The 2008 Australian Open was a

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

tournament played on outdoor

hard court A hardcourt (or hard court) is a type of surface or floor on which a sport is played, most usually in reference to tennis courts. It is typically made of rigid materials such as Asphalt concrete, asphalt or concrete, and covered with acrylic resin ...

s. It was the 96th edition of the

Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...

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

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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

Roger Federer Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...

and

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WT ...

were unsuccessful in defending their 2007 titles; Federer losing to

Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...

in the semi-finals and Williams losing in the quarter-finals to

Jelena Janković Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the W ...

. Djokovic won his first Grand Slam singles title, defeating unseeded

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...

in the final;

Maria Sharapova Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (, ; born 19 April 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 21 weeks. Sharapova won 36 WTA Tour-level sin ...

, runner-up to Williams in 2007, defeated

Ana Ivanovic Ana Schweinsteiger (name at birth, née Ivanovic; born 6 November 1987) is a Serbian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's 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 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 Andrew Stephen Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 13 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in ...

and

Mark Philippoussis Mark Anthony Philippoussis (born 7 November 1976) is an Australian tennis coach, commentator and former professional tennis player of Greek and Italian descent. Philippoussis' greatest achievements are winning two Davis Cup titles with Austra ...

, 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 Pete Sampras (born August 12, 1971) is an American former professional tennis player. One of the most successful tennis players of all time, he was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the A ...

and

Marat Safin Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; ; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian former professional tennis player and former politician. He was ranked as the List of ...

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 Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) fo ...

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.

Justine Henin Justine Henin (; born 1 June 1982) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 117 weeks, i ...

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.

described it as slow, with

and James Blake all corroborating this opinion, albeit from experience in preliminary tournaments. Pundit and former World No. 1

Pat Rafter Patrick Michael Rafter (born 28 December 1972) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and world No. 6 in doubles. Rafter won eleven ...

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 States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victor ...

. This announcement came in the wake of a series of scandals to hit the sport, including World No. 4

Nikolay Davydenko Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko ( ; born 2 June 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 in November 2006. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tournam ...

coming under suspicion of

match fixing In organized sports, match fixing (also known as game fixing, race fixing, throwing, rigging, hippodroming, or more generally sports fixing) is the act of playing or officiating a contest with the intention of achieving a predetermined result, v ...

; with at least a dozen other players coming forward about having been approached to influence matches in an unethical manner.

Tennis Australia Tennis Australia Limited is the governing body for tennis in Australia. It is owned by Australian states and territories. The association organizes national and international tennis tournaments including the Australian Open, Australian Open Se ...

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 The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. there are 211 nat ...

(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 and the ATP Challenger Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to p ...

(ATP),

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

(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 supporters, following Greece's Konstantinos Economidis in his match against Chilean

Fernando González Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (; born 29 July 1980) is a Chilean former professional tennis player. During his career, he reached at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major tournaments. He contested hi ...

, became unruly. The match, in progress at the Margaret Court Arena, 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 western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an fans, were warned of their disorderly conduct prior to the police deploying

pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, mace, or capsicum spray is a Tear gas, lachrymator (tear gas) product containing as its active ingredient the chemical compound capsaicin, which irritates the eyes with burning ...

. The police regiment was heavily outnumbered, with a

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

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 , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

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 Upskirting or upskirt photography is the practice of taking photographs or videos under a person's skirt or kilt, capturing an image or video of the crotch area, showing underwear such as panties, and sometimes genitalia. An "upskirt" is a photo ...

photographs.

Marcos Baghdatis video controversy

During the Open, a video posted on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

almost a year earlier made headlines in the Australian media. The video shows the 2008 fifteenth seed, Cypriot

Marcos Baghdatis Marcos Baghdatis (Greek language, Greek: Μάρκος Παγδατής, Arabic language, Arabic: ماركوس بغداتيس); born 17 June 1985 is a Greek Cypriot former professional tennis player and coach. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Aus ...

, at a barbecue hosted by his Greek Australian 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 Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish Cy ...

