Australian Open 2024: How well do you know Grand Slam tennis? Try the AP’s quiz
How well do you know the Australian Open, which begins at Melbourne Park on Sunday morning (Saturday night ET)? Try this AP quiz:
1st Round: Sunday Start
The 2024 Australian Open will start on a Sunday — instead of a Monday — and is now a 15-day tournament. In what year did the French Open adopt that schedule? (Bonus: Was the U.S. Open ever scheduled as a 15-day event?)
a.) 2002
b.) 2004
c.) 2006
d.) 2008
2nd Round: Coco Gauff
The Australian Open marks Coco Gauff’s first major tournament as a Grand Slam champion; she won the U.S. Open last September at 19. How many other teens representing the United States have won that country’s major since the professional era began in 1968? (Bonus: Who were the others and in which years did they win?)
a.) 1
b.) 2
c.) 3
d.) 4
3rd Round: Australian Open Sites
The tournament now known as the Australian Open was first contested in 1905 in Melbourne, its current home, before moving around. Where was the second edition? (Bonus: When did Melbourne become the permanent home?)
a.) Sydney
b.) Perth
c.) Christchurch
d.) Brisbane
4th Round: Beating Grand Slam champions
At Melbourne Park last year, Elena Rybakina beat a trio of past Grand Slam champions — Iga Swiatek, Jelena Ostapenko and Victoria Azarenka — before losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Who was the last woman to eliminate three previous major winners during one Australian Open? (Bonus: What year did it happen and who were the opponents?)
a.) Amelie Mauresmo
b.) Serena Williams
c.) Caroline Wozniacki
d.) Jennifer Capriati
Quarterfinals: American men
Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and Sebastian Korda reached the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park in 2023, part of a recent surge by U.S. men. When was the last time three men from that country made it that far at the Australian Open? (Bonus: Who were the three in the previous instance and who made it the furthest?)
a.) 1995
b.) 2000
c.) 2005
d.) 2010
Semifinals: Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic’s 24 Grand Slam singles trophies are the most in the Open era. He also holds the men’s record for most Slam semifinals reached with 47, one more than Roger Federer (Chris Evert reached 52). At which of the four major tournaments has Djokovic reached the fewest semifinals? (Bonus: How many semifinal appearances and titles does he have from each?)
a.) Australian Open
b.) French Open
c.) Wimbledon
d.) U.S. Open
Final: Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka, returning to Grand Slam competition after becoming a mother, owns four major titles: two at the Australian Open and two at the U.S. Open. That ties her with Iga Swiatek among active women. How many active women have won more? (Bonus: List them and their number of titles.)
a.) 1
b.) 2
c.) 3
d.) 4
ANSWERS
1st Round. c. Players such as Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova who were on the Day 1 schedule at Roland Garros 18 years ago were hardly thrilled. In 2013 and 2014, the U.S. Open was set up to last 15 days by starting and ending on a Monday. That tournament reverted to a 14-day schedule in 2015, from Monday to Sunday.
2nd Round. b. Tracy Austin was 16 in 1979 and 18 in 1981, and Serena Williams was 17 in 1999.
3rd Round. c. The tennis tournament that initially was called the Australasian Championships was played in New Zealand twice: at Christchurch in 1906 and Hastings in 1912. Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth also have hosted the event, though none nearly as many times as Melbourne, which took over as permanent host in 1972.
4th Round. d. In 2001, Capriati claimed the first of her three career major championships by getting past Monica Seles in the quarterfinals, Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals and Martina Hingis in the final of the Australian Open.
Quarterfinals. b. Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Chris Woodruff had been the last trio of men from the United States to get to the round of eight in Melbourne. Sampras beat Woodruff in the quarterfinals, and Agassi eliminated Sampras in the semifinals en route to the championship.
Semifinals. a. Djokovic’s most major trophies came at the Australian Open, 10, but his 10 semifinal appearances there are his least in a Grand Slam (he is a combined 20-0 in semifinals and finals in Melbourne). He reached the semifinals at least a dozen times at each of the other majors: the U.S. Open (13 semifinals, four titles), Wimbledon (12 semifinals, seven titles) and French Open (12 semifinals, three titles).
Final. a. Venus Williams, with seven, is the only active woman with more Grand Slam singles titles than Osaka or Swiatek. The 43-year-old Williams — whose sister, Serena, retired after the 2022 U.S. Open with 23 majors — won Wimbledon five times and the U.S. Open twice.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis