The Australian Open, to an extent, still has an image problem, being viewed in some quarters as a jealous sibling looking up to three older and more successful brothers – namely Wimbledon and the French and US Opens.

Most up and coming tennis players no doubt dream of winning at Wimbledon, but how many make claiming the Australian Open their main priority? An educated guess would be those who live Down Under.

Of the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Australian Open may still be struggling to gain equal status to the others beyond its borders in the eyes of some, but the tournament itself is superbly organised, while its hard and fast courts produce some of the best tennis to be seen in the modern era.

The Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam events to be held each year and has been staged at Melbourne Park since 1988.

The tournament was first staged in 1905 and from that year until 1987 it was played on grass, before the decision was taken to transfer to hard courts upon the switch to Melbourne Park.

First known as the Australasian Open, it became the Australian Open in 1927 and has remained thus ever since. Since its inception it has been staged in five Australian cities as well as two in New Zealand, although Melbourne has remained the tournament's main host.

In 1972, when it was decided to host the tournament in the same city each year, Melbourne was selected because it enjoyed the biggest patronage and from then until the switch in 1988, it was played at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club.