. Melbourne's

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

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, winner of the boys' tournament in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, almost cause an upset when he pushed

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

in the final, having defeated the defending champion Federer in the semi-finals, and Australian hopeful

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

, 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 Tamira Shelah Paszek (born 6 December 1990) is an Austrian tennis player. On 11 February 2013, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 26. On 6 May 2013, she peaked at No. 93 in the doubles rankings. Paszek has won three single ...

in the first round, before defeating rising Australian player

Casey Dellacqua Casey Dellacqua ( ; born 11 February 1985) is an Australian former 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

. Twenty-four hours after Janković's victory over Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic recorded her first career victory against

Venus Williams Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American inactive tennis player. She has been ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA for 11 wee ...

in her quarter-final, and went on to reach her second Grand Slam final by defeating

Daniela Hantuchová Daniela Hantuchová (; born 23 April 1983) is a Slovak tennis commentator and retired player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA Tour title at the Indian Wells Open, defeating Martin ...

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

, in a match dubbed as the "Glam Slam" final.

Day-by-day summaries

Seniors

Men's singles

defeated

, 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

defeated

, 7–5, 6–3

Men's doubles

Jonathan Erlich Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich (; born 5 April 1977) is an Israeli former professional tennis player. During his career, he was mainly a doubles specialist, having won the men's doubles title at the 2008 Australian Open – Men's doubles, 2008 Aus ...

Andy Ram Andreas "Andy" Ram (; 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 event. Ram first ...

defeated

Arnaud Clément Arnaud Clément (; born 17 December 1977) is a French former professional tennis player and Davis Cup captain. Clément reached the final of the 2001 Australian Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 10 in April 2001. He ...

Michaël Llodra Michaël Llodra (; born 18 May 1980) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 3 in men's doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), winning 26 career doubles titles, including three majors and ...

, 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 Alona Volodymyrivna Bondarenko Dyachok (; born 13 August 1984) is a Ukrainian former tennis player. Her sisters Valeria and Kateryna Bondarenko are also tennis players. Her career-high singles ranking is No. 19, achieved on 14 April 2008. Alo ...

/ Kateryna Bondarenko defeated

Victoria Azarenka Victoria Fiodaraŭna Azarenka (born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She has been ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), having held the position for a total of 51 weeks ...

Shahar Pe'er Shahar Pe'er (, ; 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 International Tennis Federation, ITF circuit in her career ...

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

Mixed doubles

Sun Tiantian Sun Tiantian ( zh, s=孙甜甜, p=Sūn Tiántián; ; born 12 October 1981) is a Chinese 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 ...

Nenad Zimonjić Nenad Zimonjić ( sr-Cyrl, Ненад Зимоњић, ; born 4 June 1976) is a Serbian former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles. He is an eight-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2008 and 2009 Wimbledon Ch ...

defeated Sania Mirza /

Mahesh Bhupathi Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi (born 7 June 1974) is an Indian former doubles world No. 1 tennis player. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a major tournament (with Rika Hiraki). With his win at the 2006 Australian Open mixed doubles, he ...

, 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 Bernard Tomic (; , ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 17 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Tomic has won four singles titles on the ATP To ...

def Yang Tsung-hua, 4–6, 7–6(5), 6–0

Girls' singles

Arantxa Rus Arantxa Rus (; born 13 December 1990) is a Dutch professional tennis player. She won one WTA Tour singles title at the 2023 Hamburg European Open – Women's singles, 2023 Hamburg Open and four in doubles. Her biggest singles successes to date ...

defeated Jessica Moore, 6–3, 6–4

Boys' doubles

Hsieh Cheng-peng Hsieh Cheng-peng (; born 22 September 1991) is a 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 Fucsovics, as w ...

/ Yang Tsung-hua defeated

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

/ César Ramírez, 3–6, 7–5, 0��

Girls' doubles

Ksenia Lykina /

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Anastasia Sergeyevna "Nastia" Pavlyuchenkova (; born 3 July 1991) is a Russian professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles WTA rankings, ranking of world No. 11 on 8 November 2021. Pavlyuchenkova has won twelve singles titles ...

defeated Elena Bogdan / 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. Griffioen is a 20-time Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major champion (four singles and 16 doubles), Paralympic gold medalist, seven-time Masters champion, a ...

