The 2008 Australian Open was a

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...

, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

, 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. However, the new surface faced criticism for being too similar to

DecoTurf DecoTurf is a brand of tennis hardcourt constructed from layers of acrylic resin, rubber, silica, and other materials on top of an asphalt or concrete base. It is manufactured by the sports surfaces division of California Products Corporation ...

, the surface used at the US Open. Player reaction to the change of surface was generally ambivalent. Both Roger Federer and

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) fo ...

were unsuccessful in defending their 2007 titles; Federer losing to

Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. ...

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 Ana Schweinsteiger ( sr, Ана Швајнштајгер / ''Ana Švajnštajger''; born 6 November 1987), professionally known by her birth name Ana Ivanovic (Ана Ивановић / ''Ana Ivanović'', ), is a Serbian former world No. 1 tenn ...

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.

Notable stories

Surface change

On 30 May 2007, Australian Open tournament director

Craig Tiley Craig Tiley (born 1962) is a South African tennis executive and retired U.S. college tennis coach. Tiley is the current CEO of Tennis Australia, which is the governing body that oversees tennis in Australia. He is also the Director of the Aust ...

announced that as of the 2008 Australian Open, the Rebound Ace surface that had been used since 1988 would be replaced by a newer, faster Plexicushion surface. The Rebound Ace surface had been criticized for several years, from players including Andy Roddick and

Mark Philippoussis Mark Anthony Philippoussis ( ; born 7 November 1976) is an Australian former professional tennis player of Greek and Italian descent. Philippoussis' greatest achievements are winning two Davis Cup titles with Australia in 1999 and 2003, winni ...

, who claimed that the "stick" of the court was a contributing factor in many players injuring themselves. This "stick" was a result of the thick rubber mat (10 mm) laid beneath the surface, the high heat retention because of this, and the high temperatures present during the Australian summer, which intermittently resulted in the extreme heat policy being invoked. Conversely, players such as

Pete Sampras Petros "Pete" Sampras ( el, Πέτρος Σάμπρας; born August 12, 1971) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. His professional career began in 1988 and ended at the 2002 US Open, which he won, defeating longtime rival Andre ...

and Marat Safin put the high number of injuries down to lack of preparation from players; partly due to the fact that the tournament is held so early in the year, but also because there were so few tournaments preceding it. Rebound Ace was also chastised by Lleyton Hewitt for having an inconsistent bounce, in terms of height and pace (shock absorption); and claimed that these factors varied depending on the weather. The heat retention of the surface had also been a point of contention between players. In announcing the change, Tiley said Plexicushion would have a "lower rubber content than Rebound Ace, was firmer under foot and retained less heat through its thinner top layer." Tiley later said that the change of colour, from green to blue, would also benefit players and officials, although this change was quite arbitrary. The manufacturers of Rebound Ace derided the new surface, with director Paul Bull saying that, "We had an Australian icon event with a unique Australian product and now we are just going to become a clone of the US Open." Bull also said that the inconsistencies in pace were down to the organizers' imperative, who kept asking for the pace to be adjusted to pander for certain players, such as Hewitt. Bull, however, conceded that a change was needed; and said that the suggestion of a Rebound Ace court with a rubber mat thickness of around 5 mm was made. The Plexicushion surface received a relatively mixed reception from players. Lleyton Hewitt, Justine Henin and

were all keen to endorse the new courts; with Hewitt's appraisal focused on the greater consistency of the courts. Henin called it a "good surface" but said she did not find it markedly distinguishable from Rebound Ace, saying the biggest difference was the change of colour. Williams claimed that the court was not as "bouncy" and was causing less physical strain on her feet and ankles. One source of criticism from players was the slower than expected pace, although many of these comments came prior to the event's commencement. Players were exposed to the new courts through other tournaments, played in advance of the Open; and practise on the new surface. Roger Federer described it as slow, with

, Jelena Janković and James Blake all corroborating this opinion, albeit from experience in preliminary tournaments. Pundit and former World No. 1 Pat Rafter said it was possible that the courts would speed up in time.

