Hyderabad: Tennis is a sport for athletes with impeccable endurance and stamina. It often tests the endurance of the players with matches being played for three sets (sometimes five in the case of Grand Slams). The sport has four major Grand Slams - Australian Open, US Open, French Open and Wimbledon. The sport has been blessed by many greats like Jim Connor, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. These top-class tennis stars broke several records on their way but winning a Grand Slam like the Australian Open on their debut is one of the unique feats only a few have achieved so far in the Open Era.
To be precise, only four players have won the Australian Open on their debut in the tournament.
Virginia Wade
The Tennis star from Great Britain enjoyed a lengthy 26-year career. She won 55 singles titles and is placed eighth on the list of the players with the most titles. She favoured playing in the US Open and also won its inaugural edition in 1968 by stunning top seed Billie Jean King by 6-4, 6-2.
Her achievement to win the Australian Open on her maiden appearance came in 1972 and it was another crowd favourite -Evonne Goolagong this time whom she beat. Her opponent was in the midst of playing consecutive seven Australian Open finals but she beat her by 6-4, 6-4.
Barbara Jordan
Barabara’s Tennis career never really took off and she had an average career exiting in the early rounds of the Grand Slams in the women’s singles. However, she dished out an extraordinary performance in her first Australian Open in 1979. It was the only edition of the Australian Open where she participated in the women’s singles and carved a successful run in the tournament by winning the title.
She beat Sharon Walsh of the USA in the title decider in straight sets with a scoreline of 6-3,6-3. In an otherwise lacklustre career in women’s singles, Barbara owned the record of winning the Australian Open on her maiden appearance and joined an elite club including only a few players.
Monica Seles
Winner of the nine Grand Slam tournaments, Monica Seles was one of the elite athletes in the sport. She represented Yugoslavia and the United States in her professional career. The Tennis star won four Australian Open tournaments (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996), three French Open titles (1990, 1991, 1992) and two US Open titles (1991, 1992).
In 1991, she included herself in the unique list of players who won the Australian Open on their maiden appearance. She defeated Jana Novotná in the final by 5–7, 6–3, 6–1 in three straight sets.
Andre Agassi
The only male player in the list to win the Australian Open on their maiden appearance is Australian star Andre Agassi. He achieved the feat in 1995 beating defending champion Pete Sampras in the final clash by 4–6, 6–1, 7–6(8–6), 6–4 to win the men’s singles title. Agassi made his Australian Open debut in the tournament and had a brilliant start to the tournament campaign by winning it. He went on to be crowned as the champion in the three more editions.
Apart from his title wins in the Australian Open, the American athlete won one French Open and one Wimbledon each while lifting the silverware in the US Open in a couple of editions.