/ 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 / 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 Thomas Mario Haas (; born 3 April 1978) is a German–American former professional tennis player. He competed on the ATP Tour from 1996 to 2017, and was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in May ...

and

Guillermo Cañas Guillermo "Willy" Ignacio Cañas (; born November 25, 1977) is an Argentine former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked world No. 8 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in June 2005. Cañas wo ...

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

, ''(semifinals, lost to

)'' #

Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...

, ''(semifinals, lost to

)'' #

, (champion) #

, ''(4th Round, lost to

Mikhail Youzhny Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny (born 25 June 1982), nicknamed "Misha" and "Colonel" by his fans, is a Russian former professional tennis player who was ranked inside the top 10 and was the Russian No. 1. He achieved a top-10 ranking by the Associ ...

)'' #

David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 2013. Ferrer won 27 ATP Tour singles titles, including a ...

, ''(quarterfinals, lost to

)'' #

, ''(3rd Round, lost to

Philipp Kohlschreiber Philipp Eberhard Hermann Kohlschreiber (; born 16 October 1983) is a German former professional tennis player. The right-hander won eight singles and seven doubles titles on the ATP World Tour and made the quarterfinals at the 2012 Wimbledon Cha ...

)'' #

, ''(3rd Round, lost to

Marin Čilić Marin Čilić (; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on 28 January 2018. Čilić has won 21 ATP Tour-level si ...

)'' #

Richard Gasquet Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 7 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP, attained in July 2007. Gasquet won 16 singles ...

, ''(4th Round, lost to

)'' #

Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...

, ''(1st Round, lost to

)'' #

David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He reached his highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006, during a career that spanned from 2000 to 2013. Nalbandian was runner-up in ...

, ''(3rd Round, lost to

Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former professional tennis player and current coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Pro ...

)'' #

Tommy Robredo Tomás Robredo Garcés (, ; 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 2006 Hamburg Masters – Singles, Hamburg M ...

, ''(2nd Round, lost to Mardy Fish)'' # James Blake, ''(quarterfinals, lost to

)'' #

Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 4 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in May 2015. Berdych won 13 ATP Tour singles titles, i ...

, ''(4th Round, lost to

)'' #

, ''(quarterfinals, lost to

)'' #

, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' #

Carlos Moyá Carlos Moyá Llompart (; born 27 August 1976) is a Spanish former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Moyá won 20 ATP Tour-level singles tit ...

, ''(1st Round, lost to Stefan Koubek)'' # Ivan Ljubičić, ''(1st Round, lost to

Robin Haase Robin Haase (; born 6 April 1987) is a Dutch professional tennis player. He reached his career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 33 in July 2012 and his highest doubles ranking of world No. 29 in May 2023 ...

)'' #

Juan Ignacio Chela Juan Ignacio Chela (; born 30 August 1979), nicknamed as "El Flaco" or "Liliano," is a tennis coach and former professional player from Argentina. Chela was given a three-month ban from the professional tour in 2001 for failing a drugs test. Post ...

, ''(1st Round, lost to Guillermo García López)'' #

, ''(4th Round, lost to

)'' #

Ivo Karlović Ivo Karlović (; born 28 February 1979) is a Croatian former professional tennis player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint-tallest ranked tennis player in history (along with Reilly Opelka). He won eight ATP Tour si ...

, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' #

Juan Mónaco Juan Mónaco (; born 29 March 1984), nicknamed "Pico", is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He won nine singles titles, reached the semifinals of the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters – Singles, 2010 Shanghai Masters and the 2012 Sony ...

, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' #

, ''(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 2 ...

, ''(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 caree ...

, ''(quarterfinals, lost to

)'' #

Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spaniards, Spanish tennis coach and a former professional player. He was ranked world No. 7 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP, achieved in April 2009, and w ...

, ''(2nd Round, lost to Janko Tipsarević)'' #

Stanislas Wawrinka Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), first achieved on 27 January 2014. Wawrinka has won 16 ATP T ...