Implementation of anti-corruption policing

On 21 December 2007, organizers of the event announced that the tournament would be watched under the scrutiny of anti-corruption officials. A partnership was formed with

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victoria Police had over 22,300 staff, comprising over 16,700 ...

. This announcement came in the wake of a series of scandals to hit the sport, including World No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko coming under suspicion of

match fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...

; with at least a dozen other players coming forward about having been approached to influence matches in an unethical manner. Tennis Australia chief executive Steve Wood commented that, "Match-fixing and illegal gambling are a threat to the integrity of sport. We're putting our policies, procedures and programme in place to protect it." This was followed by a statement from the wider community of the International Tennis Federation (ITF),

Association of Tennis Professionals The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour, the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Champions Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, a ...

(ATP),

Women's Tennis Association The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women and was founded to create a better future for women's tenn ...

(WTA) and organizers of all four Grand Slams that they would review their anti-corruption policies in the future. This announcement came six days prior to the start of the Open, on 8 January 2008.

Crowd trouble

On 15 January, Day 2 of the tournament, Victoria Police had to intervene when

Greek Australian Greek Australians ( el, Ελληνοαυστραλοί, ) are Australians of Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek an ...

supporters, following Greece's

Konstantinos Economidis Konstantinos Economidis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Οικονομίδης, born 2 November 1977) is a retired professional Greek tennis player and a former Greek No. 1. In 2007, he qualified for the French Open and defeated Australian Chris G ...

in his match against Chilean Fernando González, became unruly. The match, in progress at the

Margaret Court Arena Margaret Court Arena is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment venue located in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena, which was built in 1987 and redeveloped in the mid-2010s, has a capacity of 7,500. History Originally ...

, was suspended for ten minutes as the police attempted stop the "offensive chanting" and eject certain fans. Approximately forty supporters, heavily outnumbered by

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

an fans, were warned of their disorderly conduct prior to the police deploying pepper spray. The police regiment was heavily outnumbered, with a BBC Radio employee commenting that, " here weretwo guys against maybe 70-80, that's not good." Tournament officials said that 3 people had been sprayed and 5 evicted; a small proportion of the Greek fans left the arena, upset at how events were transpiring and fearing for their safety. Both players said that the trouble was not something they had witnessed before; and Economidis condemned his supporters, saying that, "It was a really nice atmosphere until this moment. I am really unhappy." Some witnesses have implicated Cypriot and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

n supporters in the trouble. Australian Open director, Craig Tiley, had announced in the week preceding the event that police and security forces would "impose a 'zero-tolerance' policy on anti-social behaviour". This statement appeared to be a delayed reaction to the trouble that marred the event in 2007, with Australian youths of Greek, Serbian and Croatian origins involved in mutually abusive sparring. However, the problem was much more pronounced in 2007, with violence breaking out and around 150 fans ejected.

Sexual assault

Police were called to investigate a report that a 12-year-old girl was indecently assaulted by a drunk man at the Australian Open. In a brief statement, Victoria Police said they received a report that the girl was inappropriately touched on the buttocks on Monday. "The matter was reported to police this morning and the incident is currently being investigated", the statement said. This event mirrors a series of incidents that occurred at last year's event, when several men attending the tournament were arrested for taking upskirt photographs.

Marcos Baghdatis video controversy

During the Open, a video posted on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

almost a year earlier made headlines in the Australian media. The video shows the 2008 fifteenth seed, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, at a barbecue hosted by his

fans in Melbourne in early 2007. In it, Baghdatis is holding a flare and taking part in chants against the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-s ...

. Melbourne's Turkish Cypriot community called for Baghdatis to be expelled from Australia, but in a statement issued through his manager, the Cypriot player said he was "supporting the interest of my country, Cyprus, while protesting against a situation that is not recognized by the United Nations".

Serbian performance

This tournament saw strong performances from Serbian players. The men's side saw

Janko Tipsarević Janko Tipsarević ( sr-cyr, Јанко Типсаревић, ; born 22 June 1984) is a Serbian former tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 8, achieved on 2 April 2012. In his career, he won 4 ATP World Tour titles, one ...

