The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.
After twenty years of playing on Rebound Ace, the courts were changed to Plexicushion, a marginally faster surface. The new surface is thinner, and therefore has lower heat retention. This decision was made in a bid to reduce the "stick" of the court and the frequency of the extreme heat policy being invoked.[1] However, the new surface faced criticism for being too similar to DecoTurf, the surface used at the US Open.[2] Player reaction to the change of surface was generally ambivalent.[3][4]
Both Roger Federer and Serena Williams were unsuccessful in defending their 2007 titles; Federer losing to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals and Williams losing in the quarter-finals to Jelena Janković. Djokovic won his first Grand Slam singles title, defeating unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final; Maria Sharapova, runner-up to Williams in 2007, defeated Ana Ivanovic to win her first Australian Open title and third Grand Slam title.
For the mixed doubles, in every game, the first team to score four points, won the game. In other words, when a deuce happened in a game, the team who won the next point won the game.
- ^ Chris Bevan (11 January 2008). "On-court blues for Aussie tennis?". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Fears of second-rate US Open". The Australian. 31 May 2007. Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 27 January 2008.
- ^ "Federer unimpressed by Plexicushion". Fox Sports Australia. News Corp Australia. 14 January 2008. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011.
- ^ Cambers, Simon (29 December 2007). "Top players unimpressed by Australian Open surface". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 1 January 2008.