, ''(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 of Latin American descent. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008 French Open – Men's singles, 2008, 201 ...

, ''(1st Round, lost to

)'' #

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

, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' #

, ''(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 1000 ...

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

Igor Andreev Igor Valeryevich Andreev (, BGN/PCGN: ''Andreyev'', ISO 9: ''Andreev'', ; born 14 July 1983) is a Russian coach and a former professional tennis player. He won three ATP Tour singles titles, reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 French Open a ...

, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' #

Dmitry Tursunov Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov (; born 12 December 1982) is a Russian tennis coach and former player. At age 12, he moved to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player. His career-high singles ranking is w ...

, ''(2nd Round, lost to

Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey ( ; born October 7, 1987) is an American professional pickleball player and former tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known ...

)''

Women's singles

, ''(quarterfinals, lost to

)'' #

Svetlana Kuznetsova Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (born 27 June 1985) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as high as world No. 2 in singles and world No. 3 in doubles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA. Kuznetsova won 18 singl ...

, ''(3rd Round, lost to

Agnieszka Radwańska Agnieszka Roma Radwańska (; born 6 March 1989) is a Polish former professional tennis player and current coach. She was ranked world No. 2 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), in July 2012. Radwańska won 20 WTA Tour sing ...

)'' #

, ''(semifinals, lost to

)'' #

, ''(final, lost to

)'' #

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

Maria Kirilenko Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko ( rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Кириле́нко, p=mɐˈrʲijə kʲɪrʲɪˈlʲenkə, a=Ru-Maria_Kirilenko.ogg; born 25 January 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A junior Grand Slam champio ...

)'' #

, ''(quarterfinals, lost to

) '' #

, ''(quarterfinals, lost to

)'' #

, ''(semifinals, lost to

)'' #

Marion Bartoli Marion Bartoli (; born 2 October 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. Bartoli won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles, 2013 Wimbledon Championships singles title, after previously being runner-up in 2007 Wimbledo ...

, ''(1st Round, lost to Sofia Arvidsson)'' #

Elena Dementieva Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva (, ; born 15 October 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was WTA rankings, ranked world No. 3 in women's singles and world No. 5 in women's doubles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA. Dem ...

, ''(4th Round, lost to

)'' # Nicole Vaidišová, ''(4th Round, lost to

)'' #

Tatiana Golovin Tatiana Golovin (; born 25 January 1988) is a French former professional tennis player. She won the 2004 French Open mixed-doubles event, partnering with Richard Gasquet, and reached the singles quarterfinals at the 2006 US Open, losing to the e ...

, ''(2nd Round, lost to Aravane Rezaï)'' #

Nadia Petrova Nadezhda Viktorovna "Nadia" Petrova ( ; born 8 June 1982) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A former top-five player in both singles and doubles, she reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world in both disciplines (doing s ...

, ''(4th Round, lost to

)'' #

Patty Schnyder Patty Schnyder (born 14 December 1978)
Weltwoche, 14. September 2011 is a Swiss reti ...

, ''(2nd Round, lost to

)'' #

Dinara Safina Dinara Mubinovna Safina (, ; ; born April 27, 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 26 weeks, and world No. 8 in doubles. Safina ...

, ''(1st Round, lost to Sabine Lisicki)'' #

, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' #

Amélie Mauresmo Amélie Simone Mauresmo (; born 5 July 1979) is a French former professional tennis player, tennis coach, and tournament director. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 39 weeks. Maur ...

, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' # Sybille Bammer, ''(2nd Round, lost to

Hsieh Su-wei Hsieh Su-wei (; ; born 4 January 1986) is a Taiwanese professional tennis player. A former List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in Doubles tennis, doubles with nine Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam titles, she is rega ...

)'' # Ágnes Szávay, ''(1st Round, lost to

Ekaterina Makarova Ekaterina Valeryevna Makarova (; ; born 7 June 1988) is a Russian former professional tennis player who was ranked List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles, and world No. 8 in singles. She is a four-time Gra ...

)'' #

, ''(2nd Round, lost to

Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki (; born 11 July 1990) is an inactive Danish professional tennis player. She has been ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA, hold ...

