The 9 Australians to win the Australian Open title: Can de Minaur add his name to the list?

Oliver Paton
L-R: Ashleigh Barty and Rod Laver.
Australian tennis players Ashleigh Barty and Rod Laver.

Winning a Grand Slam is tough. Winning a Grand Slam in your home country – for many – is even tougher.

As Alex de Minaur seeks to get his hands on the Australian Open title, we look back on the nine Australians who lifted the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup or Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.

Women:

Margaret Court – 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973

Court was the first woman to lift the singles title in the Open Era, claiming the trophy on four occasions and cementing her as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

In 2003, the second court at the Australian Open changed its name from Show Court One to Margaret Court Arena.

The Australian won 3 of her 4 Open Era finals in straight sets, including a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Billie Jean King in 1969.

Evonne Goolagong – 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 (Dec)

By January 1974, Goolagong had elevated herself to the top of the game, having won Roland Garros, and Wimbledon in previous years.

In 1974, en route to the final, the Australian lost a set in the fourth round, quarter-final, and semi-final.

In the final, Goolagong continued the trend and defeated American Christ Evert 7-6, 4-6, 6-0.

She would go on to win three more titles down under.

Kerry Melville – 1977 (Jan)

1977 marked a special year for the Grand Slam, with it being held twice in one year – once in January and again in December. This was due to a scheduling change.

Nonetheless, in its usual time slot, three-time and reigning champion Goolagong was forced to miss the tournament as she was pregnant with her future daughter.

Kerry Melville took advantage and lifted her first – and only – Grand Slam title at the Australian Open that year.

However, Melville was already an established player, having reached a career-high ranking of No 5 and being included in the top-10 rankings for 12 consecutive years.

In the final, Melville defeated Dianne Fromholtz 7-5, 6-2.

Chris O’Neil – 1978

O’Neil’s victory marked seven consecutive Australian women’s singles champions.

Unlike Melville, she was relatively unknown and had a career-high ranking of No 80. In fact, she had never gone further than the third round of a Grand Slam before winning the Australian Open

In the final, she beat Betsy Nagelsen 6-3, 7-6(3) who – at the time – had also never been past the third round of any Grand Slam.

Ash Barty – 2022

Australia would have to wait 44 years before a countrywoman could lift the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, and it would come in the form of an all-court player with a one-handed backhand – Ash Barty.

She was world No 1 at the time, having won Roland Garros and Wimbledon previously, and was in fine form the entire tournament. Barty did not drop a set en route to the title, winning six sets 6-0 or 6-1.

In the final, she defeated Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6(2).

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Men:

Rod Laver – 1969

Laver was victorious in the Open Era’s first Australian Open, and it would mark the last of his titles ‘down under’ – having won twice before the Open Era.

The title would be the first step in his journey towards the ‘Laver Slam’ (winning all four Grand Slams in the same year).

In the final, he beat Andres Gimeno 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 and collected his eighth Grand Slam overall.

Ken Rosewall – 1971, 1972

Rosewall’s journey to the Australian Open title in 1971 marked the first time that a man had won a Grand Slam singles title without dropping a set.

In his first final, he defeated defending champion Arthur Ashe 6-1, 7-5, 6-3.

Defending the title in 1972 was not quite as straightforward, dropping one set in the process – to Allan Stone in the semi-finals.

After overcoming Mal Anderson in the final, Rosewall became the oldest Grand Slam champion in men’s singles Open Era history.

John Newcombe – 1973, 1975

Four years after Laver’s final victory, Newcombe’s two titles arrived in two very different fashions.

In 1973, the Australian lost just one set on the way to lifting the trophy, and that was in the final versus fellow Australian Onny Parun.

However, in 1975, Newcombe would have to battle through three five-set matches, ultimately winning the final in four sets against tennis legend Jimmy Connors – 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(7).

Mark Edmondson – 1976

In the very next year, the tables were turned on Newcombe, with Edmondson making a sensational run to the Australian Open title.

At the time, he was ranked 212th in the world and remains the lowest-ranked champion of any Grand Slam since the beginning of the ATP rankings.

Edmondson had never made it past the second round of any Grand Slam and was competing in just his second-ever edition of the Australian Open.

In the final, he fought from a set down against Newcombe to claim his sole Grand Slam title 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, 6-1.

Edmondson remains the last Australian player to win the men’s singles title.

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