2008 Australian Open

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.

2008 Australian Open
Date14–27 January 2008
Edition96th
CategoryGrand Slam (ITF)
SurfaceHardcourt (Plexicushion)
LocationMelbourne, Australia
VenueMelbourne Park
Champions
Men's singles
Novak Djokovic
Women's singles
Maria Sharapova
Men's doubles
Jonathan Erlich / Andy Ram
Women's doubles
Alona Bondarenko / Kateryna Bondarenko
Mixed doubles
Sun Tiantian / Nenad Zimonjić
Wheelchair men's singles
Shingo Kunieda
Wheelchair women's singles
Esther Vergeer
Wheelchair quad singles
Peter Norfolk
Wheelchair men's doubles
Shingo Kunieda / Satoshi Saida
Wheelchair women's doubles
Jiske Griffioen / Esther Vergeer
Wheelchair quad doubles
Nick Taylor / David Wagner
Boys' singles
Bernard Tomic
Girls' singles
Arantxa Rus
Boys' doubles
Hsieh Cheng-peng / Yang Tsung-hua
Girls' doubles
Ksenia Lykina / Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

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. However, the new surface faced criticism for being too similar to DecoTurf, the surface used at the US Open. Player reaction to the change of surface was generally ambivalent.

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.

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