held so early in the year, but also because there were so few tournaments preceding it. Rebound Ace was also chastised byLleyton Hewittfor having an inconsistent bounce, in terms of height and pace (shock absorption); and claimed that these factors varied depending on the weather.^[6]The heat retention of the surface had also been a point of contention between players.^[7]

In announcing the change, Tiley said Plexicushion would have a "lower rubber content than Rebound Ace, was firmer under foot and retained less heat through its thinner top layer."^[8]Tiley later said that the change of colour, from green to blue, would also benefit players and officials,^[1]although this change was quite arbitrary. The manufacturers of Rebound Ace derided the new surface, with director Paul Bull saying that, "We had an Australian icon event with a unique Australian product and now we are just going to become a clone of theUS Open."Bull also said that the inconsistencies in pace were down to the organizers' imperative, who kept asking for the pace to be adjusted to pander for certain players, such as Hewitt. Bull, however, conceded that a change was needed; and said that the suggestion of a Rebound Ace court with a rubber mat thickness of around 5 mm was made.^[2]

ThePlexicushionsurface received a relatively mixed reception from players.Lleyton Hewitt,Justine HeninandSerena Williamswere all keen to endorse the new courts; with Hewitt's appraisal focused on the greater consistency of the courts.^[1]Henin called it a "good surface" but said she did not find it markedly distinguishable from Rebound Ace, saying the biggest difference was the change of colour. Williams claimed that the court was not as "bouncy" and was causing less physical strain on her feet and ankles.^[3]One source of criticism from players was the slower than expected pace, although many of these comments came prior to the event's commencement. Players were exposed to the new courts through other tournaments, played in advance of the Open; and practise on the new surface.Roger Federerdescribed it as slow, withNovak Djokovic,Jelena JankovićandJames Blakeall corroborating this opinion, albeit from experience in preliminary tournaments.^[4]Pundit and former World No. 1Pat Raftersaid it was possible that the courts would speed up in time.^[9]

Implementation of anti-corruption policing

On 21 December 2007, organizers of the event announced that the tournament would be watched under the scrutiny of anti-corruption officials.^[10]A partnership was formed withVictoria Police.This announcement came in the wake of a series of scandals to hit the sport, including World No. 4Nikolay Davydenkocoming under suspicion ofmatch fi xing;with at least a dozen other players coming forward about having been approached to influence matches in an unethical manner.^[11]Tennis Australiachief executiveSteve Woodcommented that, "Match-fi xing and illegal gambling are a threat to the integrity of sport. We're putting our policies, procedures and programme in place to protect it."

This was followed by a statement from the wider community of theInternational Tennis Federation(ITF),Association of Tennis Professionals(ATP),Women's Tennis Association(WTA) and organizers of all four Grand Slams that they would review their anti-corruption policies in the future. This announcement came six days prior to the start of the Open, on 8 January 2008.^[12]

Crowd trouble

On 15 January, Day 2 of the tournament, Victoria Police had to intervene whenGreek Australiansupporters, following Greece'sKonstantinos Economidisin his match against ChileanFernando González,became unruly.^[13]The match, in progress at theMargaret Court Arena,was suspended for ten minutes as the police attempted stop the "offensive chanting" and eject certain fans. Approximately forty supporters, heavily outnumbered byChileanfans,^[14]were warned of their disorderly conduct prior to the police deployingpepper spray.The police regiment was heavily outnumbered, with aBBC Radioemployee commenting that, "[there were] two guys against maybe 70-80, that's not good."^[13]Tournament officials said that 3 people had been sprayed and 5 evicted; a small proportion of the Greek fans left the arena, upset at how events were transpiring and fearing for their safety.

Both players said that the trouble was not something they had witnessed before; and Economidis condemned his supporters, saying that, "It was a really nice atmosphere until this moment. I am really unhappy." Some witnesses have implicatedCypriotandSerbiansupporters in the trouble.^[15]

Australian Open director, Craig Tiley, had announced in the week preceding the event that police and security forces would "impose a 'zero-tolerance' policy on anti-social behaviour". This statement appeared to be a delayed reaction to the trouble that marred the event in 2007, with Australian youths of Greek, Serbian andCroatianorigins involved in mutually abusive sparring. However, the problem was much more pronounced in 2007, with violence breaking out and around 150 fans ejected.^[16]

Sexual assault

Police were called to investigate a report that a 12-year-old girl was indecently assaulted by a drunk man at the Australian Open.^[17]

In a brief statement, Victoria Police said they received a report that the girl was inappropriately touched on the buttocks on Monday.