, winner of the boys' tournament in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, almost cause an upset when he pushed Roger Federer to five sets in the third round, with the final score being 6–7 (5–7), 7–6 (7–1), 5–7, 6–1, 10–8 in Federer's favour. The match, which overlapped into the night session due to rain earlier in the day, took almost four-and-a-half hours to complete. Third-seed

became Serbia's first Grand Slam singles title winner (Ana Ivanovic would later become that country's first Grand Slam women's singles title winner, at the 2008 French Open), and the youngest ever winner of the Australian Open, at 20 years and 250 days of age, when he defeated surprise finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final, having defeated the defending champion Federer in the semi-finals, and Australian hopeful Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets in the fourth round. Coincidentally, Djokovic would also defeat Federer in straight sets en route to his second Australian Open title, in 2011. The women's draw saw Jelena Janković, the 2001 girls' champion, and

produce notable performances to reach the semi-finals and the final, respectively. Janković saved three match points against Tamira Paszek in the first round, before defeating rising Australian player

Casey Dellacqua Casey Dellacqua ( ; born 11 February 1985) is a retired Australian professional tennis player and current commentator. Her best singles results on the WTA Tour have been semifinal appearances at the 2012 Texas Tennis Open and 2014 Birmingham ...

in the fourth round. Janković then ended the title defence of

in the quarter-finals, before losing her semi-final to Maria Sharapova. Twenty-four hours after Janković's victory over Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic recorded her first career victory against Venus Williams in her quarter-final, and went on to reach her second Grand Slam final by defeating Daniela Hantuchová in the semi-finals, having to recover from a 0–6, 0–2 deficit to do so. Ivanovic was then defeated in the final by Maria Sharapova, in a match dubbed as the "Glam Slam" final.

Day-by-day summaries

Seniors

Men's singles

defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6^(7–2) * It was Djokovic's 1st title of the year, and his 8th overall. It was his 1st career Grand Slam title.

Women's singles

Maria Sharapova defeated

, 7–5, 6–3

Men's doubles

Jonathan Erlich /

Andy Ram Andreas "Andy" Ram ( he, אנדי רם; born April 10, 1980) is a retired Israeli professional tennis player. He was primarily a doubles player, and competed in three Olympics. He is the first Israeli tennis player to win a senior Grand Slam ...

defeated Arnaud Clément /

Michaël Llodra Michaël Llodra (; born 18 May 1980) is a French former professional tennis player. He was a successful doubles player with three Grand Slam championships and an Olympic silver medal, and has also had success in singles, winning five career titl ...

, 7–5, 7–6^(7–4) * The duo's first Grand Slam win after numerous ATP titles * The first ever Grand Slam trophy in Men's Doubles for Israeli players.

Women's doubles

Alona Bondarenko /

Kateryna Bondarenko Kateryna Volodymyrivna Volodko (née Bondarenko; uk, Катерина Володимирівна Бондаренко; born 8 August 1986) is a tennis player from Ukraine. She was the doubles champion in 2008 at the Australian Open, partnering ...

defeated Victoria Azarenka /

Shahar Pe'er Shahar Pe'er ( he, שחר פאר, ; born ) is an Israeli retired tennis player. Pe'er won five singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as four singles and three doubles titles on the ITF circuit in her career. She reache ...

, 2–6, 6–1, 6–4 *It was Alona and Kateryna's 1st career Grand Slam doubles title.

Mixed doubles

Sun Tiantian Sun Tiantian (; ; born 12 October 1981) is a Chinese former professional tennis player. She won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in women's doubles along with her partner Li Ting. Sun reached a career-high singles ranking of worl ...

/ Nenad Zimonjić defeated

Sania Mirza Sania Mirza (; born 15 November 1986) is an Indian professional tennis player. A former doubles world No. 1, she has won six major titles – three in women's doubles and three in mixed doubles. From 2003 until her retirement from singles ...

/ Mahesh Bhupathi, 7–6^(7–4), 6–4 *It was Sun's 1st career Grand Slam mixed doubles title. *It was Zimonjić's 3rd career Grand Slam mixed doubles title and his 2nd at the Australian Open.

