AO Press Release, May 25, 2018
The Australian Open is set to highlight some of the classic matches that have made the first Grand Slam of the year one of the most watched sporting events in the world.
Over the coming months a series of classic matches – in an abridged format – will appear on the Australian Open YouTube and social media channels, as the world’s best players continue to battle their way through tournaments across the world.
The first match to go live is the incredible semifinal battle between Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber this year, a dramatic match full of twists and turns that saw the Romanian eventually triumph 6-3 4-6 9-7.
There’s no doubt these two exceptional athletes will be contenders again for the Roland Garros title, with Halep aiming to win her first Grand Slam title and Kerber hoping to add to her Australian Open and US Open crowns won in 2016.
Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley is enjoying reliving and celebrating some of the amazing matches the tournament has produced the past few decades.
“We’ve had such a wonderful time selecting these classic Australian Open matches and I’m sure tennis fans around the world will enjoy watching them and reliving the drama and excitement again,” he said.
“Some of the greats of the games are included in this series, such as Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Martina Hingis and Monica Seles.
“We’ve also included some of the classic matches from this year’s Australian Open, which we believe will be remembered as producing some of the highest quality matches in Grand Slam history.”
As well as Halep and Kerber’s classic battle, other matches set to be featured include:
Martina Hingis v Monica Seles, 2002 women’s semifinal
Two legends of the game, with contrasting styles, gave tennis fans one of the most high quality semifinals in history at Australian Open 2002. In the end Martina Hingis defeated Monica Seles 4-6 6-1 6-4 to set up a final against eventual champion Jennifer Capriati.
Andre Agassi v Pete Sampras, 2000 men’s semifinal
On a cool Melbourne night in 2000, and after nearly three hours on court, Andre Agassi eventually advanced to his fourth Grand Slam final in a row, beating his American rival Pete Sampras 6-4 3-6 6-7(0) 7-6(5) 6-1. This high-quality semifinal stands the test of time as one of the great matches in Australian Open history.
Martina Navratilova v Chris Evert, 1982 women’s singles final
The battle of the Americans ended with Evert winning 6-3 2-6 6-3. Like most of the matches between the fierce rivals, it was a very close match. It was even more significant for Evert, as it was her first Australian Open title, and helped her complete her career Grand Slam.
Hyeon Chung v Novak Djokovic, 2018 men’s fourth round
This is the match that the South Korean rising superstar arrived as a real contender in Grand Slam tennis. Chung outplayed six-time champion Djokovic at his own game, winning in three tight sets 7-6(4) 7-5 7-6(3).
Abridged versions of all these matches, and many more, will be released regularly on the Australian Open YouTube channel.
