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January is the time to fire up your tennis love life. Set foot in Australia to witness history being repeated! The Tennis Australia was actualized in 1904 with the aim of placing the Australian players in the Davis Cup competition. Later, the association created a national tournament, which is one of the primary tournaments of tennis today. The Australian Open is the first among the world's four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, held each in January at Melbourne Park, Australia. Australian Open 2007 kick-starts from January 15 th at 11 a.m. and would close on 28 th January. Australian Open first started in 1905 under the name Australian Championships until the advent of open tennis in 1968. The tournament resurfaced with gusto in 1988 with a venue shift from southeast Melbourne to Melbourne Park. Mats Wilander was the only player to win the tournament, both on grass and on hard court. Just like all other Grand Slams, the Australian Open includes under its canopy Men's and Women's Singles, Mixed Doubles and Doubles. Rod Laver Arena is the center court where the finals of the Australian Open are held and the Vodafone Arena is where the other preliminary matches take place. Australian Open is also the only Grand Slam in the world with movable roofs, which can be shut in case of extreme heat and rain. It is also the only Grand Slam Tournament which can boast of indoor play. The Australian Open is notorious for the scalding heat of Australian summers. The Trophy Cup carries the names of the winners. The Women's Singles winner is conferred with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. The Men's Singles winner is awarded the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. Some of the past champions of Australian Open include Roy Emerson, Ken Rose Wall, and the Rod Laver is the Numero Uno who wins hands down as the greatest player of all times! The current champions include Lleyton Hewitt and Patrick Rafter. In Men's Singles Final 2006, Roger Federer shook the foundations of the tournament with his flamboyant and swashbuckling game beating Marcos Baghdatis. In the Mixed Doubles 2006, Mahesh Bhupathi and Martina Hingis defeated Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhovtseva. In Women's Singles 2006, Amelie Mauresmo won against Justine Henin-Hardenne at the Australian Open.
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