)'' #

Lucie Šafářová Lucie Šafářová (; born 4 February 1987) is a Czech professional tennis player who was ranked List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles, and No. 5 in singles. She is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles ...

, ''(1st Round, lost to Catalina Castaño)'' #

Vera Zvonareva Vera Igorevna Zvonareva ( rus, Вера Игоревна Звонарёва, p=ˈvʲerə ˈiɡərʲɪvnə zvənɐˈrʲɵvə, a=Vera zvonareva.ogg; born 7 September 1984) is a Russian former professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ran ...

, ''(1st Round, retired due to injury)'' #

Li Na Li Na (born 26 February 1982) is a Chinese former professional tennis player. She was WTA rankings, ranked world No. 2 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association. Li won nine WTA Tour-level singles titles, including two Grand Slam (t ...

, ''(3rd Round, lost to Marta Domachowska)'' # Francesca Schiavone, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' #

, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' #

, ''(4th Round, lost to

)'' #

Katarina Srebotnik Katarina Srebotnik (born 12 March 1981) is a Slovenian former professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 20, on 7 August 2006. On 4 July 2011, she became the No. 1 of the WTA doubles rankings, holding thi ...

, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' #

, ''(quarterfinals, lost to

)'' # Virginie Razzano, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' # Sania Mirza, ''(3rd Round, lost to

)'' # Julia Vakulenko, ''(1st Round, lost to Elena Vesnina)''

Main draw wildcard entries

Men's singles

* Denis Istomin * Alun Jones * Brydan Klein *

Jesse Levine Jesse Levine (born October 15, 1987) is an American-Canadian former professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles rank of world No. 69 on October 1, 2012. Levine represented the United States through 2012, and he represented Ca ...

* 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 ...

* Joseph Sirianni * Robert Smeets

Women's singles

* Monique Adamczak * Madison Brengle *

Sophie Ferguson Sophie Ferguson (born 19 March 1986) is a former professional Australian tennis player. She won nine titles on the ITF Women's Circuit (six in doubles) and played on the WTA Tour. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 109 on 1 ...

Jarmila Gajdošová Jarmila Wolfe (née Gajdošová, formerly Groth; born 26 April 1987) is a Slovak-Australian former tennis player. In her career, she won two singles titles and one doubles title on the WTA Tour, as well as 14 singles and ten doubles titles on ...

* Mathilde Johansson * Jessica Moore * Iroda Tulyaganova * Christina Wheeler

Men's doubles

* Carsten Ball / Adam Feeney * Andrew Coelho / Brydan Klein * Colin Ebelthite / Nick Lindahl * Samuel Groth / Joseph Sirianni * Chris Guccione / Peter Luczak * Nathan Healey / Robert Smeets * Alun Jones / Greg Jones

Women's doubles

* Monique Adamczak / Christina Wheeler *

Alison Bai Alison Bai (born 18 January 1990) is an Australian former tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is No. 305, which she reached on 2 November 2015. Her career-high in doubles is 125, set on 20 January 2020. On the ITF Circuit, Bai won ...

Nicole Kriz Nicole Kriz (born 13 December 1983) is an Australian former 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 / Alenka Hubacek *

/ Jessica Moore * Daniella Dominikovic / Emily Hewson *

Trudi Musgrave Trudi Musgrave (born 10 September 1977) is an Australian former tennis player. Biography Musgrave was born in Newcastle, New South Wales. Although she won the Junior Australian Open singles title in 1994 (the same year that Martina Hingis won ...

* Marija Mirkovic / Karolina Wlodarczak

Mixed doubles

* Monique Adamczak / Stephen Huss *

/ Adam Feeney *

/ Samuel Groth *

Isabella Holland Isabella Holland (born 2 January 1992) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Career Holland's preferred surfaces are clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phy ...

/ 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 ...

/ Nathan Healey * Jessica Moore / Greg Jones

Qualifier entries

Men's qualifiers entries

# Lukáš Dlouhý #

Roko Karanušić Roko Karanušić (born 5 September 1982) is retired Croatian professional tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams ...

