2007 Australian Open

2007 Australian Open
Date 15 January – 28 January
Edition 95th
Category Grand Slam (ITF)
Surface Hardcourt (Rebound Ace)
Location Melbourne, Australia
Venue Melbourne Park
Champions
Men's Singles
Switzerland Roger Federer
Women's Singles
United States Serena Williams
Men's Doubles
United States Bob Bryan / United States Mike Bryan
Women's Doubles
Zimbabwe Cara Black / South Africa Liezel Huber
Mixed Doubles
Canada Daniel Nestor / Russia Elena Likhovtseva
Boys' Singles
Australia Brydan Klein
Girls' Singles
Russia Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Boys' Doubles
United Kingdom Graeme Dyce / Finland Harri Heliövaara
Girls' Doubles
Russia Evgeniya Rodina / Russia Arina Rodionova
Wheelchair Men's Singles
Japan Shingo Kunieda
Wheelchair Women's Singles
Netherlands Esther Vergeer
Wheelchair Men's Doubles
Netherlands Robin Ammerlaan / Japan Shingo Kunieda
Wheelchair Women's Doubles
Netherlands Jiske Griffioen / Netherlands Esther Vergeer

The 2007 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 15 January until 28 January 2007.

The total prize pool was set at exactly A$20 million, with the winners of both the men's and women's singles competition each receiving A$1,281,000.[1] Over 500 players competed in 2007.[1] The main draw for singles and doubles was released on Friday 12 January 2007.

In Mixed Doubles, the scoring system was changed. Should both teams in a match become one set a piece, a match tie break will take part in the final set where the first team to score ten points wins the match. If the score for the match tie break becomes 9–9, a difference by two is required to win the game (e.g. 11–9, 12–10, etc.).

Notable stories

New technology used in line-calling

Women's singles fourth round match at Vodafone Arena on day six of the 2007 Australian Open.

This was the first time that the tournament used the Hawk-Eye system in an official line-calling capacity, as an auxiliary to the human line judges. Players were given the opportunity to challenge a human line call if they believed it to be incorrect, by having Hawk-Eye confirm or overrule the original call. The system was installed on only one court being used for the tournament, in the Rod Laver Arena.

At the beginning of a set, the players were each given the opportunity to incorrectly challenge a maximum of two line calls during the set. A player who still had some incorrect challenges remaining was allowed to make an unlimited number of correct challenges, but when a player had no incorrect challenges remaining, his or her opportunity to challenge line calls was lost. Players received an extra incorrect challenge during a tiebreak. The players regained both challenges at the beginning of each set and also after every 12 games in the final deciding set. Unused challenges did not carry over when this happened.[2]

An additional aspect to the new system was that a video replay screen was installed inside the arena for the first time, to display the results of the challenges. The screen also allowed the spectators (and players themselves) to view instant replays that could previously only be seen by the television audience and those viewing the match on screens outside the stadium. This implementation caused noticeable drama in a match between No. 2 Amélie Mauresmo and Olga Poutchkova in which Mauresmo challenged the in call on Poutchkova's shot and the replay showed the ball out graphically but still called the ball in.

Factional fighting on Day 1

On 15 January 2007, around one hundred and fifty Australian youths of Serbian, Croatian and Greek origins were ejected from the Open after brawling with one another in Garden Square at Melbourne Park. The brawl reportedly developed after fans taunted each other with nationalist slogans. According to The Age newspaper, twenty police tried to quell the disturbance, which allegedly developed after an informal understanding between some Serb and Croat fans — that the two groups would not attend on the same day — was broken. The two opposing groups were ejected out separate exits and escorted away from the venue in opposite directions by police. No arrests were made, and no charges were laid against any of the participants.

The Greek supporters protested that they had not been involved in the taunts exchanged between the Serb and Croat contingents, though The Age reported that some Greek supporters had sided with some Serbs and chanted, "Greece, Serbia! Greece, Serbia!" and "We must support our Orthodox brothers". Serb fans claimed that the violence had been provoked by Croat use of the Croatian national flag, which in their eyes carried connotations of Second World War fascism, while Croats claimed that the violence was provoked by Serbs shouting anti-Croat, pro-Serb chants.[3]

A Croatian supporter suffered minor injuries in the ethnic brawl after being hit with a Serbian flagpole. People wearing Croatian or Serbian national colours were subsequently refused entry and the next day featured heightened security. Police in Victoria said that this sort of behaviour was never seen in the tournament before.[4]

Weather conditions

Heat in excess of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Day 2 caused the Extreme Heat Policy to be implemented. Most daytime matches were delayed, and matches continued on outside courts till 3.30am the following morning. Janko Tipsarević chose to forfeit his match against David Nalbandian because of the heat. On Rod Laver Arena with the roof open, top-seeded Maria Sharapova nearly succumbed to the heat, losing a 5-0 lead in the final set, but managed to defeat Camille Pin 6–3. 4–6, 9–7.