Juniors

Boys' singles

Bernard Tomic def Yang Tsung-hua, 4–6, 7–6(5), 6–0

Girls' singles

Arantxa Rus Arantxa Rus (; born 13 December 1990) is a Dutch tennis player. In 2008, she won the girl's singles title at the Australian Open, defeating Jessica Moore from Australia in the final. With this win she went from 35th to second place on the junio ...

defeated Jessica Moore, 6–3, 6–4

Boys' doubles

Hsieh Cheng-peng Hsieh Cheng-peng (; born 22 September 1991) is an inactive tennis player from Taiwan. Alongside Yang Tsung-hua he won the 2008 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' doubles title. He won the 2009 US Open – Boys' doubles with Márton Fuc ...

/ Yang Tsung-hua defeated

Vasek Pospisil Vasek Pospisil ( ; cs, Vašek Pospíšil, ; known in born June 23, 1990) is a Canadian professional tennis player. Pospisil has a career-high world singles ranking of No. 25, and No. 4 in doubles. Along with partner Jack Sock, he won the 2014 ...

/ César Ramírez, 3–6, 7–5, 0��

Girls' doubles

Ksenia Lykina Ksenia Valentinovna Lykina (russian: Ксения Валентиновна Лыкина; born 19 June 1990) is a Russian former tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or betw ...

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Anastasia Sergeyevna "Nastia" Pavlyuchenkova (russian: Анастаси́я "Настя" Серге́евна Павлюче́нкова; born 3 July 1991) is an inactive Russian professional tennis player. A junior prodigy, Pavlyuchenkova won ...

defeated

Elena Bogdan Elena Bogdan (born 28 March 1992) is a professional tennis player from Romania. On 18 July 2011, she achieved her career-high singles ranking of world No. 151. On 8 June 2015, she peaked at No. 79 in the WTA doubles rankings. Junior career At ...

/ Misaki Doi, 6–0, 6–4

Wheelchair

Wheelchair men's singles

Shingo Kunieda defeated Michaël Jérémiasz, 6–1, 6–4

Wheelchair women's singles

Esther Vergeer defeated Korie Homan, 6–3, 6–3

Wheelchair men's doubles

Shingo Kunieda / Satoshi Saida defeated Robin Ammerlaan / Ronald Vink, 6–4, 6–3

Wheelchair women's doubles

Jiske Griffioen Jiske Griffioen (born 17 April 1985) is a Dutch professional wheelchair tennis player. In doubles, Griffioen is a 14-time major champion, Paralympic gold medalist, seven-time Masters champion, and a former world No. 1. Alongside Aniek van Koot, ...

/ Esther Vergeer defeated Korie Homan / Sharon Walraven, 6–3, 6–1

Wheelchair quad singles

Peter Norfolk defeated David Wagner, 6–2, 6–3

Wheelchair quad doubles

Nicholas Taylor / David Wagner defeated

Sarah Hunter Sarah Alice Hunter, (born 19 September 1985) is an English rugby union player. She has represented since the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup and currently captains the team. At the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup Hunter received her 138th internati ...

/ Peter Norfolk, 5–7, 6–0, 0��

Seeds

These were the seeds for the 2008 Australian Open. On the women's side of the draw, all of the world's top thirty-two players were present; whereas in the men's draw Tommy Haas and Guillermo Cañas were both forced to withdraw due to injury. On the date that the seeds were announced, 11 January 2008, Haas was No. 12 in the world and Cañas No. 17.ATP rankings for 7 January 2008
ATP website

Men's singles

# Roger Federer, ''(semifinals, lost to

)'' #

Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...

, ''(semifinals, lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga)'' #

, (champion) # Nikolay Davydenko, ''(4th Round, lost to Mikhail Youzhny)'' #

David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour (ATP 250, ATP 500, Masters 1000) except at a major, ...

, ''(quarterfinals, lost to

)'' # Andy Roddick, ''(3rd Round, lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber)'' # Fernando González, ''(3rd Round, lost to Marin Čilić)'' # Richard Gasquet, ''(4th Round, lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga)'' #

Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...

, ''(1st Round, lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga)'' # David Nalbandian, ''(3rd Round, lost to

Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he ...