"The matter was reported to police this morning and the incident is currently being investigated", the statement said. This event mirrors a series of incidents that occurred at last year's event, when several men attending the tournament were arrested for takingupskirtphotographs.^[18]

Marcos Baghdatis video controversy

During the Open, a video posted onYouTubealmost a year earlier made headlines in the Australian media. The video shows the 2008 fifteenth seed,Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis,at a barbecue hosted by hisGreek Australianfans in Melbourne in early 2007. In it, Baghdatis is holding a flare and taking part in chants against theTurkish invasion of Cyprus.Melbourne'sTurkish Cypriotcommunity called for Baghdatis to be expelled from Australia,^[19]but in a statement issued through his manager, the Cypriot player said he was "supporting the interest of my country, Cyprus, while protesting against a situation that is not recognized by the United Nations".^[20]

Serbian performance

Novak Djokovic became the firstSerbianman to win aGrand Slamtitle.

This tournament saw strong performances from Serbian players.^[21]^[22]The men's side sawJanko Tipsarević,winner of the boys' tournament in2001,almost cause an upset when he pushedRoger Federerto five sets in the third round, with the final score being 6–7 (5–7), 7–6 (7–1), 5–7, 6–1, 10–8 in Federer's favour. The match, which overlapped into the night session due to rain earlier in the day, took almost four-and-a-half hours to complete.^[23]^[24]Third-seedNovak Djokovicbecame Serbia's first Grand Slam singles title winner (Ana Ivanovic would later become that country's first Grand Slam women's singles title winner, at the2008 French Open), and the youngest ever winner of the Australian Open, at 20 years and 250 days of age, when he defeated surprise finalistJo-Wilfried Tsongain the final,^[25]having defeated the defending champion Federer in the semi-finals,^[26]and Australian hopefulLleyton Hewittin straight sets in the fourth round.^[27]Coincidentally, Djokovic would also defeat Federer in straight sets en route to hissecond Australian Open title,in 2011.

The women's draw sawJelena Janković,the 2001 girls' champion, andAna Ivanovicproduce notable performances to reach the semi-finals and the final, respectively. Janković saved three match points againstTamira Paszekin the first round, before defeating rising Australian playerCasey Dellacquain the fourth round.^[28]Janković then ended thetitle defenceofSerena Williamsin the quarter-finals,^[29]before losing her semi-final toMaria Sharapova.^[30]Twenty-four hours after Janković's victory over Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic recorded her first career victory againstVenus Williamsin her quarter-final,^[31]and went on to reach her second Grand Slam final by defeatingDaniela Hantuchováin the semi-finals, having to recover from a 0–6, 0–2 deficit to do so.^[32]Ivanovic was then defeated in the final byMaria Sharapova,in a match dubbed as the "Glam Slam" final.^[33]

Day-by-day summaries

Seniors

Men's singles

Tsonga stunned the tennis world by reaching the final.^[34]^[35]

Novak Djokovic^[36]defeatedJo-Wilfried Tsonga,4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6^(7–2)

It was Djokovic's 1st title of the year, and his 8th overall. It was his 1st career Grand Slam title.

Women's singles

Maria Sharapova^[37]defeatedAna Ivanovic,7–5, 6–3

Men's doubles

Jonathan Erlich/Andy RamdefeatedArnaud Clément/Michaël Llodra,7–5, 7–6^(7–4)

The duo's first Grand Slam win after numerous ATP titles
The first ever Grand Slam trophy in Men's Doubles for Israeli players.

Women's doubles

Alona Bondarenko/Kateryna BondarenkodefeatedVictoria Azarenka/Shahar Pe'er,2–6, 6–1, 6–4

It was Alona and Kateryna's 1st career Grand Slam doubles title.

Mixed doubles

Sun Tiantian/Nenad ZimonjićdefeatedSania Mirza/Mahesh Bhupathi,7–6^(7–4),6–4

It was Sun's 1st career Grand Slam mixed doubles title.
It was Zimonjić's 3rd career Grand Slam mixed doubles title and his 2nd at the Australian Open.

Juniors

Boys' singles

Bernard TomicdefYang Tsung-hua,4–6, 7–6(5), 6–0

Girls' singles

Arantxa RusdefeatedJessica Moore,6–3, 6–4

Boys' doubles

Hsieh Cheng-peng/Yang Tsung-huadefeatedVasek Pospisil/César Ramírez,3–6, 7–5, [10]–[5]

Girls' doubles

Ksenia Lykina/Anastasia PavlyuchenkovadefeatedElena Bogdan/Misaki Doi,6–0, 6–4

Wheelchair

Seeds

These were the seeds for the 2008 Australian Open.^[38]

On the women's side of the draw, all of the world's top thirty-two players were present; whereas in the men's drawTommy HaasandGuillermo Cañaswere both forced to withdraw due to injury.^[39]On the date that the seeds were announced, 11 January 2008, Haas was No. 12 in the world and Cañas No. 17.^[40]