During the night sessions on Day 3, the Australian Open was affected by rain delaying play. Three men's matches were postponed in progress. The matches on Rod Laver Arena and Vodafone Arena were delayed for only 15 minutes while the retractable roofs closed. Marat Safin wisely requested that play be suspended while noticeably out of the match against Dudi Sela with Sela up two sets to one, six games to five, and 30-30. After the delay, Safin returned to win the fourth set and then the final set 6-0 to advance. This was reminiscent of the match in the 2006 Australian Open in which Marcos Baghdatis advanced after appearing rejuvenated against David Nalbandian. The match on Rod Laver featuring women's number two Amélie Mauresmo and Olga Poutchkova was barely underway when the rains came.

Rain on day six caused play to only proceed on the covered courts of Rod Laver Arena and Vodafone Arena, for the duration of the day. Thus, only high seeds Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, Nikolay Davydenko, Kim Clijsters, James Blake, and Martina Hingis were able to play their matches, as well as Australians Alicia Molik and Lleyton Hewitt. Players scheduled for play on the outer courts had to wait until Day 7, and faced the possibility of playing on consecutive days for the winners. Initially only 10 matches were scheduled for play in Laver and Vodafone, but the match between Andy Murray and Juan Ignacio Chela was moved indoors, to leave only five delayed matches in men's and women's singles.

Seniors

Men's Singles

Switzerland Roger Federer defeated Chile Fernando González, 7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–4

Women's Singles

United States Serena Williams[5] defeated Russia Maria Sharapova, 6–1, 6–2

Men's Doubles

United States Bob Bryan / United States Mike Bryan defeated Sweden Jonas Björkman / Belarus Max Mirnyi, 7–5, 7–5

Women's Doubles

Zimbabwe Cara Black / South Africa Liezel Huber defeated Chinese Taipei Chan Yung-jan / Chinese Taipei Chuang Chia-jung, 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–1

Mixed Doubles

Canada Daniel Nestor / Russia Elena Likhovtseva[6] defeated Belarus Max Mirnyi / Belarus Victoria Azarenka, 6–4, 6–4

Juniors

Boys' Singles

Australia Brydan Klein defeated France Jonathan Eysseric, 6–2, 4–6, 6–1

Girls' Singles

Russia Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeated United States Madison Brengle, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–3)

Boys' Doubles

United Kingdom Graeme Dyce / Finland Harri Heliövaara defeated Australia Stephen Donald / India Rupesh Roy, 6–2, 6–7(4–7), 6–3

Girls' Doubles

Russia Evgeniya Rodina / Russia Arina Rodionova defeated United States Julia Cohen / Poland Urszula Radwańska, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1

Wheelchair

Men's Wheelchair Singles

Japan Shingo Kunieda defeated France Michael Jeremiasz, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4

Women's Wheelchair Singles

Netherlands Esther Vergeer defeated France Florence Gravellier, 6–1, 6–0

Men's Wheelchair Doubles

Netherlands Robin Ammerlaan / Japan Shingo Kunieda defeated Netherlands Maikel Scheffers/ Netherlands Ronald Vink, 6–2, 6–0

Women's Wheelchair Doubles

Netherlands Jiske Griffioen / Netherlands Esther Vergeer defeated France Florence Gravellier/ Netherlands Korie Homan, 6–0, 3–6, [10–6]

Seeds

The seeded players are listed below with the round in which they exited.

Men

  1. Switzerland Roger Federer (Champion)
  2. Spain Rafael Nadal (Quarterfinals, lost to Fernando González)
  3. Russia Nikolay Davydenko (Quarterfinals, lost to Tommy Haas)
  4. Croatia Ivan Ljubičić (First Round, lost to Mardy Fish)
  5. United States James Blake (Fourth Round, lost to Fernando González)
  6. United States Andy Roddick (Semifinals, lost to Roger Federer)
  7. Spain Tommy Robredo (Quarterfinals, lost to Roger Federer)
  8. Argentina David Nalbandian (Fourth Round, lost to Tommy Haas)
  9. Croatia Mario Ančić (Fourth Round, lost to Andy Roddick)
  10. Chile Fernando González (Final, lost to Roger Federer)
  11. Cyprus Marcos Baghdatis (Second Round, lost to Gaël Monfils)
  12. Germany Tommy Haas (Semifinals, lost to Fernando González)
  13. Czech Republic Tomáš Berdych (Fourth Round, lost to Nikolay Davydenko)
  14. Serbia Novak Djokovic (Fourth Round, lost to Roger Federer)
  15. United Kingdom Andy Murray (Fourth Round, lost to Rafael Nadal)
  16. Spain David Ferrer (Fourth Round, lost to Mardy Fish)
  17. Finland Jarkko Nieminen (Second Round, lost to Juan Ignacio Chela)
  18. France Richard Gasquet (Fourth Round, lost to Tommy Robredo)
  19. Australia Lleyton Hewitt (Third Round, lost to Fernando González)
  20. Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek (Third Round, lost to David Ferrer)
  21. Russia Dmitry Tursunov (Third Round, lost to Tomáš Berdych)
  22. Slovakia Dominik Hrbatý (Third Round, lost to Mario Ančić)
  23. Sweden Robin Söderling (First Round, lost to Florian Mayer)
  24. Spain Juan Carlos Ferrero (Second Round, lost to Danai Udomchoke)
  25. Russia Mikhail Youzhny (Third Round, lost to Roger Federer)
  26. Russia Marat Safin (Third Round, lost to Andy Roddick)
  27. Argentina José Acasuso (First Round, lost to Sam Querrey)
  28. France Sébastien Grosjean (Third Round, lost to David Nalbandian)
  29. Belgium Xavier Malisse (First Round, lost to Arnaud Clément)
  30. Argentina Agustín Calleri (First Round, lost to Zack Fleishman)
  31. Switzerland Stanislas Wawrinka (Third Round, lost to Rafael Nadal)
  32. Spain Nicolás Almagro (First Round, lost to Robby Ginepri)