# Kevin Anderson #

Amer Delić Amer Delić (; born June 30, 1982) is a Bosnian American former professional tennis player. He is a former captain and member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Davis Cup team. Delić was born in Tuzla, then in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugosla ...

# 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 Harel Levy (; born 5 August 1978) is a retired Israeli professional tennis player, and the current captain of Israel's Davis Cup team. He reached the final of the 2000 Toronto Masters and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 30 ...

# Wayne Odesnik # Martin Slanar # Viktor Troicki #

Marcel Granollers Marcel Granollers Pujol (; ; born 12 April 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 1 on 6 May 2024, becoming the second Spanish man to achieve the feat (after Emilio Sánchez Vicari ...

# Rajeev Ram # Konstantinos Economidis

Women's qualifiers entries

Monica Niculescu Monica Niculescu (born 25 September 1987) is a Romanian professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA as high as No. 28 in singles and No. 11 in doubles. She has won three singles and 10 dou ...

# Angelika Bachmann # Ekaterina Ivanova # Julia Schruff #

Alisa Kleybanova Alisa Mikhailovna Kleybanova (, 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 won two singles titles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour. ...

# Tamarine Tanasugarn #

# Marta Domachowska #

Timea Bacsinszky Timea Bacsinszky (; born 8 June 1989) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. A former top ten singles player, Bacsinszky reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 9, on 16 May 2016. She won four singles and five doubles titles o ...

# Sandra Klösel # Yuan Meng # Sabine Lisicki

Withdrawals

;Men's Singles *

Mario Ančić Mario Ančić (; born 30 March 1984) is a Croatian former professional tennis player who currently works as a private equity vice president in New York City. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles on the ATP Tour. Ančić's career- ...

→ replaced by Bobby Reynolds *

Jonas Björkman Jonas Lars Björkman (; born 23 March 1972) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He is a former world No. 1 in doubles, and also a former world No. 4 in singles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 ...

→ replaced by

Olivier Patience Olivier Patience (; born 25 March 1980) is a former French professional tennis player. His career high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking was world no. 87, on 19 July 2004. During 2006, Patience won three ATP Challenger ...

→ replaced by

Mariano Zabaleta Mariano Zabaleta (born 28 February 1978) is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. He had an unusual but effective service motion. His best shot was his forehand and his favourite surface was clay. Zabaleta's career highlights ...

→ replaced by Lu Yen-hsun *

Gaël Monfils Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 6 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in November 2016. Mon ...

→ replaced by Juan Pablo Brzezicki *

Robin Söderling Robin Bo Carl Söderling (; born 14 August 1984) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 4 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in November 2010. Söderling won ten singles titles on th ...

→ replaced by

John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...

* Potito Starace → replaced by Robert Kendrick ;Women's Singles *

Vera Dushevina Vera Yevgenyevna Dushevina (; 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 the Wimbledon Championships, beating Maria Sharapova in ...

→ replaced by

Sorana Cîrstea Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea (; born 7 April 1990) is a Romanian professional tennis player. In singles, she achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 21 on 12 August 2013. In doubles, her career-best ranking is No. 35, which she reached on 9 March ...

Elena Likhovtseva Elena Alexandrovna Likhovtseva ( ; born 8 September 1975) is a Kazakhstani-born Russian former tennis player. She turned professional in January 1992, at the age of 16. Together with Mahesh Bhupathi she won the Wimbledon Mixed doubles in 20 ...

→ replaced by Catalina Castaño * Mara Santangelo → replaced by

* Milagros Sequera → replaced by Clarisa Fernández *

Meghann Shaughnessy Meghann Shaughnessy (born April 13, 1979) 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 WTA Tour. Her best doubles ranking was world No. 4, and she ...

→ replaced by Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro *

Samantha Stosur Samantha Jane Stosur (born 30 March 1984) is an Australian former professional tennis player. She is a former List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles, a ranking which she first achieved on 6 February 2006 and ...

→ 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 2008 WTA Tour 2008 ATP Tour 2008 in Victoria (state)