)'' #

Tommy Robredo Tomás Robredo Garcés, known as Tommy Robredo (, ; born 1 May 1982), is a Spanish former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 5, which he reached in August 2006 as a result of winning the Hamburg Masters ea ...

, ''(2nd Round, lost to

Mardy Fish Mardy Simpson Fish (born December 9, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. He was a hardcourt specialist. He is one of several American tennis players who rose to prominence in the early 2000s.Fish won six tournaments on the ma ...

)'' # James Blake, ''(quarterfinals, lost to Roger Federer)'' # Tomáš Berdych, ''(4th Round, lost to Roger Federer)'' # Mikhail Youzhny, ''(quarterfinals, lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga)'' # Marcos Baghdatis, ''(3rd Round, lost to Lleyton Hewitt)'' # Carlos Moyá, ''(1st Round, lost to

Stefan Koubek Stefan Koubek (born 2 January 1977) is a retired tennis player from Austria. Koubek played left-handed with a double-handed backhand. His idol when growing up was Thomas Muster. Koubek won three titles, two of which came on hardcourts; despite th ...

)'' # Ivan Ljubičić, ''(1st Round, lost to Robin Haase)'' # Juan Ignacio Chela, ''(1st Round, lost to Guillermo García López)'' # Lleyton Hewitt, ''(4th Round, lost to

)'' # Ivo Karlović, ''(3rd Round, lost to Mikhail Youzhny)'' # Juan Mónaco, ''(3rd Round, lost to Tomáš Berdych)'' #

, ''(4th Round, lost to

)'' #

Paul-Henri Mathieu Paul-Henri Mathieu (; born 12 January 1982) is a French former professional tennis player. He won four singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best singles performance in an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament was reaching the semifinals of the ...

, ''(4th Round, lost to

)'' #

Jarkko Nieminen Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen (born 23 July 1981) is a Finnish former professional tennis player. His highest ranking of world No. 13, achieved in July 2006, is a Finnish record. He has won two ATP singles titles and five doubles titles in his care ...

, ''(quarterfinals, lost to

)'' # Fernando Verdasco, ''(2nd Round, lost to

)'' # Stanislas Wawrinka, ''(2nd Round, lost to Marc Gicquel)'' #

Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...

, ''(1st Round, lost to Marin Čilić)'' #

Gilles Simon Gilles Simon (; born 27 December 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. He had a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 6 attained on 5 January 2009. He turned professional in 2002 and won 14 singles titles on the ATP Tour. ...

, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' # Philipp Kohlschreiber, ''(4th Round, lost to

)'' #

Radek Štěpánek Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 10 ...

, ''(1st Round, lost to Vincent Spadea)'' #

Igor Andreev Igor Valeryevich Andreev (russian: link=no, И́горь Вале́рьевич Андре́ев, BGN/PCGN: ''Andreyev'', ISO 9: ''Andreev'', ; born 14 July 1983) is a Russian former professional tennis player. He won three ATP Tour singles t ...

, ''(3rd Round, lost to Richard Gasquet)'' # Dmitry Tursunov, ''(2nd Round, lost to Sam Querrey)''

Women's singles

# Justine Henin, ''(quarterfinals, lost to Maria Sharapova)'' # Svetlana Kuznetsova, ''(3rd Round, lost to Agnieszka Radwańska)'' # Jelena Janković, ''(semifinals, lost to Maria Sharapova)'' #

, ''(final, lost to Maria Sharapova)'' # Maria Sharapova, (champion) # Anna Chakvetadze, ''(3rd Round, lost to

Maria Kirilenko Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko ( rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Кириле́нко, p=mɐˈrʲijə kʲɪrʲɪˈlʲɛnkə ; born 25 January 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A junior Grand Slam champion at the 2002 US Open a ...

)'' #

, ''(quarterfinals, lost to Jelena Janković) '' # Venus Williams, ''(quarterfinals, lost to

)'' # Daniela Hantuchová, ''(semifinals, lost to

)'' # Marion Bartoli, ''(1st Round, lost to Sofia Arvidsson)'' # Elena Dementieva, ''(4th Round, lost to Maria Sharapova)'' # Nicole Vaidišová, ''(4th Round, lost to

)'' # Tatiana Golovin, ''(2nd Round, lost to Aravane Rezaï)'' # Nadia Petrova, ''(4th Round, lost to Agnieszka Radwańska)'' # Patty Schnyder, ''(2nd Round, lost to

)'' # Dinara Safina, ''(1st Round, lost to

Sabine Lisicki Sabine Katharina Lisicki (; born 22 September 1989) is a German professional tennis player. Lisicki turned professional in 2006, and her breakthrough came in 2009 when she reached the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Championships, and also won ...

)'' #

, ''(3rd Round, lost to Elena Dementieva)'' # Amélie Mauresmo, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' # Sybille Bammer, ''(2nd Round, lost to Hsieh Su-wei)'' #

Ágnes Szávay Ágnes Szávay ( hu, Szávay Ágnes, ; born 29 December 1988) is a former professional tennis player from Hungary. The 2007 WTA Newcomer of the Year achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 13 in April 2008. Personal life Szávay was bor ...

, ''(1st Round, lost to Ekaterina Makarova)'' # Alona Bondarenko, ''(2nd Round, lost to Caroline Wozniacki)'' #

Lucie Šafářová Lucie Šafářová (; born 4 February 1987) is a Czech former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles, and No. 5 in singles. She is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2015 Australian Open, 2015 ...

, ''(1st Round, lost to

Catalina Castaño Catalina Castaño Álvarez (; born 7 July 1979) is a retired Colombian professional tennis player. Her highest singles ranking of 35 she achieved in 2006. In her career, she won ten titles on the ITF Circuit, six in singles, as well as one ...

)'' # Vera Zvonareva, ''(1st Round, retired due to injury)'' # Li Na, ''(3rd Round, lost to Marta Domachowska)'' # Francesca Schiavone, ''(3rd Round, lost to Justine Henin)'' # Victoria Azarenka, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' #

, ''(4th Round, lost to Daniela Hantuchová)'' # Katarina Srebotnik, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' # Agnieszka Radwańska, ''(quarterfinals, lost to Daniela Hantuchová)'' # Virginie Razzano, ''(3rd Round, lost to Jelena Janković)'' #

, ''(3rd Round, lost to Venus Williams)'' # Julia Vakulenko, ''(1st Round, lost to

Elena Vesnina Elena Sergeyevna Vesnina (born 1 August 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player and a former world No. 1 in doubles. She is a four-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2013 French Open, 2014 US Open, and 2017 Wimbledon Cha ...

)''

Main draw wildcard entries

Men's singles

Denis Istomin Denis Olegovich Istomin (born 7 September 1986) is an Uzbek professional tennis player. He has won two singles titles (at the 2015 Aegon Open Nottingham and 2017 Chengdu Open) and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 33 in A ...

* Alun Jones * Brydan Klein * Jesse Levine * Nick Lindahl *

Mathieu Montcourt Mathieu Montcourt (4 March 1985 – 6 July 2009) was a professional French tennis player. At the 2006, 2007, and 2009 French Opens, he lost in the second round, to Lleyton Hewitt, Jarkko Nieminen, and Radek Štěpánek respectively. Career In ...

Joseph Sirianni Joseph Sirianni (born 17 January 1975) is a former Australian tennis player from Melbourne, Victoria. Sirianni was born to father Joseph and mother Ida. Sirianni turned professional in 1996 and he plays right-handed. He achieved his career-high ...

Robert Smeets Robert Smeets (born 10 November 1985) is an Australian retired professional tennis player. Though born in the Netherlands, Smeets moved to Australia aged 12 and took residency. Personal life Smeets has two sisters, called Karin and Cheyenne. H ...

Women's singles

Monique Adamczak Monique Adamczak (born 21 January 1983) is an Australian professional tennis player. Her favourite surface is grass. She has specialised in doubles and has been coached by Tony Roche, former coach of Roger Federer. Adamczak made her debut a ...

Madison Brengle Madison Brengle (born April 3, 1990) is an American professional tennis player. Her biggest success she had in early 2015, reaching her first WTA Tour final in January, followed by a fourth round major event appearance at the Australian Open. I ...

* Sophie Ferguson * Jarmila Gajdošová * Mathilde Johansson * Jessica Moore *

Iroda Tulyaganova Iroda Tulyaganova ( uz, Ирода Тўлаганов, translit=Iroda To'laganova; born 7 January 1982) is a former professional tennis player from Uzbekistan. Tulyaganova has career-high WTA rankings of 16 in singles (reached in June 2002) and ...

* Christina Wheeler

Men's doubles

Carsten Ball Carsten Thomas Ball (born 20 June 1987) is an American-Australian retired professional tennis player. Although born and based in the United States, Carsten has represented Australia on tour. Tennis career Carsten Ball was born in Newport Beac ...

Adam Feeney Adam Feeney (born 7 March 1985) is a professional Australian tennis player. Tennis career Feeney's highest ATP singles ranking was World No. 248, which he reached in September 2007. His career high in doubles was World No. 100, which he rea ...

Andrew Coelho Andrew Coelho (born 2 October 1987) is a retired professional Australian tennis player. Coelho's highest ATP singles ranking is World No. 281, which he reached on 3 November 2008. His career high in doubles was at 207 set at 5 November 2007 ...

/ Brydan Klein *

Colin Ebelthite Colin Ebelthite (born 27 November 1984) is a former Australian professional tennis player. Ebelthite's highest ATP singles ranking is World 209, which he reached on 23 June 2008. His career high in doubles was at 98 set at 17 September 2012. T ...

/ Nick Lindahl * Samuel Groth /

* Chris Guccione / Peter Luczak *

Nathan Healey Nathan Healey (born 27 February 1980 in Gosford, New South Wales) is an Australian tennis player. Turning professional in 1998, Healey has won 3 doubles titles. In 2006, he earned a wildcard to the Australian Open, making the 3rd round, whe ...

* Alun Jones / Greg Jones

Women's doubles

/ Christina Wheeler * Alison Bai /

Nicole Kriz Nicole Kriz (born 13 December 1983) is a retired Australian tennis player. Her career-high WTA doubles ranking is No. 104, achieved on 9 July 2007. Her career-high singles ranking is world No. 332, which she reached on 4 August 2008. Early lif ...

Tyra Calderwood Tyra Calderwood (born 19 September 1990)http://www.itftennis.com/procircuit/players/player/profile.aspx?playerid=100041331 is a former professional Australian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 607, which she reached on 6 Oct ...

Alenka Hubacek Alenka Hubacek (born 24 November 1990) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Hubacek has a career-high WTA rankings of 460 in singles, achieved on 8 February 2010, and 274 in doubles, set on 27 September 2010. On the ITF Circuit, ...

/ Jessica Moore * Daniella Dominikovic / Emily Hewson * Sophie Ferguson / Trudi Musgrave *

Marija Mirkovic Marija Mirkovic ( sr, Марија Мирковић, Marija Mirković; born 23 February 1990) is a former professional Australian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 276, which she reached on 6 July 2009. Her career-high in doub ...

Karolina Wlodarczak Karolina Wlodarczak ( pl, Karolina Włodarczak; born 27 June 1987) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Her highest WTA rankings are 380 in singles and 248 in doubles. At the 2008 Australian Open, Wlodarczak was given a wildcard ...

Mixed doubles

/ Stephen Huss * Sophie Ferguson /

* Jarmila Gajdošová / Samuel Groth *

Isabella Holland Isabella Holland (born 2 January 1992) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Career Holland's preferred surfaces are clay and hardcourt. Her highest WTA singles ranking of world No. 179 she reached on 5 December 2011. Her high ...

/ Brydan Klein *

Alicia Molik Alicia Molik (born 27 January 1981) is an Australian former professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 6. Molik won a bronze medal in singles for Australi ...

* Jessica Moore / Greg Jones

Qualifier entries

Men's qualifiers entries

# Robin Haase #

Lukáš Dlouhý Lukáš Dlouhý (born 9 April 1983) is a retired professional Czech tennis player on the ATP Tour. A doubles specialist, Dlouhý reached a career-high ranking of World No. 5 in June 2009. Career Dlouhý has been part of two long-term double ...

Roko Karanušić Roko Karanušić (born 5 September 1982) is retired Croatian professional tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each pl ...

# Kevin Anderson # Amer Delić # Sam Warburg #

Denis Gremelmayr Denis Gremelmayr (born 16 August 1981) is an inactive German male tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 59, achieved in May 2008. Glemelmayr was born in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg. He reached the semifinals of Estoril ...

# Lukáš Lacko # Jamie Baker # Harel Levy # Wayne Odesnik #

Martin Slanar Martin Slanar (born 1 May 1981) is an Austrian male tennis player. Professional career 2007 Slanar's career got going in 2007. His career-best singles ranking is world No. 198, achieved in May 2008. External links * * Slanar World Rank ...

Viktor Troicki Viktor Troicki ( sr-Cyrl, Виктор Троицки, ; born 10 February 1986) is a Serbian former professional tennis player. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2010 Kremlin Cup, and his second and third ATP singles titles at the 2015 ...

Marcel Granollers Marcel Granollers Pujol (; ; born 12 April 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He reached his career-high singles ranking of world No. 19 in July 2012, and his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 4 in February 2013. Granollers h ...

Rajeev Ram Rajeev Ram ( ; born March 18, 1984) is an American professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. Ram is a five-time major champion, having won the 2020 Australian Open, the 2021 US Open, and the 2022 US Open in men's d ...

Women's qualifiers entries

Monica Niculescu Monica Niculescu (born 25 September 1987) is a Romanian professional tennis player. She has been ranked by the Women's Tennis Association as high as 28 in singles and 11 in doubles. Niculescu has won several titles: three singles and ten doubl ...

# Angelika Bachmann # Ekaterina Ivanova # Julia Schruff #

Alisa Kleybanova Alisa Mikhailovna Kleybanova (russian: Алиса Михайловна Клейбанова, born 15 July 1989) is a Russian former tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is world No. 20, achieved in February 2011. In her career. she wo ...

# Tamarine Tanasugarn # Hsieh Su-wei # Marta Domachowska # Timea Bacsinszky # Sandra Klösel # Yuan Meng #

Withdrawals

;Men's Singles * Mario Ančić → replaced by

Bobby Reynolds Robert Thomas "Bobby" Reynolds (born July 17, 1982) is an American retired professional tennis player who resides in Auburn, Alabama. He was named head men's tennis coach at Auburn University in June 2016. Professional career Reynolds, a nati ...

* Jonas Björkman → replaced by Olivier Patience * Guillermo Cañas → replaced by Mariano Zabaleta * Tommy Haas → replaced by Lu Yen-hsun * Gaël Monfils → replaced by Juan Pablo Brzezicki * Robin Söderling → replaced by John Isner * Potito Starace → replaced by Robert Kendrick ;Women's Singles *

Vera Dushevina Vera Yevgenyevna Dushevina ( rus, Вера Евгеньевна Душевина; born 6 October 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won one singles title and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour. As a junior, she won th ...

→ replaced by Sorana Cîrstea * Elena Likhovtseva → replaced by

* Mara Santangelo → replaced by Ekaterina Makarova * Milagros Sequera → replaced by

Clarisa Fernández Clarisa Fernández (born 28 August 1981) is a retired Argentine tennis player. She is best known for her semifinal appearance at the 2002 French Open, the first Argentine since Sabatini in 1992 to reach that stage. Fernández was ranked 87th i ...

Meghann Shaughnessy Meghann Shaughnessy (born April 13, 1979 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American former professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 in 2001 and won six titles on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour ...

→ replaced by

Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro (born 18 March 1983) is a former professional tennis player from France. Her career-high singles ranking is world No. 61, achieved on 5 October 2003. Her highest doubles ranking position of 54, she set on 18 July 2005. C ...

* Samantha Stosur → replaced by Vania King

References

External links

Australian Open official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Open,2008 2008 in Australian tennis 2008,Australian Open January 2008 sports events in Australia