Women

  1. Russia Maria Sharapova (Final, lost to Serena Williams)
  2. France Amélie Mauresmo (Fourth Round, lost to Lucie Šafářová)
  3. Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova (Fourth Round, lost to Shahar Pe'er)
  4. Belgium Kim Clijsters (Semifinals, lost to Maria Sharapova)
  5. Russia Nadia Petrova (Third Round, lost to Serena Williams)
  6. Switzerland Martina Hingis (Quarterfinals, lost to Kim Clijsters)
  7. Russia Elena Dementieva (Fourth Round, lost to Nicole Vaidišová)
  8. Switzerland Patty Schnyder (Fourth Round, lost to Anna Chakvetadze)
  9. Russia Dinara Safina (Third Round, lost to Li Na)
  10. Czech Republic Nicole Vaidišová (Semifinals, lost to Serena Williams)
  11. Serbia Jelena Janković (Fourth Round, lost to Serena Williams)
  12. Russia Anna Chakvetadze (Quarterfinals, lost to Maria Sharapova)
  13. Serbia Ana Ivanovic (Third Round, lost to Vera Zvonareva)
  14. Italy Francesca Schiavone (Second Round, lost to Lucie Šafářová)
  15. Slovakia Daniela Hantuchová (Fourth Round, lost to Kim Clijsters)
  16. Israel Shahar Pe'er (Quarterfinals, lost to Serena Williams)
  17. Germany Anna-Lena Grönefeld (Second Round, lost to Ashley Harkleroad)
  18. France Marion Bartoli (Second Round, lost to Victoria Azarenka)
  19. China Li Na (Fourth Round, lost to Martina Hingis)
  20. France Tatiana Golovin (Third Round, lost to Shahar Pe'er)
  21. Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik (Third Round, lost to Casey Dellacqua)
  22. Russia Vera Zvonareva (Fourth Round, lost to Maria Sharapova)
  23. Japan Ai Sugiyama (Second Round, lost to Anastasiya Yakimova)
  24. Australia Samantha Stosur (Second Round, lost to Jelena Kostanić Tošić)
  25. Spain Anabel Medina Garrigues (First Round, lost to Elena Vesnina)
  26. Russia Maria Kirilenko (Third Round, lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova)
  27. Italy Mara Santangelo (First Round, lost to Serena Williams)
  28. Italy Flavia Pennetta (First Round, lost to Kaia Kanepi)
  29. Ukraine Alona Bondarenko (Third Round, lost to Kim Clijsters)
  30. Italy Tathiana Garbin (Third Round, lost to Maria Sharapova)
  31. China Zheng Jie (First Round, lost to Julia Schruff)
  32. Greece Eleni Daniilidou (First Round, lost to Aiko Nakamura)

Qualifier entries

Attendance

DayDay SessionNight SessionTotal
1 41,254 14,288 55,542
2 33,024 15,574 48,598
3 31,109 16,677 47,786
4 38,622 17,580 56,202
5 32,253 17,557 49,810
6 35,555 14,932 50,487
7 35,957 14,801 50,758
8 28,998 15,178 44,176
9 19,616 15,091 34,707
10 18,674 14,971 33,645
11 16,826 14,957 31,783
12 17,868 17,868
13 15,833 15,833
14 17,663 17,663
Total 383,252 171,606 554,858

[7]

Media coverage

Coverage of the 2007 Australian Open was as follows:

Television networks

Radio

Controversies and scandals

See also

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2007 Australian Open.
Preceded by
2006 U.S. Open
Grand Slams Succeeded by
2007 French Open
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