Australian Championship

The Australian Championship is a tennis tournament which is held in Australia. It is usually the last grand slam of the year and is remote from Europeans.

Pre WW1
The first Australian Championship was played in Melbourne on November 1905 with seventeen tennis players playing in the first tournament which included British player, Randolph Lycett who made it to the semi-finals of the tournament. In the final it was, Rodney Heath who would take out the singles title as he defeated Alfred Dunlop in four sets. The following year would see the tournament go outside of Australia for the only time with Anthony Wilding winning the singles title in New Zealand.

In 1908, Fred Alexander made history by becoming the first player not from Oceania to make it to the men's singles final as he would fall short as he would go to lose to Alfred Dunlop in five sets. But he would create history by winning the doubles tournament and becoming the first player from outside of the Australasian area to win the grand slam. In the following year, Wilding became the first person to win the single's twice as he defeated Ernie Parker in straight sets. Heath would than win his second Australian Open title at the 1910 edition, smashing Fred Wyllie in straight sets.

The 1911 saw another straight sets victory before the first non Australasian won in 1912 when Arthur Lowe took out the single's title defeating fellow Brit, Charles Dixon in five sets in what was the first final that two overseas players competed in.