MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are back in action at the Australian Open on Friday with comfortable looking hurdles to overcome to reach the fourth round. Top seed Djokovic, untroubled so far as he seeks a sixth Australian Open title, takes on Italian 28th seed Andreas Seppi having beaten him in all 11 of their previous meetings. Williams resumes her pursuit of a seventh crown at Melbourne Park against Russia’s Daria Kasatkina after fifth seed Maria Sharapova takes on 22-year-old American Lauren Davis. Djokovic will be happy to be back on court after his serene progress was interrupted in his post-match media conference on Tuesday when he was forced to deny allegations in an Italian newspaper about match-fixing in 2007. He will be wary though as Seppi beat Roger Federer at exactly the same round of last year’s Australian Open. Federer, the 17-times grand slam champion, meets 27th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who was once labelled “Baby Federer”. He will look to record a landmark 300th grand slam win, becoming the first man in history to achieve the feat. Women’s fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, still searching for a first grand slam title, faces Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig while Japan’s Ken Nishikori, seeded seventh, starts things off on the Margaret Court Arena against Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. A day after Lleyton Hewitt’s final bow, one of Australia’s big new hopes, Nick Kyrgios, takes on sixth seed Tomas Berdych in what promises to be a raucous night session. (Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; editing by Martyn Herman) 

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<h2><strong>Australian Open: Latest News, Results and Records</strong></h2>
The Australian Open is the youngest of all the Grand Slams, having first started in 1905.

The tournament holds the record for the highest attendance at a Grand Slam event, where 743,667 people attended during the 2018 edition of the Australian Open. It also has the honor of being the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat.

There are three main courts, the Rod Laver Arena, the Melbourne Arena and the Margaret Court Arena. Aside from that, they have courts 7 to 15 and even court 19 and 20. The tournament first became open to all from 1969 onwards, a year after the remaining 3 did so.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-136876 size-full" src="https://www.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/ao-4.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="2000" />
<h2><strong>Records</strong></h2>
<a href="https://www.essentiallysports.com/tag/novak-djokovic/">Novak Djokovic</a> is the most successful player of the Australian Open in the Open era. The Serbian star has clinched eight Australian Open titles.

In the women's side of the game, <a href="https://www.essentiallysports.com/tag/serena-williams/">Serena Williams</a> is the most successful player with seven titles to her credit. Again, this was set in the Open era. Overall, Williams is still four behind tennis legend Margaret Court.

The youngest winner in the men's singles game was Australian player Ken Rosewall. Meanwhile, on the women's side, it was Martina Hingis. The players were 18 years, 2 months and 16 years, 4 months old respectively.

With regard to the oldest players, Rosewall bagged this crown at the aged 37 years and 2 months. However, if <a href="https://www.essentiallysports.com/tag/roger-federer/">Roger Federer</a> wins the Australian Open, he could overtake Rosewall. In the women's side of the game, Thelma Long was the oldest winner at 35 years and 8 months.
<h2>Australian Open 2021 Plans</h2>
The two Grand Slams held after the Australian Open 2020 saw major changes than usual. The <a href="https://www.essentiallysports.com/tag/us-open-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">US Open 2020</a> and <a href="https://www.essentiallysports.com/tag/french-open-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">French Open 2020</a> were held inside a bio-secure bubble on account of the complications arising due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The US Open 2020 was held behind closed doors, while the French Open 2020 saw just 1000 spectators allowed inside the Roland Garros fields.

Australian Open organizers are planning to allow 50 percent of the seats to be filled by fans. This is subject to government clearance. They also <a href="https://www.essentiallysports.com/that-wont-happen-australian-open-2021-proposes-to-relax-strict-quarantine-measures/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plan</a> on introducing relaxations on a lot of the quarantine restrictions the players had in Paris and New York.

While the 14-day quarantine will be there on arrival at Melbourne Park, there is expected to be some freedom for players and their team members.

Australian Open 2021 is expected to be held from January 18-31, 2021.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-99443" src="http://www.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Australian_Open_logo.svg_.png" alt="" width="1280" height="458" />
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><b>Edition</b></td>
<td>108th
Open Era (52nd)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Current Prize Money</b></td>
<td>$4.5 million (men's and women's champion)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Number of Entries (Main Draw)</strong></td>
<td>128</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Current Champions</b></td>
<td><strong>Men's Si</strong><strong style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;">ngles</strong><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;"> - Novak Djokovic</span>

<strong>Women's Singles</strong> - Sofia Kenin

<strong>Men's Doubles</strong> - Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury

<strong>Women's Doubles</strong> - Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic

<strong>Mixed Doubles</strong> - Barbora Krejčíková/Nikola Mektic</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Most Titles</b></td>
<td><strong>Men's Singles</strong> - Novak Djokovic (8)

<strong>Women's Singles</strong> - Margaret Court (11)

<strong>Men's Doubles</strong> - Adrian Quist (10)

<strong>Women's Doubles</strong> - Thelma Coyne Long (12)

<strong>Mixed Doubles</strong> - Harry Hopman, Colin Long, Daphne Akhurst Cozens, Nell Hall Hopman, Nancye Wynne Bolton, Thelma Coyne Long (4)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Australian Open

Australian Open: Latest News, Results and Records The Australian Open is the youngest of all the Grand Slams, having first started in 1905. The tournament holds the record for the highest attendance at a Grand Slam event, where 743,667 people attended during the 2018 edition of the Australian Open. It also has the honor of being the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat. There are three main courts, the Rod Laver Arena, the Melbourne Arena and the Margaret Court Arena. Aside from that, they have courts 7 to 15 and even court 19 and 20. The tournament first became open to all from 1969 onwards, a year after the remaining 3 did so. Records Novak Djokovic is the most successful player of the Australian Open in the Open era. The Serbian star has clinched eight Australian Open titles. In the women&#8217;s side of the game, Serena Williams is the most successful player with seven titles to her credit. Again, this was set in the Open era. Overall, Williams is still four behind tennis legend Margaret Court. The youngest winner in the men&#8217;s singles game was Australian player Ken Rosewall. Meanwhile, on the women&#8217;s side, it was Martina Hingis. The players were 18 years, 2 months and 16 years, 4 months old respectively. With regard to the oldest players, Rosewall bagged this crown at the aged 37 years and 2 months. However, if Roger Federer wins the Australian Open, he could overtake Rosewall. In the women&#8217;s side of the game, Thelma Long was the oldest winner at 35 years and 8 months. Australian Open 2021 Plans The two Grand Slams held after the Australian Open 2020 saw major changes than usual. The US Open 2020 and French Open 2020 were held inside a bio-secure bubble on account of the complications arising due to the coronavirus pandemic. The US Open 2020 was held behind closed doors, while the French Open 2020 saw just 1000 spectators allowed inside the Roland Garros fields. Australian Open organizers are planning to allow 50 percent of the seats to be filled by fans. This is subject to government clearance. They also plan on introducing relaxations on a lot of the quarantine restrictions the players had in Paris and New York. While the 14-day quarantine will be there on arrival at Melbourne Park, there is expected to be some freedom for players and their team members. Australian Open 2021 is expected to be held from January 18-31, 2021.   Edition 108th Open Era (52nd)  Current Prize Money $4.5 million (men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s champion)  Number of Entries (Main Draw) 128  Current Champions Men&#8217;s Singles &#8211; Novak Djokovic Women&#8217;s Singles &#8211; Sofia Kenin Men&#8217;s Doubles &#8211; Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury Women&#8217;s Doubles &#8211; Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic Mixed Doubles &#8211; Barbora Krejčíková/Nikola Mektic  Most Titles Men&#8217;s Singles &#8211; Novak Djokovic (8) Women&#8217;s Singles &#8211; Margaret Court (11) Men&#8217;s Doubles &#8211; Adrian Quist (10) Women&#8217;s Doubles &#8211; Thelma Coyne Long (12) Mixed Doubles &#8211; Harry Hopman, Colin Long, Daphne Akhurst Cozens, Nell Hall Hopman, Nancye Wynne Bolton, Thelma Coyne Long (4)

Australian Open Archives

Australian Open Archives - EssentiallySports

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